The best & the worst scenes of TW2 [Spoilers ofc]

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The best & the worst scenes of TW2 [Spoilers ofc]

Throughout multiple reviews made by both professional critics and ordinary players, one thing that keeps coming up is the feeling that TW2 is an uneven game. On one hand, there are strokes of pure genious in it's writing and concepts that make it a very special, memorable game. On the other hand, it seems like there was no one from the outside who would look at the nearly finished product and point out all the things that just didn't work the way they were supposed to.

There are already many threads that deal with the technical aspects of the game - bugs, UI, balance, combat etc. What I'd like to do with this thread is to give the devs some feedback on TW2's writing. In order to keep it from becoming too negative (or maybe too fanboyish?), I'd like you to give examples of BOTH the scenes you liked best and that you considered to be the most memorable as well as the scenes you considered odd, out of place or simply badly written.

Just one rule - keep the balance please. You can name more than one scene in each cathegory but for every scene you didn't like please mention one you did like and vice versa. Also, please try to explain your choices in a balanced mannner - don't make a one line comment on the scene you enjoyed and then a whole paragraph about the one you didn't!

Let me start with my own picks:

THE BEST

Regicide:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mdFEQQ_icI[/media]

I don't think there are too many people that remained unmoved the first time they've seen this scene. It's perfect in every possible way. The dialogue, the music, the direction, the expressions on the faces of the characters, it all ends up being one of the most memorable game scenes ever.
By the time it happens, Foltest is already a character likeable enough to make his death hurt (that's actually a feat of it's own given how early in the game it is and how little screen time he gets). Furthemore, after all the intense fights in the prologue and the dragon sequence, just prior to this scene there is a sense of relax, victory and completion. The regicide scene shifts from the initial serenity to anxiousness in a seamless, brutal and emotionally powerful manner. In just about 3 minutes it sets up the main plot for the entire game in a way an hour of dialogue could not. Just brilliant. More of those please!

THE WORST

Iorveth vs Roche

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fpnQLPpY7k[/media]

That particular scene (and the similar one on Roche's path) rubbed me the wrong way for multiple reasons. For one thing, I have no idea what purpose it served in the plot, as it was of no consequence whatsoever other than to prove that the badass you've just chosen is more badass than the one you didn't. Secondly, it was set up as an epic fight between two archenemies but in reality it took about 5 seconds to resolve which was hugely anticlimatic. But the one thing that really broke it for me was that in a game where virtually all the main characters were believable and logical in their actions, this scene seems to be taken right out of cheap TV series where the main characters will always find some excuse not to kill one another so that the show may go on. Iorveth finally gets a chance to finish a man he considers a murderer of women and children. A man who created and led a force specialized in slaying Scoia'tael. A man who will undoubtly keep killing squirrels and maybe will kill Iorveth himself. And then he gets melodramatic and chivalrous and lets him go. /Facepalm
Sooo unlike reality. So unlike Iorveth. So damn stupid. It's just... wrong. For the record, the Roche's version of this scene is equally stupid but in a different manner. Roche at least doesn't get chivalrous but he spends what feels like half a minute explaining why he has no time finish off defenseless Iorveth... which would probably take no more than two seconds. Another facepalm...
 
Don't hate me, but I really disliked the scene in which Foltest gets killed. True, it was shocking and it mattered, but the way it was executed bugged me quite a bit. Over the whole course of this thing Geralt acts like a fool. The player knows right away that Foltest's gonna die. But what happens? Geralt stands back and looks out of a window! I was about to yell at Geralt to finally run to Foltest... It was so unlike the Witcher (who's usually smart and cunning), to foolishly glare out of a window, while the guy he's supposed to protect walks around unprotected...
So this would be my pick for the scene I really didn't like...

Scenes I really liked a lot, were the ones where you had to make a decision, without having all the facts yet. Like the scene with Stennis, where you have to save him or let him get killed and you'll learn later of his guilt or innocence.
 
