The Witcher series should be much more popular

[DustyDrB]

It's a PC exclusive. I accept that the PC is the best way to go for a passionate segment of gamers (except for fans of Japanese games). But it is advertised horribly as a gaming platform. While the names Xbox, Playstation, and Wii are pretty widely known even to people who aren't gamers, the PC is virtually unknown as a competitor to the same population. Probably the only advertisement for a PC exclusive game I remember seeing is for World of Warcraft. I'll confess that I didn't even think of the PC as a gaming platform until about four years ago. Why? I never had any friends who were PC gamers (and still haven't) and never saw anything advertised to indicate it. When I'd go into stores to buy a game for my 360, the PC games were on the other side of the place. I just never heard about it at all.

I'm not saying that PC gaming is dying, as its fans are loyal and enthusiastic. Hell, a lot of PC games sell very well despite this problem. I think they could do way better, though. It just needs to advertise outside of specialized media, and let people now that their computer can be used for more games than what they can find on Facebook.

 

[jacobythehedgehog]

Witcher 1 and 2: Assassins of Kings are both amazing games

 

[godofallu]

What can I say, I bought them both on sale and I couldn't bring myself to complete either.

Amateur garbage with a decent paintjob.

 

[hazabaza1]

I really don't want to play the second until I finish the first.
And the first was pretty damn shit, so I guess I'll never play the second. Darn.

 

[Kurai Angelo]

As far as I'm concerned, DA2 was pretty much everything The Witcher 2 should have been.

What, complete and utter shite?

Nah, I like my sequels to retain an ounce of credibilty and deliver on what fans expect, not squeeze out a turd of a game in less than 12 months, then expect everyone to lap it up and call it icecream.

Oh and for the record, I had every intention of treating Dragon Age 2 as a standalone game and tried my best to objectively not judge it against Origins. So comparisons aside it still felt rushed, incomplete, lazy and completely unfulfilling.

 

[Radeonx]

Eh. It was incredibly mediocre for being the "great old school RPG" that everyone and their grandma exclaimed it to be.

 

[RagTagBand]

Eh.

I think The Witcher series is about as popular as it should be - IE Popular amongst Hardcore PC-only gamers who love overly complicated gaming mechanics.

Personally I -really- tried to get into the first game but I was just.so.fucking.bored.

ZP really hit the nail on the head in both reviews and -thats- why it's not as popular as you think it should be.

 

[w9496]

Once the developers wise up and stick a port on the Xbox, sure I'll try it eventually, but I'm not gonna pay $1000 to get a beefier computer, and certainly not for one game.

 

[The Madman]

Love the series myself but it does seem to be one of those love/hate things. Pity, whether you personally like the series or not there's no denying there are some things that the Witcher series does better than most any other developer out there. Bioware should be taking notes when it comes to moral ambiguity and choices that have genuine consequences. As much as I love most of Bioware's work, they really aren't very good at dialogue options. Most choices come down to being evil, boring, or saintly. There's no genuine roleplaying there, no ambiguity, no situations where you're forced to really think it over. It's just a matter of deciding whether you want to max your good or your bad for those neat stat bonuses.

Which is kinda boring. Witcher really does do it better. And despite the undeniably stupid card thing in the first game, both also deal with adult situations and subject matter in a way that puts most other developers to shame.

Ah well.

Whoo! Finally a topic where I get play the villain.

Thinking about it, I don't think I've ever actually seen you being positive in a post truth be told. Not often anyway.

 

[Darth IB]

As far as I'm concerned, DA2 was pretty much everything The Witcher 2 should have been.

What, complete and utter shite?

Nope: Fun, and engaging.
As I said in my post, I really really enjoyed DA2. I know lots of people don't, and that's cool. It was far from perfect, and I was more than a little annoyed with the maps, and

Spoiler

fucking zevran

I'm not going to get into the rushed/cash-in debate, because frankly I'm sick of it. Opinions, man.

 

[Kurai Angelo]

As far as I'm concerned, DA2 was pretty much everything The Witcher 2 should have been.

What, complete and utter shite?

Nope: Fun, and engaging.

I'm not going to get into the rushed/cash-in debate, because frankly I'm sick of it. Opinions, man.

Uhhhh actually, fun and engaging is an opinion. Rushed cash in is a fact... Just thought I'd fix that for you. Not much of a debate to be had to be honest. Regardless of whether you enjoyed it or not, that's exactly what it was.

I'd love to know how you found the same 4 rooms spawning endless waves of mindless fodder to be engaging. Perhaps it was the accompanying unintuitive, button mashing, shitfest they wheeled out as an excuse for an "improved" combat system. Or perhaps you found yourself engaged in the enthralling, epic yarn of the Hero of Kirkwall in which nothing fucking happens.

 

[WFox]

Yeah, I'd love to play it, but my computer is shit and it hasn't come out on the consoles yet.

 

[Heroic One]

The game's disgusting treatment of women makes me glad it isn't that popular.

 

[Vrach]

I'm sorry, but I'm having a hard time hearing you over how shit the gameplay, controls, UI, polish, story deliverance (fact it's a translation isn't an excuse) and just about everything else is in Witcher and Witcher 2.

Sorry, but I just can't stand the game. It just feels awful and trudging through it for the mediocre story just isn't worth it.

 

[Spectrum_Prez]

I'm a pretty big fan of the Witcher and the Witcher 2. The latter is so far my GOTY, although Skyrim might well change that.

That said, neither of them are anywhere near 'perfect' games. The first one had repetitive combat and the hilariously juvenile sex cards. The second one had a much better told story and characters, but an inverted difficulty curve and a majorly disappointing Act 3 and end-fight.

I think the thing about the Witcher series that really stands out is how different it feels from other games in terms of atmosphere and setting. Characters are quite well fleshed out, and the supporting cast makes 'sense'. There is poverty and stupidity and evil, just like in the real world. Most importantly, they spent some real effort into making Geralt gruff, complex, but ultimately very likable. The guy who voices him should get an award of some sort... the last time I remember such a great performance was either Garrett in Thief or, of course, Jennifer Hale in Mass Effect.

I'm amused by all the people in this thread saying the second game was hard, though. It was hard up until about the end of the first act. Once you realize that Quen (the blue damage shield) is ridiculously overpowered, the game becomes a cakewalk. The fight on the castle walls at the end of Act 2 became a total button mash: Swing sword, build up adrenaline, unleash combo for auto-kills, while keeping Quen up to stun NPCs that actually hit you (thus building up adrenaline). The tactical challenge of the earlier levels completely disappears.

 

[Kurai Angelo]

I'm sorry, but I'm having a hard time hearing you over how shit the gameplay, controls, UI, polish, story deliverance (fact it's a translation isn't an excuse) and just about everything else is in Witcher and Witcher 2.

Sorry, but I just can't stand the game. It just feels awful and trudging through it for the mediocre story just isn't worth it.

Did you just list polish as being a reason not to play this game? Seems a little contrived. Also, I'm sure there are plenty of games that come out of places like Japan with shittier translations than this that don't get as much flak. For some reason people just tend to find those funny rather than game breaking.