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I see that he did, I stand partially corrected, but you stooping to the same level does not help any. I do agree there is a lot that looks like a console game in this game, I wish they had done some things differently myself, but the game is still awesome regardless of it's minor faults.

Everything I'm criticizing is related to the game mechanics, UI, combat and character animations and how I can't find anything not console-oriented in this "PC-exclusive" game.
I never said the game's storyline or characters are bad, because they aren't.

I think the "button-mashing" part is where the big divide is between people who are enjoying the combat and people who aren't. I'm of the former. I rushed headlong into my first fight only to realise I was getting killed faster than I ever had in any game (first stages are usually not supposed to be this lethal) That was when I decided to pay special attention to all the moves available to me; signs, the two types of attacks, and dodges. Playing tactically makes a whole lot of difference and combat actually turned out pretty easy. IMO, this negates the "button mashing" comment entirely cos while "button mashing" may work out for some, tactical play gives a much better guarantee to all.

I really can't see what's wrong with the HUD. I've played mainly PC games and I find the HUD pretty intuitive myself. The last cRPGs I played were NWN, NWN2, ME and Dragon Age. Sure there are design differences, but I seriously don't see anything that greatly impedes my use as a KB/M user and would make gamepad users very happy.

And TW2 is not the first game that had external keymappings and video options. Many of those games I played years ago, and never did come out with console versions.

PS3 controls were listed, and as mentioned, they were not exclusive - mapped to the same keys as the XBOX controller, which is not surprising for a game developed this time and age (see my post on cross-platform development tools - here) in this same thread.

As someone else has mentioned, controller users have complained about the unintuitive interface much more than the KB/M users.
Yes, I agree there are gamepad keys bound to "PS3" and "XBOX" names, but these are just names isn't it? For a game to provide gamepad support, there will be gamepad button names. I don't see why just because they used a friendly name such as "BUTTON_CIRCLE_A" would be worse off than using an obscure one such as "BUTTON_RS_A04H", or indicated that the two consoles were in the plans.

Hypothetically, are you saying that if they had used a generic button name such as "BUTTON_RS_A04H", that would then suffice and quell and any suspicious that it was planned for consoles?

For the record, I'm mainly a KB/M user too, although I own an XBOX360 gamepad which I use for some parts of some games. I was a former owner of a Sega Genesis/Megadrive, and do play a Wii about once or twice a year with friends, but I consider myself pretty much a PC-only gamer.

I laugh my ass off when someone claims that the combat in TW2 is dumbed down, compared to the first! The only thing that failed is a UI (not HUD); inventory is much worse than the first game, also the lack of some standard PC features, like quick load, naming your save games..

Everything else is fantastic!! Crafting, customizing Geralt (in TW1 you had like two armors..), talent tree is much more meaningful, story is great, characters deep, combat is best in any action RPG so far, graphics are best ever seen IMO (shame it's a console port, lol)..

The combat in both games is hardly complex. It's obviously a lot less complex in TW2.

What is fucking amazing to me (excuse the language) is that nobody actually expects it to get better, harder, anymore complex or innovative. That should be the complaint. It's not new, interesting or challenging.

Instead of making comparisons you should all be demanding more from CDProjekt. You are giving them your money, they are giving you their services in game form. It is your right. It's also your right to not give them your money at all, so if you're like me and are sick of buying console games on PC, don't buy The Witcher 3 till it actually resembles something different instead of the streamlined console experience it has become.

But, what can you expect. There are far too many new gamers who were introduced with the likes of Halo, COD, Mass Effect and Dragon Age setting the standards for their expectations. They wouldn't know an RPG or a challenge if it bit them in the ass.

The prologue and some parts in chapter one are too hard while most/all of chapter 2 and 3 are too easy. But this isn't due to consoles but instead to balancing and talents.

Console gamers, rejoice!
You're getting the completely polished experience soon! (Q4 2011!)
CDPR tested the beta version of the game on the PC!
We paid to test an unfinished product and got a few lousy band-aid patches!
Aaah, those lovely independent game developers these days, you've got to love them.