I won't hate anyone for giving an honest opinion. :)
As for Geral standing back - Foltest asked him to do so, so that his children are not scared by the cat-eyed mutant. It only makes sense for him to look elsewhere - both to give Foltest and his kids some privacy and to make sure his eyes are not visible and don't disturb anyone. Not considering the "blind monk" a threat was obviously a mistake but it's overall forgivable since Geralt thought the battle is pretty much finished. Besides, it's not like Geralt is a professional bodyguard with correct instincts and training.

And yes, the player knows that it's about the time something dramatic happened but it doesn't mean so does Geralt.
 
Scene I love the most is when Foltest speaks with the arbalist, the way he says: "Still an arbalist, eh?" It's just brilliant. The way he just easily gives the guy a title of "decurion of arbalists" says a lot about his character. If I'd have to fight for a king I'd want him to be like Foltest, the one who remembers his subjects.

I as well disliked the scenes between Roche and Iorveth as they made no sense. They were unnecessary and should have been scratched. One more scene bugged me. When Iorveth comes to relieve the siege of Vergen, his body language is very odd. He seems sad, troubled, as if it's something he has to do rather than something he wants to do.

Other than that, I think directing and story development are brilliant, however chapter III really seems too short and is a huge exposition dump, something that I believe should be avoided. Particaluarly the conversation with Letho. I do like however how Letho says it's showing the cards and that it's a moment he likes. Basically the writers admit and don't shy away from the fact that it's a cliche (the exposition dump). Sometimes you can't avoid cliches (nor should you try at all costs) but it's good that writers don't try to pretend it's something that it isn't.
 
Worst scene first, because I don't need to go into detail for it. I agree with Prisonerofice about the Iorveth vs Roche fight scene. Both of them would simply have killed the other one if they'd won, so it just didn't make sense.

Best scene - I found both the Foltest and Cedric death scenes very moving, and the final scene with the ladybug, but from a storytelling and writing viewpoint, I think the strongest is the scene where Geralt and Roche confront Henselt.

From a player perspective, you want to try multiple paths through the story, but at various times you're asked to make a decision where, from your own perspective, there is only one choice you can take. In a lot of games, taking the "bad" option for gameplaying/completion purposes leaves you feeling dissatisfied for the rest of the playthrough. In TW2, the writers do an extremely good job at overcoming this. Even if you have a strong pro-Roche or pro-Iorveth viewpoint, I think most players get some liking or respect for the other ally once they do take that path.

There are a lot of scenes and dialogues that help you to feel good about your decisions, but the Henselt scene is one of the most extreme. No matter how much you want him dead, his argument makes some sense. If you do decide to walk away. you may not feel good about it, but you can justify your decision. And the fact that Geralt and Roche clearly feel the same way about it strengthens this.
 
Agreed that the Roche vs Iorveth part was unnecessary and poorly implemented.

In fact it also doesn't make much sense. If you don't give Iorveth his sword, he gets imprisoned. And yet when we do Roche's assassination, he comes up and justifies him being late because of the fight with Iorveth...huh? How? Iorveth was supposed to be imprisoned. And why the hell was Roche in the forest in the first place?
That's the only moment in the game that annoyed me.

As to my favorite moment. I have too many, but regicide is certainly one of them. Roche and Geralt storming the Kaedweni camp + what Roche does to Dethmold....etc
But I guess I'll have to go with drinking Vodka with Letho and walking away. It felt like a powerful scene to me and the fact that I can end the game without a unnecessary or silly boss fight shoved down my throat, is very refreshing. I felt like Geralt had a certain connection with Letho, and the scene with him showed this very well (imo at least).
 
I need to play the game more to be honest, but here goes:

Favorite is Cedric dying in the forest. Wanted to get to know that guy better, but damn it was powerfull stuff all the same. Superb English VO for him as well.

Least favorite is when Sila dies. That really should have had more impact than a balloon filled with tomato juice. She was a major character, and about to be ripped into shreds by unimaginable magical forces, and then...pop!
 
Speaking of another kind of scene, the Elvan Baths was probably the best sex scene in any video game.
 
Yman said:
Speaking of another kind of scene, the Elvan Baths was probably the best sex scene in any video game.

And honorable mention to Geralt and Ves. Those two steamed up her tent mightily. You also get a good feel for what Ves has to put up with as a female warrior and the only woman in the Blue Stripes, leading up to that.

