The Witcher 2 360 Review...
Disclaimer: The following is my and only my opinion and is not meant to be taken as fact
Review can also be found here: http://tw2review.blogspot.co.uk/
Truth be told I came across The Witcher 2 by mistake, it wasn’t a game I had ever come across or heard up until around 2 months ago, but was definitely intrigued by what I came across. I had been left wandering, lonely and empty, having been made Skyrim and Mass Effect 3's bitch and kicked out onto the street , I yearned to be taken in by a rich and story driven world again, a void I was looking to fill with another immersive RPG. It was on YouTube that I came across a video for The Witcher 2 and immediately I was hooked.Admittedly i tend to only buy games if they have had good/decent reviews and/or its a sequel in a long running series i have had experience in before, however I watched video after video and decided to take a punt to preorder the game, disappointed I was not. Enough about me and more about the game, I decided to divide the review down into sections to provide clarity between important aspects of the game..
Graphics
With the current crop of big hitters on the 360 the game had a lot to live up to graphically, and although I have read that this game looks incredible on a high end PC, it was important to remember this was on a 360.
Initially the player is treated an opening cinematic which looks very impressive indeed, incredibly well animated and produced it certainly set a high precedent for the game to follow. Yes i know they weren't in-game graphics but I feel that they still give an impression of what to expect. Throughout, the level of graphics helped define the feeling and tones of the environment, forests were lush and intricately detailed, towns were suitably medieval-esque, being dirty with very earthy tones providing a gritty and realistic gaming experience. Honestly, to start with, i wasn't blown away, but purely because I was used to something different. Graphically speaking the game looked on par with the more renowned games(the Gears and Mass Effect series), though importantly (and what threw me at first) it differentiated itself from the crowd, there was a certain level of sophistication and intricacy, also there was no repetition of skins or rooms etc. Although I found the lighting to perhaps be not as smooth especially close up, the high level of detail carried over to the dialogue and in-game FMV scenes remained and as well as Geralt’s current armour AND weaponry, which a fine a detail as it is, is something often overlooked in other games. However it pains me to say that I didn't find the in-game dialogue scenes wholly consistent. On the one hand CDProjekt did a fantastic job in conveying character emotions and feelings behind what they were saying, on the other, some character facial animation during dialogue was quite wooden and appeared quite unnatural. I noticed next to no texture pop-ins, only the odd one here and there, even when there was a lot going on. Although the textures and graphics were top notch overall i felt graphically it lacked that final bit of polish especially with dynamic shadows sweeping across the characters faces.
Audio-voice acting
For the most part I found the voice acting throughout to be beautifully done,with classic gems like 'Go plough your mother' to political insights such as ...“Politics is like a complicated puzzle. Every piece may prove useful. Or equally useless, even harmful”..thrown in for good measure. The frequent curse words (and there are alot!)add to the grittiness of the game and unlike many other games the swearing doesn’t feel as if it has been shoehorned into the sentence for ‘wow’ factor. For me it takes the authenticity of the NPCS one step further. Everyone has something to say whether its good or bad, focal to the story or not, which adds realism to everyone going about their day to day routines and substance to a particular area, however the same phrases are often heard being repeated by the same people on passing through a particular area more than once. A vague slap in the face back to the reality that this was merely a game, though something many are guilty of.
Characters like Iorveth and Saskia have their lines delivered with emotion and passion but on the other hand, you, the main character, can at times come across quite robotic and wooden. I can appreciate him being the brooding hero, but portrayed himself to be quite soulless at times, which was a real shame.
Audio-Soundtrack/background
The whole soundtrack in combination with the game from start to finish was masterfully composed and put together and reflected perfectly particular points, from the enigmatic to the powerfully story driven portions. The standout track for me is the main theme which is as iconic in itself as the wolf medallion symbol. What is very clever in my eyes, is how well the score works with the scene in which it is being played, listening to them on their own doesn't really do anything for me, and i find them quite weak, however coupled with the game they suddenly transcend to another level, they just ‘work’ so well.
