After becoming a smash hit on the PC last may, The Witcher 2 became dubbed ‘The Best RPG to date’. Now the guys at CD Projekt RED and Namco Bandai have released an Xbox 360 version of the game.
The story is still the same but for those who aren’t familiar here it is; you play as Geralt of Rivera, a witcher and monster killer who has to try and clear his name and prove it wasn’t him who killed King Foltest at the start of the game. So Geralt sets off to find the real Kingslayer, who (Spoiler) is also a witcher.
This is one of the most mature games on consoles, besides all the blood and sex, The Witcher 2 has a very complex choice system but it’s not about being between good and evil but more about making tough judgment calls and noticing when they could alter the way the game turns out. Often these decisions will include deep thought, politics and intelligence. After speaking to several different races, you soon become up to date on the worlds in depth fantasy and current political state.
The presentation is simply beautiful. Although the graphics aren’t that of a top of the range PC and some textures tend to pop in and out it will suffice for the Xbox 360. The characters are very creative, they look and sound fantastic; they make you feel like you’re in their world and the language used throughout is true to the setting and fantasy world in this epic. The cutscenes in the game are told through a graphic novel style that really gets your attention due to all the noir characters and rich red colour for blood.
The gameplay is smooth and feels great, kind of like Batman: Arkham City meets Dark Souls. The way the buttons are mapped out allows players to tackle The Witcher 2 in different ways. It is very user friendly and depending on how you want to play it’s worth taking advantage of its complexity. Geralt has a number of tools at his disposal including:
A steel sword (for human enemies)
A silver sword (for non-human enemies)
Various traps
Bombs
Throwing knives
An array of magical abilities
You will want to use a combination of all of these and time attacks crucially to survive and get the most satisfaction out of the combat system. These can all be upgraded through levelling up and using an impressive skill tree menu. It’s wise to upgrade Geralt in some options in each area, especially later on in the game. There are four core areas to upgrade; Training, Swordsmanship, Alchemy and Signs.
This game is huge, taking 30-50 hours to complete, players who want to view the whole thing will have to go back and make different choices as you will notice at the end of chapter 1. Some real replay factor there. The most fun and certainly bizarre parts of The Witcher 2 take place within the side missions, such as trying to convince a troll to quit his alcohol addiction or clearing out a haunted hospital.
You will meet interesting new characters along the way and feel totally satisfied and rewarded after completing these quests. There are also a number of difficulty settings that will definitely challenge your skills. An industry standard these days is a horde mode and yes The Witcher 2 has one, an arena mode that will have players slashing though waves of creatures and monsters, each wave slightly harder than the last.
In all its maturity and seriousness The Witcher 2 still shows humour whether it’s alternative curse words, referencing The Lord of the Rings or Assassin’s Creed that will have you sat there with a goofy smile on your face.
With a well presented version for the Xbox 360, great combat, complex choice system and a teasing ending hinting of a Witcher 3, The Witcher 2 is a work of art and with the addition of new features for the Xbox 360 consisting of:
All previous improvements and DLC
Completely new content (roughly four hours)
New cinematic intro
New cutscenes
New characters
New locations
New user interface and controls
New adventures
And to top in all off, an extended outro
It’s sure to have you immersed for weeks.The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings Enhanced Edition – 9/10
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