...

Well, there goes some of my enthusiasm.

Looking over the Temerian camp for the first time at 4 in the morning was an impression that will stick with me. Even though my computer couldn't handle the might of TW3, I could still just stick Geralt down and look across those sea of camp, see and hear the trebuchets, and be absolutely marveled at the art design. Cloth that actually looked like cloth in a game! I could just imagine walking among those thousands of tents, though that was not to be.

TW2 is the only game that has ever come close to making me feel like I was in a war. Didn't do it exactly, but there was certainly enough there and that's due in part to the technology but more to the design. The prologue was a brilliant rush forwards and enemies acted accordingly. Act 2 had the field, and while the soldiers faded when you got close, I could still feel their presence. If they can do this in TW3 and make it even better, then I will be totally caught by it. I want to see a full fledged war in No-man's land! I want to see villages burned down! I WANT TO SEE THE BLOOD OF INNOCENTS SHED UPON...












Umm... Did I go a bit far there?

I certainly wouldn't mind seeing a co-op RPG that can take advantage of the idea of a story about a small fellowship, not being the lone savior of the world. Indeed, a well done one could add a lot of validity to the idea of story within multiplayer. The Witcher and it's universe is not the place to do it though, and certainly not with this game. CDPR likely has no interest in multiplayer design, so I wouldn't ever get my hopes up on it.

Can we stop debating about the business of this game? Yeah, it sucked and I was following it closely when it happened. Not relevant to game design merits.

The game in itself was all right, but it didn't really feel as free as it proposed. Mainly it felt like an MMO, which was successful in the sense that you did get a world that felt like it needed to be explored. What I played of it though, the most annoying thing was the traversal of that world. There is little active choice in getting from place to place, and it becomes cumbersome before long to have your sense of wonder devastated by high walls. I will give it credit for filling that world with enough things, but I think other games are better in allowing you full range of their environment.

I don't get this. TW2's combat system is extremely atypical of most RPGs. It's action oriented without having to sacrifice mobility for statistics. I think the however many hours we had with TW1 was enough to experience it's combat system. I think everyone should try it, but I hardly think every game should follow suit. It did get a little easy (and grating) after a while, and I think TW2 combat is a proper evolution without sacrificing its own unique quirks. I say, bring on the improved maneuverable combat that feels more Witcher-like.