Witcher 3 Impressions!!!!!

[BigPapi]

Anybody else psyched for this one? Looking forward to this for a while. Really loved Skyrim and been looking for something similar ever since.

Pre-downloaded on PS4 and it opened up at 7 pm EST. Going to give it a go later tonight after the little ones are in bed!

[NobodyHere]

I got a free copy with the video card I recently bought and I'm excited about the high reviews.

I've never played the other Witcher games though(even though I bought the second one on a steam sale). Are they necessary to play?

[chinaski]

Really want this, but cannot afford it at all, gah!

[frnk55]

I hated the combat in 2 so I'm not so sure.

[Eaglesfan27]

I am still finishing up 2 because I wasn't a huge fan of the combat system, but I am looking forward to playing 3 once I finish 2.

[chinaski]

ah screw it, I caved.

[hollmt]

Originally Posted by chinaski

ah screw it, I caved.

97 minutes. Well done, sir!

[Vince, Pt. II]

Two was amazing, probably in my top 25 video games of all time. I'd highly recommend at least it before getting into three. It's probably not going to be necessary, but you'll have a lot of backstory to figure out.

[RainMaker]

Are you guys all getting the digital download? Is there some downside to getting the actual disk?

[Peregrine]

I just finished playing through Witcher 2 (got it free on a GOG thing a while back) and I really enjoyed it. The combat system is not my favorite but I really liked the characters and the story, and face it, Geralt is such a badass it's just fun to play. Going to start playing 3 today!

[Peregrine]

Okay first impression - met my first game-stopping bug in the initial combat tutorial - not a good sign.

Managed to get around it after a few tries - man this game does look good on high settings.

[Peregrine]

Like the game but one annoying thing - is there some button I can use to just leave a menu and return to the game? Escape seems to back out of the menus one by one - so you have to hit it three or four times to return to game - this is starting to annoy me more and more. Guess I will have to get used to manually clicking on the close (X) button.

[BigPapi]

Spent about 6-8 hours so far.....Man do I suck. I thought I was pretty familiar with the third person RPG format from playing Shadows of Mordor- but this isn't as much of a button masher as Mordor- you really have to implement dodge and parrying well to succeed -at least early on.

Despite that, really enjoying the game; I'm going to have to get a bigger TV though, I am having the darndest time reading item descriptions....really any written descriptions due to the small fonts....

[Peregrine]

Definitely loving the game so far - they really improved a lot of the systems from W2 in terms of combat, character development, etc. Also I love the more exploration oriented open world.

[RainMaker]

Is anyone playing this on a console?

[Galaril]

So based on an hour of gameplay posted as part of the gamespy review that was a post launch review this looks like the game I have been waiting to come out on the PS4. I will try to hold off for a week or two to see if they are any deals online etc but also might cave on this one quick.

[BigPapi]

Originally Posted by Galaril

So based on an hour of gameplay posted as part of the gamespy review that was a post launch review this looks like the game I have been waiting to come out on the PS4. I will try to hold off for a week or two to see if they are any deals online etc but also might cave on this one quick.

PS4 here too- and, yeah- this is good stuff. Played for about 3 more hours last night- slowly getting the hang of things and finished off The Witch by the Well- or whatever her name was. Had to come back though, as I originally just couldn't stay out of her way at first. I'm doing a lot better at utilizing the Signs.....Anybody else noticing they are doing alot less "fighting" than usual for this sort of game. Not complaining -the stories and side quests are so rich. Heck, I reckon I've spent more time sleuthing so far than battling monsters. This experience seems much more balanced than Skyrim even was.

Couple of tips for PS4 users if you didn't already know:

1. Holding down on the touch pad takes you directly to your inventory.

2. Gently sliding up on the touch pad (not pressing) takes you directly to the map. Still takes two steps to get out as far as I can tell- but this is still much better.

[Galaril]

I just picked it up for the PS4 at Target and it is a great deal game is full price but you get the massive 460 page strategy guide so that is awesome.

[frnk55]

Does the combat require hitting 10 buttons this way and that? I'm a keyboard guy not a game pad dude. I like easy combat like the first one.

[Peregrine]

If you set the difficulty to low the combat is not too bad. Also if you focus your witcher on combat I assume it would make it easier. One major difference between 2 and 3 is they give you a lot of specialized paths in how you focus your witcher. You can be very good at a few things but because you only have a certain number of abilities you can use at any time, you can't really be good at everything.

