The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Genre: RPG, Action
Release Date: May 17th 2011
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360
Score: 8/10
Similar Titles: Dragon Age, The Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect

I've been meaning to get around to review the Witcher 2 for a while now, because it seems rather popular at the moment. If you want to read a review on the first game, go here.
 

As a sequel to an inspired yet flawed game, the Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings needed a lot of drastic changes to fulfil a standard worthy of Bioware or Blizzard in 2011. Surprisingly, CD Projekt have done their jobs properly, and learnt from their mistakes. They have carefully replaced the majority of the time consuming and inconvenient design issues from the first game. Instead of giving the graphics engine an overall polish, they built a new one entirely. The scenery is truly beautiful, and you won't have any trouble immersing yourself in the world.

It begins where the first game left off, following the escapades of white haired Geralt of Riva, a Witcher taught to fight and kill monsters - usually for a price. I'm not going into detail about the storyline. All you need to know is that it is both intricate and magnificent; a compliment not frequent in my vocabulary. Advancing dialogue is quite interesting in the Witcher 2. Instead of picking archtypical lines from the good angel and evil devil on your shoulder, you will find yourself choosing options based on the possible consquences later in the story. In other words, karma will bite you on the ass later in the game if you're a silly billy.


Wonderful plot aside, I'm going to talk about the thing that impressed me most in the Witcher 2 - combat. Adopting a new action orientated style, fighting as Geralt is better than ever. The mechanics allow you to smoothly navigate the battlefield while stringing together blows to slay enemies. The signs (magic) system is also improved, the spells are cooler and cause devastation, and can be deployed effectively using the new combat menu, which slows down the fight to a managable pace. If you experienced the fairly sluggish you hit I hit from the Witcher 1, then you will be astounded by the new design.

Levelling is much simpler this time around; each level aquires you one skill point to allocate into a specialisation. Since you won't be completing all of the trees in one playthrough, choosing wisely is advised. Each specialisation has some awesome talents, enough to make you eager to plow through quests to get that overpowered upgrade. Armour also provides stat boosts, providing another way to customise and compliment your build.

Alchemy works much the same as any profession in an RPG game, materials pile up from your relentless monster killing and ruthless herb collecting - then you mash it together and you have a hulk concoction. I'd like to say you can play the game without becoming an addled potion chugger, but there's no doubt you will. When you get addicted to drugs, blame the Witcher 2. Eventually alchemy starts to yield some pretty badass recipes, so take advantage of it.

If you're looking for something epic to kill some time before Diablo 3 or Skyrim, this is the game to get. Completing all the content should take 40-80 hours, depending on how you play it. The Witcher 2 kicks off 2011 as a promising year for RPGs.