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[Derrick01]

So it seems that Normal difficulty is harder than the average "normal" setting?

4 days left for me, I guess I won't get the Dark Edition, my local GAME seems to be lacking a lot of Special Editions, they never got the ME3 CE for 360 only for the PS3 (which was fine since I'm a main PS3 user, but still...)

Eh it's harder than what passes for normal in today's games, which is basically what "easy" was in 90s games.

Once you guys get used to the combat it will become much easier to you. I couldn't even tell the difference between dark and hard, they both seemed about the same to me and didn't give me any trouble at all.

 

[Ragus]

My god, the artbook is glorious. On par with those from Blizzard.

 

[ironcreed]

Damn, everyone getting it early. Anyway, is the difficulty really about like that of the Souls series? Seems I am in for more of a treat than I thought.

 

[subversus]

Damn, everyone getting it early. Anyway, is the difficulty really about like that of the Souls series? Seems I am in for more of a treat than I thought.

it may be difficult but it's not as refined as Souls series.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Dark edition worth the $100?

I doubt I'll be able to walk in Best Buy next week and get it, but just in case?

 

[Zeliard]

yes, you can jump from enemy to enemy to build a combo but it's viable only with certain types of enemies and generally it wasn't as fluid as in AA because you could jump into block or evasion or some shit like that. AA has much more fluid combat.

That has a lot less to do with fluidity than it does general tactical difficulty. In AA you are practically invulnerable during a combo, so it's much easier to get stuff off. Witcher 2 makes you work for it and pay far more attention to things like proper spacing and your general surroundings, which is where your extra abilities also come in handy.

 

[Felix Lighter]

My god, the artbook is glorious. On par with those from Blizzard.

I want that artbook. All I have is the digital GoG artbook but I want a physical copy.

 

[The_Monk]

may be harder than the average modern "normal" setting.

Thanks for answering, care to give an example of other game, regarding the difficulty?

I can play some FPS on harder settings, Shank games on Normal are hard to me, Mass Effect series on Normal are okay too.

If I can start on Normal and then change it to Easy in the middle of the game then it's fine by me.

Double dipped, they deserve it. After the Mass Effect 3 N7 Edition I needed to clean my soul.

Oh man, how well do I understand you...

EDIT

Eh it's harder than what passes for normal in today's games, which is basically what "easy" was in 90s games.

Once you guys get used to the combat it will become much easier to you. I couldn't even tell the difference between dark and hard, they both seemed about the same to me and didn't give me any trouble at all.

Just saw this now, thank you too for answering.

 

[Ciastek3214]

Launch trailer is here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdlcpXoiMqI

 

[ironcreed]

it may be difficult but it's not as refined as Souls series.

So the combat is not on par? Or is it just different, but great in it's own way?

 

[Zeliard]

So the combat is not on par? Or is it just different, but great in it's own way?

The latter. Souls is much slower-paced and defense-based. Witcher 2 is largely about offense, but there are definitely similarities especially in terms of tactical awareness.

 

[Salaadin]

I want that artbook. All I have is the digital GoG artbook but I want a physical copy.

Me too

Launch trailer is here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdlcpXoiMqI

Oh god, thats so good.

 

[Felix Lighter]

So the combat is not on par? Or is it just different, but great in it's own way?

It's faster, looser, not as punishing and magic is handled differently (constantly recharging). The encounters are paced differently and it fits the combat. You can't spam attacks and expect to not die. I would say it's not quite on the same level as the Souls games but the game isn't quite as combat centered.

 

[ironcreed]

The latter. Souls is much slower-paced and defense-based. Witcher 2 is largely about offense, but there are definitely similarities especially in terms of tactical awareness.

That clarifies things, and sounds like it has it's own unique brand of depth. Very excited to play this for the first time.

 

[ironcreed]

It's faster, looser, not as punishing and magic is handled differently (constantly recharging). The encounters are paced differently and it fits the combat. You can't spam attacks and expect to not die. I would say it's not quite on the same level as the Souls games but the game isn't quite as combat centered.

Thanks for that as well.

 

[subversus]

So the combat is not on par? Or is it just different, but great in it's own way?

no, it's not on par but it's still good in its own way. There is plenty of depth to it and every type of enemy requires a different tactic (some enemies are almost impossible to beat without knowing this tactic so buy books on them). And sometimes these different enemies come into groups. My main issue with it was that it's hectic enough but it requires precision and tactic at the same time. So you basically want to play it like Ninja Gaiden but the game constantly reminds you that it wants to be Demon's Souls.

 

[Zeliard]

It's faster, looser, not as punishing and magic is handled differently (constantly recharging). The encounters are paced differently and it fits the combat. You can't spam attacks and expect to not die. I would say it's on the same level as the Souls games but the game isn't quite as combat centered.

Souls also generally pits you against fewer enemies at a time, albeit tougher ones. There's a good amount of group-fighting in Witcher 2, which is where the AA-influenced ability to jump from enemy to enemy comes in handy nicely.

That clarifies things, and sounds like it has it's own unique brand of depth. Very excited to play this for the first time.

