Wish there was a ps3 version =( No way in hell would my pc be able to run this on the lowest of low settings.

@stinky said:

how close is this to a bioware type story?

do you have companions or anything like that?

as in are relationships meaningful or just get you better prices at NPC stores?

As much as I like Bioware, they have nothing on the story of the Witcher. Other than any Bioware game your decisions REALLY matter and there is no weird "good/evil - meter" that tells you what to do. You don't really get companions in the Bioware sense ... there are some missions where someone follows you or you have to follow someone but thats about it.

The relationships are pure story. There is no number that says how much someone likes you and there are no gameplay benefits when people like/dislike you.

Witcher 2 has probably the most mature story of any game I played at least the last 5 years, and im not talking about "boobs"-mature but about a lot of political stuff and decisions in a grey area ... you'll probably find yourself scratching your head more than once thinking about what to do.

@benspyda said:

@sins_of_mosin said:

I was able to get to the first town in chapter 1 and it runs really well. There is a bit of popping in the distance or a delay in cutscenes but the actual gameplay is solid. There are a few things I don't like about the inventory page but thats just a design thing and not a technical issue. I feel thou on some of the side quests, I'm going to have to look stuff up because the journal log will be really vague like read a book to learn more. Well, where is the book because none of the merchants sell them and there is no marker on the map.

You are just used to being told where you need to go by all the hand holding in modern games. This is a real mans game.

In all seriousness I found some of the side quests frustrating not knowing what to do. Its a pretty oldschool style of RPG despite its big budget look.

Even when you read a book on a certain monster it's not clear where the information you need shows up. It could've been handled better I think.

Just done the prologue so I'm not so far into it (with that said, I thought the prologue lasted a fair while so this could take some time) and I like it. The combat's a bit weird but I seem to be doing okay initially with my mixture of heavy attacks and magic traps/fire/stasis spells. Oh and rolling. Lots of rolling. So much rolling. The interface on stuff like the inventory and quest log is a bit weird although I'm sure I'll get used to them both. Can see some console gamers being smacked in the face by a few walls of text but it's not so bad.

Love the cinematics, cut-scenes and all that stuff, really nice. Particularly fond of the initial one on the boat...

I am initially struck by how this is a game that, on the surface, sounds like it should be similar to Dragon Age etc., but it's completely unlike that. It features elves, magic and all that bullshit but thus far that's not been what's interested me. It's all politics and revenge and awesome stuff like that. It's a tonal 180 from many other games in the genre.

I've heard that if your into Game of Thrones, and how that's an adult take on the Fantasy genre with political intrigue and backstabbing swines vying for a crown and a throne...then The Witcher could be for you.

I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive, but I've begun reading "The Last Wish", and I'm a huge fan of Game of Thrones...and yeah, the type of fan who would dig that seems appropriate to say they could dig the other.

I'm playing it uninstalled (on a 4 GB Xbox 360) and it runs perfectly fine. Though the flow of combat takes awhile to get used to.

I'm digging it 5 hours in. As has been said, it looks fine and runs well, but I did notice the sound mix issues that someone talked about earlier In the thread. I find the combat a bit awkward, especially the dagger throwing, and the camera feels a little bit loose. Hopefully I'll get used to the little quirks fairly quickly. Otherwise, a very good game.

I bought it today. I've played maybe three hours of it. I'm about to sneak out of the dungeon. I own it for the PC too, so I'm used to the combat and stuff, plus I played a lot of the PC version with a pad. My PC didn't run it that great and after the 2.1 patch I haven't been able to launch the game, that's why I bought it for the 360.
 
One thing I did do was turn of the automatic centering camera in the options menu. I like controlling the camera manually. The game runs pretty darn good. I'm taking a break then I'm diving back in.

I bought it today. I've played maybe three hours of it. I'm about to sneak out of the dungeon. I own it for the PC too, so I'm used to the combat and stuff, plus I played a lot of the PC version with a pad. My PC didn't run it that great and after the 2.1 patch I haven't been able to launch the game, that's why I bought it for the 360.  One thing I did do was turn of the automatic centering camera in the options menu. I like controlling the camera manually. The game runs pretty darn good. I'm taking a break then I'm diving back in.

