At first I was a bit hesitant to play this game because I don't typically like fantasy RPG themed games. I do like games that have deep and mature narratives. I also like games with complex combat mechanics. I heard that this game was very good at these things, so I decided to give it a try.

The story is very good. It is also very complex so it is important to pay attention to the dialog. Player choices definitely have an impact on the game world and many choices are morally ambiguous which tie-in well to the mature theme of the story. What impressed me the most was how much impact player choice dynamically altered the game world and the direction of the story. The game has 8 different endings based on the player's decisions. This is also the only game that I have ever played that completely alters the main quest line depending on these choices. This means that you will not see every main story quest, characters and locations unless you play the game through multiple times. Many games that change the world based on choices usually do so using trickery that gives you the "illusion" of choice. The developers of this game actually took the time to create all of the extra story content instead of using tricks and this gives the Witcher 2 a ton of replayability.

The combat system in this game is also very deep and challenging. You will carry a steel sword to take care of humanoid opponents and you will carry a silver sword to deal with monsters. Knowing when to switch is important to dealing proper damage to your target. Combat also requires proper preparation so the player will need to know how and when to use magical signs, place traps, drink potions, oil swords and use bombs and other Witcher tricks to get the job done. Simply wading into the combat only slashing away with a sword will often times get you killed. Combat can take some time to get used to and is definitely a refreshing departure from simply auto targeting and mashing a single button.

Visuals are very impressive and it is very apparent that the developers took a lot of time in creating the environments for the game. Music is outstanding and the score sets the tone appropriately.

One of the few downsides that I can think of is the disparity of the difficulty levels. Normal difficulty can be daunting with the complex combat mechanics and is a bit harder than the normal difficulty level of similar games. Easy is a nod to RPG beginners, but is so easy that you can ignore most of the combat mechanics and simply survive every encounter by using only the swords. The only other downside that I had with the game was related to map design. I found navigation on some of the maps to be overly complicated and I spent a lot of time simply wandering about trying to find a way to get to certain points on the map. Other than these two small quibbles I found the game design to be very solid and entertaining.

Lots of content in this game. My playthrough took about 40 hours doing most of the side activities, and I mostly took my time without rushing things. Additional playthroughs would be required to see the other 7 endings and to play the other story paths leading up to those endings. You can easily get hundreds of hours out of this game if you wanted to explore all of these options so lots of replay value as I mentioned earlier.

I highly recommend this game. I understand that the Witcher 3 is supposed to expand to a much more open world environment and have even more non-linear story options. After playing Witcher 2 I am looking forward to playing the upcoming sequel when it comes out.

At first I was a bit hesitant to play this game because I don't typically like fantasy RPG themed games. I do like games that have deep and mature narratives. I also like games with complex combat mechanics. I heard that this game was very good at these things, so I decided to give it a try. The story is very good. It is also very complex so it is important to pay attention to the dialog. Player choices definitely have an impact on the game world and many choices are morally ambiguous which tie-in well to the mature theme of the story. What impressed me the most was how much impact player choice dynamically altered the game world and the direction of the story. The game has 8 different endings based on the player's decisions. This is also the only game that I have ever played that completely alters the main quest line depending on these choices. This means that you will not see every main story quest, characters and locations unless you play the game through multiple times. Many games that change the world based on choices usually do so using trickery that gives you the "illusion" of choice. The developers of this game actually took the time to create all of the extra story content instead of using tricks and this gives the Witcher 2 a ton of replayability. The combat system in this game is also very deep and challenging. You will carry a steel sword to take care of humanoid opponents and you will carry a silver sword to deal with monsters. Knowing when to switch is important to dealing proper damage to your target. Combat also requires proper preparation so the player will need to know how and when to use magical signs, place traps, drink potions, oil swords and use bombs and other Witcher tricks to get the job done. Simply wading into the combat only slashing away with a sword will often times get you killed. Combat can take some time to get used to and is definitely a refreshing departure from simply auto targeting and mashing a single button. Visuals are very impressive and it is very apparent that the developers took a lot of time in creating the environments for the game. Music is outstanding and the score sets the tone appropriately. One of the few downsides that I can think of is the disparity of the difficulty levels. Normal difficulty can be daunting with the complex combat mechanics and is a bit harder than the normal difficulty level of similar games. Easy is a nod to RPG beginners, but is so easy that you can ignore most of the combat mechanics and simply survive every encounter by using only the swords. The only other downside that I had with the game was related to map design. I found navigation on some of the maps to be overly complicated and I spent a lot of time simply wandering about trying to find a way to get to certain points on the map. Other than these two small quibbles I found the game design to be very solid and entertaining. Lots of content in this game. My playthrough took about 40 hours doing most of the side activities, and I mostly took my time without rushing things. Additional playthroughs would be required to see the other 7 endings and to play the other story paths leading up to those endings. You can easily get hundreds of hours out of this game if you wanted to explore all of these options so lots of replay value as I mentioned earlier. I highly recommend this game. I understand that the Witcher 3 is supposed to expand to a much more open world environment and have even more non-linear story options. After playing Witcher 2 I am looking forward to playing the upcoming sequel when it comes out.