The Witcher 2 didn’t get the attention that it deserved back in 2011 when it originally launched , until Enhanced Edition of the game was announced for PC and Xbox 360 . Originally launched as PC exclusive back in 2011 , The Witcher 2 set the bar for upcoming Western RPGs and it was praised by both critics and fans . Despite being best RPG since Planescape Torment in opinions of many , the game still had some flaws and performance issues on some gaming rigs . CD Projekt Red was fast enough to fix most of these issues with their first two updates that made the game experience so much better on lot of PCs .
In 2012 CDPR offered free Enhanced Edition update for those who already owned the original version and also released it as standalone game for those who didn’t purchase it before . The Witcher 2 have got a lot of updates since it’s release that made this already an amazing game , even better . I had stopped patching the game when they rolled out updated 3.3 for Enhanced Edition and when it addressed my one of main concerns about the game .
Here is my review of The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition (updated to 3.3) .
Story :
The Witcher 2 starts after the events of first game . Still suffering from Amnesia , Geralt of Rivia , the main protagonist of the series finds himself in King Foltest’s war against Rebellions led by Arian . Soon after the start of the game , Geralt is accused of assassination and he is brought into the Dungeon of La Vallet Castle . Little he knows that , this assassination was related to the attack on King Foltest by a Witcher in the end of the first game where he saves the king .
The story of The Witcher 2 is more than just finding the real assassin and clearing the name , the game’s story takes a lot of twists and turns and player is introduced to sub plots that follow from the first game like Wild Hunt , Yennifer , Tension between Northern Kingdoms and History of great war between Nilfgaardian Empire and Northern Kingdoms few years ago .
Choice and Consequence system in the game is the best ever seen in recent years . There is nothing good or bad like other games (Dragon Age comes to mind) , or reputation system . The players are just given options in each situation where they can make choice and that affects the entire story of the game rather than just fate of few characters . Branching paths of the story featured in Witcher 2 can be compared to old games like Wing Commander 4 , where players are offered totally 2 separate settings after few missions . Players can end up on one of these places among different factions , based on previous decisions .
Character in the game are neither good or bad , each character have some purpose in the game and throughout the game , the players feel that almost every character is lying or holding something back , even the one closest to you . This adds a lot of depth to characters in Witcher universe and also makes the story much more darker .
Roche and Iorveth are two best characters in entire game after main protagonist Geralt of Rivia .
The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition also improves the ending of the game and tells the story through various cut scenes . The game itself offers 16 different endings and 12 states of the world along with other small variations . Enhanced Edition also features stunning intro and outro that sets the stage for The Witcher 3 .
Design :
The Witcher 2 : Assassins of Kings have impressive art direction . Almost every scenery in the game is stunning , thanks to amazing vision behind the game . Nothing in the game feels copy and pasted , but beautifully handcrafted world . The buildings in the game have real blocks all matched together to form a realistic structure unlike other games where most of the structures are flat with copy pasted textures on them .
The game offers more than 30 armor types . Each armor set is have a detail , never seen before in RPG or even games from other genres . Much like other RPGs , most of the armors have other special abilities like resistance to elemental attacks or attack bonus etc . Same goes for the sword that have different damage stats along with special features like fire , ice or poison damage , suitable for different enemies .
This second game doesn’t offer as many quests as original game did but each and every quest is completely different than the other which makes this adventure more unique than the first game in many ways . Each chapter have different quests that you can find by reading different notes in secret places that will give you hints to craft very strong armor or Sword . You can activate other secondary quests by talking to mysterious characters in the game or visiting notice board outside of each the inn , in each chapter . The game also treats you like an adult and doesn't hold your hand like many modern games .
Unlike the first game The Witcher 2 doesn’t have 5 chapters , it have prologue and epilogue like original game and 3 chapters between them . The game can last at least 20+ hours , but it really depends on your skills . However there is a lot of replay value and you can come back anytime to play the game by making different choices and this game demands to be played at least twice to fully understand everything related to plot of the game .