Actually I would like to know if it changes or ads anything to the PC version besides the quests. Does it improves the 360 controller option? Does it changes the inventory to make more gamepad friendly? Does it get up in the morning to make a nice cup of colombian roast coffee and toast with cream cheese?

@The_Laughing_Man: Get back in there soldier and kill, kill, kill. Or maybe it's quest, quest, quest.

Played it for a bit. Doesn't look nearly as colorful as the PC version. But it still looks pretty good. Also that Eagle Eye achievement seems like it would be kind of hard for somebody who hasn't played the PC version. You can't see what you're supposed to be shooting at because of the view distance.

Played it for a bit. Doesn't look nearly as colorful as the PC version. But it still looks pretty good. Also that Eagle Eye achievement seems like it would be kind of hard for somebody who hasn't played the PC version. You can't see what you're supposed to be shooting at because of the view distance.

@CL60 said:

Played it for a bit. Doesn't look nearly as colorful as the PC version. But it still looks pretty good. Also that Eagle Eye achievement seems like it would be kind of hard for somebody who hasn't played the PC version. You can't see what you're supposed to be shooting at because of the view distance.

That's what I love so much about PC gaming. I just don't have to worry about stupid shit I have to do in order to get a meaningless number.

How do you find the inventory UI? I played it on PC with a gamepad and navigating the UI was a nightmare. Also managing inventory with the gamepad was a bitch because when you loot you have to Loot All and you can't be selective about the item you pick as when you play with a K&M option. I eventually had to mod some file to get my inventory capacity up because I ended up managing that more then playing the actual game.

@mordukai said:

@CL60 said:

Played it for a bit. Doesn't look nearly as colorful as the PC version. But it still looks pretty good. Also that Eagle Eye achievement seems like it would be kind of hard for somebody who hasn't played the PC version. You can't see what you're supposed to be shooting at because of the view distance.

That's what I love so much about PC gaming. I just don't have to worry about stupid shit I have to do in order to get a meaningless number.

How do you find the inventory UI? I played it on PC with a gamepad and navigating the UI was a nightmare. Also managing inventory with the gamepad was a bitch because when you loot you have to Loot All and you can't be selective about the item you pick as when you play with a K&M option. I eventually had to mod some file to get my inventory capacity up because I ended up managing that more then playing the actual game.

I find the UI isn't too bad. It's basically just using a lot of RB/LB and RT/LT. One thing that caught me off guard though was that the screen goes black when you switch between maps, character, inventory and journal. Also there are a lot of goddam categories in your inventory... bombs, potions, armor, weapons, traps, junk, all, trophies, enhancement, books, etc, etc. It's not that bad to go through though thankfully.

These aren't really issues though, just extremely small nitpicks. The game is amazing.

@xyzygy said:

I find the UI isn't too bad. It's basically just using a lot of RB/LB and RT/LT. One thing that caught me off guard though was that the screen goes black when you switch between maps, character, inventory and journal. Also there are a lot of goddam categories in your inventory... bombs, potions, armor, weapons, traps, junk, all, trophies, enhancement, books, etc, etc. It's not that bad to go through though thankfully.

These aren't really issues though, just extremely small nitpicks. The game is amazing.

That shit is so fucking annoying

@Zacagawea: You really find it that bad? I find it odd, but thankfully it doesn't get in the way and you can input buttons during the black screen so you don't have to see two or three in a row. Just one.

How does the game run uninstalled?

I've only played until the beginning of chapter one. The game looks fantastic, and I've not seen any noticeable hitches in the frame rate. I've not played the PC version, only seen screen comparisons. Obviously the texture quality is lower and the lighting is less dynamic. I don't think any of the characters in the 360 version cast shadows, but environments can cast lovely shadows on characters. But, for a 360 game, it is a staggering visual feat. Oh yeah, I've noticed some texture pop-in issues after cutscenes, even with a full install, and the animated (i.e. cartoon) cutscenes that play sometimes feel a little out of place. I wish I could turn those off, but I'll run with it.

The combat is... loose and challenging. You really need to buy upgrades for combat, prepare potions/bombs, and use the Quen sign to be able to fight effectively, especially in crowds. The game expects you to think tactically about your positioning vis a vis other enemies and to eliminate smaller threats in order to focus on larger foes. I think the lock on system is way too loose. It locks the camera and not Geralt's movement, so it's really easy to turn your back on enemies and get into a bad position. I was expecting the movement in-lock to function more like Assassin's Creed, a lock-and-strafe mechanic, basically. Personally, I think it's a poor design choice for consoles that may have worked fine on PC, but I adapted in the first hour of game play. It feels kinda sloppy right now, but I expect it gets better as you put more points into it and reach the apex of the learning curve.

