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Offline rooster

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The Witcher Series
« on: May 17, 2015, 08:25:19 PM »
Finished Witcher 2. Meh.

There aren't enough quests where you are actually a witcher. It's mostly just boring politics. Since I know canon Geralt pretty well, I just try to stay out of the politics as much as possible and do my own thing. I saved Triss and I didn't kill the dragon or any sorceresses. I did kill Letho even when I don't think Geralt would have. I just want to be a witcher with a good overall story. I don't want to be someone that everyone is trying to use for their own agenda in a mostly interactive movie.

Crafting items was a cool addition and I do like the fighting better. But I really, really, disliked the flashback artwork. The third game looks like it will have plenty of sidequests so hopefully I like it better.

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Offline Fortuna

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Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #1 on: May 21, 2015, 01:18:47 AM »
The Witcher 3 looks like an Elder Scrolls game except you can only be a guy with a gay looking haircut.

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Offline rooster

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Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #2 on: May 21, 2015, 02:14:17 AM »
Amirite?! <rolls eyes right out muh fucking head and out the door>

Ghost of V

Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2015, 02:18:49 AM »

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Offline beardo

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Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2015, 04:13:32 AM »
dat mangled face
The Mastery.

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Offline Fortuna

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Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2015, 04:43:35 AM »


Yes, that's what The Witcher 3 is, except you're stuck with that character. Brilliant game, except for than one thing.

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Offline rooster

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Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #6 on: May 21, 2015, 11:34:33 AM »
Haha gross. The Geralt mod for Skyrim  is much better.

Ghost of V

Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #7 on: May 21, 2015, 06:21:21 PM »
Haha gross. The Geralt mod for Skyrim  is much better.

Maybe, but Skyrim is a terrible game.

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Offline Fortuna

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Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #8 on: May 22, 2015, 07:40:23 PM »
But honestly, the Witcher 3 sucks because the developers wasted their expansive fantasy universe on a game where you can only play as one character. And it has no co-op.

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Offline rooster

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Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #9 on: May 22, 2015, 07:47:44 PM »
Witcher 3 is great. The only problem I've had so far is being a little overwhelmed and deciding what to do next. Gwent is really fun too. I would definitely play it IRL. This is the first time I've ever just run around doing nothing and even gotten really into an ingame game. I typically make fun of A&A when he's a boring nerd that's not interested in the story. But this game is so great and immersive that I'm having a hard time wanting to pursue the main storyline myself.

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Offline rooster

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Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #10 on: June 13, 2015, 02:01:24 AM »
I'm surprised no one else here has played Witcher 3 yet. This shit is great.

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Offline beardo

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Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #11 on: June 13, 2015, 10:41:28 AM »
I'm surprised no one else here has played Witcher 3 yet. This shit is great.
Can't play Witcher 3 before having played Witcher and Witcher 2. Can't play Witcher 2 before having played Witcher. And I don't want to play Witcher.
Unless there's a hack n' slash mod for it.
« Last Edit: June 13, 2015, 10:43:38 AM by beardo »
The Mastery.

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Offline rooster

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Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #12 on: June 13, 2015, 01:20:23 PM »
You don't even have to play 1.

There's only one thing that really carries over and it's the very last cinematic video. So you can just watch that and then play 2. But there's not much about politics yet and the two groups you deal with aren't really in the other games. There's just a little bit of backstory with your best buds and the scoia'tael conflict, which is important in 2 but not in 3.

Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #13 on: June 14, 2015, 12:34:19 AM »
This is going to be really rambling.

tl;dr version: Witcher 3 is a great game, and I would unequivocally recommend it to anyone who loves RPGs.  I don't think it innovates anything in the RPGs genre, though.  Also I wish it were more open-world than it is.

I have mixed feelings about Witcher 3 that are at least in part caused by the hype surrounding the game.  More than one person expressed to me days after the game launched that it was (in their opinions) the best game they'd ever played.  Innovative, deep, replayable, great story, etc.  I didn't expect to think it was the greatest game I'd ever played, but I guess I was expecting something more unique than it turned out to be.  This is the only Witcher game I've played, and I'm only about 10-15 hours through this one; I'd like to leave open the possibility that the game will blow my tits off as I get deeper into it.

