i played the witchier 1 for the the first time a couple months ago. i was absolutely blown away by the ambition and scale. i had no trouble with the combat system, like d it even once i got the hang of it (used to button mashing). each chapter was radically different and i especially love that game for i believe chapter 2 (maybe 3), which is essentially a mystery story (with a philip marlowe esq detective to boot). then the beginning of the next chapter, where you attend a ball & have all sorts of dialogue, drinking & sexing paths. all this in a nice combat rpg with great graphics. i had never seen anything like that; there was immense depth and breadth to the game & imo they pulled it off. i think TW2 was more one-dimensional & i for one didn't so much enjoy 'exploring'. it does not have the feel of an open world game a la oblivion; as much as i wanted to enjoy the gorgeous visuals at the same time i felt very confined to specific paths (physically) & was often very frustrated in trying to get from point a to b (i think, with good reason).

i aim to revisit the witcher soon to see if my opinion holds up, but as of now i rate them as equal at best.

I was planning on playing DAII when it's price dropped to 10$ or less but now having played the Witcher 2 my standards have gone way up :P

I just can't endure to look at most other RPGs nowdays.

Agreed. This is what I'll compare any RPG's to, in the future. I've long hailed Planescape: Torment as being the best game of all time; The Witcher 2 is the first game to even come close to threaten it. It's so insanely polished, and the storyline and its presentation is among the finest in history.

I too worried about finishing the game, didn't want it to be over. Once I did, however, I started a second playthrough immediately and tried to go about it a different way this time around. Some ways into Chapter 2, and I've received what feels like an entirely new storyline already. What can I say other than this is the way it's supposed to be done. This feels utterly and completely like a role-playing game, designed to let you dive into a fantastical yet ultimately real world you have never seen before.

Bioware should be ashamed of their recent efforts in this genre - then again, I don't think even they believe they are making RPG's anymore; that's just what their PR- and marketing team wants them to say. Anyway, I have nothing against Bioware. They usually make good games that I enjoy playing, but if I want to have an actual RPG, I will always look to CD Projekt expectantly. Oh, and Obsidian, since they also seem to take the genre seriously, despite giving us more than a few bugs and glitches to tolerate, in their products (hurried publishers partly to blame).

I digress... Thank you so much for this game, everyone at CDP. It's a true god-send. I wish all the happiness, prosperity, and future success, for you and your families.

I dont think it has ruined anything, what it has done is shown how shallow the triple A title rpg games have become with the advent of new technology, early 2D and isometric rpgs had as much C&C as the witcher 2, what CD Projekt Red has shown is that its possible to have a 3D game and still carry across the Choice and Consequences and role playing elements that have really been missing. with a few exceptions, from the genre's AAA titles for the last few years.
Now whether the upcoming AAA title RPGs will follow this trend remains to be seen I'm looking at you Skyrim, Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age 3, its probably too late for Dungeon Siege 3 although Obsidian rarely disappoints in their rpgs its just that they are always so damn buggy.

Again, having stats show up instead of hiding under the covers does not make a gaem deep. Games like baldurs gate were NOT deeper this is just the nostalgia pc elitest like to spew. The Witcher is a deep game that has many layers, from mutagens, signs, oils, bombs, crafting, to may small things that you discover as you progress through the game. Comapre this to the likes of DA2, and it IS a deep game wth many different mechanics at play.

Would it make you feel better if they showed all the numbers of each stat, sword swing? I assure yoy they are there, doesnt make a game deep, LMAO.

Comparing to DA2 for depth is a losing proposition. No matter how deep what you're talking about is, the second you associate it with DA2 is the moment you make the depth seem like a kiddie pool next to a puddle, when there's a thing called an ocean out there somewhere.

In W1, off the top of my head..:
* The user interface is way, way, way,way, way better.
* You can carry pre-made potions and drink them when you need them.
* No QTEs, ...
* You can follow 3 paths instead of just 2

Actually no, I think Risen and Divinity 2 came in between, in case of Risen I think it is superior to DA:O in many aspects. But both are prime examples of good RPGs in medieval settings.