The in-game music is blended particularly well with the background ‘noise’ of the various locations, whether it is the sounds of the domestic animals in the town of Vergen, or the chit chat of the animals in its surrounding forests or the crunch of the ground beneath your feet, it all comes together to really draw you into the location. The ambiance of the locale really makes the places believable and it was certainly something that stood out for me, as if CDprojekt had gone one step further to really bring the game to life.
Gameplay
The purpose of this section is to really outline how well the game actually plays and how I found it, please bare in mind I came to this game having played and loved the likes of Dragon Age, Skyrim/Oblivion/Mass Effect and Baldurs Gate1&2. Its the actual gameplay that I found to be the games main weakness and area that could be improved.
I wont lie, I definitely had difficulty picking up the controls to start with, particularly during combat, combined with the fast pace. Thankfully CDProjekt were nice enough to include a tutorial of such, which based on how you do then automatically sets the difficulty for you(which can be changed or set manually of course). It was a fine introduction to the gameplay mechanics which definitely helped me get to grips although not entirely, this came with playing the game. It introduces you to basic combat, the use of signs/bombs/traps and various combat techniques tailored to different types of enemies.
Controlling and moving Geralt was very responsive, almost a little too responsive to the ‘untrained’ player, also, a bit more freedom in where Geralt can physically go would have been nice. I found the odd occasion where i couldn't just jump down a 1ft(ish) ledge or steep embankment, I had to go around the preset track, which I felt negated the whole direction of the game. Another minor issue was the vaulting up and down ledges animation, it wasn't particularly fluid with Geralt almost stopping mid run/walk to then perform the action. The Witcher 2 is not as 'open-world' as I would have thought or hoped, it is deceptively linear, however not necessarily in a bad way as it almost feels like you are being driven through a story rather than wandering around huge open areas, doing whatever you like with potentially no substantial goal.
Combat and the blows you rain down felt solid, you could almost feel your sword cutting down that stray Nekkar with an unbridled brutality. On a side note, creatures and humans wont be afraid to surround and or rush you and will attack mercilessly. Your signs have obvious punch behind them and look great when cast, they also provide a nice challenge when mid combat choosing between different signs and choosing which to use, especially since it doesn't pause the game but as such puts things into slow motion, meaning you have to think on your feet. Don’t worry to much about being overwhelmed you’ll be dishing out death to groups of enemies like it is second nature in no time at all.
The menu system which includes the levelling up section, hosts all the information you could need for the game and then some but does bring with it a steep learning curve especially to newbies like myself who is far more accustomed to simpler menus. As used to it as I got, I found it became at times more of a chore navigating the inventory and skill trees, as stylishly as they were laid out. A main sticking point for me was that it would have been nice to have been able to pick up selected items as opposed to everything in a particular drop(something which I have seen available on the PC version), which is where the chore like trudging through the inventory cropped up. For example someone drops a ton of items, one of which you want, you would have to pick up the entire lot and then go into your inventory to then drop everything you didn't. I just feel the whole system could have been been streamlined or perhaps rejigged, i found it unnecessarily complicated for a game that has so much else going on.
Quick time events throughout provide decent enough distraction and are a easy way to earn some orens, activities consist of arm wrestling,fighting and playing dice, but to be honest do borderline on monotonous at times. Don't get me wrong they aren't too frequent neither are they mandatory, but it would have been nice to have a bit more involvement rather than the simple press of a button or two or the wiggle of the left thumb-stick.
The map is pretty basic at best, it does what it needs to do and nothing more which is fine, however I found the map isn't particularly clear, on navigating to particular point, especially if that point is higher or lower than your current position, there's no direction of where to go. Now, I can appreciate this may have been purposely done to encourage exploration and perhaps mask the linearity but at times I found the map, particularly in Aedirn, an absolute nightmare to navigate, and I often found myself going in circles!
Finally another simple issue that could have been easily rectified is the quest updating. As soon as you obtain a new quest regardless of what you are doing or what quest you are on, it automatically becomes the tracked quest, which means having to go into your quest page in the menu and reset the primary quest to what you were originally doing.
