firecracker22

I dunno, it seemed kinda cool to see a game with money poured into it that didn't involve shooting dudes or snapping dudes necks, or kicking dudes in the face.

But, I suppose death hangs over everything in the end.

Man, I love this game. I'm a few hours into Blood and Wine. CDPR switiching it up, and going for high fantasy rather than low fantasy (the Northern Realms feels more like Game of Thrones level of low fantasy, even though there's alot of high fantasy stuff happening around it). I just met an old friend in the main quest, and am working through some sidequests of my own level to build to the main quest.

Found a Batman easter egg in the form of a Treasure Hunt quest that's about a thief named Selina, her lover named Bruce, and some asshole named Robin. I got a kick out of it.

I also just completed the 'Paper Chase' sidequest. I really, really, really liked it. The level of bureaucratic bullshit they pull off in that mission just had me laughing. It was just really funny. I'm really enjoying the DLC so far.

It's been interesting to see what feels like French, Italian, and some South American inspirations that went into creating Toussaint and it's inhabitants.

@wumbo3000: Yeah, I think it's probably unavoidable because Triss has been in the games since the first and Yen comes in at the final entry. Part me wonders if they could have done something to set up the decision in a more balanced way, because I think Yen probably gets the short end because most players don't know her as well as Triss. I guess Geralt getting back his memory, and perhaps CDPR's invisible hand serving as a stand in for "destiny" or 'fate' is enough. I think giving players the option to be with Triss is purely because of how attached people got to her over the previous two games. People would have been pissed if there hadn't been the option, so I think that was the biggest reason for it.

Yen is sort of like Geralt, in that she's the type of character most will probably hate/not like at first, but will grow on you over time when you see there's more to them than what you first thought. And I think you're right, it makes sense that someone who only played the games and hasn't read the books would be more attached to Triss than Yen. Up until Wild Hunt, I think it might have been easy for someone to not even know who she was at all (though, probably not since she was mentioned often). The only reason I'm attached to Yen is because I've read the books, and I really like her. I think CDPR did about as good a job setting her up within this game as was possible, though. I think about the quicklook, and Alex's comment about what kind of relationship they had in that opening scene, and it was pretty spot on.

I wound up thinking that breaking the wish Geralt, in the quest you mentioned, was the best move in both cases of being with Yen or Triss. I think Geralt and Yen sometimes felt trapped by it, as if freedom of choice was out of their hands, and it caused them to try and push away from eachother at times. Being with someone because it's destiny isn't all that romantic when you wonder about choice, and if you have freedom to choose what you want. So them choosing to stay together because they do love eachother, and not because the wish that was made binds them together...I dunno, seems like a good theme to follow.

Oh man, Gwent. I can't stop playing it. There's been more than one sitting where all I did, for hours, was just play Gwent. If they wind up releasing a stand alone Gwent game...it could mean the end of me.

I'm so into storytelling, that the modern Telltale games are up my alley. I loved The Walking Dead season 1, and Game of Thrones. I still have Borderlands, TWD 2, and The Wolf Among Us to play through once I can get to them. But, I'm looking forward to making time for them. And I'm really looking forward to the upcoming Batman Telltale game.

I mean, this seems to be what people want for the most part. I feel like the games that leaned into the Adventure game aspects were not well received at all. Like Back To The Future, Jurassic Park, and the last release of Sam and Max. I just remember those were badly received, and lots of complaints. Whereas the games where they lean into the storytelling, and away from the adventure game stuff that probably makes it more of a "videogame" have been much more well received. I think part of it, as well, people like Jeff who loved the old school adventure games but don't actually want more of it because they've moved on.

I do think there's room for alot of improvement, though. I think they need to do something about creating more diversity in art style. I liked the painterly style of Game of Thrones, but they're making so many titles at this point that I think they need to figure out a way to make the art styles more individualized. The teaser trailer for the Batman game has me hoping they do something drastic, because there was art in that trailer that looked like Jim Lee's Batman art (but it was original to that trailer, because it wasn't ripped out of any comics I'm aware of). I mean, if they could give us a Batman Telltale game that has a Jim Lee art style...that would be cool.

They definitely need to work out the kinks in meeting deadlines, too. They'd be better served to have a few episodes in the can before they even launch to avoid problems. The hate that Game of Thrones got didn't seem to have anything to do with the quality of the game or the story, but how massive the gaps were in between releases.

@wumbo3000: I think it's probably the only real logical reasoning Geralt could give, given the history and backstory. Geralt had slept with Triss before the game series storyline in the novels. He and Yen were separated, no longer a couple. But, it still hurt her. And they still made up after it, and still wound up being together again.

I think with that major point in their history, it would be too weird or maybe even discount the narrative of CDPR's games, if this time around he simply decided that Triss was the real thing despite everything he and Yen had been through. I mean, Geralt chased the Wild Hunt and lost his memory (all of this was covered at the end of Witcher 2) to find Yen, after they'd been spending "eternity" in paradise together, as a couple.