I think The Witcher 2 is a really excellent game. I really do. But I think a lot of us are just a tad blinded by how new and pretty it is, and it's clouding our judgement somewhat. Yes, after the stinker that was Dragon Age 2, The Witcher 2 is an absolute gem of a role-playing game. But when compared to the greats such as Planescape: Torment, Fallout, and Morrowind, it doesn't come close. Here's why:

*deep breath*

It is essentially a pretty restricted game with a non-linear storyline. There isn't much customization, the environments are very confined, and you don't have much freedom in how you want to play. The stealth segments are shallow, the inability to kill guards without being riddled with arrows shortly after is lame, the QTEs feel lazy (especially while fist-fighting), the modern slang and swearing is jarring and out of place, the races and setting are unoriginal, the lack of acknowledgement or punishment from stealing hurts the immersion (and destroys any incentive to use NPC schedules to your advantage), and the NPCs repeat the same actions and dialogue between eachother over and over again if you decide to stand still for a moment and observe them. It feels more like a movie set starring Geralt than a living, breathing world with its own agenda.

And the ending, for my storyline at least, felt like "Oh...that was the end? Well...alright then. That's cool...I guess."

Does any of this stop the game from being an absolute blast? Hell no! I absolutely enjoyed it and continue to do so--but I think comparing it with the greatest RPGs of all time is giving it a bit more praise than it actually deserves. It's a damn good game, but not a masterpiece.

Nonsense.

There are two kinds of fool:
One says, "This is old, therefore it is good",
The other, "This is new, therefore it is better."
William Ralph Inge

Not even that Ale.
I think The Witcher 2 is so impressive because it doesnt whimp out!

I played Dragon Age: Origins and honestly think it was a better game (because of game mechanics and combat mostly) BUT DA:O always has that falt that it didnt take advantage of the Mature rating (and the nude mods just suck pretty much).

Take Dragon Age Origins and add the love sceens of The Witcher 2 and language of The Witcher 2 and you have a home run RPG.

Mass Effect 2, hell that game was so kidified it was painfull

Mass Effect 1 wasnt as bad because while Bioware didnt go the nudity route, they still treated the love scenes and content as adults. But it still pisses me off to walk into a strip club and not see STRIPERS (except for the sit and stare one in both games).

I think many enjoy The Witcher 2 because its advertised as Adult entertainment and it delivers the adult entertainment!

Its like TV. I am a HUGE fan of Terry Goodkinds "Sword of Truth" series of books. So when I saw "The Seeker" advertised on NBC I was excited...until I actually watched the show :(

Now Sword of Truth books are not adult swearing and nudity romps that some other fantasy books are. The adult content is actually rather limited (beyong violence) and when it appears it builds and suits the situation and context and characters. Well NBC censored the hell out of it to the point I couldnt watch the show. I just couldnt. It wasnt even remotely close to what I read.

Now HBO doing Game of Thrones. Ive never read those books but im TOTALLY immersed in the Westros world of Game of Thrones because its just so spellbindingly creative on the TV.

And its adult entertainment and doesnt treat me like a 5 year old. When a scene requires the showing of breasts, breasts are shown, and it reflects well to the story!

Case in point, early on in show you see the Talgarian girl strip naked and enter almost boiling hot water with out effect or scaring.

Now a number of episodes later they start to show you she is not harmed by heat and fire and your mind instantly shoots back to that earlier scene. Not because shes amazingly beautiful and naked but because shes naked and not effected by the almost boiling water. Had she been clothed for that scene, you wouldnt have connected the dots (unless they just came out and told you which would ruin the story build up, like what happened in The Seeker series) as one would think the clothing protected her.

Point is, CDR treats its fan base as adults and presents the contents in a adult and mature manner.

YES, there is probably some kid spanking the monkey over Triss or Ves or who ever being naked and having breasts. If it wasnt this game it would be something online, some playboy mag, what ever. But this game is made for adults and treats its veiwers like adults.

And thats what I think is its biggest draw.

I hated Mass Effect 2 and one of the reasons I hated ME2 is it had Jack, a character clearly designed to impress 15 year olds with the swearing but everything else is so watered down and censored it was beyond insulting!

Maybe im getting cranky in my old age but Censorship is really starting to piss me off and I fine myself no longer wanting to financially support companies that embrace censorship!

I have stopped buying Bioware single player games
I have all but stopped watching network tv of any kind

Im just finding that I want adult situations to be treated as adult situations.
And that doesnt mean massive nudity, just mature handleing of stuff and situations.

You could have shortened that whole post by saying "I don't like it when they censor boobies."

Just sayin' :)

In regards to the adult nature of the game, that's fine but it's a gimic in the end. Sure TW2 is gritty and such compared to slick games like ME2 but to me its a facade. In the end a game with a grim tone and avoidance of anime like cuteness crap or cartoony like aspects is perhaps what older players want?

P.S. changed thenature of my post but I think this might perhaps get to the heart of the matter...maybe

Pretty much true. Sex in games is generally awkward, especially when you consider the motion capture involved in making a realistic sex scene.