The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

 PC
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6464 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5,355 out of 6464
  2. Mixed: 634 out of 6464
  3. Negative: 475 out of 6464
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  1. AgentLvi
    Jun 18, 2023
    7
    Decent game. The story is so --so, scoring is great, visual is decent, and the voice is also great
  2. Wondux
    Jun 2, 2023
    7
    The characters and story were phenomenal and complex. The voice acting was amazing. The RPG element is also beyond sufficient for an action-based game. There were a couple of story routes I could choose from and many small decisions I could make, which didn't significantly affect the story, but were very satisfying. I loved seeing characters from The Witcher 3 and learning more about them.The characters and story were phenomenal and complex. The voice acting was amazing. The RPG element is also beyond sufficient for an action-based game. There were a couple of story routes I could choose from and many small decisions I could make, which didn't significantly affect the story, but were very satisfying. I loved seeing characters from The Witcher 3 and learning more about them. Using the signs was also very enjoyable. Although, Yrden was quite useless, as there are too few instances where you have to use it, once with some wraiths, and once with a boss battle.

    Combat, on the other hand, felt like a chore. Fighting with multiple enemies was a nightmare, more so when surrounded by them. Then, the controls become unresponsive and clunky. Other than that, it was reasonably decent. The dodging mechanic was kind of clumsy. Another thing I could criticize is the level design. At times, you get a mission objective on the other side of the map, and it can be difficult and very boring to navigate through space, without the help of quick travel.

    The audio mixing was not well done. At any certain music/voiceover sound level, sometimes you don't hear the voice acting due to the music. Usually, you do. I know I can change the settings, but I don't want to deal with that each time this happens, and then change it back. Also, there were some bugs with the voice. Sometimes, I heard every noise, but the voice acting just didn't work. Another bug I noticed was at some point, in between two chapters, the game would just black-screen. I had to Google it to solve the problem, but it only happened once.

    Overall, very solid game. Was a memorable experience, except for a few cases of very frustrating battle designs.    … Expand
  3. Magical_Viktor
    Apr 30, 2023
    7
    Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»
  4. bar0yka
    Mar 18, 2023
    6
    ilk oyuna göre kombat yönü çok gelişmiş ama yine de tatminkar değil 2011 yılına göre kesinlikle oynanmalı 2023 e gelirsek zor aga kim uğraşır amk 1 saat dayanabildim yputubedan falan bitirip direkt 3 geçicem.
  5. Kriticality
    Feb 10, 2023
    7
    This one is tough- on one side it is more of Geralt's adventures, on the other it is the worst of the trilogy.
    The CONSOLE-ISATION is ...ugh...Consoles should just cease to exist at this point.
    It is not like there are arcades that need to be downsized to be enjoyed at home. Also because CDPR were again wrong in their calculations, they butchered literally half of the planned content    This one is tough- on one side it is more of Geralt's adventures, on the other it is the worst of the trilogy.
    The CONSOLE-ISATION is ...ugh...Consoles should just cease to exist at this point.
    It is not like there are arcades that need to be downsized to be enjoyed at home.
    Also because CDPR were again wrong in their calculations, they butchered literally half of the planned content for the game, the story also is a bit meh. Radovid goes full schizo.
    Just because it is more of Geralt it gets 7, if it was not part of the series, it is 2 at best.    … Expand
  6. Pizi
    Feb 9, 2023
    7
    Witcher 2 is a very good game with a great story but has some bugs that are game braking.
  7. Jollyolfun
    Nov 18, 2022
    6
    god the letho fight in the first village is such a goddamn pain it took me 30 minutes
  8. Soullex
    Nov 15, 2022
    7
    Gerçekten yan görevler kendisini tekrar etmese, günümüzde bile bir başyapıt olabilecekmiş.
  9. DieterfallCZE
    Nov 15, 2022
    6
    ok I guess :/
  10. ZzTopNemesis
    Nov 5, 2022
    7
    Score: 7.8

    I played this one after the incredible Witcher 3, for which i gave a 9.6 score... I wanted more Witcher and tried the first one, but i couldn't play that one... Soo i decided to give this one a go This was spectacular The story was very very engaging The combat was not as fun as TW3, but was very close The enviorment was also not as good, but we couldn't ask for more    Score: 7.8

    I played this one after the incredible Witcher 3, for which i gave a 9.6 score...
    I wanted more Witcher and tried the first one, but i couldn't play that one... Soo i decided to give this one a go
    This was spectacular
    The story was very very engaging
    The combat was not as fun as TW3, but was very close
    The enviorment was also not as good, but we couldn't ask for more given the fact that this was made in 2010....

    Overrall, anyone who wants to try this franchise, and can't play TW1 because of how old it is, should just play this one first before going into TW3, it will give you soo much more knowledge about this world that when you go into TW3, you'll love it even more!!    … Expand
  11. ZID346
    Jul 5, 2022
    7
    Good game but something was missing. Worse climate and average combat system. The game is too simple and too short. However, the story is very interesting and inventive. Great Gerald with a normal face
  12. Demon2017
    Jun 18, 2022
    5
    После третьей части все резко полюбили вторую, но на мой взгляд - это проходняк, который существует только для того, чтобы перенести из него сохранения в третью часть.
  13. Jackie_Jackson
    May 26, 2022
    5
    Тут можно передрать вообще всех енпеси неплохой такой симулятор свиданий получился
  14. Wrathzo
    Mar 21, 2022
    7
    The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (Polish: Wiedźmin 2: Zabójcy królów) is a 2011 action role-playing video game developed by CD Projekt Red, based on The Witcher series of fantasy novels by Andrzej Sapkowski. It is the sequel to the 2007 game The Witcher and the second main installment in The Witcher's video game series. The player directs the actions of Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunterThe Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (Polish: Wiedźmin 2: Zabójcy królów) is a 2011 action role-playing video game developed by CD Projekt Red, based on The Witcher series of fantasy novels by Andrzej Sapkowski. It is the sequel to the 2007 game The Witcher and the second main installment in The Witcher's video game series. The player directs the actions of Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter known as a Witcher. The fantasy world in which his adventures take place owes much to Polish history and Slavic mythology.… Expand
  15. nioju
    Oct 25, 2021
    6
    Eu esperava, um jogo de mundo aberto, mesmo que pequeno, mas aberto. Não é isso, a pegada é bem diferente de The Witcher 3. O jogo é bom, mas ainda assim, possui muitos bugs perceptiveis. Além das falas dos personagens serem estranhas e quase sem expressões, existe, mas poucas. Eu até consegui perceber que eles podem estar olhando pra algum lugar, mas não pro personagem que ele estáEu esperava, um jogo de mundo aberto, mesmo que pequeno, mas aberto. Não é isso, a pegada é bem diferente de The Witcher 3. O jogo é bom, mas ainda assim, possui muitos bugs perceptiveis. Além das falas dos personagens serem estranhas e quase sem expressões, existe, mas poucas. Eu até consegui perceber que eles podem estar olhando pra algum lugar, mas não pro personagem que ele está conversando. KKKKKKKKKKKK

    História - 7
    Audio - 8
    Mundo - 5
    Personagens - 5
    Jogabilidade, Mecanicas e Itens - 6

    Nota Final - 6,2 (6)    … Expand
  16. Fixil_CZ
    Sep 18, 2021
    7
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  17. ErayTellezi
    Aug 29, 2021
    7
    Pek beğenmedim. Witcher 3'ü 170 saat oynamama rağmen bu oyundaki kadar sıkılmadım. Üstelik bu 25 saatte bitti. Combatlar eğleneceli değil, boss savaşlarında quick time event olması tam bir saçmalık, yan görev kalitesi witcher 3'ün binde biri bile değil (akıl hastanesi hariç), fast travel olmadığı için küçük haritalarda aynı yeri 100 defa yürümek zorunda kalıyorsunuz, para kazanıp veya itemPek beğenmedim. Witcher 3'ü 170 saat oynamama rağmen bu oyundaki kadar sıkılmadım. Üstelik bu 25 saatte bitti. Combatlar eğleneceli değil, boss savaşlarında quick time event olması tam bir saçmalık, yan görev kalitesi witcher 3'ün binde biri bile değil (akıl hastanesi hariç), fast travel olmadığı için küçük haritalarda aynı yeri 100 defa yürümek zorunda kalıyorsunuz, para kazanıp veya item satıp satıcılardan bir şey almak imkansız çünkü aşırı pahalı (Bunu çözen bir mod var). Oyunda tek büyük bir harita yok, görev icabı gittiğimiz 3-4 harita var, onlar da küçük ve karanlık. Etrafta kafanızı kaldırıp izleyeceğiniz bir manzara yok, şehirler ölü gibi. Oyun eski bir oyun olduğu için küçücük engeli geçememe, karakterin kabızlığı, görünmez duvarlar gırla. Açık dünyada keşif ve macera hissi yok, şuraya da gireyim bakayım belki ilginç bir hikaye bulurum demiyorsunuz. Yine de denk geldiğim yan görevlerin yüzde 90'ını ve 3-4 tane contract görevi yaptım. Bir ikisi dışında ilgi çekici bir yanı yoktu.
    Artıları ise yan hikayeler olmasa da ana hikaye ilgi çekici, bol bol entrika var, görevlerin gidişatına müdahale edebiliyorsunuz yani yaptığınız seçimler oyuna etki ediyor ki bu bir rpg için hayati bir konu.
    Hikayeyi sevdim ama bazı şeyler saçmaydı. Geralt'ın hafızasını kaybetmiş olması ve hatırlamak için bazı maceralara atılmak zorunda olması ve bu esnada hatırlama şekli hiç ikna edici değil. Bunun yanında gittiğimiz ilk şehrin politik durumu, ırkçılık ve buna direniş iyi verilmiş.
    Skill ağacında açtığımız skillerin neredeyse tamamı istatistik geliştirmesi, oyunun oynanışını değiştirmiyorlar veya aktif bir yetenek vermiyorlar.
    Sonuç olarak hem kaliteli zaman geçirme hem maceradan maceraya koşma hem de duygusal bağlanma olarak 3. oyunun onda biri bile değil. Oyun bu kadar eskimemiş olsa ya da ben zamanında ve witcher 3 gibi bir şaheseri görmeden oynamış olsam daha çok sevebilirdim belki. Oyun eskimiş çünkü.    … Expand
  18. AxeWould
    Jul 14, 2021
    6
    Я понимаю почему люди восхищаются этой игры, но она меня дико выбесила. Первый ведьмак мной очень любим, а в этой вроде все в порядке, но она просто-напросто не работает. Боевка наверное более подходит для мира ведьмака, и она мне поначалу понравилась, но блин столько моментов, где ведьмак ударит то не того, то станет и пару ударов пропустит, если у противника идет какая это анимация, ударЯ понимаю почему люди восхищаются этой игры, но она меня дико выбесила. Первый ведьмак мной очень любим, а в этой вроде все в порядке, но она просто-напросто не работает. Боевка наверное более подходит для мира ведьмака, и она мне поначалу понравилась, но блин столько моментов, где ведьмак ударит то не того, то станет и пару ударов пропустит, если у противника идет какая это анимация, удар не проходит, а противники с постоянным магическим щитом, не делают игру интересней, а наоборот угнетает унынием. Бомбы бесполезная вещь, за игру только в начале попробовал как их использовать, и все за игру больше не использовал. Прокачка настолько ленивая и пресная, что у меня еще осталось 5 очков в конце игры, просто не было что прокачать что мне бы подошло. Зелье также настолько не интересны что кроме ласточки больше ничего не использовал, а то что они 10 мин лечат, это такой бред, и перед боем надо задийти в медитацию и просто смотреть как ведьмак их пьет и нельзя скипнуть заставку, и лечит она как на меня медленно, а то что во время боя юзать нельзя, это такой минус. Геймдизайн он красивый и красочный, но блин это просто лабиринт, в первом Ведьмаке как-то пободрей было. Но вот кого б я за яйца подвесил так это тот кто создал и выполнил мини карту, она убер не удобная и кривая. Квесты парочка интересных есть, а вообще большинство квестов и не интересны и однообразны, что капец. Графон завезли и он реально красивый, и окружение прекрасное, но лабиринт портит впечатление. Сюжет основной, мне не зашел, так как и в 4-5 книгах, эта политика мне была не интересна, поэтому сюжет как на меня слаб.… Expand
  19. JC_123
    Jun 28, 2021
    6
    This game has a very nice story, and the graphics aged impressively. It just felt to me though that Geralt didn't quite listen to the controls as I'd like him to. The gameply is not as tight as it should have been. If you have ever played something like a From Software game or even The Witcher 3, I think you will find the controls dissapointing. I found the music and sound design to beThis game has a very nice story, and the graphics aged impressively. It just felt to me though that Geralt didn't quite listen to the controls as I'd like him to. The gameply is not as tight as it should have been. If you have ever played something like a From Software game or even The Witcher 3, I think you will find the controls dissapointing. I found the music and sound design to be unimpressive. Geralt's voice actor delivers a great performance though.

    If you want to play it for the story though, it is well worth picking up on sale, just putting on an easier difficulty and blasting through (don't miss the side quests though!).