Story
The Witcher 2 was definitely a game that required the players full attention, otherwise things, sometimes important, could be missed. It is a unique, individual story that stands out from others, there isn't any evil creatures from another realm threatening the very existence of all things living, it is something far more rich and thought provoking. The story revolves around several key aspects, the foremost being your character, Geralt of Rivia, a professional monster hunter with the numerous scars to prove it, who has lost his memory. You begin the game awakening in a jail shackled to the ceiling with no recollection of past events, it is through a series of playable flashbacks during questioning that you learn how you came to be in the present situation and its from there that you escape and the story begins. However, the story of recovering Geralts memory isn't the main driving force behind the game, there is a strong political undertone that runs throughout. This isn't just a story of memory recovery, it is a story of political corruption and conspiracies, and your many decisions really do affect the outcome and lives of many individuals.
With the story as rich and immersive as it was, there was slight difficulty in grasping what was actually going on at times. This may have been down to concentration lapse on my part but also because at times when characters and plot points were introduced it felt like I was almost expected to know about them and who they were through prior knowledge. I wouldn't say playing the first game was integral (I didn't), but I reckon it would certainly help in places.
Performance
Performance wise this game does very well indeed. Many of today's blockbusters feature numerous glitches and frame rate issues, more often than not due to the sheer amount going on. However The Witcher 2 holds its own, bearing in mind it has other huge games to compete with as well the original PC iteration, which from what I’ve seen looks incredible. Even though there are some understandable downgrades, the overall look is extremely close;from the high level of detail in characters to the vast scale of scenery on show.The most impressive of all is how The Witcher 2 handles light and shadow: everything is dynamically rendered in real-time and a large number of light sources can be affecting play at any given point, with the game also supporting a full day/night time cycle in the appropriate environments. I know i mentioned elsewhere how I felt dynamic shadows, particularly in dialogue scenes didn't look as smooth as they should, but I feel this is perhaps the compromise in order to have everything rendered real-time. Its important to note, that no matter how much was going on, and bearing in mind that nothing felt stuck on or pre-rendered, there were hardly any issues performance wise, I think I noticed one or two texture pop-ins and this was right towards the end of the game. Also there were no frame rate issues I came across and no slow down. CDProjekt have done an incredible job in going that extra step in the transfer to 360 format, keeping in mind how phenomenal the game looks in comparison on a 6year old machine. Don’t get me wrong, at full settings, the PC version really cleans house but that's not to say the 360 iteration doesn’t hold its own.
Value for money
I feel the Enhanced edition, which was free upgrade to pre-orders and day-one purchases, offered fantastic value for money. Couple with the extensive game that came with it, included was the manual(of course), slipcover, quest guide and a physical copy of the soundtrack. Also as I pre-ordered from Amazon, the slipcover arrived signed by one of the CDProjekt team as a pre-order bonus, which I felt was a nice touch and just goes to show that extra step the developers goes to please their fans/customers. Perhaps it would have been nice to exchange the quest guide for an art book of some description but I wont complain with what was supplied at a incredibly reasonable price by today's standards. My favourite inclusion? a physical soundtrack, yes the soundtrack above all else. I know its down to personal preference but I prefer extras in an edition to be physical, I get fed up of digital copies of the OST being thrown in, there’s nothing for me to hold and physically show off, call me old-fashioned perhaps.
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Conclusion
The graphics particularly scenery is gorgeous, I loved the variation in scenery and locations look stunning, definitely makes you feel very involved and encapsulated, though lacked a extra polish when it came to things like dynamic shadows. Facial animations for the most part are the best I've seen, even some facial animations in game giants like mass effect have the tendency to look very wooden and robotic.
For me it was very much a labour of love, something that asked much of me and gave a lot in return, a game that required a lot of love and attention in order to bear its fruits. It won't be to everyone's liking, it's a game that demands thought and attention. What it lacks in Skyrim style open ended journeys and sweeping vistas it makes up for in being a dark and foreboding journey draped in gorgeous scenery backed up by an incredibly provocative story.
That's not to say the game is perfect, in certain areas it is in a league of its own, however in others it really lets itself down, its a fantastic game held back by minor issues that in hindsight could and should have been rectified.
If you want something that is pick up and play then stick with skyrim or dragon age, if you want a game that is thought-provoking, emotionally involving and story driven then don’t waste any time in picking up The Witcher 2.