+1

a bit melodramatic... but I must admit he's got a point there.

I just recently replayed The Witcher in anticipation for the sequel, but now I think I'm going to steer clear of it because it sounds horrible. Thanks!

You might get a second opinion. Like... any other opinion. The game kind of has rave reviews all over the place, but then again I won't stop you if you want to make your decisions based on anonymous strangers on the internet :)

I can't decide if that's more facetious or vitriolic. Either way, CDPR has been patching like the wind. Seriously, three weeks in and two patches already? That's beyond what most companies would even consider, and some people (like meeee) played through 1.0 with no problems whatsoever. Hating on them because it's inherently easier to make something work flawlessly on one platform than a billion and a half different combinations of computer parts seems more like a problem of your expectations than anything on their end.

I've read reviews similar to this complaining about the same things and my friend has recommended it to me. Typically he tricks me into buying games he gets for free by lying about them being good. I might give it a shot in the future if it ever goes on sale for around the price that I bought The Witcher EE ($13.39), but I imagine that will be a long time from now.

Ah, the butthurt is strong with this one! Once again, kindly fuck off PC elitist windbag. No one gives a crap about exclusivity these days except people who need to fill a hole in their miserable lives. People like you ruin the fun of gaming and discussing games by throwing out grandiose, false statements and acting like a petulant child.

"Bbbbbut, it was supposed to be EXCLUSIVE!!! WAAAHHH" Grow up man, find a nice lady, or guy if that's what tickles your pickle, go outside and enjoy life.

It's okay mate, I forgive you for being stupid, blind, acting like a snotty kid and for making baseless assumptions with no credibility.
Too bad I didn't, quote "throw out grandiose, false statements".
Too bad I own every console that has come out in the last 20 years except the Wii, so your "PC elitist" argument is as irrelevant as your mediocre, petty, 3rd grader insults.
Too bad you don't have enough brainpower to read though the thread and see why I mentioned the exclusivity of the game.
But it's all okay, mate. It's all good.

Are you implying it's not their job to fix a game that has a trillion problems on launch?
They could have delayed the release date and fixed these horrendous flaws, no?
In addition, their silly DRM was pointless and it only caused numerous problems.
Furthermore, nobody is "hating". The game has a great storyline and great characters, but that's it.
Just because YOU want to accuse me of it doesn't make it true.
As I've said at least four times in this thread, nobody has a problem they're releasing a console version (or console versions) of it. Why would we?
The thing I'm dissatisfied with is that the game is a console game as it is, and its "PC" release had nothing to do with a PC game (excluding the famed Ubersampling - I was half-expecting "Press Start to begin" and/ or "Adjust your TV settings".)
So they gave PC gamers a straight out console game with a plethora of different problems and then when they try to patch it up (which is their job in the first place and it's their fault it's not polished), you come with the argument that I need to praise them for doing it? What kind of logic is this? If you went to buy a bike and only got the handlebars, would you be satisfied? Would you praise the seller and scold me when I tried to question why the item you bought is incomplete?

How does this not feel like the PC release was nothing but an experiment to perfect the console release?

You should have realized the console versions have been in the works for a long time - a relatively new developer that has "no experience in console ports" will make one in THREE to four months, roughly? Really? Who buys that?
They could have been straight up about it and said that the game is not PC-oriented and what we're getting isn't even made for our platforms.
They weren't.
Why exactly?

i like how all the complaints about the game center around the trappings instead of the content.

i don't know about you guys, but i don't choose games based on their flawless UIs; i choose games based on the strength of the content they offer.

if a game is marketed and designed to have especially deep gameplay (see any RTS), then i should expect the developer's emphasis to be on that aspect.

guess what? the witcher series was NEVER about UIs, inventories, quicksaves, or perfect deep gameplay. it's about branching choices that truly have an impact on your game. That's what CDPR promised us, and that's what CDPR delivered.