[Gothos]

First thoughts (after about 6 hours of playing):

This game's combat is fucking hard.
At least the overtuned the prologue by miles. I'm playing on Normal, and I've spent a LONG time going through the 'introduction' siege sequence. Fighting multiple enemies is very complicated, and the targeting system is quite counter-intuitive and WILL take you quite some time to get used to. You will be frustrated. You WILL be frustrated. A lot.

So far I've reached the second location: some backwater town near the Aedirn/Temeria border, but since then I've been running around town talking and sneaking a lot, I've also done some fistfighting - quite entertaining, if laughably easy so far. Dice poker is back as well.

The visuals are stunning, at least to me. You might experience some glitches like hi-res textures not reloading in time (I guess the game 'hides' hi-res textures when stuff is off-screen, then loads them on the fly when the camera moves). People seem like people, the environment looks incredible, there's absolutely awesome lighting and view depth for far away objects.


Now, something really bad I have to say here: the game has, in that time, crashed and kicked me to the desktop with no explanation or error messages 6 times. At least the load times are short-ish.



All in all, overtuned difficulty and crashing aside, it's being quite interesting so far. I'll say, without spoiling, that the story doesn't fuck around. Heads will roll, and you'll be interested. I only hope now that the game keeps / ramps this up as we go on.

That's it, I'm off to sleep or something. More to say on the matter tomorrow.

[Mentalist]

my GOG version unlocks in 2.5 hours.... it'll be interesting to see if it works.

[Sammehmander Rake]

Gothos has it pretty spot on. Combat is pretty tricky. (I'm also playing in Medium difficulty) but once you get the hang of it, it feels quiet natural and I haven't even learnt any new skills yet! Graphics are stunning as well! though I am only able to run on medium/high settings (optimal) the scenery is superb and the people do indeed look like people. voice acting is awesome and makes the whole environment feel alive. lots of humor to be heard listening to what people go on about in the background.


Probably shouldn't play this game when the young nephew is watching though. I've already had an eyeful of breasts and various other niceties. It truly lives up to its 'mature game' rave.



I'm looking forward to playing this through all 16 times xD



also score! I pre-ordered the limited collectors edition, in the huge box. from EBgames. (only because no other store was pre-selling that edition.) The dude said they received an Extra 3 mice and Mouse mats. plus the extra DLC. got it all for free even though it wasn't part of the deal. Its been a good day.

[Aptorian]

EDIT: Weird it wont accept the "image extension"???

http://imgur.com/bzGGA

This post has been edited by Battle Plaptypus: 17 May 2011 - 01:01 PM

[Gothos]

uh, what am I not seeing in this image that's amusing?

[Aptorian]

The corpse is dressed as an Assassin from Assassins Creed.

One stable of the AC series is that the assassins are able to do a "Leap of Faith" where they jump from high points and land in haystack or flower carts, etc.

Looks like that didn't go so well for this one.

When Geralt comes upon this scene, he says something like "they never learn".

It's an easter egg.

This post has been edited by Battle Plaptypus: 17 May 2011 - 01:30 PM

[Gothos]

ah right, now I see it

One Easter Egg I found so far is in the fight club in Flotsam, there's a fighter called Naizdup, called 'Backwards' or something to that effect... Naizdup is 'Pudzian' spelled backwards.

This is Pudzian.

[Euler]

bought this trough GOG.com and have played trought the prologue and alittle in chapter 1. So far I find it much better then the first game. combat while was abit tricky in start feels pretty great now, the visuals are suberb even on medium settings, voice acting is solid and its a mature game.

So in conclusion this far the game is pretty damn awesome... MUCH MUCH better then dragon age 2, wich was the last rpg I played.

[Tapper]

Steam servers are not responding.... dammit.

[Mentalist]

installed off GOG.

I may have to raise a temple to CD Project Red. the game runs on my intel card.
sure, it runs like utter shit, with uber low framerates (might have smth to do with the fact I installed on an external--moving now to see if that'll help.

but, the point is: IT RUNS.

EDIT: halving the resolution, and killing all non-essential processes on my lappy, it runs at half decent framerate.

optimization, thy name is CDPRed!

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 17 May 2011 - 08:16 PM

[Gothos]

After running the game for a bit more, and running into an Endriag Queen, and having numerous mobs respawn in an area I just cleared after loading the game... Fuck this game.