    There are a bunch of mods on Nexus if that's your kinda thing. I'd give this a strong 6 - 6.5 if I could.    … Expand
  20. Gorbunov2004
    Jun 16, 2021
    6
    Игра теперь больше не стратегия а полноценная RPG, но как по мне управление на геймпаде просто ужасно оно неудобно. В инвентаре очень много вкладок по ним не удобно перемещаться. Сюжет полная фигня.
  21. LesandroBonucci
    Mar 29, 2021
    7
    good game, but the worst among Witcher games,
    could have been better ;(((((
  22. TheTownDrunk
    Jan 25, 2021
    5
    THE WITCHER 2: ASSASSINS OF KINGS is a near masterpiece destroyed by Quick Time Events (QTEs) for which it loses 4 points. It's a pity that CDProjekt RED destroyed their game with this crap. Said QTEs are not optional mini games either, they are incorporated in the boss battles, which is just infuriating.
    What THE WITCHER 2 gets right is the the character building (which they    THE WITCHER 2: ASSASSINS OF KINGS is a near masterpiece destroyed by Quick Time Events (QTEs) for which it loses 4 points. It's a pity that CDProjekt RED destroyed their game with this crap. Said QTEs are not optional mini games either, they are incorporated in the boss battles, which is just infuriating.
    What THE WITCHER 2 gets right is the the character building (which they unfortunately scaled down for THE WITCHER 3): you can make many different builds with proper skill trees that actually make for different gameplay. I also like the tactical aspect of the combat (not the combat itself, which is mediocre): you cannot heal during combat. Potions have to be consumed before you enter combat, so if you want regenerating health, you got to plan ahead and drink those potions (which don't last forever) before you iniate the encounter. Graphics are really good for 2011 and the voice acting is sublime with Doug Cockle reprising his role of Geralt.
    The main campaign splits after the prologue into two different paths before coming together to the final act which is lackluster and feels rushed. As is typical for CDPR the side missions actually outshine the main campaign.
    However, the combat is mediocre: fast attack - left click, strong attack - right click, roll with space (which I don't care for, I mean who in their right mind would ROLL around with a sword and in armor?!). It's simplistic.
    But what destroys this game for me are the QTE's. Even though in the Enhanced Edition there is the option for "easier QTEs" but they are still annoying and hard (during boss battles). But they are used for just about everything: fist fights (mini game): QTEs. Dagger throwing (mini game): QTEs. These are (mostly) optional, but if you want to max out experience levels you need to do them.
    Thus it's a 5 out of 10 (AVERAGE). It's the weakest in the series. Without the QTEs this would be an 8 out of 10. If you don't mind QTEs then this might be for you.    … Expand
  23. Gaudy
    Jan 8, 2021
    7
    Lo jugué despues del The Witcher 3 y tal vez ese haya sido el problema. Graficamante es bastante potente para la época pero se notan las carencias. Es el tipico mundo abierto simplon de ir haciendo recados, de correrte el mapa de punta a punta. La historia es muy buena, a la altura de The Witcher al igual que los personajes aunque a estos ultimos les falta "vida". El doblaje y el mapa sonLo jugué despues del The Witcher 3 y tal vez ese haya sido el problema. Graficamante es bastante potente para la época pero se notan las carencias. Es el tipico mundo abierto simplon de ir haciendo recados, de correrte el mapa de punta a punta. La historia es muy buena, a la altura de The Witcher al igual que los personajes aunque a estos ultimos les falta "vida". El doblaje y el mapa son realmente excelentes, aunque el mapa puede hacerse pesado por eso de ir recorriendolo constantemente. Las misiones no estan tan desarrolladas como en The Witcher 3 pero ya apunta claramente el estilo.

    La musica y el sonido no son tan espectaculares y el combate deja bastante que desear. Los menus son bastante complejos y los controles nada intuitivos. Algunas misiones secundarias estan bastante bien pero los contratos son repetitivos e innecesarios. No hay variedad de enemigos y hay jefes que puedes matar con tan solo apretar rapido el boton de ataque. Es bastante lineal hasta para la epoca y nada intuitivo.    … Expand
  24. Ympero
    Dec 20, 2020
    7
    Game: 7/10
    Story: 7/10
    Playability: 8/10
    Graphics: 8/10
    Music: 8/10
    Stability: 9/10

    Very good game!
  25. Zailer
    Dec 2, 2020
    7
    This is my first ever touch of The Witcher franchise, and I'm not disappointed at all. I will definitely get my hands on The Witcher 3 and maybe on the Witcher if I will have enough time for it.
    Pros:
    - The characters. They feel like real people, there are some stereotypical yet recognizable heroes. For instance, Zoltan feels like the most generic Slavic hornydog. People prone to make    This is my first ever touch of The Witcher franchise, and I'm not disappointed at all. I will definitely get my hands on The Witcher 3 and maybe on the Witcher if I will have enough time for it.
    Pros:
    - The characters. They feel like real people, there are some stereotypical yet recognizable heroes. For instance, Zoltan feels like the most generic Slavic hornydog. People prone to make dumb moves out of greed and eager for power.
    - The side quests are as exciting as the main story.
    - So many storyline choices that keeps your brain enabled while playing this game.
    Cons:
    - Combat is a joke.
    - Protagonist's moves feel super-clunky and unnatural for 2011 standards. Even Gothic 2 and Gothic 3 feels smoother in this regard.
    - It just way too short for 2011 RPG even if you beat all side quests you can see.
    All in all, I am regret at the moment I've come across Skyrim instead of Witcher 2 9 years back. This game is surely better in general.    … Expand
  26. Bruterake
    Oct 30, 2020
    7
    7/10 - Pontos positivos

    Decisões para tomar durante a história Tem vários momentos para mudar as escolhas e jogar novamente, tendo também o modo arena pra só jogar o combate do jogo Sistema de luta interessante e com muitas variedades Protagonista massa O jogo é divertido em sua maior parte Pontos negativos Problemas de iluminação Ter peso nos itens que você carrega    7/10 - Pontos positivos

    Decisões para tomar durante a história

    Tem vários momentos para mudar as escolhas e jogar novamente, tendo também o modo arena pra só jogar o combate do jogo

    Sistema de luta interessante e com muitas variedades

    Protagonista massa

    O jogo é divertido em sua maior parte

    Pontos negativos

    Problemas de iluminação

    Ter peso nos itens que você carrega

    O jogo é muito fácil, principalmente indo mais para o final

    Algumas escolhas não parecem mudar em nada o resultado final

    O jogo não dá muito incentivo as side quests por você estar forte demais sendo que a história do jogo é muito curta no geral    … Expand
  27. demixzz
    Jul 10, 2020
    7
    I liked the game, but there are a lot of different problems. Problems with the combat system, when I sold a thing accidentally for 50 Oren, and the seller put it up for 1000, maybe so the developers tried to balance the currency, but it can be easily farmed and therefore this is a minus. I will not list everything else. The plot is good with replayability, interesting dialogues,I liked the game, but there are a lot of different problems. Problems with the combat system, when I sold a thing accidentally for 50 Oren, and the seller put it up for 1000, maybe so the developers tried to balance the currency, but it can be easily farmed and therefore this is a minus. I will not list everything else. The plot is good with replayability, interesting dialogues, interesting characters, interesting world and graphics are very good for an RPG in 2011… Expand
  28. lapkina
    Apr 13, 2020
    7
    A detailed progression system, interesting characters and wartime gray morality — a perfect example of a good rpg game. Bad sides: optimization, sometimes boring quests and short game itself.
  29. laertan
    Feb 3, 2020
    7
    Would it be some random game of unknown studio, I'd probably rate it higher. But this is sequel of genius game, and, sadly, in this role It's not good enough. Still, it is decent. Bright side: good story, intresting quests, dark secrets of hole town, Saskia/Saesenthessis. Dark side: bad combat system, terrible boss battles, inconvenient search of loot, bad map. Considering two completelyWould it be some random game of unknown studio, I'd probably rate it higher. But this is sequel of genius game, and, sadly, in this role It's not good enough. Still, it is decent. Bright side: good story, intresting quests, dark secrets of hole town, Saskia/Saesenthessis. Dark side: bad combat system, terrible boss battles, inconvenient search of loot, bad map. Considering two completely different ways of second act, game certainly has replay value.… Expand
  30. UncleEd
    Dec 24, 2019
    6
    I had enjoyed the first game, its dark setting in particular. Having heard Witcher series gets better with every game, I am utterly disappointed. The Witcher 2 at its core is a bad game and its flaw lies in its design. From the controls to the movement mechanics and combat, t is very obvious that Witcher 2 wants to appeal to console gamers. Yes, the graphics and voice acting are good. TheI had enjoyed the first game, its dark setting in particular. Having heard Witcher series gets better with every game, I am utterly disappointed. The Witcher 2 at its core is a bad game and its flaw lies in its design. From the controls to the movement mechanics and combat, t is very obvious that Witcher 2 wants to appeal to console gamers. Yes, the graphics and voice acting are good. The intro cinematic is one of the best I have seen in video games. Story is good enough and the script writing is top notch. However, in terms of “gameplay”, Witcher 2 is terrible. The game makes you feel like a mouse in a labyrinth because very often, you can only walk within pre-set boundaries. Combat is overall quite boring and there is not much monster variety. Overall gameplay can be described as watching long cutscenes, running to a quest marker, get involved in a tedious combat, do some QTEs and loot stuff that you will probably never need. It also doesn’t help every chapter is worse than the previous one.

    This is a game with a good story and narrative but poor gameplay. I was planning to play Witcher 3 right after this one. The Witcher 2 changed my mind.    … Expand
  31. Alnmedray
    Aug 4, 2019
    6
    El diseño y graficos son muy buenos aunque la historia es algo aburrida! Eso depende de cada persona!!
  32. Legitplayer
    Aug 2, 2019
    5
    I started to work the game smoothly 60fps no drops but I still cant give it a positive review console fistfight system is a disgrace and the map design is horrible only story and graphics are a bit good but the way you progress into the story is awful
  33. CoreGamer1408
    May 30, 2019
    7
    I played the first Witcher EE and it was ok from what I remember. Combat wasn't that amazing, but I got through to the end credits. Again much like the first WItcher the game world and monster types was very interesting to look at. They also continued with the same mission structure as the first game. When some missions had a investigative edge to them and not just simple kill or fetchI played the first Witcher EE and it was ok from what I remember. Combat wasn't that amazing, but I got through to the end credits. Again much like the first WItcher the game world and monster types was very interesting to look at. They also continued with the same mission structure as the first game. When some missions had a investigative edge to them and not just simple kill or fetch quests.

    Sound and visuals are fairly pleasing enough for a game of this time. The VA is mostly a mixed bag, The main playable character VA is so monotone dull. Oh wow lots of edgy swearing and vulgar dialogue. Not really warming to the increased edge lord vibe of this game world.

    Combat yeah was ok I suppose. Very fluid and flashy looking, but how did you know when to take buff potion and what type is beyond me? As I could only use a buff potion before a fight and who knows when the hell they was going to happen/trigger? Which did lead to some scum saving now and again oh well.

    What the hell was still going on with the steal/mechanic as in this game has none. No new innovation just the same as the first game. Anything can be taken under the eyes of the NPC without any come back. Trying to loot in this one is so super annoying. With constant fiddly adjustments to the camera angle to try and get the pick up icon to trigger.

    A flexible RPG allows for stealth any time any where so if you get caught you can A) fight your way out or B) run away like a sissy. Nope stealth is scripted to only certain missions with instant death on fail.

    This game does have some really jaw dropping moments. I like the new combat on a conceptual level, but the execution is not that great. The rest is just more of the first Witcher mechanics. With the dialogue dialled up to way more edge lord status and the new addition of mission based crappy stealth mechanics. For all its flaws and edge I still had way more fun in this than I thought I would. So go figure hey?    … Expand
  34. Gelaos
    Feb 7, 2019
    7
    Witcher 2 has great storyline, memorable characters, well-written dialogues, outstanding soundtrack and overall it's one of the most immersive games of it's time.

    However, apart from the great universe and its lore (mostly the work of Andrzej Sapkowski), Witcher 2 is not that good game from the gameplay perspective. The combat and RPG elements are almost non-existent, combat is waaaay    Witcher 2 has great storyline, memorable characters, well-written dialogues, outstanding soundtrack and overall it's one of the most immersive games of it's time.

    However, apart from the great universe and its lore (mostly the work of Andrzej Sapkowski), Witcher 2 is not that good game from the gameplay perspective. The combat and RPG elements are almost non-existent, combat is waaaay too simplistic, maps are small and very limited. It's not bad, but it definitely isn't great either.

    Witcher 2 is great as an story-oriented adventure but it's average game otherwise. And it's not RPG in any way.    … Expand
  35. pineappled
    Sep 22, 2018
    5
    The graphics rank from great to mixed, depending on the current location. The combat system and inventory are complete disasters. Same goes for the gameplay in general. Navigating Geralt feels clunky and cumbersome. The Witcher 3 made me fall in love with this franchise and got me into reading the books, but this could use some kind of remastering.
  36. OZcomingFRoo
    Jun 20, 2018
    6
    honestly have no clue as to why Angry Joe liked this game so much since I kinda both think its bad , but good.
    Before I talk about this game , I just wanna say I play Witcher 3 on PS4 before I even played 2 or 1 but never finished it.
    So to my ACUTAL REVIEW : Pros -Great Story -Beautiful Animations + Graphics -Rich lore -Side quests are unique Cons -The gameplay.... the whole    honestly have no clue as to why Angry Joe liked this game so much since I kinda both think its bad , but good.
    Before I talk about this game , I just wanna say I play Witcher 3 on PS4 before I even played 2 or 1 but never finished it.