Disclaimer: The following is my and only my opinion and is not meant to be taken as fact
Review can also be found here: http://tw2review.blogspot.co.uk/
The Witcher 2 Review
Truth be told I came across The Witcher 2 by mistake, it wasn’t a game I had ever come across or heard up until around 2 months ago, but was definitely intrigued by what I came across. I had been left wandering, lonely and empty, having been made Skyrim and Mass Effect 3's bitch and kicked out onto the street , I yearned to be taken in by a rich and story driven world again, a void I was looking to fill with another immersive RPG. It was on YouTube that I came across a video for The Witcher 2 and immediately I was hooked.Admittedly i tend to only buy games if they have had good/decent reviews and/or its a sequel in a long running series i have had experience in before, however I watched video after video and decided to take a punt to preorder the game, disappointed I was not. Enough about me and more about the game, I decided to divide the review down into sections to provide clarity between important aspects of the game..
Graphics
With the current crop of big hitters on the 360 the game had a lot to live up to graphically, and although I have read that this game looks incredible on a high end PC, it was important to remember this was on a 360.
Initially the player is treated an opening cinematic which looks very impressive indeed, incredibly well animated and produced it certainly set a high precedent for the game to follow. Yes i know they weren't in-game graphics but I feel that they still give an impression of what to expect. Throughout, the level of graphics helped define the feeling and tones of the environment, forests were lush and intricately detailed, towns were suitably medieval-esque, being dirty with very earthy tones providing a gritty and realistic gaming experience. Honestly, to start with, i wasn't blown away, but purely because I was used to something different. Graphically speaking the game looked on par with the more renowned games(the Gears and Mass Effect series), though importantly (and what threw me at first) it differentiated itself from the crowd, there was a certain level of sophistication and intricacy, also there was no repetition of skins or rooms etc. Although I found the lighting to perhaps be not as smooth especially close up, the high level of detail carried over to the dialogue and in-game FMV scenes remained and as well as Geralt’s current armour AND weaponry, which a fine a detail as it is, is something often overlooked in other games. However it pains me to say that I didn't find the in-game dialogue scenes wholly consistent. On the one hand CDProjekt did a fantastic job in conveying character emotions and feelings behind what they were saying, on the other, some character facial animation during dialogue was quite wooden and appeared quite unnatural. I noticed next to no texture pop-ins, only the odd one here and there, even when there was a lot going on. Although the textures and graphics were top notch overall i felt graphically it lacked that final bit of polish especially with dynamic shadows sweeping across the characters faces.
Audio-voice acting
For the most part I found the voice acting throughout to be beautifully done,with classic gems like 'Go plough your mother' to political insights such as ...“Politics is like a complicated puzzle. Every piece may prove useful. Or equally useless, even harmful”..thrown in for good measure. The frequent curse words (and there are alot!)add to the grittiness of the game and unlike many other games the swearing doesn’t feel as if it has been shoehorned into the sentence for ‘wow’ factor. For me it takes the authenticity of the NPCS one step further. Everyone has something to say whether its good or bad, focal to the story or not, which adds realism to everyone going about their day to day routines and substance to a particular area, however the same phrases are often heard being repeated by the same people on passing through a particular area more than once. A vague slap in the face back to the reality that this was merely a game, though something many are guilty of.
Characters like Iorveth and Saskia have their lines delivered with emotion and passion but on the other hand, you, the main character, can at times come across quite robotic and wooden. I can appreciate him being the brooding hero, but portrayed himself to be quite soulless at times, which was a real shame.
Audio-Soundtrack/background
The whole soundtrack in combination with the game from start to finish was masterfully composed and put together and reflected perfectly particular points, from the enigmatic to the powerfully story driven portions. The standout track for me is the main theme which is as iconic in itself as the wolf medallion symbol. What is very clever in my eyes, is how well the score works with the scene in which it is being played, listening to them on their own doesn't really do anything for me, and i find them quite weak, however coupled with the game they suddenly transcend to another level, they just ‘work’ so well.
