I'll copy-paste what I wrote in the E3 demo discussion thread:
The more I watch the Twitch version, the more excited I become. Not considering certain things during the initial MS presentation left me dubious. Keeping them in mind now, I appreciate it differently.
1) Shoddy quality. Even The Sword of Destiny viewed at 1080p in YouTube isn't as good as after downloading it in HD. And the streaming is crap to begin with.
2) Zooming option confirmed. Can't stress enough how this makes the battles more intimate and allows to see the motions in better detail. Watching battles from relatively afar as in the E3 demos makes them less impressive than seeing them up close as we'll be able to. In the VGX trailer at 00:59 we see how something as simple as zooming makes it better. Also in the Debut Gameplay trailer at 01:07-01:21.
With a grain of salt of course, seeing how they chose particularly good segments for them. Still, it demonstrates the advantage in a close view.
3) Demo enemies weakened and players restrained. They held back for the sake of the presentation. It wasn't an organic way to fight. They fooled around, took it slow and careful to try and nail many things under the time limit. Jab, out, jab, out. In the game itself, I believe the combat will be much more hectic. And that the mechanics will allow it. In a good way.
It's just snippets, but I think at around 02:51 and 03:10 we can see just how smooth the parrying is. The one in 02:51 was a parry even while he was targeting a different enemy, and the attack didn't come from Geralt's front. Good stuff. That Lucas guy intentionally jumped away to extend the battle, but I can easily imagine just continuing from the parry to attack, attack, parry again, attack - and not so much dodging. When I remember that the enemies will be more durable than in this demo, it's a recipe for exhilarating fast-paced combat.
The way his stance changes at 03:28 is also cool. The strafing at 05:31 makes it truly feel like a showdown. Strafing in general looks right. The Ignii afterwards is great, too.
Could be that I'm seeing a depth in combat mechanics that isn't there, based just on several specific seconds. Then again, could be that we're blowing 5 minutes out of proportion.
The core is awesome. The only work is on animations (their speed, the variety of evasive maneuvers), and that's certainly manageable until February. I'm aroused.