    So to my ACUTAL REVIEW :
    Pros
    -Great Story
    -Beautiful Animations + Graphics
    -Rich lore
    -Side quests are unique

    Cons
    -The gameplay.... the whole gameplay system is just not right
    I have played many Hack and Slash games like Nier Automata , DmC , God of War.
    Now , I know , these games were mainly designed around Combot only and not preparing for combat with potions and such.
    But the way Garelt fights , the CORE hack and SLASH mechanics , just suck.
    You can't cancel your hits, Garelt's hit box is akward and evading is just useless.
    Not to mention the time it takes for Garelt to Cast a single spell during combat is down right frustrating.
    This is especially annyoing when fighting the dragon aka S****a.

    -Another thing specific thing about the gameplay is magic/spells :
    Aard (Wind/Force) and Axii (Mind Contol). they seem to not work properly.
    +Try to blow evemy with Aard from a roof and he doesn't even thou he was near the edge.
    +Trying to use Axii is stupid :
    1.You need to lock on a target to perform it , otherwise Garelt will be "self stunned" and waste mana/vigor
    2.Some enemies that should be affected by Axii sometimes decides like they dun wanna ,
    so guess what ? you just wasted mana/vigor .... THEY HELL ?!

    Overall , I would recommand this for a one time playthrough session , ON EASY or normal with COMBAT MODS that somewhat improve the gameplay.
    For 3/2.99$ its worth it.

    Quick Note : fortunately , Witcher 3 , unlike 2 , has a much better combat.
    -Casting spells is faster
    -Dodging really works    … Expand
  37. UsernameX
    Jun 13, 2018
    5
    can not recommend. i was happy to know it is only half the time of the first installment. but after 8 hrs it did come to the point where i did not want to continue. witcher 1 did take me around 20 hrs to give up.
    at first glance it was the clunky gameplay, i did think, but now i realize it is the low level of fantasy. you are talking to humans most of the time. the elves... pointy eared    can not recommend. i was happy to know it is only half the time of the first installment. but after 8 hrs it did come to the point where i did not want to continue. witcher 1 did take me around 20 hrs to give up.
    at first glance it was the clunky gameplay, i did think, but now i realize it is the low level of fantasy. you are talking to humans most of the time. the elves... pointy eared humans. dwarves... short humans. the enemy types are generic and simply just boring to fight! totally fine to forget. the presentation reminds me of a rpg in the dark ages of europe with some boring(!) fantasy thrown in. i like fantasy but i do not like the world of the witcher. the fantasy aspect is too low for me to be invested into this talking simulation. no story to visualize but lots of talk. the story could be one of a 2 parts tv movie with some minor fantasy effects for good measures. sorry, it is very boring to me. the unepic story does not catch me at all! gameplay slightly better than witcher 1 but still.......... climbing gives me headaches, no jumping, invisible walls, messy to center objects, wanted posters next to gates i unintentionally click all the time. makes me really bugged to think of! good graphics, flawed gameplay, lame story/world. i really struggled with W1 and sadly was very disappointed with this game.    … Expand
  38. Kire_92
    Mar 7, 2018
    6
    This was a fun but overall unpolished game with a lot of flaws. The positives is that I really liked the story, the quests and overall feeling of the game and that the characters were interesting… and that’s about it.

    The negatives on the other hand are numerous. The combat for example is simply not fun. It offers no complexity and feel very clunky. And in an RPG such as this it’s a    This was a fun but overall unpolished game with a lot of flaws. The positives is that I really liked the story, the quests and overall feeling of the game and that the characters were interesting… and that’s about it.

    The negatives on the other hand are numerous. The combat for example is simply not fun. It offers no complexity and feel very clunky. And in an RPG such as this it’s a huge flaw.

    And the game fails multiply times in its attempt to be an adult game. This is something a lot of people have praised the game for but I on the other hand feel is laughable (though the Witcher 3 does a great job in this area). When the game tries to be mature, cool or edgy I usually face palm or start shaking my head or straight our start laughing. It feels like some scenes are written by young teenagers. And its attempt to be mature ends up feeling very juvenile. Having adult content is not the same as having a mature game. It’s how you use the content that matters. Letting two adults have sex all of a sudden because it’s cool is one example of how the adult content makes the game feel immature instead.

    Other negatives in the game are:
    - Bad UI
    - Stale facial animations
    - Bad sound mixing
    - Bad pacing in the story
    - The Potion system is terrible
    - Many reused character models
    - The game is short
    - Bad transitions in/out of cutscenes
    - Bugs

    Even though it has its flaws, the story and the quests and characters made it a fun experience. But it could have been so much better than it was.    … Expand
  39. Kaszmiro
    Nov 1, 2017
    7
    Despite overwhelmingly positive opinions I didn't enjoy witcher 2 as previous CD Red's game
    Pros
    + Improved combat system
    + Great gameplay with lots of side quests
    + Very well voiced and beautiful
    + Crafting system
    Cons
    - Game is very short, you have to play 2 times otherwise game is really short it contains only prologue, 2 chapters and epilogue
    - Main characters are boring and featurless
  40. Machete66
    Oct 21, 2017
    5
    A quoi ça sert d'avoir de si beaux graphismes et une histoire/atmosphère bien fichue si c'est pour bacler la jouabilité ? Ceux qui ont fait ce jeu manquent de tout bon sens, et c'est exaspérant. La prise en main est désespérante, l'inventaire est le pire que j'ai jamais vu dans un jeu : moins pratique tu meurs, plus idiot tu crèves.
    On dirait que ça été pensé et réalisé par des autistes,    A quoi ça sert d'avoir de si beaux graphismes et une histoire/atmosphère bien fichue si c'est pour bacler la jouabilité ? Ceux qui ont fait ce jeu manquent de tout bon sens, et c'est exaspérant. La prise en main est désespérante, l'inventaire est le pire que j'ai jamais vu dans un jeu : moins pratique tu meurs, plus idiot tu crèves.
    On dirait que ça été pensé et réalisé par des autistes, ou par des gens qui ne pensent pas au joueur, focalisés qu'ils sont sur les graphismes et les prouesses techniques... En gros, c'edt un défaut classique du jeu vidéo : on veut en mettre plein la vue avant tout -effet marketing grossier dit souvent effet "waouh" dans les entreprises- et pour le reste, on pond une dauble scandaleuse. Et les gens achètent... Moi je l'ai payé trois euros, donc je ne m'en veux pas trop, mais tous les autres qui paient plein pot se font bien enfiler.
    Que les jeux soient fait des gens intelligents et doués de raison, raisonnables, capables de se mettre dans la peau et les doigts des joueurs, au lieu de les laisser à des purs technophiles un peu idiots qui ne pensent en rien au confort de jeu, obsédés qu'ils sont par les apparences.    … Expand
  41. auditbadger
    Jul 30, 2017
    7
    I think that this is truly a unique game and I would recommend that if you are a fan of this type of genre then I think you should give this game a try.
  42. hoohoo
    Jan 8, 2017
    6
    Playability (or lack of it) ruins a game with a good story that I wanted to follow. I don't know how many times I had to climb down ladders I climbed up by accident. There is quite a bit of senseless running around on the side quests. And the inventory is a UI nightmare. Let's show the stats of items (weight, price) of items on the list except of the item that the player select, then thePlayability (or lack of it) ruins a game with a good story that I wanted to follow. I don't know how many times I had to climb down ladders I climbed up by accident. There is quite a bit of senseless running around on the side quests. And the inventory is a UI nightmare. Let's show the stats of items (weight, price) of items on the list except of the item that the player select, then the stats are dropped below the inventory list. Written like this that sounds crazy, right? But that how it is..… Expand
  43. TemplarGR
    Sep 9, 2016
    7
    The most overrated of the Witcher series.The first Witcher which i enjoyed back when it was released, was a very good but flawed gem. Witcher 3 is probably the best RPG yet. But Witcher 2, is overrated.

    This game was praised a lot for its graphics and story. Both are really great. But as a game, this is poor. Gameplay is boring. Combat system is among the worst ever. Roll and roll    The most overrated of the Witcher series.The first Witcher which i enjoyed back when it was released, was a very good but flawed gem. Witcher 3 is probably the best RPG yet. But Witcher 2, is overrated.

    This game was praised a lot for its graphics and story. Both are really great. But as a game, this is poor.

    Gameplay is boring. Combat system is among the worst ever. Roll and roll with the occasional Quen sign and some mouse clicks. Boring.

    The maps are really small, and the gameplay is really just busywork in between the story segments.

    Alchemy is useless, magic aside Quen is not really useful.

    There enemy AI is braindead, and playing in higher difficulties just makes the enemies HP sponges and the bosses like the Kraken, a cancer.

    I am sorry, but this is a video game, not an interactive novel, and as a game it is just not very good.

    The story is still stellar, and the graphics are awesome. And you will enjoy Witcher 3 much more if you complete this as well.

    2 options exist, either watch a "movie version" of the story on Youtube, or play in this on the easiest difficulty setting, just for the story. The game, as a video game, is overrated. I typically use "extreme" ratings for overrated or underrated games, but since this is the Witcher series, one of my favourites, i am biased, so i will give it the rating it deserves, 7/10. Don't let that score fool you though, you definitely need to watch or play this once, in any case, despite its flaws.    … Expand
  44. verbal_666
    Aug 13, 2016
    6
    Overrated. Is a simple Action/ Hack'n'Slas sold as an RPG, mistakenly. Too often frustrating, nice quests, but nothing intriguing, beautiful main story, but remains just that, in the midst of a thousand cutscenes. Just sufficient.
  45. marc5477
    Jul 30, 2016
    6
    Good story elements ruined by weak gameplay. The combat in this game is atrocious almost as bad as Demon Souls. Its not hard at all (I started, like always, at the highest difficulty; in this case Dark Mode), but it is cheaply made and very poorly implemented thus you die a lot not due to lack of skill but due to the poor design and just bad luck. This is not how RPG's are supposed toGood story elements ruined by weak gameplay. The combat in this game is atrocious almost as bad as Demon Souls. Its not hard at all (I started, like always, at the highest difficulty; in this case Dark Mode), but it is cheaply made and very poorly implemented thus you die a lot not due to lack of skill but due to the poor design and just bad luck. This is not how RPG's are supposed to play. If I wanted luck I would go to a casino.

    The biggest problem is the auto-target functionality which likes to switch enemies on a whim. So there you are trying to engage one enemy but at the very last moment a different enemy gets closer to you and auto-targeting switches to the new enemy before you know it happened. Since Geralt is a dancing fool, he will do a double twirl towards the new target, exposing his back to the 1st enemy, who takes a lucky swings and kills you in 1 hit. This happened to me at least a dozen times in act 1 until I finally stopped engaging groups and fought them from far away using weak lunges and range weapons (daggers, bombs, traps etc). The problem is that this way of fighting is plain cheap and boring because once you realize how easy it is to kill everything with bombs, it becomes like a "I win" button.

    Next the close angle over the shoulder camera is retarded. There you are fighting an enemy and you decide to roll to avoid a hit and whooops.... you encounter the dreaded tree branch! Oh great now there is something blocking 75% of the screen. No problem I will just roll back where I came from... nope cant do that because the enemy follows you and he has an HUGE invisible collision box which blocks your path. Okay so Ill take a chance and roll left... oh oh... its the dreaded 2 inch high tree root with a collision box the size of Detroit... you apparently cannot dive above that little root and instead you hit an invisible wall and the enemy nonchalantly walks up to you (laughing the entire way), looks at you funny for 2 seconds, then lazily stabs you in the neck. Cheap death.

    Next you have the ultimate stupidity... all the rolling and twirling. It works ok if you lunge from range then roll back but say you just want to quickly stab someone standing 2 inches in front of you. The enemy has their back turned to you so you figure just a quick back stab is perfect but NO! Geralt decides to do a double somersault 1st because... you know... you dont want to make things too easy... and of course, by the time you do all the ballerina twirls the enemy had had time to turn and you can no longer back-stab so you dive back away before a different enemy back-stabs you...

    Horrible gameplay. Once you adjust the combat becomes trivially easy but boring because it is so limited.

    Now the good news. The story elements are very good. The story makes sense, the conversations are good, the voice acting is good, and your decisions really do make a difference. I really wanted to progress to see what happens and I really hated some characters (in the good way) and liked some others.

    The RPG character build elements are also ok but very limited. There are only 3 trees to pick from but really there are only 2 since the entire Alchemy tree can be reduced to the 1st selection on the left, the one that double the damage from bombs and traps (its the only one you need from that tree and only costs 2 points). There is a mage tree that improves the few spells you have and a combat tree which offers better defense (helpful since combat is so bad) and improve offense. I would prefer more options for gameplay myself with more customization options but thats just me.    … Expand
  46. Sanastusa
    Feb 29, 2016
    7
    Slightly shorter then the first Witcher yet more satisfying. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings expands off the first game evolving in many ways and creating a more enjoyable game. Ill cover some of the positive changes and some negative ones through the review while also covering the topics I generally do.