There are also a few other differences like oils and potions which can increase your combat effectiveness quite significantly in Witcher 2.

That's how I played, personally - the Alchemy tree. There are three main upgrade trees - Magic, Swordsmanship and Alchemy. In my playthrough on Hard I pretty much ignored the first two (outside of the dodge upgrade) and concentrated on Alchemy, as it can have huge effectiveness in combat.

You don't really need to upgrade your sword skills since you can use a mix of Alchemy/Crafting to make even your non-upgraded swordfighting ability pretty devastating, but of course, that's where player choice and personal playstyle figures in.

 

[Hypertrooper]

Hai gaiz!

The USK logo is printed on right? Does the game have the English audio like the official site said?

I can not wait for my Dark Edition. So excited.

 

[shinnn]

Video comparison: X360 vs PC (non-enhanced)

 

[subversus]

Tesco breaks Witcher II 360 street date, Namco “contacting” stores to remove stock

 

[XiaNaphryz]

There are also a few other differences like oils and potions which can increase your combat effectiveness quite significantly in Witcher 2.

That's how I played, personally - the Alchemy tree. There are three main upgrade trees - Magic, Swordsmanship and Alchemy. In my playthrough on Hard I pretty much ignored the first two (outside of the dodge upgrade) and concentrated on Alchemy, as it can have huge effectiveness in combat.

You don't really need to upgrade your sword skills since you can use a mix of Alchemy/Crafting to make even your non-upgraded swordfighting ability pretty devastating, but of course, that's where player choice and personal playstyle figures in.

And to offer a contrast, for my first playthrough I focused primarily on the Swordsmanship tree with a bit in the other two and also did fine. As long as you take advantage of the skills you're upgrading, you'll be okay.

 

[Snapshot King]

Wait, is the Kotaku review accurate? The gamepad control improvements for the 360 version aren't going to be in the PC EE? That's depressing as all hell.

 

[ironcreed]

no, it's not on par but it's still good in its own way. There is plenty of depth to it and every type of enemy requires a different tactic (some enemies are almost impossible to beat without knowing this tactic so buy books on them). And sometimes these different enemies come into groups. My main issue with it was that it's hectic enough but it requires precision and tactic at the same time. So you basically want to play it like Ninja Gaiden but the game constantly reminds you that it wants to be Demon's Souls.

Sounds to me that while not quite as punishing in the sense of trying to be diabolical like the Souls series, it is much faster paced and requires you to be able to think and act with the right tactic on the spot or be pulverized until you learn what to do. In which case, it actually sounds like it could be more difficult in certain scenarios. Guess I'll just have to wait and see.

 

[therealminime]

Wait, is the Kotaku review accurate? The gamepad control improvements for the 360 version aren't going to be in the PC EE? That's depressing as all hell.

I very much doubt that they wouldn't improve something on the PC. I also wasn't aware of gamepad control improvements. I've played throught the game once is a controller and it worked great.

 

[Derrick01]

Wait, is the Kotaku review accurate? The gamepad control improvements for the 360 version aren't going to be in the PC EE? That's depressing as all hell.

I would not put stock in anything Kotaku says, they're wrong more often than not. I haven't heard anything that CDPR was going to leave out, they've said many times everything was coming.

 

[ironcreed]

Souls also generally pits you against fewer enemies at a time, albeit tougher ones. There's a good amount of group-fighting in Witcher 2, which is where the AA-influenced ability to jump from enemy to enemy comes in handy nicely.



There are also a few other differences like oils and potions which can increase your combat effectiveness quite significantly in Witcher 2.

That's how I played, personally - the Alchemy tree. There are three main upgrade trees - Magic, Swordsmanship and Alchemy. In my playthrough on Hard I pretty much ignored the first two (outside of the dodge upgrade) and concentrated on Alchemy, as it can have huge effectiveness in combat.

You don't really need to upgrade your sword skills since you can use a mix of Alchemy/Crafting to make even your non-upgraded swordfighting ability pretty devastating, but of course, that's where player choice and personal playstyle figures in.

Tips I will surely keep in mind, but the Alchemy path sounds intriguing already.

 

[GlamFM]

The USK logo is printed on right? Does the game have the English audio like the official site said?

I can not wait for my Dark Edition. So excited.

Yup - a bunch of languages on there.


I´ve decided to play the tutorial in german. VO work was decent.

 

[Gvaz]

Traps, man! Those things do a lot of damage to Nekkers.

The gargoyles and arachnid things are way harder to kill.

Learn to love Quen. Keep that shit up.

 

[Felix Lighter]

Learn to love Quen. Keep that shit up.

I believe Quen has been nerfed with this new version, which makes sense. I personally would have extended the cast time. That's what really makes it abusable. You only needed to take a step back to recast Quen because the cast animation is super short.

 

[Zeliard]

Tips I will surely keep in mind, but the Alchemy path sounds intriguing already.

Don't feel you have to stay locked into one upgrade path though. In my next playthrough I'm gonna play on Dark difficulty and try to mix it up more than I did the first time around. But Alchemy is definitely useful, particularly certain abilities there.