Seriously, FUCK THIS GAME.
I can't believe I spent this much on it. What with the crashes, DRM fails, HORRENDOUS tuning and retarted combat, as well as absurdly ramped up combat difficulty, I'm giving up. It's seriously not worth my time or nerves at this point - I ain't bought a game to get endlessly frustrated at it. I'm greatly disappointed, as it seems I'll have to resolve to some let's play videos on youtube to get to know the story.
But fuck this shit.

[Mentalist]

Gothos, on 17 May 2011 - 08:22 PM, said:

After running the game for a bit more, and running into an Endriag Queen, and having numerous mobs respawn in an area I just cleared after loading the game... Fuck this game.

Seriously, FUCK THIS GAME.
I can't believe I spent this much on it. What with the crashes, DRM fails, HORRENDOUS tuning and retarted combat, as well as absurdly ramped up combat difficulty, I'm giving up. It's seriously not worth my time or nerves at this point - I ain't bought a game to get endlessly frustrated at it. I'm greatly disappointed, as it seems I'll have to resolve to some let's play videos on youtube to get to know the story.
But fuck this shit.

I got the game guide fro free with my DRM-free GOG copy. I could give you a copy, for the story.

as for combat: i'm having issues right now. it seems to be almost turn-based.
my biggest gripe is the inability to switch WASD to arrow keys. becasue of that, i'm having issues with dodging, which I figure is the big part of the new combat.

[Tapper]

Gothos, on 17 May 2011 - 08:22 PM, said:

After running the game for a bit more, and running into an Endriag Queen, and having numerous mobs respawn in an area I just cleared after loading the game... Fuck this game.

Seriously, FUCK THIS GAME.
I can't believe I spent this much on it. What with the crashes, DRM fails, HORRENDOUS tuning and retarted combat, as well as absurdly ramped up combat difficulty, I'm giving up. It's seriously not worth my time or nerves at this point - I ain't bought a game to get endlessly frustrated at it. I'm greatly disappointed, as it seems I'll have to resolve to some let's play videos on youtube to get to know the story.
But fuck this shit.

Yeah, the combat is definately weird. Sometimes you slice your way through a pack of enemies and even working a good change between fast and slow, other times I get torn to pieces by real easy mobs. Also, key responses are wonky. Y'know, you could wait for a patch. I'm sure there will be one, because I agree with you that it needs something.

[Garak]

http://witcher.wikia..._patch_released

[Silencer]

Gothos, on 17 May 2011 - 08:22 PM, said:

After running the game for a bit more, and running into an Endriag Queen, and having numerous mobs respawn in an area I just cleared after loading the game... Fuck this game.

Seriously, FUCK THIS GAME.
I can't believe I spent this much on it. What with the crashes, DRM fails, HORRENDOUS tuning and retarted combat, as well as absurdly ramped up combat difficulty, I'm giving up. It's seriously not worth my time or nerves at this point - I ain't bought a game to get endlessly frustrated at it. I'm greatly disappointed, as it seems I'll have to resolve to some let's play videos on youtube to get to know the story.
But fuck this shit.

So...wait until the Enhanced Edition releases?

Ah well...guess it's LA Noire for me then, despite several things I've heard in reviews that give me pause. Now I'm holding out for Deus Ex, as the next major release, and some serious patches for this. *sigh*

[Mentalist]

hrm

after about 10 tries, i managed to kill the 5-odd people guarding the ballista (first solo combat of the "combat tutorial" section) the foced WASD thing is messing with me something fierce, though--my fingers are drawn to the arrow keys, lmao. the responsiveness to attack can use work, too--gotta crush the mouse key every time.

suffice it to say, quicksave key is my best friend, which, given i've been playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. lately, is nothing new, heh

I get the combat through. it's horribly clunky, (but so is the whole game on my lappy, so i don't count it against it), but i get the combat and what it's trying to do with the whole hit, dodge, hit. mechanic. it's just that my geralt is slow. I want my wolverine potion back. and blizzard.

what's more, it's almost identical to the combat in the later Legacy of Kain games, which I loved. although having to tap the block key each time is strainful. oh, and guess what skill will I be getting first? that's right, the "block everyone's strikes" skill.

the ballista QTE is annoying. did it 4 times now. the fact that the guards respawn each time..... sloppy, CDP.

but hey, I found a resolution which lets me get framerate decent enough for combat, and my laptop is so horrendously below minimum specs I shouldn't complain at anything.

though I so want enhanced edition. I want my Russian voiceovers NAO. Foltest sounds like a girl compared to the manly Foltest I remember (replayed most of Chapter 5 yesterday night), and the "olde English" accents are jarring.