Witcher 2 also have full day and night cycle . Monsters behave differently in different environments and different times of the day . Geralt can meditate to switch between different times of the day , as long as he is out of battle or there are no enemies around him . Some quests are not triggered until the game reaches the time of the day when the event was supposed to happen , so in those cases one can always meditate to activate the quest .
Gameplay :
The Witcher 2 gameplay is fun and challenging . Sure , the story is main focus of the game but it is great because there is great gameplay to drive it forward . Original version of the game had a bit clunky lock on system for some players , that have been fixed since Update 2.0 , also carried over to Enhanced Edition of the game . Animations are more fluid and controls responsiveness are greatly improved as well .
In Witcher 2 you are offered 30+ armors and lot of weapons (mostly swords) with different abilities to defend and fight in this dark fantasy world . Some Armors and Swords have slots that can be filled with armor enhancers or runes . These items improve stats and offer special abilities to armors and swords . For Example : Applying Fire Rune will grand you 10% chance of fire damage , that sets enemies on fire and makes them unable to block the attacks for few seconds or consumes their health .
Witcher 2 have 3 main ways to play the game , which means there are 3 different skill trees . One skill tree lets you upgrade your character towards Swordsmanship , other two are for becoming Mage or Alchemist . Players can upgrade their character how they want to , they can either focus on one skill tree or they can unlock different abilities from all different skill trees . At the end of each tree , you unlock special ability like group finisher that allows you to execute upto 3 enemies when anderaline bar is full , other two abilities allow you to cause poison damage or slow down the time . Much like other RPGs , foes will drop loot that you can pick , or you can pick herbs and find secret areas that will give you unique items . All of these items can be used to craft different Armors , Traps , Bombs or Swords as long as you have crafting diagrams available in your inventory .
Unlike Witcher 1 , when you drop the crafting diagram after reading it , Geralt doesn’t note about it in his diary . Which means that after dropping the diagram you can not craft different items , so you have to keep it in your inventory . One of the main concerns about the original game that I and a lot of other people had was that , you had to check inventory of merchant and then yours to see whether the item you are going to buy is already owned by you not .? This often led players to different crafting diagrams that they already had in their vast inventory , overlooked by them for some reason , that resulted in wastage of currency known as Orens . Now with the update 3.2 and following updates , the items that you already own are marked as tick in merchant’s inventory which makes it a lot easy to buy and sell different items without risking anything .
To survive in the world of The Witcher 2 , players must use all the tactics available . They’ll have to dodge , counter attack , block and use 5 magic signs that are further upgradeable , Traps , Bombs and drink potions that you can make by harvesting different monsters or herbs and drink it before the battle to survive .
Players will also find themselves applying different oils and enhancers to their weapons , created in similar way as potions or bombs to enhance them .
Players can further enhance their character by applying different mutagens with special abilities to some of the slots available in skill trees . These mutagens can be harvested from the body of few monsters , some of these mutagens can also be used for alchemy purposes in case you lack herbs that have similar abilities .
To regenerate health quickly , Geralt must meditate or use potions that increase rate of health regeneration .
When tired of doing quests , players can go to bar to have a drink with other characters or join them and others for playing mini games like fist fights , arm wrestling and dice . The Witcher 2 doesn’t have drinking games like original game and dice mini game doesn’t last long . Arm wrestling is fun and challenging but it takes time to fully master , Fist fights on other hand prompts you with Quick Time Events that must be performed correctly to succeed . Speaking of QTEs , The Witcher 2’s few cutscenes do have Quick Time Events but they are not annoying like other games . Most of these QTEs are there just to trigger a new cutscene with single mouse click and only one or two will force players to bash their mouse but those can be turned off in options .
