The Witcher 2 Assassin of Kings Enhanced Edition Review
Developer CD Projekt
Publisher Namco Bandai
Platform Xbox360
Release Date Out Now.
The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition is not a simple PC port to console but rather an expanded experience in itself featuring hours of extra content only found in the Xbox version. It is a mature game with strong themes of a sexual and violent nature but thankfully this doesn’t spill out into mindless gratuity but rather a game for mature adult players. This is very evident when players are tossed into the opening few battles where the combat is surprisingly difficult without anyone to help out. This at first is a bit jarring but also refreshing, too many games are simple too easy. That’s not to say the Witcher is made artificially hard it just offers a proper challenge.
The Witcher 2 is of course a sequel to the critically acclaimed Witcher game that was released on PC back in 2007. A game derived from the series of fantasy books written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski which has since gone on to be turned into a number of different genres including the video games, board games, comics and movies to name just a few.
Witchers are magical, genetically enhanced humans trained to be assassins from a very young age. They vary in skills and powers from one Witcher to the next. You play as Geralt of Rivia loyal body guard to King Foltest, and after the spectacular opening sequence you find yourself in a dungeon being integrated accused of the assassination of your king Foltest.
This interrogation acts as a portal to tell your side of the story as you play through a number of event that lead up to the kings death and your subsequent capture. Your interrogator believes the story and helps you escape this leads you onto chapter one….
Combat is one of the games massive pluses, it is incredibly free flowing and natural. You are armed with two swords one to fight human enemies one to fight monsters. You can also pick up other weapons and smaller items such as bombs or daggers throughout the game. The weapons can be enhanced with magic oils from the inventory to deal out more damage from your attacks. Balancing this before entering a battle is recommended you don’t want to spend money on a potion that has no impact on human for example as combat is though and you do tend to die a lot so think carefully about each move.
Witchers also wield magic This is selected and mapped to buttons on the controller to be used in game at ease. The different powers have different impacts of your enemies, some deal massive amounts of damage or disorientate the attackers, other spells offer you some protection too either by shielding you or slowing the attackers.
In terms of the story within the game it constantly evolves meaning you must start thinking about what you do. Every choice you make in the game actually does matter as the game really does reward or punish your choices. Unlike other RPG’s that have a narrow splinter in choice patterns that ultimately deliver you through the same story line the Witcher 2 offers a huge range of options that really do impact massively on your story. So much so you can play through the whole thing again and get pretty much a new storyline. The story is one that is engaging and will keep you engrossed right from the very moment you pick it up to the very end.
Before its release a lot was made about the Witcher’s visuals and rightly so, although the Xbox version never reaches the heights obtainable on a heavy duty PC it still reaches the peak of what to expect from the console. The attention to detail in a game of this size is staggering, whether that is a mountain range miles in the distance that is still crystal clear or the shrubs in the forest sections. It is such a good looking game you don’t mind just wandering around looking at nothing in particular because it is all so good.
Overall : Visually stunning even on the Xbox, a near perfect combat system, an engrossing storyline and real choice make The Witcher 2 Assassin of Kings a must have purchase.
SCORE 9/10
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