    Story: Spanning over 3 chapters and a Epilogue you are continuing off the ending    Slightly shorter then the first Witcher yet more satisfying. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings expands off the first game evolving in many ways and creating a more enjoyable game. Ill cover some of the positive changes and some negative ones through the review while also covering the topics I generally do.

    Story: Spanning over 3 chapters and a Epilogue you are continuing off the ending of the Witcher. Each chapter is perfectly paced, but takes a huge drop on the amount of quests. Compared to the first game having numerous contracts and side quests to contend with the main story, you only have 3-4 side quests each chapter. With the downside of lacking side material, the main story is involving enough for it to not really matter. Making you want to keep pushing the main story forward. Along the story you are presented with a handful of choices giving the series a boost to replay value.

    Gameplay: Have to throw first mention to the combat overhaul. A completely different combat system to the first game, yet it infuriates me. Combat has such a difficulty curve from the start. You are presented with all these options of different signs but only 1 stands out above the rest and becomes the only viable option if you wish to push on. Shield and roll, roll roll roll and roll. You also have to be mindful when rolling because you can block yourself into a corner and be destroyed into oblivion. At one point I was fighting a golem and had it one hit away from death, a miss judged roll landed me into a corner and the stoned behemoth did a rush attack into me and kept me there. Slamming my face into the ground over and over again. Was not pretty.
    Alchemy, potions, herbs, crafting. All that is present again for the Witcher to indulge in but you are restricted to a inventory weight limit. Things stack up quickly and prevent you from hoarding materials. Having to meditate before you can drink potions was aggravating. Couple of situations when I needed that vitality boost and couldn't use my stash in combat.
    Arm wrestling = Stupid. Dice Poker = Fun. They also changed how the fist fighting works. No longer is it challenging and fun. It now switched to a simply one button command when prompted, removing any sense of difficulty. Granted the moves Geralt performs during the fights are entertaining to watch.    … Expand
  47. arctic_fox_sa
    Nov 3, 2015
    5
    This game has a lot going for it: excellent writing, cinematic set pieces, well-crafted and absorbing game world, and of course I'm a big fan of the novels. Unfortunately, it fails miserably at "fun" and takes a hard right at frustrating boulevard. The controls in combat are highly unresponsive, with Geralt standing there like a **** while you're slamming the dodge keys, or worse yet,This game has a lot going for it: excellent writing, cinematic set pieces, well-crafted and absorbing game world, and of course I'm a big fan of the novels. Unfortunately, it fails miserably at "fun" and takes a hard right at frustrating boulevard. The controls in combat are highly unresponsive, with Geralt standing there like a **** while you're slamming the dodge keys, or worse yet, dodges in the opposite direction to which you pressed, heroically jumping into an enemy blade. He also often gets stuck on bits of scenery that are a good five feet away from him, and he does this annoying little pause after casting a spell as if to admire his handiwork. A lot of the mini-game mechanics are broken too; with sneaking you'll hear "we cut of the hands of thieves here" so often you'll shatter your teeth in frustration. It's a pity, because with just a little more work and balancing this could have been a truly excellent game.… Expand
  48. captainkane
    Aug 25, 2015
    7
    The original Witcher was a fantastic game. It took all the fairies and unicorns out of fantasy rpg’s and brought us a gritty world filled with sex, war, hypocrisy, and racism. The game is based on the novels of a Polish author. So the Witcher doesn’t lack for story. In fact, it excels at storytelling and immersion. But it is incredibly broken. Janky mechanics and numerous bugs held it backThe original Witcher was a fantastic game. It took all the fairies and unicorns out of fantasy rpg’s and brought us a gritty world filled with sex, war, hypocrisy, and racism. The game is based on the novels of a Polish author. So the Witcher doesn’t lack for story. In fact, it excels at storytelling and immersion. But it is incredibly broken. Janky mechanics and numerous bugs held it back from mainstream success. When the Witcher 2 was announced, fans eagerly expected developers to address these bugs while bringing a gigantic, epic world filled with intrigue and monster slaying. By its tepid reception, we know fans felt the developers fell short on those expectations. The W2 is not bad. However, is suffers from an identity crisis.

    Most gamers agree that the W2 is a remarkably gorgeous game. It uses the DX9 api, which also powered the original Crysis. And it’s extremely demanding on higher settings. But the game is best enjoyed maxed out so players can fully enjoy the lush environs and meticulously detailed mountains on the horizon. But it isn’t well optimized. Fps drops are normal and it stutters every few minutes (or seconds) as new textures are loaded in. W2 has odd visual quirks too. Shadows and facial features are pixelated. It’s downright distracting at times. A graphic’s option called ubersampling will eliminate that, but it’s too demanding. Players are better leaving ubersampling off and maxing out everything else.

    Although graphics are a huge improvement over the original, the story is a step back. The campaign is better than haters claim. The problems lie in the side quests. There are only a handful, and they are easy to complete. There are few monsters to slay. Few caves to explore. And no water nymphs to romance. The story’s focus on politics is well-done, but it’s too heavy-handed. CD Projekt created a gorgeous world with nothing to do except slog thru a campaign. Sure, there are choices to be made. But only a few have noticeable impact. Players can import their saves from the first Witcher. However, the bonuses from this are slight.

    Combat sucks namely since the targeting system that is broken. Enemies will be directly in front of Geralt, but no target appears. The tutorial says to adjust the camera to target new enemies. That doesn’t work. So players will have to swing their swords or cast spells blindly. Although spells have the same names and characteristics as those in the original Witcher, developers dumped their AOE’s. This would make sense, if the targeting system worked. As a result, Geralt casts puny looking spells that don’t hit their intended targets.

    But combat sucks for other reasons too. W2 also wedges in QTE’s. Why this annoying convention keeps poking its ugly head into games is beyond me. Do developers even listen? Boxing and some boss fights rely on QTE’s to succeed. Even certain dialogue options require on split second timing. W2 also forces gamers to play as other characters who are completely stripped of all Geralt’s abilities they’ve worked so hard to obtain. These conventions are ever more common, and players absolutely hate them. I bought the Witcher to play as the Witcher! I don’t want to play as a weak ass spy, a dead soldier, or fat king.

    Other problems with combat result from the restrictive leveling and limited move sets. Instead of the appreciated complexity of the original, W2 “simplifies” upgrade paths. Again, another convention of mass market games. As a result, combat in W2 is downgraded into a button mashing fest. It’s not as fun, and wholly repetitive. One problem carried over from the original is close quarters fights—a bunch of enemies crammed into a tiny room. W2’s broken combat mechanics means these battles are frustrating—just like for first game. And if there is a fight immediately after a video scene, Geralt will have already taken damage before players get to control him. On harder difficulties he endures massive damage before the fights even start.

    Other issues with W2 include illegible maps (and mini maps) making objectives hard to find. Inventory management is a bit confusing. Lots of loot is inaccessible. There are few rewards for exploration and limited dialogue outside the main quest.

    Lastly, the Witcher’s soundtrack was highly regarded. Unfortunately, the Witcher 2 failed to live up to that legacy as well. Instead, players are given a generic, forgettable score.

    Despite 11gb of updates, W2 lacks polish. Combat and exploration, which should be 2 of its biggest focuses, are actually the biggest drawbacks. The developers took steps backwards in areas where they shouldn’t, such as story. And they failed to effectively push forward in areas that needed the most work, like combat. So the best elements of the Witcher devolved while the broken parts remained broken. If W2 didn’t look so damn good, I’m certain its scores would’ve been much lower. For Witcher fans, this game is worth playing. But other rpg fans look elsewhere.    … Expand
  49. PrincessRose
    Aug 17, 2015
    5
    The combat is a lot better than the first Witcher, but still can feel rather clunky and awkward.

    The Tiny Inventory that was annoyingly small in The first game is improved in the 2nd by being more spacious and has a weight system instead, I can explore and loot for quite a while before I have to go sell or store. Despite being more spacious the inventory still feels flawed, it's a    The combat is a lot better than the first Witcher, but still can feel rather clunky and awkward.

    The Tiny Inventory that was annoyingly small in The first game is improved in the 2nd by being more spacious and has a weight system instead, I can explore and loot for quite a while before I have to go sell or store. Despite being more spacious the inventory still feels flawed, it's a higgledy piggledy ugly mess of a list. The perfect inventory system would be a much larger grid system, sort of like what the first Witcher had but 4 times as spacious.

    While the inventory has improved, alchemy has gone backwards. Only being able to drink potions during meditation is annoying. You can't drink potions during battle, so you have to guess what you may need before a fight which can be wasteful or go in blind see what happens and figure what you need and reload a previous save. Rather time consuming. The first witcher's alchemy system was better it let you drink potions in battle and I prefer being able to drink potions in battle. A really stupid decision to change it.

    Moving around the world feels restrictive, with only certain spots you can climb or descend with no ability to jump over obstacles, movement is rather linear and so is exploration.

    Map is flawed, especially bad for me since I have a bad sense of direction. The map seems to expect you to memorise where everything is, nothing is labelled, I had to find Phillipa's house and it did not mark or label it on the map, so I spent ages entering each house trying to find hers which is rather frustrating and time wasting

    The game has way too many long cutscenes making it feel more like a interactive movie than a game. I want to play a game, not watch a movie.

    Boss battles feel like a movie script as well, you have to pay attention to when to rapidly click your mouse at certain points.You fight a boss only to have the battle interrupted by cut scenes such Geralt moving around on a tentacle or to be distracted by a falling bridge cutscene after each time you chop off a tentacle.

    I find it annoying, I want to fight a boss and not continually have the battle be interupted by a cutscene. I really dislike the Quick Time Events, it ruins any immersion for me.

    The world of Witcher 2 is dark in an over done way, it's not even all that terribly original - it's your generic "Dark and Gritty Fantasy" setting, set in wretched, crappy world where all the people are ignorant, filthy and full of extreme hatred.

    Sure the 2nd Witcher has better graphics and inventory but overall I just feel the first Witcher was much better, in every way, quests, mini games were done better, alchemy and so was the story. Witcher 2 the story is too political and I find a heavy emphasis on political stuff rather boring.

    Though I reccomend playing both paths as it gives you slightly different access to each area, different quests, information, characters and choices.

    I played Iorveth's path first and then Roche's and I enjoyed playing through Roche's path much more, I found it more interesting.

    But overall I'd class this as a shallow action game that wants to be a movie as well, that pretends to be deep, but fails and falls short. This is a overhyped game that does not deserve the praise it gets.

    I guess I've been spoiled by the massive epic exploration Skyrim offers and The Witcher 2 isn't even half that, just 3 towns to explore. *yawn

    At least I know now that Witcher isn't very good for what I want in an RPG. Sure some may love it, but it's not my cup of tea. And from watching gameplay of Witcher 3 I can see it's more of the same or worse. With lengthy cutscenes and Geralt's character model now looks very ugly.

    I prefer RPG's like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, which has a lot of depth, choice, exploration and you can be whoever you can imagine.

    This game is more for those who like a light action oriented RPG with a limited set character, than those who like a deep, open RPG with more freedom, seemingly endless choices and character builds that can vary a lot.    … Expand
  50. asfj
    Aug 5, 2015
    5
    Too long conversation, too slow path, just like torture for my patience.

    Too slow walking speed, there's neither fast travel nor speedy transport that I have to repeat walking through the same routes n times to get to check points. Feels like I was teased by the dev, but yes, dont forget to upgrade Feet work in Swordsmanship Tree ASAP, then dodging the whole map eases travel a bit only    Too long conversation, too slow path, just like torture for my patience.

    Too slow walking speed, there's neither fast travel nor speedy transport that I have to repeat walking through the same routes n times to get to check points. Feels like I was teased by the dev, but yes, dont forget to upgrade Feet work in Swordsmanship Tree ASAP, then dodging the whole map eases travel a bit only if your 'space' button is tough.

    Scattered and interweaved plots cannot engage me into the story and usually make me feel confused and directionless.

    The menu system is designed very poorly in almost every aspect. Too many to point out.
    For example, have to access alchemy, character and drinking portions via meditation. Extra layer that lows the speed of access.
    Items cannot be indexed, and are displayed only as list, making it difficult to have an overview and localization.
    When refining a specific portion, there is no way to know how many it I have had, Plus no way to skip the annoying drinking animation.
    Of course, the response of the whole menus is relatively lagging.

    To get orientation in the game is frustrating.
    The mini map is almost useless that can only give a yellow arrow. My question is if terrain is so unclear on that mini map, why use it to fold a bit view instead of just giving us an arrow? Put it simple, the only way to make me directional is to press 'm', but for every several steps I have to press it....which is fatiguing.

