The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Anyone who had to endure the first game just for the story should definitely not skip this one. The gameplay is more fluid and feels closer to a modern style, similar to The Witcher 3. If you want to properly follow the story, you shouldn't jump straight to the third game - The Witcher 2 is an important part of the narrative.

The story quality is solid, and choices carry over into The Witcher 3. Just don't expect 3-5 major different endings; the choices mostly lead to smaller variations. Enjoy the story, immerse yourself in the world. You can try the side quests, but don't bother doing all the monster-hunting ones - they're not really worth it. There aren't enough surprises, and the rewards are minimal: little XP and a small amount of money.

This game was released in 2011, so they could have done something clever to include representation in this game, however, they continued with dominate representation. The combat was slightly interesting than the first game. The graphic was okay. The story is still dull and forced these representation. The romance is forced. I expected to see something different. These representation like an old broken game which we see them dominantly on every video game. I wanted something different in these type of games. Even if the story is in ancient times or past, they could have done something like a game called Dragon Age. I noticed some bugs in the game. I still do not understand the crazy worship maybe because of the dominate straight and white population in games.

Game takes place in 1271, one year after the first game. King Foltest has appointed Geralt, who saved him from an assassin, as his personal bodyguard. The king is also at war with his mistress mary louisa la valette. For those who are new to the RPG genre, I recommend you to read the tutorial section of the game carefully. The tutorial will give you clues about the mechanics and gameplay system. I don't recommend skipping it if you are new. There is also a playable part of the game called "arena" outside the main story. Here you can develop Geralt with various monsters and bandits and take on challenging fighting tournaments by taking followers with you.

Those who played the previous game may find Witcher 2 a bit complicated. Because the fighting mechanics are very detailed this time. Everything has been made much more difficult, for example, you need to be skilled to use things like melee combat, potions, signs, bombs, traps, etc. Efficiently against your opponents. Gameplay changes include strong and weak hit combinations, the elimination of potions during combat, the ability to meditate without needing a campfire, and a quick select button for spells and traps. You just need to press CTRL to access this area of the game and there is joystick support as well.

As for the graphics, the character modeling, environment and landscape designs are close to perfect for the era the game came out. I can say that they still look good even today. However, you will need a powerful system to fully enjoy this experience. For some of the experimental graphics settings, you need to have a system above the recommended system requirement. Don't forget that if you have a finished save from the previous game, you can transfer it to Witcher 2.

However, you may encounter some of the choices you made in the first game and some of your old items may appear in your inventory. Compared to the first game, Witcher 2 is a much better action role-playing game that challenges you with visual quality, new twists, new surprises, a more immersive story and gameplay mechanics. It is a must buy and must play. The game offers an average of 35 hours of gameplay.

Although 'The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings' happens to be my least favourite game in the trilogy, I still found it very enjoyable. It begins with a very exciting introduction, and the new combat system is well-explained in the opening quests. Also rather early in the game we meet the antagonist of 'Assassins of Kings'.

My favourite of all the 'Witcher' villains is from this second instalment: Letho of Gulet. Letho is a man of colossal proportions, and matches his incredible power with a sharp, cunning mind. Some of the other characters introduced in this game are also rather memorable, but none so much as Letho. The perfectly written villain is just one element of a very good story.

These days, we're all familiar with RPGs offering players a choice. We were also very familiar with this feature five years ago when this game released. Still, none of the games I've played have offered a choice quite as significant as one of the ones presented in this game, in which your selection will change at least 6-8 hours of gameplay.

I wish this game had been as open to explore as the other 'Witcher' games, and I think more investment in side quests could have been made. Still, play 'Assassins of Kings' and you'll be signing up for a first-rate fantasy adventure, full of highly entertaining battles and well-written, well-acted characters.

A good game nearly ruined by inconsistent difficulty and frustrating or unreliable mechanics. It has sadly contracted Xbox consolitis (on top of the first game's already mediocre controls). You may have to mash a button 5 times before it registers. Many quests and scripted sequences are convoluted and confusing, leading to excessive trial and error gameplay. Often I had to trawl forums and wikis for help. Combat is more difficult & realistic but some fights seem far too difficult, as if the difficulty setting randomly changes. At least TW1 was consistently too easy. But despite its flaws, this is an atmospheric game set in a detailed believable world, that continues the great story of Geralt of Rivia. Absolutely worth getting in a steam sale, but you may want to play it on 'easy' even if you are an experienced gamer.