I'll start with what I liked.  It's a great game.  It really is.  The setting is beautiful, the cutscenes are good, and the core mechanic is robust.  I dunno how much detail I really want to go into because every time I think of an example, ten more pop into my head that I think deserve a mention.  So maybe I'll just say that it's good at everything you want a RPG to be good at: there are lots of different character builds; the setting it beautiful and detailed; the fight mechanic is actually engaging; the characters, even the NPCs, are vibrant; it's massive.

Here's what I don't like about the game: I don't really think it innovates anything.  I hesitate to call this a criticism because it certainly isn't required that a game reinvent a genre to be good.  To me, though, the lack of novelty in the game keeps it from being as engaging as I was hoping it would be.  Every element of the game is well-executed, but it's all been done before: protagonist goes from town to town finding jobs on message boards and expanding the map as XP allows.  I guess it just feels like Witcher comes up a little short when I compare it to a series like TES that took the RPG genre and added something new to the underlying architecture.

This could also be because I don't give much of a shit about the story or characters.  It's not that the story and characters are poorly done, just that I don't care about them at all.  The Elder Scrolls suffer from the same problem for me; I really just wind up getting into all the side quests and never really focusing on the primary story.  This is probably because I'm ultimately worn on out the high fantasy RPG.  I'm over it.  I'd kill for pretty much this exact same game in a scifi setting.

I was going to ramble some more, but you get the idea.
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Saddam Hussein

Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #14 on: June 14, 2015, 12:39:07 AM »
Let's talk about the lack of people of color in the game.

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Offline Rushy

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Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #15 on: June 14, 2015, 01:21:28 PM »
lack of people of color in the game.

Good.

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Offline rooster

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Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #16 on: June 14, 2015, 02:40:27 PM »
Also I wish it were more open-world than it is.

...expanding the map as XP allows.

The map is literally completely open after the prologue. You can go and do whatever you want in whatever order. The only thing is that enemies don't level with you, so there are quests you can try to do, but might die immediately. This doesn't make it any less of an open world game.

I actually prefer it this way. It makes certain amazing items tricky to get or you have to really prepare yourself for a fight with oils, potions, the right signs, or the right bombs.

But yes, the game is very story oriented so if you can't get into the story or characters you'll likely not enjoy it.

Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #17 on: June 14, 2015, 03:11:42 PM »
But yes, the game is very story oriented so if you can't get into the story or characters you'll likely not enjoy it.

I enjoy the game immensely; I only don't think it's in the conversation for Greatest of All Time, that's all.  Basically I'm saying that Witcher is the Toni Kukoč of RPGs.  holy shit that's a brilliant analogy

Open-world-ness

I probably think it feels just-slightly-less-than-totally-open-world because the last high fantasy RPG I really got down on was Skyrim, and one of the things I love most about TES is that they let me pretty much go wherever I want and do whatever I want right from the start of the game.  None of the quests are off limits to me, and I can just roam the map like Scooby Doo looking for mysteries to solve and dudebros to murder.

Don't get me wrong, Witcher is really open-world.  It's a far, far cry from a game like Mass Effect or Deus Ex.  Personally, though, I think I'd enjoy it more if it scaled everything to the player's level like TES.  You mentioned on IRC that all the zones have plenty of low level quests, so my opinion of this could change as I play more.

Let's talk about the lack of people of color in the game.

I don't think it's wrong, but I do think it's weird.
« Last Edit: June 14, 2015, 03:14:15 PM by garygreen »
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Offline rooster

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Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #18 on: June 14, 2015, 04:53:07 PM »
I think I'd enjoy it more if it scaled everything to the player's level like TES.
Right, and that's fine. I was just pointing out that it doesn't mean it's not open world.

I think it seems much more realistic when they don't scale. The first insta-death monster I came upon was some kind of gigantic cave spider. It's a little frustrating knowing you'll have to wait before you can complete that Witcher contract, but I don't think that my low level Geralt should have been able to handle it with his dinky shit armor and swords. But I can kill pretty much any human enemy at any time. Humans are really easy. I just think it makes more sense this way and adds a bit more realism and challenge.

I don't think it's wrong, but I do think it's weird.
Keep in mind, this whole story takes place in the Northern Kingdoms. And aside from that, racism is rampant throughout the series - it just involves humans and non-humans. So from a realistic stand point, there aren't going to be blacks in Northern Europe Medieval land and from an in-universe standpoint, they just have different races.

Re: The Witcher Series
« Reply #19 on: June 14, 2015, 05:06:45 PM »
Let's talk about the lack of people of color in the game.

Polish game, lack of people of color in Poland.