It seems that Witcher 2 won the vote! Yeehaw! Check the original link for more info ....

Congratulations CDPR! You have won the E3 2011 Best RPG (Reader's Choice) Award. Be proud and continue to deliver outstanding titles in future.

I think That the MAJOR operative word is re-invent in this review(besides its referencing an E3 demo vs the semi-final product of TW2 pre1.2)
The major downfall of TW2 as being the great RPG it could have been is the devs fucking up of the awesomeness of the original by the "improvements" of the stupid potion system and non effective implementation of other rpg elements!! The difficulty should have not been dumbed down in patch 1.2(not brutal anymore) but a later patch needs to at least make the potion system similar to the orig and also the menu system.

Catering to the XBOX crowd is idiotic and I foresee the continual decline of the high ratings as time progresses will be justified....we have been so deprived of a good RPG for so long that this game looks like a shinning star. I hope that Skyrim does deliver the goods because I grow tired of this hack and slash game as it it evolving. It both awes me (at times) then kicks me in the nuts at others!!

From what i've seen of Skyrim so far , the few videos Bethesda released show an action/adventure game , not an RPG

that' my biggest gripe against Bethesda , since the amazing Morrowind , from my point of view each one of their game has been less and less an RPG , shorter and emptier , and somewhat poorer in quality (except graphics of course ) and depth than its predecessor

Basically , i really hope Skyrim will NOT be a " Dungeon looting adventure game " with dumb fighting system ( left click = hit with sword , right click = block , and that's all folks , have fun ) , no choices that changes the world or the story , and a large empty world

But i'm afraid it is going to be exactly that with most of the efforts into graphics and animated "monsters" , cause that is what can "sell it " best at the start of the game's launch ....


Anyway , congratulations to CD Projekt , The Witcher 2 really deserves it , it 's the best RPG i've played since The Wtcher 1 and i really wish CD projekt the best for the next episodes , i hope the next witcher will be longer though , but this level of quality is really brilliant , so it's no wonder they get the title of best RPG in 2011 , i don't see any competition yet , well it's just my opinion ;)

The reviews at E3 said(Skyrim) it was not a re-invention of itself and that it continues to be a game in like kind...NOT like what the devs did to this rendition of the Witcher..they completely revamped their original implementation; introduced a more polished technilogically version that was sorely lacking as far as RPG attributes. This version is surely re-defining an RPG. If its too be classified as BEST! Perhaps the standards have changed to a younger generation IF they classify this as a suitable RPG..it is so shallow!!

Did you ever play Obsidian?? You are going to judge a game as an RPG from its trailers???
If thats the case then the Witcher series is just another adventure game also!! The W2 fails as an RPG on so many levels!! You have a character development menu, that is obtuse, combat that at least is more interesting, and an insufficient weapon/magic system that is childish and undeveloped. a closed world and a story telling that seems adult but is more like a comic book implementation; no transtitional Role Playing elements at all. I would re-evalutate your comments as ignorent at the least or in the FANBOY category!!

care to back up any of those opinions? just curious.

1) Obsidian is not Bethesda , the game was Fall Out New Vegas , and yes it was a step in the right direction in term of content and RPG elements , it was decent , but too childish in the story and characters , and the world empty , seriously , New Vegas city is just one alley with 3 small casinos and that's the biggest place you visit , cities are like 6 houses with nothing inside and 2 quest per "city" , let's be honest , if you call that an immersive world then we haven't got much to discuss

2) I "m a huge fan of Morrowind , the game that "started it all" for me , and if you look at its sucessor Oblivion , there has been a sharp turn toward Action/adventure , no choices no real RPG , childish environment and repetitive quests ...

at the end of the game you have 100% in every skill , own every single guild , it's linear gameplay because no matter if you are Mage or warrior , you end up with the same stats at the end (max stats in everything ) and 95% of your gameplay is emptying dark Dungeons instead of roleplaying interesting quests like in Morrowind , moreover half the quests are FEDEX quests and the story much less interesting than in the first elder scrolls .

Most of the fun in the latest Bethesda games was actually collecting items and wandering the world to level up / Maybe it's fine with kids who love top quality graphics and monsters to kill , bur for people who plays such games since 20 years and look for an in depth RPG experience , it is an epic fail and disappointment since a decade , i'm grateful CD projekt came up with the first Witcher and ended the drought . Also If i want a good shooter with RPG elements and more immersion , i play Stalker for instance

Also i just gave my thoughts and impression on the Skyrim trailer bethesda released so far , they didn't advertise the roleplaying elements , the possibility of your choices influencing the world and the characters , the depth of the story , no , they only advertised on action and combat only .... that is a fact ... i just merely echoed that fact and the fear i have that Skyrim may not be a return to a more "true" RPG like Morrowind , but instead will try to take the "action-adventure" direction because it sells more .... especially to the console audience that is younger on average ...


anyway , i really hope i will be proven wrong and that Skyrim will be set in an immersive world with large cities , true RPG decisions and choices that have influence on the quest and world , interesting quests and main story etc ... and that it won't be mainly an action-fantasy game with elements of RPG like Oblivion was

Just for fun, I decided to only quote the question marks and exclamation points from your post :)

Now on the quality of the writing and story, I'm just going to point you to the relevant New York Times article.

