2011 is the year of RPG, and also the year of AAA title squeals. Major RPG titles such as; Dragon Age 2, Fable 3, The Elder Scroll V: Skyrim, Dungeon Siege 3 and of course, The Witcher 2 are all due in 2011. Earlier this year in March, Bioware released Dragon Age 2. While the game was good, but several major flaws ultimately disqualifies Dragon Age 2 to be considered "game of the year", and will probably not be remembered as a classic. Actually, criticisms on Dragon Age 2 has caused Bioware to delay the release of another AAA RPG title, Mass Effect 3 which was originally due for release in December 2011.
In the meantime, the Polish video game studio CD Projekt RED has worked on a sequel to the well received 2007 RPG "The Witcher". The Withcer 2 was released on 17th May worldwide. For months prior to its release, The Witcher 2 has already caused major disturbance in the world of video gaming. The initial game play videos and previews has lead to rumors circulating that "The Witcher 2", might just be the only contender for RPG of the year next to TESV: Skyrim. From what we can see, it seems that The Witcher 2 actually has better graphics than TES V: Skyrim.
After some 40 hours of gameplay, I have finally finished The Witcher 2. After finishing the game, I feel compelled to do a review on this game, so here it goes.
Introduction:
The Witcher RPG series, is based on a series of Polish fantasy novels by Andrzej Sapowski. Apparently in Poland, Sapowski's "Witcher" novels are as big as Harry Potter is in the English speaking world. The first 2 Witcher novels, "The Last Wish", and "Blood of the Elves" have both been translated into English. I have read them and I have to say, they are pretty good. So if you like reading fantasy novels, I highly recommend that you pick up "The Last Wish" from your nearby bookstore.
But let us not get distracted by books... The first Withcer game was well received by critics alike due to its complex story intended for more mature audiences. Personally, I really enjoyed the first Witcher game despite some of its flaws, such as the slightly too easy combat mechanics and the lack of armors choices in the game.
In "The Witcher" series, it is set in a medieval European styled world. With elves, dawrves, strange monsters and creatures. It is also an ugly world, with political conspiracies and conflicts of interests, where the elves and dawrves suffer from racism from humans, and some have taken the path of becoming freedom fighters (or terrorists in another sense). The main protaganist is "Geralt of Rivia", a mutant human who is trained from birth as a monster slayer.
Story:
The story of "The Witcher 2" picked up from the first Witcher game. After the events in The Witcher 1, Geralt of Rivia found himself to be the King's favourite subject. In a war to reclaim the king's royal bastards, an assassin managed to kill the king while he was under Geralt's guard. Therefore, Geralt became the prime suspect of the assassination and needed to clear his own name. As Geralt investigated and attempted to catch the assassin responsible for the king's death. A series of political conspiracies began to unveil, which led to a major change in the cause of history depending on Geralt's choice and his role in the story.
The developer CD Projekt Red boasted that "The Witcher 2" would have the most non-linear storyline ever seen in the history of RPG. Apparently, there are 16 different endings to "The Witcher 2". It all depends on the choices player make during the game. What I like most about the story is, unlike most traditional RPGs, when it comes to make decisions and choices in The Witcher 2. There are no obvious "right' or "wrong" choices to make. In other words, none of your choices are absolute good or absolute evil. As in the game you will be able to see both sides of the story, and see that all the clashes are simply conflicts of interests, and often both sides believe that they are doing the right thing. As a result, almost all the quests in The Witcher 2 are morally ambiguous. Most of the time, you will feel like you are making choices to choose the lesser of two evils, and often you will really have to pause to think about the choices you are going to make.
Another great factor of The Witcher 2 story is that, in this game. The story really evolves around your choices. The game will punish you for stuipd decisions you made earlier, while the story in the later chapters will be results of your choices earlier in the game. While many modern RPG often boast non-linear storyline, they are never really well implemented. However, it is not the same with The Witcher 2. As this game definitely has the MOST non-linear storyline I have ever seen in any RPG, and it's great.
As a Christian, my biggest problem against the story of "The Witcher 2" is probably the amount of sexual contents in this game. I was quite hopeful when I heard that the Australian version of the game was going to be censored for MA15+ rating. However, within the first few minutes of the game, scenes of full frontal nudity came into view and I was totally unprepared for that. So here is my warning: if you cannot handle strong sexual contents in video games, then don't play it... YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Otherwise, I really liked the overall story of "The Witcher 2", as it was full of surprises, twists and it really made me think about the choices I was making.
