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http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/01/26/the-witcher-3-hands-on/
surprise surprise -- the combat sucks balls
surprise surprise -- the combat sucks balls
both are annoying edgy lesbian cunts.and here i thought TW3 was supposed to stomp DAI with its graphix
Nigga, u gay?
The unfinished preview build had plenty of bugs, which explains the recent delay for polish. The griffon chase twice ended with the griffon flying inside a hill where he couldn't be hit. The horse struggled on uneven terrain. All the guards in Skellige castle started randomly attacking Geralt after a cutscene. There's every chance these will be fixed before release, but we're praying The Witcher 3 doesn't become the next Assassin's Creed: Unity. Luckily the screen-tear you might read about in other previews didn't apply to the PC version, which looked beautiful throughout.
I really admire, for example, BioWare or Bethesda for introducing its games to gamers.
In conversation, the hunter revealed that he was chased from his village because his neighbors discovered that he was gay. Now he lives by himself, away from the judging eyes of his peers. Despite being forced from society, he still helps bring an end to the griffin, to relieve those who shunned him of further suffering.
My gameplay time is maybe five hours a week. I want to play through the story, and that's what easy mode is there for.
"We will not have the core story be extremely difficult like it was in The Witcher 2. For me, personally, that was a shortcoming.
undecaf
Yeah but its probably the case of needing to find those places first on foot (hooves) ... hopefully.
The game is great at making you feel like a Witcher. Taking jobs, following footprints, studying monsters for weaknesses, brewing just the right potion to exploit those weaknesses, being called a "freak" by children on decrepit dirt roads—it all builds to create this image of a fantastical beast detective/slayer, a misunderstood profession that everybody hates until the second they need your help. That, in turn, helps elevate quests beyond typical garden variety collect/kill fare, even if that is ultimately what you end up doing a lot of the time. The Witcher 3 knows how to dress up its quests, and sometimes that makes all the difference.
Hunting makes me feel good. And also like Batman. I spent most of my post-tutorial Witcher time going on hunts for troublesome monsters, and that easily made for the game's best questing. The most basic (yet well crafted) example involved a haunted well, which I discovered was actually occupied by something called a noonwraith. After a bit of research, I discovered that the wailing, wedding-dress-clad spirit was a deceased bride who was bound there by some relic. I then had to hunt around in houses and, eventually, at the bottom of the well to find a bracelet and the noonwraith's old bones, which she was no longer using. One ceremonial cremation later, I had a fight on my hands.More research had revealed that this kind of spirit was vulnerable to Geralt's spell-esque Yrden sign, which normally immobilized enemies. In this case, however, it brought the noonwraith into the physical realm, allowing me to damage it. Shame I forgot to brew any potions. Despite all my other preparation, the noonwraith nearly ground my bones to make her bread—or whatever it is ghosts do with bones.
t's still damn hard. If you were worried CD Projekt might dull The Witcher's difficulty for console crowds, you can stop now. The first time I died, it was against a random pack of wolves who convened their meetings of the jerk wolf society in a swamp where everything was poison. I also never managed to successfully bring down the first big baddie of the main quest, a griffin that was terrorizing a cluster of nearby towns. After investigating everything from what pissed the griffin off to how old it was, I managed to draw it out with a plant that apparently smelled an awwwwful lot like rotting flesh. I dodged its swooping strikes easily enough, but on the ground its rush attack—which best resembled a tank trying to run someone over—reduced Geralt to an ugly smear one-part viscera, one-part beard, and one-part feathers. After a couple tries I nearly beat him, but then I ran out of time in my demo session. Oh well
:rofl:He says that with the earlier games, CD Projekt Red was targeting the super-hardcore, PC-only audience
Taking fetch quests, following quest compass, one clicking some easily found books for monster weaknesses, one clicking on retard crafting tab so you "brew" just the right potion that the game tells you to "brew" to exploit those easy win pointers,
undecaf
Yeah but its probably the case of needing to find those places first on foot (hooves) ... hopefully.
I have a faint recollection of someone from CDPR saying that'll be the case. You need tofind"collect" a roadsign to travel to it.
Still, though... While this is admittedly somewhat nitpickery, it still feels kind of a wasted opportunity to add some gameplay intrigue and variety; wasted in favor of (overt?) conveniency.
Inevitable combat rebalance mod, Infi old boy.I hope nobody ITT seriously thinks there's a chance this game will be hard
That's not to say The Witcher 3 is always as difficult as the last two games, though. Iwiński says it was very important to him that they improve on the series' balance problems.