On the gameplay, what specifically do you think is non-RPG about it?

i'm mostly excited that skyrim looks to have actually decent third-person combat animations.

Firstly, I must apologize to lanis for signaling him/her out with my wyrithing comments!! The implementation of the progression of storyline is my concern, it is not polished and although the story is compelling and worthy of the blissful TIMEs review it seems rushed to me and not fluidly intergrated into what could be an outstanding literary achievement. It is evident in its choppy cutsenes which degrade the flow of the narrative, not to mention the sexual scenes which could have been a little more artistically protrayed rather then the 'slam bang thank you mamme' episodes (a little background music would have improved the sexual tension for an adult theme immensly)

Now for the gameplay elements of a RPG...yes, it has choices for character advancement/ weapon enhancement progresssion of skills etc: but too many, all at once, no sense of achievement or satisfaction of discovery. I use to mull over all the stats in Witcher 1 and potion choices and implementation of them (as Morrowind or Oblivion) but this game throws them in your lap at the beginning, no sense of accomplishment!! The characters are thrown in your face with alot of assuptions, You have to obscurly rummage thru a plethoria of hidden journal entries to find information with a helter skelter menu system that is not well thought out!! As polished as the graphics are this game SCREAMS for an ENHANCED DIRECTORS CUT as the first did!!

And sorry for the Obsidian reference(lanis) I meant Oblivion (although Fallout is much more in line with the caterogization as a RPG then this incarnation of the Witcher!!)

I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to say re: "choppy cutscenes" - could you elaborate? And I can't really speak to the sex scenes since the only one I played through was the Chapter 1 plot-related one with Triss. I actually thought that that scene, barring gratuitous nudity, was well-designed. It was somewhat funny and told you something about the characters and the way they interact, which is more than you can say for A) every other sex scene I've ever seen in a game, and B) most sex scenes in any medium - books, movies, TV, etc.

I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to articulate about the abilities, either. I thought that this system, while less complex than Morrowind, was actually deeper in terms of how you can interact with the game world. Morrowind gives you lots of stats and options, but combat basically boils down to "hit the bad guy until he falls down, and try not to let him hit you in return." Unless, of course, you want to go the illusion route and bypass combat entirely. I really like Morrowind's combat system, but I like it because it's so easy to break, not because it actually contributes to deep gameplay. Compare that to Witcher, where you have an insane number of options with how you approach each battle - signs, bombs, traps, lures, swords, oils, potions, etc. I will definitely agree with you that the UI sucks, though.

No problem Gidzin , it allowed both of us to detail our opinions , a forum would be pointless if we always agreed on everything :)

Still , i think you much prefer "sandbox" RPG where you have more "space" and random things to do which i respect , i like this style of games a lot too

However the level of details and polishing in the TW2 is amazing (in prologue and chapter 1 especially ) and in my eyes you downplay this element which is a sign of a game's quality (for instance chapter 1 flotsam , the brilliant atmosphere , quality voice acting , numerous speeches , animations that makes the village truly alive , the immersion is great really and it's important in a RPG , whereas in Fall out the world feels empty and soul-less ) as well the influence of choices/decisions in TW2 , which is almost inexistant Fall out for instance where there are only minor choices , there is no interaction with the story . Personally i prefer the combat in TW2 too , because in Oblivion for instance , it was much too simplistic IMHO , but ok i respect your opinion ;)

I do agree with their polish of some aspects and laud them for that but I truely thought the game would be an improvement over the Witchers dynamics, they stepped forward by leaps in the graphics department but lacked in their choices of UI arrangement(in order to make this a secondary PC port for their eventually XBOX rendition) Oblivion's combat was a sore point for many (though It was OK for me) which they are modifying in Skyrim.

The background life of Oblivion was better for me then Witcher2 (W1) was artisitically superior then this, I just expected a better gaming experience then what is offered after this long wait. I'm still only midway in Ch 2 and its rather boring and contrived for me. I guess to each his own and the choices in the character development screen. I'm not looking forward to the replay except for curiosity in the Roche path. To be fair I heavily modded Oblivion and Morrowind so its apples to oranges. Witcher mods are very lacking as far as content and mostly cosmetic!! I also had Fallout modded so its not really the same vanilla game!!

I do think the game is good but not worthy of the worship some have lavished upon CDKPR!!

To Kahunaburger: Once you master a combat technique its all the same in this game dodge and roll...I rely on daggers(overpowered) and bombs. Most fights are die once and then cream their ass!!

I guess I'm just cynical at this point!! I played Assassin's Creed and it was beautiful but all you needed to do was mash the left mouse button to get by... same here in this game but you hit ctrl once in a while for quen or igni and you win!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE9BHDZKx5Y

On combat, what difficulty are you playing on? Because in my experience, you can theoretically play hard by rolling, but it's a lot more tedious and a lot less effective than your other options. You can also win by spamming knives and bombs, but you run out of those pretty quick, and once again will have an easier and more enjoyable time using more complex tactics.

Now this is my laugh of the day, thank you!