    Maybe 2/3 time is spent on menus operations, walking and conversation.    … Expand
  51. BinaryRunner
    May 29, 2015
    7
    Would be way better entertainment without annoying bugs, frequently in the stupid quick time events, and with more freedom of movement. Some dialogs are really funny but the interaction with environment, especially NPCs is poor.
  52. pnoozi
    May 12, 2015
    7
    The Witcher 2 is one of the most memorable action RPGs in recent memory. The graphics and sound are great, and the gameplay is pretty good for an RPG. It plays best with a mouse and keyboard, in my opinion. You can tell it was developed for PC. But anyone who gives this over a 7 is delusional. The story is like a LARP. The game freezes and crashes almost regularly. Automatic saveThe Witcher 2 is one of the most memorable action RPGs in recent memory. The graphics and sound are great, and the gameplay is pretty good for an RPG. It plays best with a mouse and keyboard, in my opinion. You can tell it was developed for PC. But anyone who gives this over a 7 is delusional. The story is like a LARP. The game freezes and crashes almost regularly. Automatic save points are lacking. Should you play it? Yes.… Expand
  53. RP421969
    Apr 6, 2015
    5
    Meh.... I tired to finish Witcher 1 couldn't do it. So in an attempt to get psych'd for witcher 3 i bought witcher 2. I think i finished it in under 24 hours. the voice acting is underwhelming as well as the general story arc, and most of NPCs are boring and don't really add to much. The graphic and combat were good, but the map was god awful. i'm not sure what the redeeming qualities areMeh.... I tired to finish Witcher 1 couldn't do it. So in an attempt to get psych'd for witcher 3 i bought witcher 2. I think i finished it in under 24 hours. the voice acting is underwhelming as well as the general story arc, and most of NPCs are boring and don't really add to much. The graphic and combat were good, but the map was god awful. i'm not sure what the redeeming qualities are for this game, I'm glad it didn't buy it new, and Im going to have to wait for review on W3. in the mean time I guess it's back to the DA series for me.… Expand
  54. Tyreneous
    Feb 3, 2015
    5
    Don't know if this will update my previous rating however I finally got the game to run using a third party no dot net patch. Sad yet simple. I still can't recommend this game due to these circumstances as it should be fixed as soon as you update the thing
  55. jimbobslimbob
    Jan 8, 2015
    7
    Is the game good? Yes. It's a flawed gem of a game and one that could well have been one of the best RPG's ever made, if it wasn't for one thing: the combat. The combat is either shallow and dreadfully easy on "Easy", or absolutely impossible on "Normal". "Normal" is really hard mode and they need another difficulty in-between.

    Putting that aside, pretty much everything else in the game    Is the game good? Yes. It's a flawed gem of a game and one that could well have been one of the best RPG's ever made, if it wasn't for one thing: the combat. The combat is either shallow and dreadfully easy on "Easy", or absolutely impossible on "Normal". "Normal" is really hard mode and they need another difficulty in-between.

    Putting that aside, pretty much everything else in the game is good. Graphically it looks very pretty when maxed out for a game this old.

    Having never played Witcher 1, I found it's not very beginner friendly with regards to the story - but then I kind of expected that anyway. Nevertheless, if you have not played the previous game, expect to be confused... a lot. When you finally get your head round it you will find it has significant depth and is highly engaging.

    Your companions all have back stories of their own and they are well fleshed out. Not many games have had me caring for characters I have only spent a minimal amount of time with in game, but this one got me!

    The RPG elements are solid and allow for quite a bit of customisation. It has an interesting potion mechanic, based on your "toxicity level", so you can't just swig every potion you have before a fight.

    So, all in all, it's a good game. It could have been brilliant if a few issues were resolved. Regardless of which, it has made me want to get Witcher 3 this February, so consider me hooked!

    Jimbo Rating: 7/10    … Expand
  56. mrel
    Nov 19, 2014
    6
    Nice graphics,
    As new player to the Witcher storyline, the story was just shoved in my face, way to much story in the start, it was not to my liking when getting to knowing the game and dying regularly on normal, the time the character takes to notice he's in from of objects(doors, ladders, or during combat targets) seems almost unbearable(only 1-3 sec, but a lot of ladders and thing to    Nice graphics,
    As new player to the Witcher storyline, the story was just shoved in my face, way to much story in the start, it was not to my liking when getting to knowing the game and dying regularly on normal, the time the character takes to notice he's in from of objects(doors, ladders, or during combat targets) seems almost unbearable(only 1-3 sec, but a lot of ladders and thing to climb over). Ended up finding my self skipping the cut-scenes to get more game-play, and ended up quitting, since it was not a nice way to play the game.    … Expand
  57. GeekSquad
    Oct 7, 2014
    6
    It doesn't contain jump.
    The enhanced version is over colorful and painful in the eyes.
    You can't easily saw the quest item, there's no lighting on the object.
    Need to craft often to became over power.
    The map is confusing.
  58. leodmonkey
    Sep 30, 2014
    7
    I really wanted to love this game, but the game play flaws are terrible.

    WORST -camera all over the place made me sick, and wanting to puke -scripted combats .... hate this **** no freedom to chose what to do, just pressing a button that appears on the screen... fu$#k#ing ridiculous, finish animations get in the way of combat. -scenery no freedom , you will get stuck in little    I really wanted to love this game, but the game play flaws are terrible.

    WORST
    -camera all over the place made me sick, and wanting to puke
    -scripted combats .... hate this **** no freedom to chose what to do, just pressing a button that appears on the screen... fu$#k#ing ridiculous, finish animations get in the way of combat.
    -scenery no freedom , you will get stuck in little things, running nowhere at the edge of a precipices. can't even jump to the side of a freaking stair .

    THE OK
    -the combat was nice(when it's not scripted) liked the preparation part , the two swords are cool
    -the history was ok, but execution and timing was poor ... fu3$#$ing third party narration by some kid.

    it gets a 7 because i really liked the theme, will be waiting for the Witcher 3 :P    … Expand
  59. kucyk
    Sep 28, 2014
    7
    Im from Poland so i should rate this game 9/10 but i cant. 7/10 because the story lane is not bad but when you leave the village, you will see a lot of mobs, totaly **** In the book (the book is 999999x better than this game), people dont meet mobs every 10 meters, sometimes people can sleep in the forest and see zero monsters but in the game, mobs are everywhere and not 2 mobs per 200Im from Poland so i should rate this game 9/10 but i cant. 7/10 because the story lane is not bad but when you leave the village, you will see a lot of mobs, totaly **** In the book (the book is 999999x better than this game), people dont meet mobs every 10 meters, sometimes people can sleep in the forest and see zero monsters but in the game, mobs are everywhere and not 2 mobs per 200 yards but spam of mobs.
    You should read the books "The Witcher", by Andrzej Sapkowski. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witcher    … Expand
  60. Sirik_Matak
    Sep 15, 2014
    5
    The game looks marvelous, the execution of visuals, storytelling and everything connected is just perfect. You can actually care about characters and their stories, and the main plot isn't just shoveled down with an uninspired ending like in the previous title. The story connections to the prequel surely will make me to replay this title few times.

    Why 5 then? Because the gameplay    The game looks marvelous, the execution of visuals, storytelling and everything connected is just perfect. You can actually care about characters and their stories, and the main plot isn't just shoveled down with an uninspired ending like in the previous title. The story connections to the prequel surely will make me to replay this title few times.

    Why 5 then? Because the gameplay absolutely sucks in every possible way. The combat system is a clusterf***, the lack of control and annoyances surrounding it (picking up items in the middle of the fight, come on) and the character development is just subpar and far below what the first game offered. The UI is tiring and navigating takes definitely too much time and clicking, drinking potions is just a chore to do, magic signs are unprecise and not really useful. They could ditch out the combat entirely, making a point'n'click adventure game and the game would only benefit from it.    … Expand
  61. godwarrock
    Jun 24, 2014
    6
    I was trying to find a game like Dragon Age, and this was recommended to me. I have only put in about ten hours, but I do not intend to put in anymore. While the combat in this game is by far the best I have ever seen in an action RPG, there are so many other issues with this game that frustrated me to no end. First off, the map is just ridiculous. It is annoying to use, and gives veryI was trying to find a game like Dragon Age, and this was recommended to me. I have only put in about ten hours, but I do not intend to put in anymore. While the combat in this game is by far the best I have ever seen in an action RPG, there are so many other issues with this game that frustrated me to no end. First off, the map is just ridiculous. It is annoying to use, and gives very little information. Tracking multiple quests at a time is also needlessly difficult. As someone who really enjoys doing side quests and trying to do everything a game has to offer, at some points in the game I felt so frustrated with the quest tracking and quest system that I just gave up on them entirely and only followed the main story. The stealth in the game is also just terrible. It looks and feels like it was scrapped together as a last minute idea, and I think the game would be better off without it just because of how dull and uninspired it is. While this game has a lot of great things, these few issues have frustrated me to the point where I just don't want to continue playing.… Expand
  62. lordpyrope
    Jun 8, 2014
    5
    This game is a great ACTION RPG so if you are into that kind of stuff, go for it. I hesitate to give this game beyond a mediocre score because I was unable to assume the role of our dear Witcher. For me relating to a character is of utmost importance within a role-playing game. Usually, this comes from a large amount of character customization. I have no issue taking a stock madeThis game is a great ACTION RPG so if you are into that kind of stuff, go for it. I hesitate to give this game beyond a mediocre score because I was unable to assume the role of our dear Witcher. For me relating to a character is of utmost importance within a role-playing game. Usually, this comes from a large amount of character customization. I have no issue taking a stock made character as long as I can take ownership of them, however, this was not the case in Witcher 2. While customization does exist a character cannot become more than a warrior that can occasionally throw a spell or, if luck was with you, sneak and take out an enemy.

    As a role playing game it isn't quite there but as an action adventure it delivers. However, the UI and the sometimes glitchy combat system will throw you off. I am fortunate that I am able to enjoy the graphics at ultra. It is stunning.

    Also, sometimes it feels like a hormonal teenager wrote the script with all the **** in it. Its like I am walking down the street to buy some bread and bam **** in my face. Maybe that's why people give it such great reviews.

    I love the alchemy system. I like to drink a lot of potions at once and try to off myself. heheh

    If you are a fan of pure RPGs this will leave you a little disappointed, but if you like action oriented play with some customization then go for it.    … Expand
  63. qwerty8883
    May 11, 2014
    6
    This game has a very good story, amazing graphics and brilliant voiceovers/cast. What really lets it down so much is the combat system which i feel is completely broken. For a man who is renowned for his physical combat prowess, Geralt seems only capable of defending himself when rolling around on the floor. There are some people who say the difficulty of combat adds to the game and thatThis game has a very good story, amazing graphics and brilliant voiceovers/cast. What really lets it down so much is the combat system which i feel is completely broken. For a man who is renowned for his physical combat prowess, Geralt seems only capable of defending himself when rolling around on the floor. There are some people who say the difficulty of combat adds to the game and that it has a huge learning curve but all i have found is that rolling around again and again like sonic the hedgehog is the only way to defend yourself.