Some of the major Alchemy ones to look at would be the oil damage/duration upgrades, the trap/bomb damage upgrades, and the upgrade that increases positive effects of potions and heavily reduces negative effects (those negative effects being poisoning - you can only take a certain amount of potions at a time, and different potions have different toxicity values).

Learn to love Quen. Keep that shit up.

Quen's getting a super-nerf with EE. No more abuse.

Quen Sign has been significantly nerfed. It now wears off after one or two hits.

That is lol compared to what it used to be. And well-deserved.

 

[Derrick01]

Learn to love Quen. Keep that shit up.

It's going to be harder now, they're nerfing it pretty good. The upgraded ones aren't going to last forever and take 8 hits or whatever now.

edit: Double beaten!

 

[Gvaz]

Aww that's too bad. Quen was the i win button.

 

["God's Beard!"]

I believe Quen has been nerfed with this new version, which makes sense. I personally would have extended the cast time. That's what really makes it abusable. You only needed to take a step back to recast Quen because the cast animation is super short.

Aww, Quen was the only spell I used the whole game. :-(

Honest to god, I don't even know what the other spells do.

 

[Nicktendo86]

I have a friend who writes for tech digest and I managed to go with him to a press event for this on Wednesday at BAFTA in London, got to play the game and was there for a Q&A session with a couple of developers. Game felt very nice but the tutorial was a bit of a nightmare, had to go through menu after menu to select spells etc and the whole system of making potions felt really confusing to me. Am a complete novice at this sort of game though so was probably just me. Really liked the game though and seriously considering picking it up...

 

[Zeliard]

Aww, Quen was the only spell I used the whole game. :-(

Honest to god, I don't even know what the other spells do.

Yrden is awesome - the trap spell. I never upgraded it at all or any other spell but I used Yrden the whole game.

 

[Nicktendo86]

I would not put stock in anything Kotaku says, they're wrong more often than not. I haven't heard anything that CDPR was going to leave out, they've said many times everything was coming.

Can only tell you what was said at the q&a session I attended the other day but the developers said that they had intentionally made the 360 controls different from the controls on PC using a 360 pad as console gamers expect a different experience.

 

[Emerson]

Is the hardest difficulty playable on the first run? And how hard is it really? I play almost everything on the hardest difficulty, is there a good comparison?

 

[Gvaz]

Is the hardest difficulty playable on the first run? And how hard is it really? I play almost everything on the hardest difficulty, is there a good comparison?

If you've never played the game before it will kick you in the dick.

 

[charmed699]

Not sure if this is allowed but I went to the presentation and did a short article based on notes I took. If anyone want to see it then here's the link. There's also a review. Please do tell me off if it's not ok and I will remove the link.

http://ve3tro.com/2012/04/13/making-of-the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings-enhanced-edition/

I did find it quite difficult at first as I have never played both Witcher games on PC. But it worked like a charm once I got the hang of it. I feel that most people are either used to mashing attack buttons or traditional turn based role playing games. Witcher 2 for me feels a bit different in that attacks can't be rushed. You have to make the most of the skills available and think before attempting sword attacks.

 

[gdt]

Yrden is awesome - the trap spell. I never upgraded it at all or any other spell but I used Yrden the whole game.

Yrden kicked ass against those spider monsters in Flotsam.

 

[gdt]

You can't really button mash in this game. It starts out hard only because you don't know the systems yet.

You really have to use every single ability you have. I was mostly a swordsman using traps and magic in my playthrough. Don't think I touched Alchemy at all.

The end of the swordsman tree is epic stuff, like the double kill IIRC.

 

[Complistic]

Is the hardest difficulty playable on the first run? And how hard is it really? I play almost everything on the hardest difficulty, is there a good comparison?

You don't want to play this game on the hardest difficulty for your first run. It will kick your ass over and over and it just won't be as much fun.

 

[Solo]

Yrden is awesome - the trap spell. I never upgraded it at all or any other spell but I used Yrden the whole game.

YRDEN, TRAP IT WITH YRRRRRRRDEN!

 

[Jay Shadow]

Launch trailer is here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdlcpXoiMqI

Not as exciting as the original launch trailers, but the Witcher 1 music makes me happy.

 

[Xater]

The USK logo is printed on right? Does the game have the English audio like the official site said?

I can not wait for my Dark Edition. So excited.

Yes to both questions. This game though is actually worth playing in German. Best localization I have heard in years.

 

[Zeliard]

YRDEN, TRAP IT WITH YRRRRRRRDEN!

TRAP THE MUTANT PURSUING ME WITH THE YRDEN

 

[Salaadin]

YRDEN, TRAP IT WITH YRRRRRRRDEN!

You come down here and trap it!

 

[Horns]

Might swing by Kmart and Target on the way home in hopes of it being on shelves early.

 

[Kyaw]

YRDEN, TRAP IT WITH YRRRRRRRDEN!

You come down here and trap it!

Edit: Fuck, beaten by a minute.

 

[graywolf323]

Can only tell you what was said at the q&a session I attended the other day but the developers said that they had intentionally made the 360 controls different from the controls on PC using a 360 pad as console gamers expect a different experience.

be nice if they included it as an option