[Galaril]

So just played through the opening and am working on the first quest and man this is a really great world they have put together. Beautiful environments , sunrise and dusk shadows is amazing. Populated areas feel very organic and alive. Story and quests and dialogues are all real great so far. I would say if you like games like Skyrim and Dragon Age as this looks like it blows them away.

[RainMaker]

Is the strategy guide a must?

[Peregrine]

I'd say not really - the tutorials are pretty extensive (and saved if you forget something) plus you can look it up on the internet.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Is the strategy guide a must?

No not at all but since everywhere is going to be selling this thing at $55-60 for a while it is. Great bonus to get the $25 strategy guide for free. It is a great guide and is one of the better ones I have seen well worth going to target to buy it. Plus, it was nice not dealing the smug tools at GameStop 😉

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Galaril

Plus, it was nice not dealing the smug tools at GameStop 😉

The required ten-minute, end-of-transaction hard sell requires a sociopathic lack of empathy that results in an amazingly consistent national workforce of 90% douchebags, and ~10% conscientious part-timers who struggle, sweat and apologize through the entire thing, making it even worse.

[BYU 14]

Only played a few hours, but this game is amazing in terms of the environment and characters. Some people are not crazy about the combat, but no issues for me at this point. Definitely game of the year IMO.

[Atocep]

The bloody baron questline is as interesting as any quests I've done in a RPG.

I had to roll back to the 347 nvidia drivers to keep from crashing, but 15-20 hours in the game is about as close to perfect for me as a game can get. I love the fact that there aren't obvious good and evil choices for each quest. Sometimes you do good things, sometimes you mean to do good and things don't go as you thought, and sometimes you're just an asshole.

[BYU 14]

Just got out of the first area after 6+ hours and think I found and did everything, with the exception of one area that is too high for level 4, so I will try and go back if I can.

A game I could literally sit and play for hours straight

[Neon_Chaos]

I think I was channeling Geralt while talking to a co-worker this morning.

"Mmmm. Coffee's hot."

"Busy day. Looking forward to the slog."

"All out of donuts. I'll take that loss."

[BYU 14]

It's bad enough the game is so fun, but having it's own version of Magic the Gathering makes it almost impossible to get any quests done once you start playing.

Got to Velen and basically wasted an hour and a half just playing Gwent and trying to find cards to improve my deck.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

It's bad enough the game is so fun, but having it's own version of Magic the Gathering makes it almost impossible to get any quests done once you start playing.

Got to Velen and basically wasted an hour and a half just playing Gwent and trying to find cards to improve my deck.

I literally can't get anything accomplished due to the amount of "?" all over the map. I MUST WIPE THEM ALL AWAY FROM MY MAP!

[Peregrine]

I love clearing the question marks but it's annoying sometimes when one will be easy and another close by will be very hard. Guess it could depend on the character build though - with my Axii build the bandit camps get easier and easier.

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by Atocep

The bloody baron questline is as interesting as any quests I've done in a RPG.

Not even all the way through it and it's amazing - all kinds of twists and turns.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Roommate fired this up last night and he can run it on Ultra settings. The game is absolutely breathtaking. Stunning visuals, lighting, wind effects.

[JonInMiddleGA]

The child picked this up tonight (XB1 version).

I like the voice acting thus far, my biggest gripe might be that the controls feel a bit, as he put it, "floaty". A bit too sensitive / responsive, especially when moving. Almost like the character is skating ... or something like that.

[Peregrine]

My biggest pet peeve is I want to be able to loot stuff from any angle, not just directly facing the target, and also from farther away.

[lighthousekeeper]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Two was amazing, probably in my top 25 video games of all time. I'd highly recommend at least it before getting into three. It's probably not going to be necessary, but you'll have a lot of backstory to figure out.

Witcher 2 is on sale at gog.com right now for $2.99

[JonInMiddleGA]

XBOne version question:

Pockets? How the heck do you use what you put in those slots?
Or is there even an actual purpose for pockets?

[Peregrine]

I'm not sure how to do it for the Xbox - but on PC there's a radial menu where you can select the pocket items and which one you want to actively use.