Gameplay and design:
The first thing you would notice about The Witcher 2 is the amazing graphics. I think this is the best looking RPG ever made. CD Projekt has made their own game engine for this game. Although the graphics look amazing, but it is also extremely taxing on your computer. I have a Nivida Geforce GTX 570 (which is the 2nd fastest single GPU card on the market in the 1st quarter of 2011), with Intel Core 2 quad 9300 CPU and 4 gigs of RAM. Yet I cannot run this game at maximum graphics setting.
The stunning graphics is not only coming from the good looking lighting and shadow effects, but also from the artist design and great use of color contrasts and building architectures. It's almost as if the developer went all out to make sure that The Witcher 2 is going to look good even in a few years time.
The gameplay in The Witcher 2 has been completely renovated. The combat mechanics is really simple and fun. The left mouse botton is fast attack, the right mouse button is heavy, slow attack. While "E" is blocking, and "Q" is for casting signs (magic). This combat mechanics has made The Witcher 2 play like a 3rd person action game in combats and is extremely engaging.
Unlike its predecessor, The Witcher 2 has hordes of items. The player can equip Geralt with many armors, and also have the abilites to craft your own armors and weapons, which added to a lot of funs to the RPG element.
However, here comes another flaw in this otherwise amazing game. The Witcher 2, has a very bizzare difficulty curve. In the beginning of the game, it is unbelievably HARD! However, as the game progresses and your character gains level and gets better equipments. The game becomes too easy. The reversed difficulty curve is quite strange in video games. But the good thing is, you can adjust the difficulty setting anytime you want. Still, it doesn't help with my annoyance in the prologue part of the game when I died 30 times...
The "reversed difficulty curve" also eliminated some fun aspects to the game. Not only do you die so often in the beginning of the game, but become untouchable towards the end of the game. With this problem also caused the elimination of some of the fun aspects of the game. For example, in the beginning of the game, because it is so difficult. You are forced to use all of Geralt's abilities, from sword fighting, magic skills to throwing bombs and drinking potions. However, as the game progress it becomes easier, and at the end you only have to use sword fighting, while using magic, bombs and potions are no longer needed. So I think CD Projekt should have balanced the difficulty of the game a bit more.
The world of The Witcher 2 is massive, besides the main quest line. There are numerous side quests to do as well, and even the side quests have good storyline to it. If you still want more, there are many mini games you can play as well and help Geralt to earn more money. From arm wrestling match, dice games to bar fights.
Another great thing about The Witcher 2 is the memorable characters. Although you will only get to play Geralt in the game, but you will meet a huge cast of characters. All of these characters are very interesting, and very memorable indeed. The characters really brought the story of The Witcher 2 to life, and you will definitely want to play this game several times to experiment with how making different decisions in the game will lead to different story and endings.
Final conclusion:
Story (9/10): This is the most non-linear RPG I've ever encountered. The complexity of the storyline is further enhanced by the morally ambiguous choices the player will have to make. All of these features makes the story one of the most compelling tale to ever embrace the world of RPG, and one of the most re-playable game as well.
Gameplay and design (9.8/10): The Witcher 2 is one of the prettiest RPG I've ever seen. The graphics and the environments are simply stunning. The combat mechanics is solid and exciting. However, the reverse difficulty curve is really bizzare. Which makes the first 5 hours of the game a most frustrating experience.
Violence/gore - medium: There are a lot of violence in this game, as Geralt not only kills monsters but also kill humans as he investigates the political consipracies. However, the violence scenes are not very gory. Unlike Dragon Age 2, people don't explode when they die, and no limbs or heads are chopped off and flying around.
Sex/nudity - very strong: I would strongly caution those who want to play this game about the strong sexual contents. Once again, if you have problem handling strong sexual contents in video games, then don't play it. If the Australian version is being censored, I wonder what the uncensored version looks like... There are about 5 scenes of frontal nudity, and 2 optional sex scenes.
Final verdict: 9.6/10
The Witcher 2, is a true AAA title and an instant RPG classic. It is in every way superior to Dragon Age 2, and as good as Mass Effect 2. Until TES V: Skyrim is released, I can see The Witcher 2 being a strong contender for game of the year 2011.
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