My gameplay time is maybe five hours a week. I want to play through the story, and that's what easy mode is there for.
"We will not have the core story be extremely difficult like it was in The Witcher 2. For me, personally, that was a shortcoming.
When I entered into the climatic fight with the griffin, a battle that had been looming for a solid hour, I was saddened that my heart didn’t race once during this deadly showdown. The beast would fly into the air while I shot my crossbow at its backside and then crash down to earth with violence on its mind. I experimented a little, using one sigil to stun it, another to set a trap around it, and I died plenty as I figured out the best way to success, but the fight never grabbed my attention. When I finally triumphed, it was with relief rather than joy, as I happily set out to listen to people’s reactions to my conquest.
Collecting roadsigns? So you dont even need to travel there yourself first?
Since CDP are apparently so eager so ape everything Bioware, why not make a "storymode" difficulty where enemies basically deal 0 damage so casuals can experience the story without fear of dying?
Are you saying that yet another witcher game will be poorly optimized????? What a surprise!!Nobody mentioned the rig they were showing it yet? Apparently the game was dropping below 30 fps in 1080p and high settings (not highest, there is ultra setting as well) on I7 4790K, nvidia 980...
Fucketh me!...
I hope nobody ITT seriously thinks there's a chance this game will be hard
And random animations and not enough invincibility frames on the longer ones.TW2 difficulty was rather silly and revolved around poor visual feedback.
Even better make enemies deal negative damage. When Geralt is getting hit he is healed.
Scars are just another kind of memory.
by Kevin VanOrd on January 26, 2015
Some of the best adventures in role-playing games aren't the ones the games script for you, but the ones you seek on your own. Last week in San Francisco, I joined a legion of writers eager to play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Developer CD Projekt Red intended for us to play the opening hour of the game in addition to a quest that occurs later in the story. Granted, I played those bits, and I'll share what those were like as well. But the most enjoyable journey I took happened when no one was looking and I threw caution to the wind. What might be waiting out there in this huge, gorgeous world if I set out on my own?
You see, one of The Witcher's 3's vast regions is an archipelago. One of the quests I had taken took me to a nearby peninsula, but when I looked at the map, it was the islands that called to me. I had to know what I might find there--but I also had to get there first. My understanding is that there are boats to commandeer should you need to cross the water, but I saw no boats. Luckily, Witcher hero Geralt of Rivia has rippling muscles underneath the hideous scars that crisscross his body. He was more than down for the swim, which required more patience than it did effort. I swam for minutes on end--an eternity in video games, when it comes to uneventful travel--and the islands grew larger across my field of view.
It was when I drew close to the shore that I wondered if I should regret my decision. There were screeching Sirens diving into the water: winged and finned creatures that shrieked their displeasure at Geralt's presence. My options for attacking were limited; I was in possession of a miniature crossbow, but was wasn't sure yet how to use it. I presumed I would be safe on dry land, and managed to avoid the Sirens that were nipping at my heels. Yet the shore was not a safe haven. The Sirens emerged from the sea and soared into the air, and descended upon me like any seabirds detecting their prey might.
I was not prepared for this.
Luckily, I had gained enough levels that I could take on these flying freaks. My first tactic was to swing my silver sword at them--the sword that damages monsters in the Witcher world. Of course, swinging wildly at things that fly doesn't get much done. I could damage them when they plunged towards me, however, and the circumstance gave me a chance to try out the effectiveness of my parry. If you recall, blocking and parrying inThe Witcher 2 took a backseat to rolling around on the ground, which was almost always a more effective way of avoiding damage than meeting your attackers head-on. In The Witcher 3, a well-timed parry is a great way of handling a soldier wielding a shield--or in this case, a great way of stunning a Siren swooping in to claw you. Stopping one in such a way gave me a few seconds to slash at it unimpeded before it zipped back into the sky.
Once I figured out the crossbow, the battle became even more dramatic. You can fire off a bolt without aiming, but aiming allows you more precision, as well it should. In my case, Geralt had leveled up enough that time slowed while targeting, though this ability was not a guarantee of success: I fired plenty of bolts that arced under my target because I wasn't taking the pull of gravity into account. I didn't down every Siren, but I cleared enough out of the sky that I could explore without being mocked by a half-dozen of them at once, and found a treasure chest that served as the fruit of my labor. (I don't remember what was in it; the discovery alone was enough to delight me, as were the siren battles themselves, which functioned as their own rewards.) And when it was time to jacknife into the sea and swim back to the mainland, I realized that my crossbow was effective underwater as well, and while it didn't do much damage, it bought me time as I began the return journey.