    The Witcher 3 on the other hand looks amazing.    … Expand
  64. Iluvatar21
    Apr 29, 2014
    5
    This series has always obeyed the 'more' philosophy. It's more in story, more in gameplay, more in graphics and that philosophy, unfortunately, is it's downfall. It does too much for it's own good and comes out boring & stodgy.
    ===========
    HOW I RATE: 10-9 score: perfect or near-perfect don't exist; 8 score: one of the best games ever. Top score; 7-6 score: great but not one of the best;    This series has always obeyed the 'more' philosophy. It's more in story, more in gameplay, more in graphics and that philosophy, unfortunately, is it's downfall. It does too much for it's own good and comes out boring & stodgy.
    ===========
    HOW I RATE: 10-9 score: perfect or near-perfect don't exist; 8 score: one of the best games ever. Top score; 7-6 score: great but not one of the best; 5-below score: serious flaws.    … Expand
  65. Zahrada
    Feb 24, 2014
    6
    I had lot of fun with this game and I think it deserves to be played and loved. Excelent storytelling, graphics, etc. One of the best RPGs of our time. The biggest issue I have with it now, is that the original DVD does not work anymore. For some reason it keeps re-installing something and it is no longer possible to even launch the game. I think the system of pacthing is probably broken.I had lot of fun with this game and I think it deserves to be played and loved. Excelent storytelling, graphics, etc. One of the best RPGs of our time. The biggest issue I have with it now, is that the original DVD does not work anymore. For some reason it keeps re-installing something and it is no longer possible to even launch the game. I think the system of pacthing is probably broken. So even though the game is great, considering how much money I spent on it when it launched and the fact that the original DVD isn't playable anymore, I don't think it was that much of a good deal.… Expand
  66. Tetsuro
    Jan 15, 2014
    5
    Terrible combat system, boring dialogues, exploration very limited, bad level design, mediocre music, bad inventory system, nice sound effects. The quality of the character models is mixed, in particular womens, the ones that counts, have no charisma and are predictable (like top models). Everything in the game is sub-par, except the graphics (nice models and textures, but boring anyway)Terrible combat system, boring dialogues, exploration very limited, bad level design, mediocre music, bad inventory system, nice sound effects. The quality of the character models is mixed, in particular womens, the ones that counts, have no charisma and are predictable (like top models). Everything in the game is sub-par, except the graphics (nice models and textures, but boring anyway) and the skill system that seems good enough. It's propably a game developed with a simpleton userbase in mind, even if some riddles are just a pain in the... The game is stressing in everything, combat system, game design, level design. It just put stress on the player. I would not recommend it to anyone except simpletons who need virtual sex, a darkish anti-hero, profanities and boobs. It's far far away from Skyrim or Mass Effect even if it tends to copy them in multiple ways (but with abysmal results).… Expand
  67. ShadowofZexa
    Sep 19, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. this game is decent but just not innovative the only way I could describe this game is a extremely bored porno artist was walking around in the streets and Projekt Red hired him to make a unbearable sex scenes and also for the combat its just one of your extremely boring diseny games the combat is good but just gets old real fast also if it were not for the would get zero!!… Expand
  68. damnitall
    Sep 13, 2013
    7
    I am very sure this will get better, but the first bit with the tutorial is an absolute mess of a system. I haven't been this dumbfounded by a tutorial in a while, and the lack of the ability to save before or during the tutorial is a rash decision. I found that whole section to be very buggy too. If you do something to early, the game doesn't progress, because its cr*p.
  69. i0n
    Sep 4, 2013
    6
    In itself this is a solid title, but for obvious reasons it's difficult to avoid comparisons with the first game of the series. While you could certainly argue with merit that some issues from the first game have been improved upon, I found the overall experience to be significantly less rewarding than the original. Simply doesn't have the depth of the original, and some of the gameplayIn itself this is a solid title, but for obvious reasons it's difficult to avoid comparisons with the first game of the series. While you could certainly argue with merit that some issues from the first game have been improved upon, I found the overall experience to be significantly less rewarding than the original. Simply doesn't have the depth of the original, and some of the gameplay mechanics have taken a turn for the worse rather than being an improvement. Playing a game should not be a chore.… Expand
  70. Budget_Security
    Aug 26, 2013
    6
    A nice game nearly ruined by inconsistent difficulty and frustrating or unreliable mechanics. It has sadly contracted Xbox consolitis (on top of the first game's already mediocre controls). You may have to mash a button 5 times before it registers. Many quests and scripted sequences are convoluted and confusing, leading to excessive trial and error gameplay. Often I had to trawl forums andA nice game nearly ruined by inconsistent difficulty and frustrating or unreliable mechanics. It has sadly contracted Xbox consolitis (on top of the first game's already mediocre controls). You may have to mash a button 5 times before it registers. Many quests and scripted sequences are convoluted and confusing, leading to excessive trial and error gameplay. Often I had to trawl forums and wikis for help. Combat is more difficult & realistic but some fights seem far too difficult, as if the difficulty setting randomly changes. At least TW1 was consistently too easy. But despite its flaws, this is an atmospheric game set in a detailed believable world, that continues the great story of Geralt of Rivia. Worth a look, but you may want to play on 'easy'.… Expand
  71. Ueinthepain
    Aug 23, 2013
    5
    I've played the Witcher game and still do(Great game, really like it). I saw this game on the shelf at a good price and decided to give it a try. Going from Witcher to Witcher 2 in my opinion was a disappointment. Game play is more clunky, seems like a lot more cut scenes, and I'm also not liking the graphics as much as the previous game. If you are thinking of starting the WitcherI've played the Witcher game and still do(Great game, really like it). I saw this game on the shelf at a good price and decided to give it a try. Going from Witcher to Witcher 2 in my opinion was a disappointment. Game play is more clunky, seems like a lot more cut scenes, and I'm also not liking the graphics as much as the previous game. If you are thinking of starting the Witcher games go for the first one and forget about the second Witcher title.… Expand
  72. Yurie
    Jul 14, 2013
    6
    Good graphics though I didn't like the art direction. Somewhat fun combat system for 10 minutes, passable story, a lot of backtracking for side quests. Good sound.

    Some bugs remaining even after 2 years of patching, getting stuck in walls, game crashing, items disappearing etc. Somewhat immersive environment, biggest complaint I had was the sex scenes (played too many games in that    Good graphics though I didn't like the art direction. Somewhat fun combat system for 10 minutes, passable story, a lot of backtracking for side quests. Good sound.

    Some bugs remaining even after 2 years of patching, getting stuck in walls, game crashing, items disappearing etc.

    Somewhat immersive environment, biggest complaint I had was the sex scenes (played too many games in that genre I guess), either ignore them fully or develop them more. Another thing was in a sneaking event you were instantly killed if discovered, while if discovered later you could fight your way out?

    The choices did matter more than in most other games on the plus side.    … Expand
  73. Tecco
    Jun 20, 2013
    5
    While the story and RPG element are to a big 10, the game is sadly filled with loads of frustration elements for people who dislike platform gameplay, there were not a single Boss event i did not find frustrating, and combined with long events and cutsceenes you had to go trough every time you failed an attempt made the game almost unplayable at certain places.

    Put atop a ruined alcemy    While the story and RPG element are to a big 10, the game is sadly filled with loads of frustration elements for people who dislike platform gameplay, there were not a single Boss event i did not find frustrating, and combined with long events and cutsceenes you had to go trough every time you failed an attempt made the game almost unplayable at certain places.

    Put atop a ruined alcemy system where potions and oils are made to take before battle, but ends up running out before the battle starts because of long cutsceenes.

    I forced myself trough the game for the story wich was awesome, but i can't help to feel the top of the joy were robbed from me due to the enormous amount of times you end up doing events and battles that made even the sweetest cutsceene totally frustrating and lame.

    Even with mods that made the potions last 3 times longer i found the gameplay were a huge step back from the original witcher.

    Was it a memorable game? Yes,
    Will i play it again? Not likeley.    … Expand
  74. LostCreed
    Jun 16, 2013
    6
    I installed the game today, I played through the tutorial, the first two quests and I was disillusioned. So many flaws and problems, where shall I begin?

    Firstly, the animations: they are choppy. Whether it is Geralt's switch between running and walking or the general animation quality of enemies and NPC's, one can easily see: the developers are not able to deliver quality animations.    I installed the game today, I played through the tutorial, the first two quests and I was disillusioned. So many flaws and problems, where shall I begin?

    Firstly, the animations: they are choppy. Whether it is Geralt's switch between running and walking or the general animation quality of enemies and NPC's, one can easily see: the developers are not able to deliver quality animations. The animations create a feeling of "amateurs at work". Feel free to disagree, but I am used to seeing another level of quality. For example, Resident Evil 5 or Dark Souls, see for your self.

    Secondly, the controls: they are counter-intuitive, and the way the controller is treated clearly exposes the lack of experience and care by the developer when it comes to AAA products. An AAA product has to be on a high level regarding accessibility. The controls are chunky, imprecise and lack required customisation.

    Then, bad graphics, yes, you've read correctly: bad graphics. Why? One should measure the graphics of a game not only by their fidelity when they are powered by the most powerful but also most expensive hardware available, but also by their efficiency and their aesthetics. The result is clear: the graphics are below average. Pushing the graphics based on superior hardware is a nice way of luring in new players and supporting the hardware manufacturers, but it does not say anything about the beauty of your game. Turn down the graphics to playable levels on an average gaming computer and you will get the picture. Games like “Forza Motorsport” or “The Last of Us” demonstrate what good graphics mean: they are beautiful to look at, not because of hardware-hungry effects, but because of aesthetical and skilled design. “The Witcher 2” is below average in this department.

    Next, cluttered inventory: another unintuitive segment of the game. Be it the layout, responsiveness of the menus or the presentation, everything screams: clutter, badly optimised.

    Also, the story: I know that most of you will argue that this is a strong point of the game. And I may not be in the position to judge the story based on my experience, but from what I saw and heard, it was cringe worthy. Cliché and corny, nothing felt mature or advanced. Contrary, it felt as hilarious as a B-movie.

    This leads me to my last point: Bad voice acting. This feature complements and underlines the impression of a hard to care about and hilarious story. Geralt is barely hear able as he grunts and mumbles along, and the rest of the cast does sound more or less like amateurs, there are some exceptions though.

    Overall, I cannot fight the impression that the developer was overambitious. They probably do have the imagination, the spirit and the creativity, but they certainly lack the technical know how, the talent and the experience in order to produce a high quality game, which would pay justice to their vision.

    Slightly above average game. Ambitious, but lacking in many aspects: some crucial.

    6/10    … Expand
  75. Knoedel
    Apr 23, 2013
    6
    It's all about expectations. People hate DA2 because it's a Bioware game, and they love TW2 because it comes from an underdog developer. In fact, both games have significant flaws. Here are some of the qualms I'm having with TW2: 1. Game unexpectedly quits to desktop and needs a fairly arcane fix to work properly. I'm told this is pretty rare, but who cares? I've never had any trouble likeIt's all about expectations. People hate DA2 because it's a Bioware game, and they love TW2 because it comes from an underdog developer. In fact, both games have significant flaws. Here are some of the qualms I'm having with TW2: 1. Game unexpectedly quits to desktop and needs a fairly arcane fix to work properly. I'm told this is pretty rare, but who cares? I've never had any trouble like this with any Bioware game. 2. Convincing story and depth of character? Please. In the prologue, the king literally fights in the front lines, which is completely implausible. No king would expose himself like that. 3. Very cumbersome loot system. Casting the medallion spell to show available loot adds nothing, it's just another annoying click, click, click, click... 4. Long loading times. No, it's not my hardware setup, believe you me. 5. The graphics aren't any better than DA2, say what you want. 6. Superfluous and offensive female-only nudity. If you want to be explicit, fine just show me some full frontal male nudity as well, to prevent me from thinking that you're some kind of sadist who fantasizes about big-breasted women in chains. Don't get me wrong, I think the game has many strengths the combat system rocks, imo, and the story is generally fairly engaging. It just doesn't deserve all the praise it's received, just as DA2 doesn't deserve all the scorn that's been heaped upon it.… Expand
  76. greywolf00
    Apr 21, 2013
    6
    This grade is mostly for the UI overhaul and removal of ISO camera. Anyone who gets motion sickness avoid this game, the 2 ISO cams from the original game are gone. You're going to get stuck with the annoying over the shoulder cam (even the widescreen mod isn't a massive improvement). They redid pretty much everything about the UI for this game, needed for the additions but more clunkyThis grade is mostly for the UI overhaul and removal of ISO camera. Anyone who gets motion sickness avoid this game, the 2 ISO cams from the original game are gone. You're going to get stuck with the annoying over the shoulder cam (even the widescreen mod isn't a massive improvement). They redid pretty much everything about the UI for this game, needed for the additions but more clunky than the original. Story is still solid, gameplay pretty much the same with some slightly more complex options added (traps/thrown weapons). The the cam isn't an issue and you liked the first no reason not to grab it.… Expand
  77. Haon
    Mar 5, 2013
    6
    I don't know what it is about me and the Witcher series. I'm a gamer; I should love them, right? Guess not... For the record, objectively I'd probably give this game a 8 or 9, but I have too many subjective issues with it, so its down to a 6. Here's a list of the good and the bad:

    The good - AWESOME graphics. I only have a laptop, and even on low settings this games graphics were    I don't know what it is about me and the Witcher series. I'm a gamer; I should love them, right? Guess not... For the record, objectively I'd probably give this game a 8 or 9, but I have too many subjective issues with it, so its down to a 6. Here's a list of the good and the bad:

    The good
    - AWESOME graphics. I only have a laptop, and even on low settings this games graphics were totally realistic. The setting. The slums, the castles, the towns, they feel real. The combat. Though I prefer tactical RPGs to action games, TW2 has stellar combat controls. The journal. THIS. Right here. I spent more time reading the journal for the story than I did listening to dialogue. They hit this out of the park, and then some. The bad:
    - The amnesia/lack of back story. I am lost as to who most of the characters are. Sure a quick google search does wonders, but I hate hopping out of the game to figure out who some of the main characters are. Not a good approach to a sequel. The story. Okay, caveat here: I never finished it. Now, spoiler alert: I didn't mind the prologue and the first act, but it was obviously all setup. I was stoked when I got to Act 2 and nothing. I'm sent hunting for items to break a curse when the freaking love of my life is getting dragged along to who knows where? WTF! Screw my good name! I'm going after the woman I love! This was a horrible break in the momentum and really killed the story for me.
    - The combat. As great as it is, it is a one trick pony. There is not much room for variety in strategy, and less in tactics. I found myself bored after the first half of Act 1, pushing forward only for the story. The character development. This is a three part problem. ---First, you need to put seven points into crap intro stuff before you get anywhere close to unlocking "exciting" abilities. Seven levels. For crap. VERY irritating. ----Second, there is a problem with pacing throughout the game. I went into the boss of the first Act with 2 points into a set outside of the Training route (and I had completed all available quests up to that point). I finally beat him, all the while thinking I wish I had more levels, and viola! I have four more points to play with! Four points/three levels! From one boss! That just isn't good pacing. -----Finally, the "skills" themselves are entirely passive stats based, with the exception of the end-level skills, the riposte skill, and a few dynamic alterations to the signs. My brother, the math guy, love this design. I do not. I would like leveling to mean something more than more health or damage boosts. You know, a whirlwind ability or a skill that lets you drink a preset potion in combat. Something more active. Honestly, this wasn't a dealbreaker, just an annoyance. The alchemy. Don't get me wrong: I love the system. Prep before battle, improvise slightly in the middle, clean up. What went wrong is that most of the tough fights don't let you prep with traps or potions before throwing you into the fight. The perfect example is the Kraken fight or opening scene to Act 2. The latter is particularly frustrating: those four points I mentioned after the boss went into alchemy, I meade plenty of potions, AND I CAN'T USE ANY OF THEM BEACUSE OF A QUICK TIME EVENT! GRRRRRRR.......
    - The swearing and attitude. I've served in the Army as a medic. I grew up around loggers. I know me some blue collar life. The swearing and raunchy attitude is just off. Its gratuitous. It's NOT real, unlike the rest of the world, and it gets irritating. The tough decisions. Again, don't get me wrong, I like tough decisions in games. But the ones in TW2 are just too tough, at least for me. Who do you help, the crazy elf guy or the obviously racist bigot? Ummmm, neither? Time and again in both Witcher games I found myself just wanting to walk away. This isn't slightly corrupt cops trying to keep order vs. Robin Hood and chaos. The choices you are presented with are blatantly problematic and if it was me in real life, I'd make my own path, death or injury be damned. At the end of the day, I am just not interested in playing a game when the moral choices I must make go completely against my code. The enjoyment factor. This one is obviously entirely subjective, but with all the realism of the game, I wasn't enjoying it. It wasn't the game I wanted to play at the end of a long day; it wasn't fantasy, it was a step back into reality. So, bravo on the one hand, but... An odd paradox, to be certain. Too much success? And there you have it. I guess it just goes to show you that every awesome game isn't for everyone. The mechanics are there, and I see why people enjoyed the game. I didn't. Good luck to the developers in the future.    … Expand
  78. Hudson
    Dec 30, 2012
    6
    Wow it looks like the Witcher 2 company paid someone to come in and post a bunch of positive reviews on this site. At best This is the same thing that Bioware tried to pull off with DA II, just better executed, but it is still light years away from great classics like Baldur Gates/Wizardy/Might and Magic/Elder Scroll series. Poor console port, lame combat and really long and annoying cut scenes
  79. Pagey
    Dec 20, 2012
    5
    Nope. This doesn't do it. This is way too HACK and SLASH for an RPG and take away the cut scenes, what do you have? Hack and slash through one wave of badies, next wave spawns - etc. etc. Do I like or care about the main character? Nope. his dull monotone voice and long hair just gets on my nerves. Maybe OK for all the console owners out there - but I prefer something with a little moreNope. This doesn't do it. This is way too HACK and SLASH for an RPG and take away the cut scenes, what do you have? Hack and slash through one wave of badies, next wave spawns - etc. etc. Do I like or care about the main character? Nope. his dull monotone voice and long hair just gets on my nerves. Maybe OK for all the console owners out there - but I prefer something with a little more thought, planning and intelligence.… Expand
  80. UnderTheSun
    Dec 6, 2012
    7
    Good game to play and complete,
    Cons in my opinions are:
    -Poor animations during dialogues
    -Boring combat gameplay
    -Storyline progression not than entertaining
    I'm looking forward the developers next game, Cyberpunk 2077.
  81. Jaxbrain
    Nov 4, 2012
    6
    I do not understand this game. The "action" is slow and boring and the story didn't interest me whatsoever. Just moving around the world is clunky and feels like an interactive (bad) movie.
  82. DaGleese
    Aug 15, 2012
    6
    An RPG that *almost* nails it.

    The game has an amazingly immersive story, possibly one of the best rpg stories I've played through, the characters you meet are believable, and well voice acted. The graphical art style is often mind blowingly beatiful, the lighting, and effects in certain areas is very stylish. The sound art direction is also great, hearing trees creak and rocks crumble    An RPG that *almost* nails it.

    The game has an amazingly immersive story, possibly one of the best rpg stories I've played through, the characters you meet are believable, and well voice acted. The graphical art style is often mind blowingly beatiful, the lighting, and effects in certain areas is very stylish. The sound art direction is also great, hearing trees creak and rocks crumble as you embark alone on your quest really brings about a thrilling feel of being a 'lone wolf'.

    However, the game's combat system is just severely broken, it's clumsy at best. You get stuck to character models, other models get in your way, and even if the combat WAS fluent and flawless, its not really very fun at heart, simply leading to slash, dodge, harder slash, block and a magic move. thats it. It lacks innovation, which is frustrating because this game does have innovative ideas, they are just poorly implemented, such as adding oils to your blades, and drinking potions that have different effects.

    The problem with these innovations is that you may only drink potions when you are in a safe location, so it leads to alot of getting killed trial and error to know which potions to use for the upcoming battles.

    Getting killed is a big deal. You will die a lot in this game. A lot. The difficulty curve is indestinguishable; on easy the game is insultingly easy, and on normal the game is just enfuriatingly difficult. Unfortunatly due to the buggy combat, the high difficulty isnt due to clever gameplay and AI, but rather issues like getting stuck on a tree root as you were trying to dodge an attack, and being killed in 2 hits because you didnt drink that potion that gives you resistance to poison X before the battle.

    Unfortunatly I find the only way to excel at the game in normal mode is to exploit the terrible combat bugs in my own favour, which sort of kills the immersiveness of the story.

    Another minor issue is the gameover screen. It's sort of buggy, sometimes the button to 'continue' just doesnt work, and you have to spam clicking it for like a minute then it finally responds... Im being picky, I know, but honestly... it's a screen you will see alot of if you don't play on easy.

    All in all without slating the game too much, it's worth picking up, and perhaps the 6 is slightly fuelled by frustration, but the points I have made are valid, and you will run into these problems in the game. If you are looking for a game with no particular challenge, and would intend to play through on easy for the story and immersive qualities, this game is a must-buy, but if you are looking for a perfect game with intense and challengeing *but fair* combat, then look elswhere.    … Expand
  83. Vangriffeth
    Jul 5, 2012
    5
    While the graphics are astounding, and the cut scenes are breathtaking, the actual game play is piss poor. When I actually have to plug in a controller on a computer to play a game correctly, something is dire wrong.
  84. kotekzot
    Apr 29, 2012
    5
    The game is mediocre at best, due to developers never stopping to think what would actually be fun in a game. Would it be fun to wander around without knowing which way is north? No, but that's what you are forced to do. Would it be fun to not be able to drink potions in battle? No, but you have to spend a minute navigating menus and watching Geralt take a sip and a breath every time youThe game is mediocre at best, due to developers never stopping to think what would actually be fun in a game. Would it be fun to wander around without knowing which way is north? No, but that's what you are forced to do. Would it be fun to not be able to drink potions in battle? No, but you have to spend a minute navigating menus and watching Geralt take a sip and a breath every time you do. You also have to repeat the process every 10 minutes. Would it be fun to have size 3 font at HD resolutions? No, but that's how it is. Would it be fun to be unable to attack at full strength after using signs? No, but, inexplicably, that's how it is.… Expand
  85. Skycrimson
    Apr 17, 2012
    7
    My favorite game on the PC by far. Everything is great! Best graphics, story and gameplay in a game ever created. There is nothing like it on the consoles. Shame this game will be completely overlooked.
  86. Iyunzusto
    Apr 4, 2012
    5
    "IAM" --- Interactive Movie --- This needs to be a new genre, because Witcher 2 is not an RPG. One of the player reviews here says the game went the same way as Dragon Age 2 and Mass Effect.. and they're right. It's not really that fun to play, but looks gorgeous. The characters are impressive but the story has glaring holes and wouldn't get a passing grade in creative writing 101. I had"IAM" --- Interactive Movie --- This needs to be a new genre, because Witcher 2 is not an RPG. One of the player reviews here says the game went the same way as Dragon Age 2 and Mass Effect.. and they're right. It's not really that fun to play, but looks gorgeous. The characters are impressive but the story has glaring holes and wouldn't get a passing grade in creative writing 101. I had high hopes for CDProjekt because they're oldschool gamers and run the great GOG.com website, but they've sold out. I can't blame them.. maybe I would do the same.. who doesn't like getting paid for what they do? It's just a damn shame that the victim of that crime is creative, challenging, deep RPGs. The consoles won - PC RPGs are dead.… Expand
  87. kilop206
    Mar 11, 2012
    7
    Game is amazing in prologue and first act. Later is... Eh... . But graphic is awesome. Animation is awesome. Story is good, you don`t a awesome soldier who must save the world. Universe is very good. This is a dark fantasy. The worst is only epilogue.
  88. steveyk
    Mar 5, 2012
    6
    The story is decent and interesting albeit rushed towards the end. The actual character building through adding stats to your desired gameplay preference is pretty flawed too as I didn't even fill one tree (there are 3). And it was pretty light on the rpg element of manipulating your character really. As for any real combat tactics, there really is none. This game doesn't shine in theThe story is decent and interesting albeit rushed towards the end. The actual character building through adding stats to your desired gameplay preference is pretty flawed too as I didn't even fill one tree (there are 3). And it was pretty light on the rpg element of manipulating your character really. As for any real combat tactics, there really is none. This game doesn't shine in the combat department like for instance batman arkham city did. It pretty much is a button bashing nightmare sometimes. Then we have games engine. It felt un-optimized, with an above average computer I couldn't get it to run with it high settings at all and had to live with mid level settings so the game is hugely demanding. Which means they spent no time on whether PC could handle the game. I give this game a 6 as I only pushed to complete it as I just wanted to know the ending to the story not for the accomplishment of completing the game.… Expand
  89. infantry4949
    Dec 20, 2011
    5
    Seems like a good game, if I could play it for more than 10 minutes. Even that time frame is only if the moon and stars align in just the right way. I have a top of the line system and the game run, *when it runs* very smoothly and looks great. However the problem is constant crashing where the game will just exit to windows. I have not found a patch that fixes this issue though I haveSeems like a good game, if I could play it for more than 10 minutes. Even that time frame is only if the moon and stars align in just the right way. I have a top of the line system and the game run, *when it runs* very smoothly and looks great. However the problem is constant crashing where the game will just exit to windows. I have not found a patch that fixes this issue though I have seen that others are having this same problem. You simply cannot tell when the game will crash. Is it when I select the map? How about when I try to save? This one is especially brutal when you've just played 15 minutes, hit the save button and the game crashes forcing you to replay everything. I would love to rate this game higher but this bug (there are a few more, but all minor in my opinion) prevent me from enjoying it. I would STRONGLY recommend that you do not purchase until this bug is fixed or until the game goes for a bargain price. Or unless your attention span lasts 5 to 10 minutes at a time, you know whatever.… Expand
  90. meediocre
    Dec 20, 2011
    6
    The last RPG I played was Mass Effect 2. Am not really into these kinds of games as a rule but thought I'd check this out after seeing such good metascores. Suffice to say that I found the Witcher 2.0 to have some elements that I really liked - such as lush visuals, challenging combat and a complex story. However, even with a high-end PC and card I was having framerate issues and regularThe last RPG I played was Mass Effect 2. Am not really into these kinds of games as a rule but thought I'd check this out after seeing such good metascores. Suffice to say that I found the Witcher 2.0 to have some elements that I really liked - such as lush visuals, challenging combat and a complex story. However, even with a high-end PC and card I was having framerate issues and regular freezing. Also, the overarching story and back-story is so convoluted, that I found myself pining for less characters and a tighter plot. Biggest gripe though is with the inventory system and the combat. Some of the boss fights are literally rock hard, making Deus Ex's boss battles seem like a walk in the park. Maybe I didn't have the right equipment on me, but I've played and completed so many games I've lost count. Alas, I completed 90% of the Witcher then gave up, impressed to an extent but ultimately wanting a different kind of experience. Open world this is not.… Expand
  91. colin_jack
    Dec 15, 2011
    6
    I bought this just after finishing Skyrim and the experience was jarring. Skyrim is huge, free flowing and fun. In comparison witcher 2 feels small, cramped and constraining. It does have its good points like some good combat but thats offset by how short it is (its truly tiny), the lack of freedom, and the awful awful boss battles.

    Still its an OK game, just made to look very weak by Skyrim.
  92. CoolDadTx
    Dec 4, 2011
    6
    Witcher was awesome. Most of what made it good was sucked out of W2 though. Most of the battles were easy but the combat system has to be one of the worst I've ever used - especially towards the end. The whole "can't heal during combat" might be more realistic but it means you will be reloading more often if you walk into an ambush. But I'm not sure why realism matters because it is aWitcher was awesome. Most of what made it good was sucked out of W2 though. Most of the battles were easy but the combat system has to be one of the worst I've ever used - especially towards the end. The whole "can't heal during combat" might be more realistic but it means you will be reloading more often if you walk into an ambush. But I'm not sure why realism matters because it is a fantasy world anyway. The weapons and upgrades throughout the game were mostly hoo-hum. The new skill system was pretty good but none of the skills were really that useful during combat. What really kills this game is the bugs. Even after all the patches there are showstoppers - but no crashes. The dice game is buggy frequently, the scenery gets in the way during combat and some of the quests don't complete properly. Even worse is the new minigames. The dice game is buggy such that you can't always even move the dice. Additionally some of the players seem to get 4 or 5 of a kinds or full houses with statistically magical accuracy. The arm wrestling game is just stupid. It doesn't feel in any way like I'm really arm wrestling. It's just frustrating. The fist fighting minigame is pretty good though.

