After
almost a year since the first version, CDProjekt finally releases in stores The Witcher 2:
Assassins of Kings on Xbox 360, a conversion that contains the enhanced
edition, also available on PC thanks to a huge patch download.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings has the arduous task of being the sequel of an RPG ,which to everyone's surprise, was one of the most beautiful in recent times, an RPG born from Polish software house , which has created pearls from a collection of novels and short stories written by Andrzej Sapkowski in the 90s, which gave birth to a fantasy and mature story, a narrative world populated by elves, dwarves, gnomes barely tolerated and victims of human's racism, as well as wizards and witches or witchers themselves.
The saga follows the adventures of Geralt of Rivia, a witcher (a mutant, monster slayer , trained from his childhood to use swords and a form of "low" magic: the signs), which ,since the beginning of the first game, has lost his memory because of an event that we will discover and learn from both episodes;
In The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, we find Geralt just six months after the end of the first chapter: The witcher, after he foiled the murder of King Foltest, ruler of Temeria, was hired as bodyguard of the king, and then due to a series of events, he is accused of the murder of Foltest himself.
The prologue begins with a series of flashbacks that explain what happened to Geralt and then we have the possibility to continue the adventure of the witcher, determined to discover who is behind the regicides that are shaking the various northern kingdoms.
The game
will then take place in different areas of the fantasy world, unlike the first,
which took place mostly in the city of Vizima (Wyzima in books) , removing backtracking,
since in each act (of the three) we’ll
go to visit a completely new area, where Geralt, as well as follows the
main quest, tries to earn some oren hunting monsters or completing other
objectives, which may be obtained by talking to the NPC, I must say that most
of the side quests are as well longs and deep as the main storyline.
What is unchanged from the previous chapter and remains the focus of the game, are the various choices of the player, in fact every taken decision can completely change the plot, this thing is reinforced by the fact that we will never have the chance to understand which choice is right or wrong, but we’ll see the effects of what we have done later in the game.
Plot and choices are therefore the fulcrum, we are faced with a story that takes up Sapkowski‘s narrative framework, deep, dark, with several sex scenes (one of the few games that has broken this idiot taboo), in the previous versions a defect from this point of view was the third act, which presented a narrative faster and with less quests, anyway CDProjekt solved this problem with the addition of new missions into the enhanced edition, which they're going to explain and investigate the events that conclude the game (the end is still open for a possibile third chapter which undoubtedly we will see);
To praise
also the addition of cutscenes at the end of each act, always to explain better
what is happening.
Among the other changes of this version (Indeed this two changes were already present on PC since patch 2.0) there are : the arena mode, where Geralt must fight groups of enemies in rounds, which increases more and more in difficult: depending on the skill of the player, time spent, or the way you kill enemies, you can earn points to share with the community to demonstrate your value; the other addition is a tutorial, serious lack of the basic version, you can now play a little story, disconnected from the main storyline, where you will learn the basics of the game, like alchemy.
Perhaps the most obvious problem is longevity: the game keeps you committed for several hours, but much less than the first one, however, there is the "choise" factor that forces the beginning of a new game, knowing that different choices means situations, locations, and quests totally different (assassins of kings may have up to sixteen different endings).
Crafting is
still the same: if Geralt has designs as well as raw materials, he can create
potions and bombs, while for armors and weapons, he must go to a blacksmith to have them built.
However, changes
from first to second video game are a lot, the most important is the combat
system:
While in
the Witcher we had had a
"rock-paper-scissors" system, according to the opponent, in assassins
of king, we are now faced in a combat with more action: pressing two main
buttons we can make a sword attack (strong or fast ,your choise), We can also
make parades, dodges, use throwing weapons, bombs and of course the signs.
Much
importance is given during the fighting to the new radial menu , which allows
you to meditate, select the type of sword, the sign, bomb or throwing weapon to
use; all while the game goes into slow motion, so the on-screen HUD is much
more minimalist and less intrusive, more suited for console gamers.
Meditation has not been completely turned upside down, the only differences are the impossibility of drink potions outside this state and the ability to meditate anywhere, provided of course that there aren't nearby enemies. So in addition to practicing alchemy (a witcher without potions is only an half witcher) you can spend time and deploy skills.
Skill's
tree, as a good RPG, is deep and complex, after completing the tutorial you can
choose between the sword, alchemy and magic, or strengthen a bit all three of
these paths, also, with specific mutagenic substances we can increase a
particular ability.
Into an
high level is also possible to unlock an adrenaline bar ,which, when full,
allows you to eliminate all opponents present on the screen.
In Enhanced Edition CDProjekt also fixed level growth , in fact, in the basic version, if at the beginning of the game, you died very often, going forward, with the growth of the character, Geralt become a real machine war ,capable of breaking down all around easily, but now we have a levelled challenge with our state, however, I always suggest, to those in search of a challenge, to play in Dark Mode.
One thing I dislike is the fight mini-game, it all boils down to a quick time event, very, very easy, and after a couple you'll just do it as mere formality.
The graphic is very good; The Red Engine of The Witcher 2 on the Xbox 360 can boasts an enviable top graphics, with some differences from the PC versions, of course, for the difference in hardware: There is much aliasing, particle effects absent, and interior areas have been closed from the outside world, loading screens are much more longer; the result is still exceptional for a console, you can see that the engine has reached the maximum that could be done: the vast and open scenario could make you stop from time to time to see better the details, vegetation, or the vast panorama of the horizon, with a superb management of lights and shadows,day and night cycle and the dynamic weather variations in real-time, as well incredibles models and facial animations of the NPC and in particular of the main characters; but it is still far away by the visual impact had on the computer.
Even sound is amazing, sound effects are very pleasant, while the soundtrack is masterfully composed and obviously vary according to place and situation.
The only thing I can do is advise the purchase of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings; It's clear the passion demonstrated by CDProjekt to develop a worthy and deep RPG,I also respect the elapsed time to improve the few faults that had the basic version, in order to make their product excellent in every aspect; I also advise to read Sapkowski's works before playing The Witcher, otherwise you may miss the meaning of certain phrases and facts and ruin in part atmosphere.
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