The in-game music is blended particularly well with the background ‘noise’ of the various locations, whether it is the sounds of the domestic animals in the town of Vergen, or the chit chat of the animals in its surrounding forests or the crunch of the ground beneath your feet, it all comes together to really draw you into the location. The ambiance of the locale really makes the places believable and it was certainly something that stood out for me, as if CDprojekt had gone one step further to really bring the game to life.
Gameplay
The purpose of this section is to really outline how well the game actually plays and how I found it, please bare in mind I came to this game having played and loved the likes of Dragon Age, Skyrim/Oblivion/Mass Effect and Baldurs Gate1&2. Its the actual gameplay that I found to be the games main weakness and area that could be improved.
I wont lie, I definitely had difficulty picking up the controls to start with, particularly during combat, combined with the fast pace. Thankfully CDProjekt were nice enough to include a tutorial of such, which based on how you do then automatically sets the difficulty for you(which can be changed or set manually of course). It was a fine introduction to the gameplay mechanics which definitely helped me get to grips although not entirely, this came with playing the game. It introduces you to basic combat, the use of signs/bombs/traps and various combat techniques tailored to different types of enemies.
Controlling and moving Geralt was very responsive, almost a little too responsive to the ‘untrained’ player, also, a bit more freedom in where Geralt can physically go would have been nice. I found the odd occasion where i couldn't just jump down a 1ft(ish) ledge or steep embankment, I had to go around the preset track, which I felt negated the whole direction of the game. Another minor issue was the vaulting up and down ledges animation, it wasn't particularly fluid with Geralt almost stopping mid run/walk to then perform the action. The Witcher 2 is not as 'open-world' as I would have thought or hoped, it is deceptively linear, however not necessarily in a bad way as it almost feels like you are being driven through a story rather than wandering around huge open areas, doing whatever you like with potentially no substantial goal.
Combat and the blows you rain down felt solid, you could almost feel your sword cutting down that stray Nekkar with an unbridled brutality. On a side note, creatures and humans wont be afraid to surround and or rush you and will attack mercilessly. Your signs have obvious punch behind them and look great when cast, they also provide a nice challenge when mid combat choosing between different signs and choosing which to use, especially since it doesn't pause the game but as such puts things into slow motion, meaning you have to think on your feet. Don’t worry to much about being overwhelmed you’ll be dishing out death to groups of enemies like it is second nature in no time at all.
The menu system which includes the levelling up section, hosts all the information you could need for the game and then some but does bring with it a steep learning curve especially to newbies like myself who is far more accustomed to simpler menus. As used to it as I got, I found it became at times more of a chore navigating the inventory and skill trees, as stylishly as they were laid out. A main sticking point for me was that it would have been nice to have been able to pick up selected items as opposed to everything in a particular drop(something which I have seen available on the PC version), which is where the chore like trudging through the inventory cropped up. For example someone drops a ton of items, one of which you want, you would have to pick up the entire lot and then go into your inventory to then drop everything you didn't. I just feel the whole system could have been been streamlined or perhaps rejigged, i found it unnecessarily complicated for a game that has so much else going on.
Quick time events throughout provide decent enough distraction and are a easy way to earn some orens, activities consist of arm wrestling,fighting and playing dice, but to be honest do borderline on monotonous at times. Don't get me wrong they aren't too frequent neither are they mandatory, but it would have been nice to have a bit more involvement rather than the simple press of a button or two or the wiggle of the left thumb-stick.
The map is pretty basic at best, it does what it needs to do and nothing more which is fine, however I found the map isn't particularly clear, on navigating to particular point, especially if that point is higher or lower than your current position, there's no direction of where to go. Now, I can appreciate this may have been purposely done to encourage exploration and perhaps mask the linearity but at times I found the map, particularly in Aedirn, an absolute nightmare to navigate, and I often found myself going in circles!
Finally another simple issue that could have been easily rectified is the quest updating. As soon as you obtain a new quest regardless of what you are doing or what quest you are on, it automatically becomes the tracked quest, which means having to go into your quest page in the menu and reset the primary quest to what you were originally doing.