    The game is mature but other than 2 scenes and a lot of bad language I don't see why. The first game made Geralt out to be a womanizer and prostitution as just part of any town. W2 relegates it to romance with brothels thrown in for no reason. The language seems overly mature just to justify the rating I think. Take out the language and it isn't worthy of M.

    Overall I'm disappointed in W2. The first one was better. I hope they go back to the original formula for the next version. One thing I do like about them, and one reason why I support them, is there DRM stance and their post-release support. As a company they are top notch. I just hope they fix Witcher for the next go around.    … Expand
  93. gas
    Nov 30, 2011
    7
    Im going to update my rating from 6/10 to 7/10 for the 2.0 patch relase.

    This is my past review talking about the first release: Dont get me wrong, i think this game is quite good at the end, i personally trust in CDP as developer, they did a great job patching and improving the witcher 1, proving they aim to be a solid company for their customers. Im not talking about bugs here because    Im going to update my rating from 6/10 to 7/10 for the 2.0 patch relase.

    This is my past review talking about the first release:
    Dont get me wrong, i think this game is quite good at the end, i personally trust in CDP as developer, they did a great job patching and improving the witcher 1, proving they aim to be a solid company for their customers. Im not talking about bugs here because actually even with 1.1 patch the game is full of them, but we know everything possible will be fixed later on. CDP did a huge step forward with this release with the introduction of a new and great engine, but there are many opinable if not poor decisions about developing different aspects of the game. There is a very poor design of all the menus (inventory, crafting system, trading etc) and a gameplay too much script based, really limiting the freedom, in many occasions the game plays like an interactive movie as don bluth dragon's lair, not sure how some ppl can see an rpg masterpiece in this mess. The new engine is one of the best if not the best around, the game even at mid video setting looks impressive. The music and the audio effects are excellent, anyway most of the npcs are repeating to death the same statement every 5 seconds when you stand near them, which is really really annoying. The combat system is different from wt1, now its full real time and its developed to be played with a joypad more then keyboard+mouse, anyway it works fine and its fun and interesting as idea. There are ranged weapons like throwing knives (actually op) and bombs, many different traps to place on floor, the possibility to parry (and counterattack if you have the proper talent), the signs to add more depth. Overall the combat system is fun and nice, it relays a lot on the user skill and i think the result is quite good. Anyway after some time you will see some issues in this system cause the best tactic at the end is always rolling on the floor like a madman and strike when you can, in many occasions it seems just an hack'n'slash, but i return to tell, the combat system has his ups and downs, but overall its good. On a side note the use of the potions is different from wt1, you need to drink the potions out of combat, so you should prepare yourself before a fight, too bad this system obviously works only if you know in advance if you are going to be involved in a fight, wich is possible only with a die-and-reload-gameplay. Bad choice tbh, as potions should be part of the withcer combat arsenal and in this game you will end to use potions only after you died in a fight to repeat it with a little help, also the pots lasts too little and you will end to use them marginally. The story may be appealing itself but if you played tw1 and you know what happened before it make no sense at all in many circumstances, the problem is how the story is implemented in the game, and especially the fact Gerald seems always without the knowledge of any important event, person, situation, that should be part of his background. I will not go specific here to avoid spoilers but just the fact that Gerald starts as level 1 character having issues to beat even the most crap solider, without the knowledge of any monster is totally in contrast with any possible prelude to this plot. The gameplay is action based, heavily cinematic and deeply scripted, with a very limited freedom in interaction and exploration, and short dialogues with very limited choices. The looting system is not really user friendly, its hard to position Gerald to pick up items, also the window is very tiny and you cant scale it. The inventory system and the menu in general are the weak part of this game, you cant sort junk from all the rest, so you need to pass the whole inventory list looking every line one by one to check what is junk and what not, what to buy or sell. there is not the possibility to sort the schematics resulting in a huge list of potions, upgrades, crafting sheets etc with no possibility even to sort them alphabetically. There is not any customization and even if the game was a console port i think its possible to do something better then this. Trading and alchemy suffers the same issue. What you can carry is based on weights, the game is full of different ingredients, patterns, items in general and you will see soon that what you can carry is quite limited, so at a point you will end to continue go back and forth to sell items or just you will leave most of the loot on the floor. Mini games should be cut out. I think this game is a great title under some aspects, but its really lacking in others. Tbh even if this was announced as an rpg made for pc, the feeling is to play a console oriented game. This game plays more similar to console action games then any rpg, its oki CDP wanted to implement something more modern into a genre maybe a bit redundant, but the result seems looking more to the console market then the expectations of the rpg players.    … Expand
  94. sirtyman
    Nov 20, 2011
    6
    First of the game was overestimated due to lack of any other RPG till its release in this year. The story is moderate. The world is so enclosed and tiny (It takes 10 - 15 hours of playing to finish the main quest with some side ones). Graphics is amazing but the engine has no physics (it's for sure not Frostbite). There is little amount of gear and other stuff in this game. Fight withFirst of the game was overestimated due to lack of any other RPG till its release in this year. The story is moderate. The world is so enclosed and tiny (It takes 10 - 15 hours of playing to finish the main quest with some side ones). Graphics is amazing but the engine has no physics (it's for sure not Frostbite). There is little amount of gear and other stuff in this game. Fight with monsters is shovel, with no strategy (high difficulty). The game is not for real RPG fun.
    Any positives... ehm.. mentioned graphics, good dialogs and in some moments its really interesting. But is is no for sure for 10.    … Expand
  95. Ericius
    Nov 13, 2011
    6
    Being spoiled by open worlds from the Bethesda studio's this is disappointing. All though the story is great it really pissed me off that the story telling cuts in all the time and even lets you lose a fight which I was totally winning just to be able to tell the story. Also lets you fight fights with other characters of your party on occasion. The game player just has to follow. I knowBeing spoiled by open worlds from the Bethesda studio's this is disappointing. All though the story is great it really pissed me off that the story telling cuts in all the time and even lets you lose a fight which I was totally winning just to be able to tell the story. Also lets you fight fights with other characters of your party on occasion. The game player just has to follow. I know this is part of role playing but as I said I'm spoiled by the free open worlds in other games. But great graphics, fighting system and story!… Expand
  96. Demonbox
    Nov 11, 2011
    5
    Game is nice, for sure not a masterpiece as a whole.
    graphics are great , even thou on my i7 with a gtx560 i can't run them fully.
    Story is interesting and you can play the game twice (or even 3 times), but no more. what i didn't like: -instanced maps, you see that road?, fine now that you've seen it go back to what you were "paid" to go -console "press X" mechanics, wanna hit that big    Game is nice, for sure not a masterpiece as a whole.
    graphics are great , even thou on my i7 with a gtx560 i can't run them fully.
    Story is interesting and you can play the game twice (or even 3 times), but no more.
    what i didn't like:
    -instanced maps, you see that road?, fine now that you've seen it go back to what you were "paid" to go
    -console "press X" mechanics, wanna hit that big baddie? click B..swirl swirl now click B again
    -console inventory, how the hell you'r goin to find something in your backpack is a miracle
    -stupid potions, drink now you never know what you might face tomorrow..you drank the wrong one? haha silly witchy
    -fighting animations, i don't like playin the role of a pale monkey swirling and jumpin around while weavin a stick at big guys    … Expand
  97. HerHavuzun
    Oct 26, 2011
    7
    Nice graphics. Deep combat system. A storyline that is heavily influenced by your choices, And an interesting but sometimes confusing plot. A good effort.
  98. peanuts
    Oct 18, 2011
    6
    Were there were pretty graphics? Yes. Nice magical effects? Sure. But some things were lost in the sequel which I enjoyed and took for granted in The Witcher 1. First off, The Witcher 1 was a 100% adult game that involved drinking. In the Witcher 2, alcohol is removed almost entirely and is now a rare option in specific dialogue paths. Instead of buying beer from the bar wench youWere there were pretty graphics? Yes. Nice magical effects? Sure. But some things were lost in the sequel which I enjoyed and took for granted in The Witcher 1. First off, The Witcher 1 was a 100% adult game that involved drinking. In the Witcher 2, alcohol is removed almost entirely and is now a rare option in specific dialogue paths. Instead of buying beer from the bar wench you get the option to buy junk items like rotten apples. That's a bit unrealistic in my opinion. And now that I mention food- the food and drink option I had so much fun playing with in the Witcher 1 was completely scrapped in #2. You cannot consume food- only sell it as junk. This leaves natural regen healing as your primary option for healing (which happens much quicker in this game, yet you have a much smaller health pool in comparison to The Witcher 1). Your health pool is so very low in this game that you are practically encouraged to drink health potions constantly in order to survive. Now I have to comment on the alchemy system- it has some similarities but there are major differences. Health regen potions have different regen rates for in and out of combat and if you don't drink a healing potion prior to a battle, by default you do not heal at all while in battle. That I find quite strange, because part of the challenge in The Witcher 1 was finding a balance between combat and your remaining health. Often I would eat food, or use a Swallow potion while fighting monsters in #1, since you had a huge pool of hitpoints that regenerated so slowly. Your practically required supplements in order to progress in a timely manner. Now, In the Witcher 2, I just stand still for a couple minutes and I am fully healed. Geralt's health pool is quite low and you are forced to wait unless you just like dying on subsequent battles. Potion drinking requires a safe area to initiate meditation yet every battle including the difficult boss battles, you aren't even given a chance to meditate. This results in difficult battles with no health regen or potions- which becomes painfully apparent as you progress throughout the game and is unfortunately still present in major boss battles at the end. Playing dice, a fun-filled challenge which I enjoyed in The Witcher 1 is a painful affair now. The Witcher one had a simple design with easy to read numbers on the dice- No excessive shaking of the camera when you rolled, and your best hand was figured out for you by the A.I. In comparison, The Witcher 2 has this weird slanted view in which you roll the dice, and then switches to a top down view to inspect the dice. The slanted view is absolutely no help- you can't see a single detail of the dice including the numbers on them. In the top-down view you see the dice numbers but they are hard-to-read Roman Numerals and the lighting of the board is so horrible you can't help but squint in order to read the dice. Unfortunately the game does not outright tell you if you have a good hand like it does in The Witcher 1, so you really have to sit there for about 15-30 seconds just to read the dice and ascertain what hand you have. So in conclusion, while combat and whatnot have new fancy graphical interfaces, I was disappointed in some of the implementation. I miss having 20 bottles of beer on my character and getting slam drunk (in fact, I do believe this was a combat mechanic in the Witcher 1, specifically pain resistance via the Strength Line). And the drinking challenges were always fun... not to mention you received good rewards. One other thing that sort of turned me off about the game was the last level. I found it a little claustrophobic, and it tried to cram a lot of content into several separate, yet very confined game areas. Ultimately, I felt the design was a bit rushed towards the end. A lot of changes, a lot of design alterations, yet many of these changes do not increase game playability and in some ways make the game less fun. As is is- I think The Witcher 2 deserves a 6. If it would have implemented relatively easy to program mechanics (such as drinking games, fun uncomplicated dice games, easy to use potions, large health pool, a food and drink system, slowly regenerating constant health over time with no in and out of combat differences) then I would have given it a 9 or 10. I mean, how does one fight in this game with a low health pool that has no regen by default and no chance to drink potions in the midst of battle? If they feel so strongly about drinking potions in battle without meditating prior, then implement a 25% penalty for potions drank while in combat. It is not impossible to implement, all of tehse things I mention are implemented in The Witcher 1! Why did they remove so many fun-filled mechanics? It's a step back.… Expand
  99. Aiden_Cora
    Oct 9, 2011
    7
    Overall a decent game, though I still find the first Witcher to be slightly better. Very nice graphics and the movie-like gameplay unfortunately do not cover up the fact that the game gets boring fast. Despite that, in my opinion it deserves a strong 7.0.
  100. laxleonidas
    Sep 17, 2011
    7
    I'm fan of Witcher 1 and after the first reviews of assassins of Kings i was sure it will be perfect score. not this time. i compared this game to prodecessor and i found too many missing elements. Where's trophy monsters? Where's interesting NPC's out of main city? Where's length which was in first game? But there's not all - where's breath-taking ending, which was in original Witcher?I'm fan of Witcher 1 and after the first reviews of assassins of Kings i was sure it will be perfect score. not this time. i compared this game to prodecessor and i found too many missing elements. Where's trophy monsters? Where's interesting NPC's out of main city? Where's length which was in first game? But there's not all - where's breath-taking ending, which was in original Witcher? huge dissapointment.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

12
#12 Best PC Game of 2011
7
#7 Most Discussed PC Game of 2011
7
#7 Most Shared PC Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 76 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 70 out of 76
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 76
  3. Negative: 0 out of 76
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Oct 21, 2011
    93
    Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. A true, polished diamond. Watch and learn Bioware. [May 2011]
  2. GamingTrend
    Sep 14, 2011
    92
    The Witcher 2 easily stands amongst the big boys in the CRPG crowd and is also the best Action RPG to come out since Mass Effect 2.
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  3. GamingXP
    Sep 7, 2011
    90
    The Witcher 2 offers awesome sword fights, cool graphics, charming characters, a compelling story, lots of bare skin and a decent shot of vulgar conversations. Damn good.
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