The Witcher 2:EE is a fresh take on tired genres, and a great game for those mature enough to handle it's complex themes
Lets get the main point of contention out of the way right now: The graphics for the 360 version are stunning and can push the seven year old console to its limits. Lighting is great and shadows are nicely detailed, with little pixilation. Character models are very detailed and convey all kinds of emotions and expressions. Environments are also stunning, and fitting to the story, showing beauty and despair. However, there are times of texture pop-in, especially during conversations when the camera bounces from character to character. Also, the draw distances in the forests and towns seem low due to fog that they placed to cover the details at greater distances. Despite this, you can see for miles when standing on top of a tall structure.
Now for the other burning question: Does it play as well with a 360 optimized controller as a mouse-and-keyboard approach? Undoubtedly. In fact, everything has been fine-tuned for the 360 in mind, and CD Projekt really needs to be commended for that one because in the translation from PC to 360, their was no loss of responsiveness of the controls...PERIOD! No small feat, to be sure. In combat, chosing Signs, using your weapons, and using your block and roll, all act fluidly, and bring life into the combat. However, the glaring problems of the PC version are present here, and that is the atrocious loot system. When you stand over an object or person with more than one piece of loot, you cannot chose if you want a specific piece; instead, you have to pick up the whole stash or nothing at all. Major headache there. Also, and while believe this is intentional by CD Projekt, the questing system needs a refinement. Most times the description of what needs to be done has no marker on the map to guide you, like trying to find the Royal Post Box to do a certain side-quest. To further add salt to your wounds, the descriptions of the quests can tend to be a riddle or a quest of its own with their vague outlines. I'm always for a challenge, but I hate having the blind leading the blind most of the time. The bright side to that is in your explorations, you usually find another quest, person of interest, or a valuable item. BTW for those who are used to this in RPGs by now, there IS NO fFAST TRAVEL option, those those boots are made for walking, at that is what they will do in this game. Also, the game IS NOT EASY...at least at the beginning. As you level up and unlock abilities, as well as gather more of an understanding of the combat system, you will become more of a badass, and less of a pushover.
Sound design is a key player here. Everything from the ambient forests to the most muffled footstep is accounted for. Geralt has a quiet, but fierce tone to his voice, that is neat to hear among the many chatty protagonists of other games. The rest of the cast deliver exceptional voicework, even though the RPG curse of repetitious NPC chatter is here and accounted for ( the lines are far less repetitive than in other titles ) Despite the minor graphical problems along with the, in my opinion, less than favorable loot and quest system, The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition is a breath of fresh air on a console dominated by shooting galler...I mean games. RPGs on the 360 are few and far between, especially 360 exclusives. However those exclusives are generally received very well, and TW2:EE is no exception. Set aside some hours or even days ,kick back, and get lost in the tale of this Witcher!