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‘Witcher’ returns with an awesome vengeance

The Broadside Editor

May 15, 2012

"The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings" turns out to be just as amazing as the original PC version.

Isaac Newby
The Broaside

“The Witcher 2” blasts into your world like a train made of pure awesome. “The Witcher,” for those unfamiliar with the series, was originally a PC-only title due to its graphics requirements, but through some technological witchcraft, the creators have lowered the graphics requirements to work on the Xbox 360 without sacrificing any essential gameplay elements. “The Witcher” exceeds in a few key areas and fails in basically none.
There is only one issue that may really affect gameplay. This is the complicated control scheme, which requires a player to keep track of health, weapons, armor, wards (defensive or offensive magic) and/or traps (depending on how you play) all while still within a fight. Those more comfortable with games such as “Skyrim” or “Mass Effect” may find themselves a bit overloaded here.
This game requires a high level of effort. Those who are more comfortable with the RPG experiences that allow you to run in, heal on-the-fly and basically survive anything will not like this game. Blocking, parrying, proper ward and trap use are all requirements in order to make it through the story of this game.
On “Insane” difficulty, the game gives you one life for the entire game, which will take anywhere from 30-60 hours to beat on medium difficulty. This should indicate the level of dedication the creators of this game have.
In short, the PC version is significantly more beautiful than the console version, but unless you have a gaming PC that can handle it, you won’t see a difference. The difficulty level will definitely make some people shy away, but for anyone looking for more “out-there” gaming, this is an essential game to play.

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