Story, choice, music, voice acting, animation, customization, variety of gameplay and art style are all through the roof though. Shit, it's an RPG: the combat is supposed to have problems anyway. It's a keeper, I think.

Incidentally, if you like the game or its predecessor, the Witcher books are well worth reading. The first one, The Last Wish, is a quick read and a good one.

Just started chapter 1 seems pretty good so far. Never played the the pc version, but it seems like a well done port. Though I run into my first bug. Was gonna call it quits in Flotsam, so I saved and pulled out my steel sword and proceeded to start hacking civilians up. Saw a kid, started stabbing him, the game then snapped too Geralt engaged in a fistfight with some lady posing like the cross because there were no animations for this event. No hitbox either, since Geralt would just whiff air, but that lady had a mean psychic punch.

@The_Laughing_Man said:

@CL60 said:

Played it for a bit. Doesn't look nearly as colorful as the PC version. But it still looks pretty good. Also that Eagle Eye achievement seems like it would be kind of hard for somebody who hasn't played the PC version. You can't see what you're supposed to be shooting at because of the view distance.

I got it easily. Just aim for the second area from the left"

I got it easily too, but I can easily see people not understanding what they're supposed to be shooting at. I couldn't see shit in this version because of the fog, while on PC you can very clearly see 2 silhouettes. I think they might have actually made it easier to do because of the fog, it was easy to miss the guy on PC. Game still looks fantastic on 360, just something I noticed.

Top is 360, bottom is PC.

@CL60: I got it too, not knowing that it was supposed to be clearer than it was. I took it as simulating a shitty medieval spyglass where things would be blurry/foggy - but I could make out the shape of people standing and aimed at them.

Those of you who played the PC version how does the 360 version stack up against it and which one do you prefer?

O wow. On the 360 version the arm wrestling is a cake walk. 

I really don't have a gaming PC to speak of, so I never played the original Witcher game.

How easy is it to get into the story without having played the previous game? Is the connection between the two really important?

I'll probably buy it anyway, just to support the awesome CD Projekt.

Been playing recently without targeting people. My only issue with the combat is that i get staggered and pushed into a corner and get staggered again before the first one ends. 

Been playing recently without targeting people. My only issue with the combat is that i get staggered and pushed into a corner and get staggered again before the first one ends. 

@The_Laughing_Man said:

Been playing recently without targeting people. My only issue with the combat is that i get staggered and pushed into a corner and get staggered again before the first one ends. 

No worries with that. You'll get a quick fix of the story right away. I played the first Witcher and found the second to be self contained. Granted, I only played 15 hours of the second on my PC for reasons that I won't get into. But The Witcher 2 on the Xbox 360 is worth its price of admission and has my attention.

@Claude said:

@The_Laughing_Man said:

Been playing recently without targeting people. My only issue with the combat is that i get staggered and pushed into a corner and get staggered again before the first one ends. 

No worries with that. You'll get a quick fix of the story right away. I played the first Witcher and found the second to be self contained. Granted, I only played 15 hours of the second on my PC for reasons that I won't get into. But The Witcher 2 on the Xbox 360 is worth its price of admission and has my attention.

Ive picked my side and now im arm wresting dwarfs. Wished the quest stuff was laid out a bit better. Took me forever to figure out a dude isnt in his home. But waiting for my to activate ANOTHER quest. 

Does the storage chest transfer when you move from area to area? 

@The_Laughing_Man said:

Does the storage chest transfer when you move from area to area?

Yes, you'll be able to retrieve items you deposited in one chapter from the storage chest in the next chapter(s).

Just keep in mind that in chapter 2 each 'path' (chosen side) has one (1) designated, functional storage chest. From your previous post it seems you've chosen sides with Iorveth and reached Vergen, so you should find yours there. If you'd happen to come across any other storage chest that is not located within Vergen during chapter 2 ignore it, because it's the chest you'd use if you had sided with Roche.

I hope I avoided any spoilers.