Per some thread I read it said to press L1 - if that helps. No idea.

[Neon_Chaos]

Holy shit. The Bloody Baron questline is fucking awesome. I dont think I've felt these range of emotions in a game before.

[EagleFan]

Is this worth trying for someone that couldn't get into 2?

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Is this worth trying for someone that couldn't get into 2?

I didn't play 1 or 2 because neither really appealed to me, but this is one of the best RPG's I have ever played, right up there with any of the fall outs and Baldur's Gate II

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Is this worth trying for someone that couldn't get into 2?

Depends on why you couldn't get into the 2nd one. My first answer would be no, unless you felt the story got in the way of the 2nd one. This one definitely has many more side quests and the like. Combat is similar enough that if the problem was combat then I would say don't waste your coin. If the problem with #2 was too much story and not enough being able to go where you want then yea, this one fixes that.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

I didn't play 1 or 2 because neither really appealed to me, but this is one of the best RPG's I have ever played, right up there with any of the fall outs and Baldur's Gate II

I wouldn't quite put it with Fallout but it definitely has an enormous Elder Scrolls vibe to me. A slicker, cleaner, better written & better voice acted ES. A considerably smarter ES if you will.

take fwiw from a Witcher first-timer of course

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by dubb93

Depends on why you couldn't get into the 2nd one. My first answer would be no, unless you felt the story got in the way of the 2nd one. This one definitely has many more side quests and the like. Combat is similar enough that if the problem was combat then I would say don't waste your coin. If the problem with #2 was too much story and not enough being able to go where you want then yea, this one fixes that.

Thank you. Good answer as it was a little bit of 1 and 2. Hated the combat and didn't like that it felt like I was playing on a rail.

[dubb93]

Just throwing this out there since it's an issue I seem to have ran into. Pick your difficulty carefully. After 30 hours on Blood and Broken Bones I found it too easy so I swapped it up to Death March. Which is fine, but once I beat the game I won't get the achievement for Death March since I didn't start out on that difficulty. If you care about achievements at all make sure you choose carefully at the start.

[frnk55]

I caved in. Now waiting for the small install of 23 gb.

[Galaril]

So patch 1.04 did come out and people are reporting
on ps4 at least they think the graphics took a downgrade with NPCs being taken out of larger cities and the draw distance vastly reduced. If that is true that is a bummer. For me the big issue I am having is I am really struggling to play this game on my PS4 from my couch. Can't read lots of the text, can't see what it is that I have looted and can't see map detail clearly enough. All of this needs to be much bigger! The devotees said they would have that patched but that was two patches ago so not sure what is the big deal to do that.
Still a great game.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I wouldn't quite put it with Fallout but it definitely has an enormous Elder Scrolls vibe to me. A slicker, cleaner, better written & better voice acted ES. A considerably smarter ES if you will.

take fwiw from a Witcher first-timer of course

Funny for me I am enjoying more than Fallouts games since I found them all to be too depressing to play. That probably makes sense with FOs theme but was too much for me.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by Galaril

So patch 1.04 did come out and people are reporting
on ps4 at least they think the graphics took a downgrade with NPCs being taken out of larger cities and the draw distance vastly reduced. If that is true that is a bummer. For me the big issue I am having is I am really struggling to play this game on my PS4 from my couch. Can't read lots of the text, can't see what it is that I have looted and can't see map detail clearly enough. All of this needs to be much bigger! The devotees said they would have that patched but that was two patches ago so not sure what is the big deal to do that.
Still a great game.

One of the major focuses of the patch was frame-rate on PS4. I know there were complaints that it was hitting sub 20 in certain sections with the city of Novigrad being a common complaint. I think they just did what they should have done from the release with graphics quality there.

If you want to talk about serious issues with this game the way they handled the XP bug (the main quests were bugged with 1.04 on PC where they wouldn't give XP at the end as well as a huge amount of them being marked in the data as being a different level than they really were so you would complete quests in your level range and get 0 XP) was a joke (announcing a hot fix would hit on Monday, then on Monday announcing that with the big patch coming on "Tuesday, Wednesday at the very latest" it would be included with that, failing to hit that deadline then going on holiday on Thursday all the while their mods were handing out bans and editing posts for people calling them on it.)

I don't think fixing the PS4 frame rate really qualifies.