![]() There are oddities however – some which just require getting used to, but also others that stray into “please patch this” territory. The controls are, in general, natural-feeling and well adapted to the console pad. Unfair boxing matches with quick-time events are a Witcher’s speciality Oh, and you also can’t accidentally skip straight into the dragon battle anymore, as our own David Brown did first time he played it. I’d advise players of the PC version to still do this tutorial on 360 though, as the new controls do take a bit of getting used to. Well, now not only has that fight been softened slightly there’s also – yay – a tutorial. Penny Arcade even did a comic to mock how the first fight in the game is arguably the hardest, just because you have no idea what you’re doing. The beginning, although spectacular (the dramatic siege of a castle partially interrupted by a dragon assault!), just utterly failed to introduce the combat fairly or properly. With a few exceptions which I’ll also get to, the major two areas that needed buffing were the beginning of the game and, er, the end of the game. The Witcher 2 just needed a polish in a few areas, and that’s exactly what you’re getting here. ![]() I’m not going to say the Enhanced Edition is as spectacular a redux as the first game got, but that dearly needed it. The Witcher 2 is an RPG like no other – one where you feel you’re making an impact with every action, which is a tremendously satisfying feeling. This is a game where you can side with the terrorists, the skull-faced eye-hunting vengeful spectres or the powerful man-eating trolls (incidentally my favourite characters in the game). This is a world with no obvious good and evil choices, it’s all wonderful shades of grey and every choice can have an unexpected outcome. The forest in Chapter 1 is overgrown, dank, and oppressive, and towns feel like people actually live there, packed with mud and dirt and with a brothel and a gallows at the centre. The world’s smaller than the likes of Skyrim or Amalur but freer than Dragon Age, and feels more real and believable than any of them. Small choices offer different quest paths or rewards, but major choices can completely alter the game – siding with Iorveth (terrorist elf) or Roche (miserable spy) in Chapter 1 for example changes Chapter 2 completely, in terms of story, location, interactions, quests, everything. This is a game that scoffs at Mass Effect’s choice and consequence system – The Witcher series is the real deal. If you want to know in detail why The Witcher 2 is so great please feel free to check out my original review. It’s a true classic of the genre and is inarguably one of the best RPGs ever made. ![]() I’m going to get right to the point: if you like fantasy RPGs you need The Witcher 2 in your collection, and no, it doesn’t matter whether you’ve played the first or not. The first game introduced romantic interest sorceress Triss Merigold, mouthy bard (and narrator) Dandelion, and the outspoken dwarf Zoltan, as well as the fact that Geralt has amnesia –don’t scoff, did I mention that the reason for this is that he was pursuing an army of child-stealing murderous wraiths? Geralt saved the life of King Foltest from a mysterious assassin at the end of the first game, and the second picks up a few months later. You, Ser Player, takes control of Geralt of Rivia – a Witcher, a partially mutated kick-ass monster slayer with a few spells and two swords on his back (steel for humans, silver for monsters). And less infuriating this timeĪ quick recap of the story and world for anyone not up to speed. ![]() The opening castle siege is particularly impressive. Has CD Projekt’s first foray into couch-gaming paid off, or will it be too much for the ageing white box to handle? The Enhanced Edition of the original The Witcher buffed and polished a good game into a bona-fide classic, now we’re here to see if they can do the same for the already-a-classic The Witcher 2 - and on Xbox 360 for the first time no less! Since you don’t need me to tell you about the PC version as the Enhanced Edition is free for those who own the standard game (and if you don’t own it, buy it now) we’ll concentrate on the console version. Of course CD Projekt haven’t been idle for the past year either, which is why we’re reviewing the game again now. Bethesda and Big Huge Games may be offering bigger worlds, but you make more of an impact on The Witcher’s world. Wow, has it really been a year since I gave The Witcher 2 on PC a 9.0? Since then we’ve had Skyrim and Kingdoms of Amalur offer their own uniquely differing takes on the fantasy RPG genre, but neither in my mind hold a candle to the sheer satisfaction of playing a Witcher title.
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