EDIT: okay (25 minutes later, after the next fight sequence)
fuck me, this is HARD. but beautiful.

this is not for beginners. seriously. this combat (on normal) is insane. added to the fact that my controls are fucked, this does not bode well. BUT.

when you get it right, it's ridiculously satisfactory. and CDP doesn stop to tell you: "this guy has a tower shield. he can mess you up, if he decided to run, and you don't dodge". or "this guy is making a whirwind combo. unless you are facing him AND blocking, you better dodge the fuck out, or you WILL die.

it makes you think on the fly. a lot. and I still mash buttons frantically (because to dodge you need space + direction, and direction changes, based on the camera that rotates wildly, and there's a block button you need to hit just right.. hmm, I wonder if I can put in on my mouse thumb button... ), but, the feeling you get from getting it right.... it's awesome.

althouhg it took me 3 tries to figure out the QTE. what's the appeal of repeatedly mashing the same button, I will never know.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 17 May 2011 - 11:45 PM

[Gothos]

I think I'll resort to restarting on Easy. But I somehow doubt that will change anything.

[Mentalist]

the dragon part pissed me off. I got the combat figured out, but when you lose 3/4 of your health for no reason and then have to fight off a mob? arg.

i'll get back to it tomorrow, but unless I get a better rig, this game will take me a long time.

[Sammehmander Rake]

All your guys's complaints are reasonable and I have found myself in the same situation many times. I died at least 50 times at the dragon part. haha incineration is a killer..

you can also double tap a direction to roll in that direction. beats pressing space and trying, as it can be unresponsive I have found. but I think the reason behind the responsiveness is that Geralt actually has to pivot on his forward leg in order to spin and retreat. so perhaps they added that as "realism" I have found that the attack is also a bit clunky. you need too time it perfectly amongst dodging and parrying, Signs and what have you. I only just made it to Flotsam, so I haven't gone up against any terribly tough foes yet.

I believe that this game really encourages you not to just rush headlong into battle, but tactically plan your actions. I found that I can take down many foes if I use the attack and retreat combo. mixed with some well placed magic signs it all fits in together nicely. I didn't have any trouble at the Ballista scene using this technique on Normal settings. Also, you don't need to time blocks perfectly (E) button. you can hold it down while facing the target at any time and it will work, thus putting them of balance, the perfect time to get in 3 or so hits. I did this and beat on of the early bosses without taking any substantial damage.


Although I'm not to say if this is the game for you. I absolutely love it! and I am eager to face a challenge! I've rage quit from Mass Effect multiple times from falling in battle over and over again. give me a sword and magic any day over guns and a squad



Happy Hunting



-Sam

[Gothos]

The fact that you have to spend Vigor on parrying, which you also use for signs, is simply retarted, especially that enemies don't have any limits on their blocking and parrying. Another fact that the 3 hits you get in after parrying do like 10-15% damage to the most basic enemies. Couple that with their buddies whopping your ass while the guy is off balance and you have a very frustrating game. For groups of 4+ enemies, the only working technique I've found is running around like a chicken and blasting them with Igni whenever it's available. For negligible damage, true, but it's the only 'safe' attack.
Rushing headlong into battle ends it in approximately 2 seconds. But even if you try to pick enemies apart, divide them up with Yrden or whatnot, most of the time the others will just wait around and all move in formation. It seems that Geralt has no concept of NOT advancing a full mile forward with each attack, you end up being surrounded very, very fast. Lock your target? Somehow the mobs seem to know and the one you locked onto keeps behind his two buddies all of the sudden. Fuck, even Mount&Blade give you more control over how you attack - say, could I perhaps do a run-by attack from the side when attacking the leftmost mob in a group of 4, instead of charging head on into him and getting lodged between several bodies getting hacked at from all sides?
The fighting system is comparable to Gothic, really... only that good ol' Gothic did it a hundred million times better - responsiveness, intuitivity, control over your character, application of battle tactics, and most of all YOUR CHARACTER NOT BEHAVING LIKE A RETARD. Seriously, I'd rather be one of those ragtag bandits with a simple, tiny wooden round shield. They literally seem to have a lot better combat options than the elite, mutant superhuman monster killing machine. Just give me that block, give me that knockdown charge, and I'll get out of each fight unscathed.


Did I mention that enemies you just cleared respawn all around you after loading the game in certain areas? Because I should. THAT was what finally made me ragequit the game.

I'll just wait until you go out of Flotsam to the surrounding areas and go hunt some Endriaga, or Nekkers (little fuckers can be killed in 2-3 slashes, but if they get a hit in you're in big fucking trouble. And they come in swarms.). And the Endriaga queens.