"edited review" this is the best rpg in so many years
Now to get back to the game i would use some spoilers but this wouldn't be nice.....seen many having problems with the dragon part (which it's kinda easy afther you do it once), and they didn't even bother to play it further and let me tell you afther the prologue this game gets really nasty (in a good way) and awesome, so many choices to be had so many fights , and the fighting gets much more easy, at the end of the first chapter the mob fighting get easy on normal. For thoose who think the game it's to short , you just need to stop playing a game in a hurry (yes i am at work now, yes i have an university to finish and yes i have a life, but that doesn't stop me enjoying one of the most beautifull games in decades ...bg2 nwn , diablo and diablo 2, gothic , sw kotor and kotor2, morrowind , the witcher and some more-i am not wasting time to make a list- are the games that made history and the witcher 2 deserves his place in the Halls of the best Rpg games, because it is beautifull it's a beast and hard to control sometimes, it makes you wow and hate it and then love it again, like diablo when you fight the big guys or bg)Let me tell you some quest are hidden , even the manual doesn't have those, neither the ones that made the walktroughs , the world it's limited by boundries (it isn't like oblivion or fallout ) but tw 2 gives you so much content in one place and so many options that you stop carring about walking around from point a to b (taking the c or d route or using the shortcut) and walk for minutes hoping eventually you will find a monster or something , the npc are full of live funny like hell, they make you fell you leave in that place and you get attached to some. This type of game focusses on a story, on twists and characters , on making you leave the moments that some of the npc have......
Control + Gameplay: yes you can map the keys, but some are wasting time finding bugs than being smart and finding where the keys are noted and how to change them....at the beginning of the game you will find it hard to play it (harder for thoose who played the first witcher, i've waste 10 min just to find out why couldn't i use potions ....than i've started reading the manual and it says press ctrl +esc to enter in meditation mod to use potions, or press shift and click on the middle of the weel), it is hard because you don't have the level to fight with large mobs( more than 2-3 and you die fast), now it is wizzer to take them one by one, and use some bombs and prepare the terain with traps. The controls are ok and the fights are punishing sometimes but if you die you know you deserve it , i didn't found any bugs (he moves like he should, i've seen some judging the game because afther rolling over you can not slice and dice like a jedi , duh if you roll you will loose some momentum , that's why you should roll -press space or double tap a ,d,s,or w -to move outside the battle), the boss fights are epic except for the kairan (i hate quick events), the minigames are enjoyable but expect to see harder oponents from chapter to chapter....one more thing combining signs with swordplay it's a treat (for example i've stun a troll than i've killed him in one movement by choping his head of)
Graphics; this game shines , on a mid comp i can play it using ultra high settings (no ubersampling, and no i don't have the issues that some people have, like craching and other problems, hint don't use ubersampling-they will release a patch this week or next week , patch 1.1). Every tree, every wreck, house, barrel, face, scar, flower, monster, npc , place, tent, fireplace, all of them look amazing, they really made a game that can be proud of being a pc game.
Story: OK i will not use spoilers, the story it's pure gold, i've read some of the books and i did play the first game, and i can tell you the story it is amazing, the amount of choices and best of all the choices aren't like in me or da:o (i hate da2 so i will not mention it more than once), good or evil, in this game it is hard (on the spot) to see if your choice was the right one or not because you may feel it would be right but it can be verry bad for you and your npc friends, it is no white or black it is grey nothing seems good and nothing seems evil , but be aware you will feel the consequinces, this game is making you feel that you aren't just a player and you can choose because you want to be a paragon or a renegade, it makes you feel that your choice it's something personal, that the choice came from within not just to be a good guy or bad guy.
It may seem long and for some boring (my review), but it is my review and i hope some of you will see the game as i see it, like a gem an old school rpg.......yes the controls are made more for consoles than the pc, but it plays good on bouth (controler and k+m), as i said in my dragon age 2 review(ups second time nvm) i don't mind if a game is made more aproachable for consoles , i mind if it gets dumbed down (but this isn't the case)........again some ATI users may have some issues (they are working on a patch), some may have issues with the framerate (update your drivers - it worked for me- and/or disable the ubersampling), the crashes (try to disable the ubersampling or wait for patch , not many have this issue, i don't), for the sound problem 5.1 7.1 systems may encounter some sound problems ( i did, but you can do this , ingame alt tab to windows go to your audio soft change it form 5.1 or 7.1 to stereo, alt tab again and see if it works , if it works save the game , alt tab again go and swap from stereo to 5.1/7.1, it worked for me and i had it once), for the dlc problems wait until patch it's released, don't download any dlc(some may have problems with the preorder or collector edition dlc) wait for patch 1.1 ......from my point of view this game deserves 9-9.5 rating even 10 , i gave it a ten because i love the witcher univers, good work CD Projekt