The Witcher 2

[Revan]

Who's picked this up? Was anyone else caught out by how difficult it was at the very beginning of the game? I wish I was exaggerating when I say it took me about an hour to get through the very first little bit when the dragon attacks. Just couldn't survive to the end of that little run and it still took me a few tries once I bumped difficulty to easy. It's fair to say it took me a while to ease back into the grove of the Witcher-style RPG.

I think I've just about got through the prologue now anyway and I'm kicking myself that I can hardly remember what happened in the first Witcher. Suffice it to say, I'm quite looking forward to getting started on the main story and seeing how the new skill trees shake out. I just wish the game didn't make my box feel so very old and creaky! Definitely need an upgrade..

[Nathan]

The game looks pretty good and I keep meaning to pick it up, but one thing is slightly stopping me from doing so: this is a sequel. I've not yet played the original Witcher and I'm a little dubious about picking it up without knowing the storyline.

Is it actually necessary to know the story from Witcher 1?

[Revan]

Ashamed to say that I've only clocked in a measly 5-6 hours by now. I don't think it's really necessary to have played the first game. You get a sort of brief summary of events that occurred before and they play somewhat into what you experience in the prologue. After that though, it's essentially a standalone game. Whilst you do meet characters that you saw in the first game, it doesn't really matter whether you saw them before or not.

Anyway, I've played long enough now to realise that my pc is definitely at the very bottom end of the minimum requirements spectrum. Rather than continue having a stilted, ugly experience I'm thinking of abandoning Witcher 2 until I've worked up the courage to shell out on that pc upgrade. Or in other words, bringing the Skyrim upgrade forward >.<

[Sacha]

[Shizzle]

Haha, Sacha

[loren]

After four deaths I managed the fight fairly easily, beat it on hard the first weekend...  Get the arrow deflect asap.

[GoldPanda]

Just getting around to playing this now. First impressions:

My computer is not ready. 15 fps on almost lowest settings. Witcher (the first one) had really bad graphics, but I think they might have gone overboard in the other direction this time. Or maybe it's time for me to upgrade... Hmm...

I don't care though. I'm stilling playing it. The way that dismembered arm glints off the sunlight as it traces a bloody arc through the air? Beautiful.

Yes. The game is hard. I have my superior swords and armor from my game save from the first game. I know how Signs and potions work. The game is still hard in the beginning because I don't have enough potion ingredients yet. There has been a lot of kiting the AI and luring lone AIs out of his buddies' threat range so that I can kill him easily. I'm sure by the middle of the game, Geralt will be a potion-infused chunk of meat again, and his blade will be coated with the deadliest poisons known to man, and I'll have an easier time with it.