I think that the only logical and believable piece of storytelling that can play into Geralt rejecting Yen for Triss, is pinning the decision the reversal of the wish he made originally when they first got together. There's so much history, and so much ground covered in their past as a couple that I think they needed to pin that decision to the wish he made. And they've broken up, and gotten back together again so many times that something extra would be needed to convince us that this time it was final. I think tying it back to the wish Geralt made is actually pretty smart, when you think about it.

Well...to be fair, the canon love interest is, and always will be, Yen. I think it shows in the game's storytelling, as it should because it should be Yen. I mean...c'mon, she's the love of his life. She's his destiny.

I find alot of the hate that Yennefer gets to be interesting, because she's a character that's designed that way. It's how most characters treat her in that world. And what I find interesting about it is that I think, at the core of it, people hate her because she's not a trope. She's not this stereotypical fantasy love interest who is soft, virginal, fawning all over the male hero. She's aggressive, she's assertive, she's confident and cocky, she's decisive, and she's seems to act first and think later. In alot of ways, she's written like a male character. And I think, when you boil it down to basics, people don't like her because she's completely different than what you would expect from a female love interest in a fantasy genre story. It's what felt so perfect about having Triss as a contrast to Yen, where one felt like the fantasy girl guys dream of while the other felt like the real life, honest portrayal of what a woman in the real world can be. Even the way how people try to call Yen a slut, or something along those lines, seems to come from a place of her having a sexual history that didn't begin and end with Geralt. I just love their relationship, and how subversive a character Yen is.

Also...Triss did some messed up shit to Yen. I like how there was never the animosity one would expect in the love triangle trope. But, Triss seducing Geralt even though Yen is her best friend. And then seducing him again when he had amnesia...had me feeling kinda icky about her as a character and how she'd basically scorch the earth to get the man she wants, damn everything else.

I think when it comes down to it, the storytelling is masterful. Now, that doesn't mean it's for everybody. Same way that Uncharted 4 is masterful storytelling, doesn't mean everyone will dig it. Apart from the subject matter, The Witcher isn't at all, in any way whatsoever, an American piece of fiction at all. And what I mean by that is that American storytelling, in general, tends to get to the point and resolution quicker and the theories of storytelling in America cater more to what American and Western audiences want. I think them sticking so much to the novels, and CDPR being a Polish developer same as the creator/writer of the novels, means that the storytelling is a little different than most Western pieces of storytelling.

Thus, you get some complaints about it spinning the wheels for so long. For anyone whose read the novels, it's not a problem because that was the more or less the approach it had.

But, storytelling, characterizations, the dialogue was pretty great also. I think if you want to see good characterizations of female characters, as well, The Witcher is a great piece of fiction that treats female characters as individuals with diverse sets of motivations, and characteristics. Women in the story of this game really forge their own path and aren't there to cater to the storytelling of the male lead. Hell, the most important and powerful character in the story is in fact a woman. It's nice to see the writing and storytelling actually treat female characters like characters, and not have the "we have strong female characters" only be this line of bs meant to convince people of it like you get in other media.

I love the combat, and exploration because the world is brimming with life. Even side-missions, or random one off events, all have narrative hooks that pulled me in. I remember the saying that you can't have an open world game filled with storytelling in everything because it's impossible, and too much work. Well, that's wrong because nearly everything you do in this game has a storytelling angle. One Witcher contract, something you thought may just be filler to check off the content box, has writing and dialogue and there's backstory and such to it all. I think The Witcher 3 has done something special by interweaving so much storytelling into the game and informing so much of this world that it's unlike anything I've ever seen before.

In the end, I think it depends on how into the subject matter and characters you are, and how important storytelling is to you. Also, I'm not listening to Polish Folk music. I blame the soundtrack to this game for that.

@yummylee: Always felt like Uncharted/Drake was just the modern Indiana Jones we've always wanted.

If anything, though, Uncharted 3 and 4 wound up making Nate a bit deeper than Indy, even though the last two Indy films did well on the front.

It's kind of amazing Sony hasn't made it happen yet, either. I mean, making an Uncharted movie is essentially a modern day Indiana Jones, basically. The concept (story and quality notwithstanding) sells itself.

I think this soundtrack is probably my favorite in the series. I really enjoyed Uncharted 2's soundtrack, especially the final track. But, there's this really strong, often subtle, emotionally charged motif throughout Uncharted 4's soundtrack that just gives it a weight that I love. It hits the high, adventure (Indiana Jones-like) notes too. I think I love the soundtrack more because it hits the lower, softer tones more than I think the previous three soundtracks did.

I mean, that opening theme was just amazing. And there's a scene in the game that felt alot like a scene in Red Dead Redemption, heading to a location with the soundtrack taking over all of the sound with guitar strums that felt powerful to me.