The confrontation over Stennis between the nobles and peasants at Vergen is well done, though the quests around it are a bit of a mess.

The ladybug cutscene at the end, though, may use the least to say the most of any moment in the game.
 
Actually, the Pen... errr... Stennis lynch scene was suitably powerful and brutal but I found the overall confrontation to be somewhat lacking. I think the main problem is the engine's limitation of how many characters can appear on screen at any given time. This makes showing mobs difficult and there were several scenes that fell a bit flat because of that (Saskia's speech being another example).

That said, the hanging scene shows that it's not a limitation that's impossible to overcome.I never had a feeling there are too few people in that one. I guess it comes down to proper direction, cuts, close-ups etc. That said, I wish they could find a "hard" solution to that problem at least for the cut-scenes, so they can show mobs even if they can't do it during the gameplay. This might be really handy if there will be some mass, pitched battles in expansion/TW3 - and everything seems to be going that direction. I'd love to see another Brenna or Sodden in TW3 with outcome depending on what Geralt did or didn't do before it.
 
PrisonerofIce said:
Actually, the Pen... errr... Stennis lynch scene was suitably powerful and brutal but I found the overall confrontation to be somewhat lacking. I think the main problem is the engine's limitation of how many characters can appear on screen at any given time. This makes showing mobs difficult and there were several scenes that fell a bit flat because of that (Saskia's speech being another example).

The entire battle of Vergen on Iorveth's path felt flat because of it.
That is one of the biggest flaws of the game imo.
 
Well, here are a few of my favourite scenes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxU3clL6TSM&feature=channel_video_title
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J83dfIubbwY&feature=channel_video_title
 
Favorite: Probably Elven Gardens/Baths :D Foltest's death was also very well done.

Least favorite: When Triss gets ehm "cured" of artifact compression. Or Sile's death, that was very disappointing.
 
Favorite has to be when Geralt and Letho share one last shot of Vodka and Geralt walks away.

Least favorite: Vergen Siege Battle. It just doesn't feel like an epic battle because ( as others have said ) the limitations of the engine.

Oh and the Roche vs Iorveth fight scene, no really you can get this scene even if you decided to earlier help Roche in the skirmish but then decide to free Iorveth? Seriously HOW?!
 
vindafarna said:
Well, here are a few of my favourite scenes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxU3clL6TSM&feature=channel_video_title

Which may be a bit problematic because IIRC, Shilard only got the Triss statuette later and not on that day.

The way I interpret it is that Shilard planned to turn Triss into a statuette, and talked as if he already did so.
 
KnightofPhoenix said:
Which may be a bit problematic because IIRC, Shilard only got the Triss statuette later and not on that day.

The way I interpret it is that Shilard planned to turn Triss into a statuette, and talked as if he already did so.

About the statuette...

You can find it on Philippa's night stand, on Iorveth's path. It mysteriously disappears sometime before you cross to the other side of the mist to do stuff around the camp. Dun dun dunnnn~
 
Dona said:
About the statuette...

You can find it on Philippa's night stand, on Iorveth's path. It mysteriously disappears sometime before you cross to the other side of the mist to do stuff around the camp. Dun dun dunnnn~

So...Philippa turned Triss into a statuette? And then the nilgaardian masochist agent stole it and gave it to Shilard?

Wow, I never noticed.
 
KnightofPhoenix said:
So...Philippa turned Triss into a statuette? And then the nilgaardian masochist agent stole it and gave it to Shilard?

Wow, I never noticed.

Someone on GoG forum pointed it out. It's in the background, really, she doesn't say a thing about it. Maybe Cynthia worked with Nilfgaardians (do we know what happens to her after she disappears? my memory fails me). Who knows.
 

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Forum veteran
Dona said:
Maybe Cynthia worked with Nilfgaardians (do we know what happens to her after she disappears? my memory fails me). Who knows.
Phillipa calls her something along the lines of a "cheap Nilfgaardian slut" or something when she's informed that Cynthia played her. So... yeah, I think it's safe to say she was working with Nilfgaard.

*edited to remove the wrong parts :)
 
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