Seriously, this guy is the best sidekick of 2011. He is badass and awesome. Not too mention, he is also commander of the Temerian special forces and demonstrates his fighting ability quite well throughout the game. He's better than any of LA Noire's partners, Wheatley and GLaDOS from Portal 2, or any of Dragon Age 2's companions.

He might not be the most three-dimensional character ever created, but the traits that he does possess - intense loyalty to his country and a willingness to get the job done sets him apart from all the other video game sidekicks I've seen this year. He is brutally simplistic and is not motivated by anything other than the love of his country - which is very refreshing, given that nearly everyone else in The Witcher 2 is motivated by the promise of power or some other ulterior motive.

Thank you, CD Projekt, for including such a character. He's way cooler than either Yaevinn or Siegfried from the first game.

You forgot his biggest selling point.




He's not a hippy elf.

Roche is neat, but I would say that every single one of LA Noire's partners is more interesting. LA Noire actually got me to care about each and every one of my partners, and enjoy each of their personal quirks.

I may be a little biased because I think LA Noire is a better game, but I am enjoying the time I'm spending with the game.

Oh yeah, LA Noire's partners are far more "realized" from a characterization standpoint. One guy is a misogynist, another is a likeable drinking partner, etc.

But, in terms of basassery, I just liked Roche. Even if his characterization was a bit on the simple side.

Still not beat Wrex from ME1. Now that's what I called a real badass. Roche gets rather silly at times but he's a cool guy, I regret not siding with him the first time around.

He's like a medieval Captain Price,
his special forces even mirror the tactics of modern day special forces, if you saw the cutscene right before the dragon at the start you can see those spec ops dudes room breaching with a crossbow and sword like total modern SAS badasses

Vernon Roche.. the Jack bauer of the Witcher 2

I would have sided with the Scoia'tel
If on the other side wasn't Vernon Roche

God damned badass.
Loved that scene with the bridge in Act II, he did a tactical roll + punch like a boss

I ditched him after Chapter 1 about...found him kinda boring. Maybe I should've waited or maybe he's just not my style. I find Iorveth far more intriguing.

In W1, I could not side with the Flaming Rose because Sigfried has to rank as one of the most unlikable sidekicks. So after the first playthrough, I always sided with the elves.

Roche, I like the personality given to the character. I thought that was a great job of putting together the model, voice, animartions, etc to come up with a very interesting character.

In W2, I am siding with the elves once, and that is it. I cannot stand Ioveth.

He's also rather observant. From only meeting you once he can tell that you were not the type to murder the king, regardless of your motivations but knew there was a political standpoint to keep by. Also rather loyal to that late king (as far as I'm in the game, don't spoil if this is false) and understand exactly where he can place himself in if he plays his cards right. He gets the situation at hand for better than the player could ever manage and he's rather straightforward about it. Not to say that I love everything about him, like how he uses his power so often, but he's a very strong companion. Not to mention a very accomplished voice actor... Unlike Triss.

You should play though in a Witcher/neutral way if you hate him. Let's just say he doesn't show up for his cameo in The Witcher 2 if you import that save.

As for Roche, he's pretty badass, but he also has a bit of a whiny streak. Likeable, but kind of unlikable at the same time. Can't lie, I do love the part where he goes all stabbity on you-know-who.

LA Noire has no replay value whatsoever, I rented the game and returned it after finishing it in less than a day.

I didn't use him on my first playthrough, either, but he's at least not annoying. He also comes complete with his own team of sidekicks who have their own, um, interesting quirks. He's not my style, but I'm surprised at how much I like playing this side of things. I really disliked the Order in TW1.