The Witcher 2 : Enhanced Edition offers different difficulty settings : Easy , Normal , Hard , Insane and Dark . Insane mode deletes your saves when the main character dies , so players will be forced to play the game from beginning . It is very satisfying option for some of hardcore old school gamers . On other hand Dark Mode is as difficult as Insane mode but it allows players to load the last save after their character dies . Dark Mode also offers crafting challenges , you have to craft complete set of armor and then swords to complete these quests . You have to unlock all the items listed in journal and use all the items at once , otherwise these cursed items (armors and swords) can have negative impact on your character (like draining life out of your) . Once all items are crafted and equipped at once , the curse will be removed and this gear will offer you very special abilities that you won’t find in other armors and swords in other difficulty levels , since these items and quest are only available in dark mode . Enhanced Edition of the game also offers tutorial for new comers to western RPGs and Arena Mode , where you can check your skills and then upload the score on facebook or your profile on Witcher forums to compete with others .
The Gameplay in first few moments of the game is difficult but it becomes easier as your character becomes more powerful through different upgrades and you pick much more powerful items . In the end of the game , the character becomes very powerful and foes can be easily defeated . The overall game is challenging but greatly rewarding at the same time which keeps you hooked throughout the journey .
Presentation :
The Witcher 2 : Assassins of Kings in my opinion is still most impressive looking title out there , one of the biggest reasons for that is spectacular art of the game , razor sharp textures , spectacular effects and Lightening system . Character models and their clothing is very detailed and can be compared to designs of hollywood movie . The game runs on CD Projekt’s in house technology , Red Engine . This is hands down the best looking Direct X 9 title ever created , which surprised a lot of people that how they achieved such amazing visuals with so many years old tech .
Enhanced Edition of the game features brand new effects for chapter 3 which makes formally worse looking chapter , the most amazing looking chapter .
Epilogue of the game looks stunning with great dynamic lights and new cinematic direction .There are also pre recorded videos between each chapter of the game while it loads in the background . Witcher 2 offers wide variety of graphics options , so players can tweak the game according to their needs . Update 3.3 also fixes random crash before the game’s outro .
The Witcher 2’s story telling is the best I’ve ever seen any game . Voice acting is top notch , both polish and English voice actors have done great job . While the direction of soundtrack is different than first game , it is still excellent and perfectly matches the look and feel of the game . However the Main theme of the game have Witcher 1 feel to it and it is repeated throughout the game during important parts of the game , which is great stuff .
Much like first game , the game features comic book like images used to during flashback sequences to tell the story and feel amazing every time when triggered . Witcher 2 also features impressive audio design . Small or Huge , monsters in the game are also very detailed .
Each Boss battle is unique and feels epic .
One thing I didn’t like about Enhanced Edition was it’s new depth of field , it is extremely demanding which causes cutscenes to drop frame rates sometimes. It also ruins some of the scenes with way too much blur in the background but some areas do look good because of it . I had to switch off “Cinematic Depth of Field” option to make the game work properly . Other Depth of Field related options are not demanding and can be kept on .
Verdict :
The Witcher 2 : Assassins of Kings is a Masterpiece . Continuous support from developers CD Projekt Red have made already a great game , even better . The game have improved a lot since it was first launched . It was always 9+ game but with after Enhanced Edition and couple of upgrades after that , it is more than that .
Pros :
+ Excellent Storyline
+ Great Storytelling
+ Fun and Satisfying Combat
+ Greatly rewarding experience
+ Great Skill Tree
+ Choices and Consequences
+ Multiple ways to complete quests
+ Variety in Quests
+ Branching paths in main storyline
+ Treats you like an adult
+ Great Audio Design
+ Top Notch Voice Acting
+ Soundtrack
+ Stunning Visuals
+ Mini Games
+ Characters
+ Cinematic Direction
+ Exploration
+ Great Loot
+ Variety of Armors
+ Different types of swords
+ Crafting Items
+ Enhancements
+ Ending
Cons :
- Demanding Depth of Field
- Few optimization issues