Witcher Disappoints, Now Skeptical of Reviews

[zinfamous]

OP:

try Dragon Knight Saga. Very action-oriented with solid RPG elements. Pretty good casting and mele combat--whichever floats your boat.

Of the games I played that you liked, I also thoroughly enjoyed (and disliked the Witcher for the same reasons).

I got out of the JRPG thing some time ago....though Secret of Mana was a blast when I was jamming on SNES. :heart:

 

[Cerb]

1) point cursor at bad guy
2) click right mouse button
3) watch Geralt do a swordplay animation for the 1st attack sequence
4) wait for "fiery sword" icon to show up on the screen
5) once it does, click the right mouse button
6) watch Geralt do a swordplay animation for the 2nd attack sequence
7) repeat #4 to #6 (up to six times...5 attack sequences and the final)

Yes, so it said in the manual. What happens:
1. point cursor at bad guy
2. click
3. watch Geralt do a swordplay animation for the 1st attack sequence
4. watch Geralt get attacked without doing anything
5. see the fiery sword icon, not click in time
6. repeat steps 3 to 5 until Geralt dies

Something about the timing is counter-intuitive, the fiery icon wouldn't always show up, and I could never predict its timing. The trigger for it seems random, to my perceptions. Flash's mod changes it a bit, where the enemy's animation preparing for the attack helps indicate proper timing much better than vanilla. Sure, you 'got it', whatever it is, but I'm far from alone in not being able to, and I'd hate for someone to ditch the game over that, if said mod could help.

 

[rivethead]

Yes, so it said in the manual. What happens:
1. point cursor at bad guy
2. click
3. watch Geralt do a swordplay animation for the 1st attack sequence
4. watch Geralt get attacked without doing anything
5. see the fiery sword icon, not click in time
6. repeat steps 3 to 5 until Geralt dies

Something about the timing is counter-intuitive, the fiery icon wouldn't always show up, and I could never predict its timing. The trigger for it seems random, to my perceptions. Flash's mod changes it a bit, where the enemy's animation preparing for the attack helps indicate proper timing much better than vanilla. Sure, you 'got it', whatever it is, but I'm far from alone in not being able to, and I'd hate for someone to ditch the game over that, if said mod could help.

I guess I just don't understand the issue then. IMHO there really isn't a lot of "timing" involved. You wait for the fiery sword icon to show up on the screen and you press the mouse button. It's not split-second timing or anything like that. You definitely don't need to predict when the icon shows up. When I play the game, the only time the fiery sword icon doesn't show up is when I accidentally press the mouse button before it does. That starts the attack sequence over (and gives you the message "Too Fast").

Maybe you're (and I say "you" not just meaning you but everyone who has the same issue....I definitely know you're not alone in your opinion) just used to button mashers like Diablo? Where it's "click, click, click, click, click, click" over and over and over as fast as you can to defeat the enemies. I could definitely see someone going from a Diablo/Torchlight type of game to The Witcher having a hard time getting used to it.

Having said all that, it's good to know there is a mod to address this for those that don't like the original combat mechanics.

 

[r3dsh1ft]

I never intended this to be a big debate about the witcher, I was mainly wanting people to recommend games. This game must stir up some strong emotions. I think one thing that makes people loyal that hasn't been mentioned yet is the company's stance on drm. For this, they have my respect, but not my devotion. I am willing though to support them and companies like these. In all honesty the tipping point for me trying this game was in fact their stance on DRM. Thanks for all of your opinions guy. I also want to say thanks for those who were considerate enough to give me recommendations.

 

[mple]

You may as well play Witcher 2 with part 1 fresh in your mind. I've just gotten through the prologue for Witcher 2 and it's already got me more interested than the 80 hours I've dumped into Skyrim.

 

[DominionSeraph]

no fast travel was retarded with the bs amount of fetch quests you had to do.

Sounds like PC gaming isn't for you. Consoles are for casuals, and they're ---> that way.

Fast travel would have ruined The Witcher. Questing is his job, and a job should feel like there's some work involved. The Witcher is about the story, not queuing up encounters. Fast travel would have reduced the quests to a meaningless treadmill for ding and bling.

I think one thing that makes people loyal that hasn't been mentioned yet is the company's stance on drm.

The Witcher, Deus Ex, Baldur's Gate 2, HOMM3, Homeworld, Half Life/HL2, System Shock 2, Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines , etc., have loyal followings because the games are good. Really good. DRM has nothing to do with any of it.

 

[Arg Clin]

I find both TW1 and 2 some of the best RPG's ever made. I agree the combat system is a little annoying on TW1, but the story and atmosphere is great. And that's what counts for me in an RPG. I also think having plaed TW1 adds a lot to the TW2 experience even if it is not required to enjoy it.

I also really like KOTOR, DA:O and ME series.

I have no time or patience for Bethesda 'open world' games. RPG is about story telling and Bethesda is notoriously weak on that. I have not played Skyrim, since I hated Morrowind and Oblivion and have been told it is basically just more of the same (garbage).

 

[Markbnj]

I have no time or patience for Bethesda 'open world' games. RPG is about story telling and Bethesda is notoriously weak on that.

People say this all the time, but it doesn't click for me. Games with lots of cut-scenes and a hard-wired story-line are what we used to call "Adventure Games" back in the day. Kings Quest and the like. RPGs fell into a few different buckets from what we would now call "sandbox games" to "hack-n-slash" dungeon crawlers.

That said, I have really enjoyed playing TW1, and will definitely play TW2. Might play Sleeping Dogs first, though.

 

[Arkadrel]

OP:

try Dragon Knight Saga. Very action-oriented with solid RPG elements. Pretty good casting and mele combat--whichever floats your boat.

Of the games I played that you liked, I also thoroughly enjoyed (and disliked the Witcher for the same reasons).

I got out of the JRPG thing some time ago....though Secret of Mana was a blast when I was jamming on SNES. :heart:

O_O I just youtubed Dragon Knight Saga and wow.....

It looks amasing (ahead of its time) (the active combat, esp).
Id say combat in this looks "much" better than in skyrim lol.

also +1 for the Secret of Mana recammendation that game rocked so hard on the SNES.

 

[you2]

dragon knight saga was a lot of fun; I have a particular liking for Larien studio but they are a bit slow with rpg releases...

 

[thespyder]

I have no time or patience for Bethesda 'open world' games. RPG is about story telling and Bethesda is notoriously weak on that. I have not played Skyrim, since I hated Morrowind and Oblivion and have been told it is basically just more of the same (garbage).

I think perhaps your problem is in expectation rather than poor execution. I believe that Bethesda is doing exactly what they intended. And while I don't personally find the 'Lighter' story elements particularly annoying, I can maybe understand how, if you are expecting something more, that could be a detractor.

 

[crunkzilla]

Made the mistake of playing Witcher 2 and had gotten used to the excellent controls with the Xbox 360 controller. Went to try Witcher 1 and it felt too clumsy with keyboard and mouse. Is there a way to activate the Xbox controller in Witcher 1? It would be a shame to pass up this excellent RPG series.