Story
The Witcher 2 was definitely a game that required the players full attention, otherwise things, sometimes important, could be missed. It is a unique, individual story that stands out from others, there isn't any evil creatures from another realm threatening the very existence of all things living, it is something far more rich and thought provoking. The story revolves around several key aspects, the foremost being your character, Geralt of Rivia, a professional monster hunter with the numerous scars to prove it, who has lost his memory. You begin the game awakening in a jail shackled to the ceiling with no recollection of past events, it is through a series of playable flashbacks during questioning that you learn how you came to be in the present situation and its from there that you escape and the story begins. However, the story of recovering Geralts memory isn't the main driving force behind the game, there is a strong political undertone that runs throughout. This isn't just a story of memory recovery, it is a story of political corruption and conspiracies, and your many decisions really do affect the outcome and lives of many individuals.
With the story as rich and immersive as it was, there was slight difficulty in grasping what was actually going on at times. This may have been down to concentration lapse on my part but also because at times when characters and plot points were introduced it felt like I was almost expected to know about them and who they were through prior knowledge. I wouldn't say playing the first game was integral (I didn't), but I reckon it would certainly help in places.
Performance
Performance wise this game does very well indeed. Many of today's blockbusters feature numerous glitches and frame rate issues, more often than not due to the sheer amount going on. However The Witcher 2 holds its own, bearing in mind it has other huge games to compete with as well the original PC iteration, which from what I’ve seen looks incredible. Even though there are some understandable downgrades, the overall look is extremely close;from the high level of detail in characters to the vast scale of scenery on show.The most impressive of all is how The Witcher 2 handles light and shadow: everything is dynamically rendered in real-time and a large number of light sources can be affecting play at any given point, with the game also supporting a full day/night time cycle in the appropriate environments. I know i mentioned elsewhere how I felt dynamic shadows, particularly in dialogue scenes didn't look as smooth as they should, but I feel this is perhaps the compromise in order to have everything rendered real-time. Its important to note, that no matter how much was going on, and bearing in mind that nothing felt stuck on or pre-rendered, there were hardly any issues performance wise, I think I noticed one or two texture pop-ins and this was right towards the end of the game. Also there were no frame rate issues I came across and no slow down. CDProjekt have done an incredible job in going that extra step in the transfer to 360 format, keeping in mind how phenomenal the game looks in comparison on a 6year old machine. Don’t get me wrong, at full settings, the PC version really cleans house but that's not to say the 360 iteration doesn’t hold its own.
Value for money
I feel the Enhanced edition, which was free upgrade to pre-orders and day-one purchases, offered fantastic value for money. Couple with the extensive game that came with it, included was the manual(of course), slipcover, quest guide and a physical copy of the soundtrack. Also as I pre-ordered from Amazon, the slipcover arrived signed by one of the CDProjekt team as a pre-order bonus, which I felt was a nice touch and just goes to show that extra step the developers goes to please their fans/customers. Perhaps it would have been nice to exchange the quest guide for an art book of some description but I wont complain with what was supplied at a incredibly reasonable price by today's standards. My favourite inclusion? a physical soundtrack, yes the soundtrack above all else. I know its down to personal preference but I prefer extras in an edition to be physical, I get fed up of digital copies of the OST being thrown in, there’s nothing for me to hold and physically show off, call me old-fashioned perhaps.
---------------
Conclusion
The graphics particularly scenery is gorgeous, I loved the variation in scenery and locations look stunning, definitely makes you feel very involved and encapsulated, though lacked a extra polish when it came to things like dynamic shadows. Facial animations for the most part are the best I've seen, even some facial animations in game giants like mass effect have the tendency to look very wooden and robotic.
For me it was very much a labour of love, something that asked much of me and gave a lot in return, a game that required a lot of love and attention in order to bear its fruits. It won't be to everyone's liking, it's a game that demands thought and attention. What it lacks in Skyrim style open ended journeys and sweeping vistas it makes up for in being a dark and foreboding journey draped in gorgeous scenery backed up by an incredibly provocative story.
That's not to say the game is perfect, in certain areas it is in a league of its own, however in others it really lets itself down, its a fantastic game held back by minor issues that in hindsight could and should have been rectified.
If you want something that is pick up and play then stick with skyrim or dragon age, if you want a game that is thought-provoking, emotionally involving and story driven then don’t waste any time in picking up The Witcher 2.