This wasn't an experience CD Projekt Red intended to showcase at t he event, but it's indicative of The Witcher 3's ability to distract you not with a dozen icons identifying where you can find "stuff to do," but with grand vistas and a real sense of wonder. I don't remember ever running into creatures that behaved like this in a game. I've seen sirens, but not ones that swam underwater and flew through the air; not ones that ensured there was no place to shield yourself from their wrath. Encountering such a thing then made me wonder what else might be out there. Knowing that there were more surprises lurking out there was enough to keep me curious--more curious than a map full of "stuff to do" is likely to make me.
Avoiding the million-and-one-icons trap is a confident design choice, though I certainly didn't run out of things to do in my three hours with The Witcher 3. I wasn't just swimming to Siren islands (or whatever they might be called), but getting involved in politics and leaping into water wells. The bit with the well was a side quest, wholly optional, but it still crammed in plenty of story and intrigue. Like the political mission that would come later, this one required me to investigate using my keen senses. The Witcher 2 also allowed you to seek loot, see footprints, and detect scents in this manner, but you can now hold a button down as long as you like to keep this special vision mode active. It's a small but subtle change that makes looking for clues a natural action rather than an annoying one. And thank goodness for that, since seeking clues related to a well-haunting ghost was all the more intriguing as a result.
A hop into the well and a bit of exploration told me what I needed to know about the spirit I had to banish. When I had performed the necessary ritual to draw her out, I realized that even my silver sword was not the only weapon I needed: my magical signs were also necessary. As before, Geralt can perform five basic signs: Aard (Force push, as it were), Quen (a magical shield), Igni (a fire blast), Axii (a charm that makes friends out of enemies for a time), and Yrden (an immobilizing trap). My sword would make no mark in the shadowy fiend unless I cast Yrden, which caused her to materialize, and allowed me to strike her through. And what a fiend she was, clad in a bride's dress and a laurel of decayed flowers. This is a dark and oppressive world, and enemies are not only frightening in and of themselves: they are symbols of the grotesque horrors that human beings visit upon each other. In this case, only a great act of violence can turn a once-vibrant young woman into such a hideous and protective ghoul. This small side story said a lot about what this place stood for, and what its people were capable of.
The aforementioned political mission at first resembled the Orlesian ball sequence from Dragon Age: Inquisition. Geralt was there to hobnob with the candidates eager to rule the region of Skellige, but he wasn't eager to participate in the social niceties, and told his host he'd rather be doing something more interesting, a line of dialogue I interpreted as a swipe at Dragon Age. (CD Projekt Red assured me it was not, but I can't help but wonder; The Witcher's writers have a proven naughty streak!) Intentional or not, the differences between The Witcher 3 and its recent competitor couldn't have been clearer. Orlesians dress in their best finery for such occasions; Skelligens prefer mead and lewd debauchery. They prefer mead a bit too much, as it turns out, for it was poisoned mead that turned some attendees into werebears, and I joined several other warriors in attendance in taking down the roaring beasts.
There were choices to be made afterwards; I could stay and investigate--but in doing so, potentially waste time--or I could chase after potential suspects and make some quick assumptions in the process. I won't spoil the outcome, but I chose to remain and seek answers, and as a result, I eventually saw my favorite candidate gifted with the crown. As much as I loved the bear fight, during which I parried, swung, and flung fire around the opulent banquet hall, I was more intrigued by the game's gender politics as demonstrated by the quest. The series has been rightfully criticized for its heavily sexualized female characters, but The Witcher 3 seems poised to address those concerns head-on, in this case with an honest approach to the troubles women face in political circles. There are plenty of strong women in this universe, but many of them are reduced to a notch in Geralt's belt. In The Witcher 3, I met plenty of women who didn't need sex appeal or magical abilities to loom large. It seems like we may finally get to remove the quotation marks from the word "mature" when talking about a Witcher game at long last.
This is still Geralt, however, and he always finds room for pleasure in this weary and decrepit place. The game opens in flashback, with a younger Geralt relaxing in a tub while his nude lover Yennefer lounges nearby. And as with The Witcher 2, The Witcher 3 never shies from the contrast between passion and rage. It's as hard to miss Yennefer's curves as it is to overlook Geralt's deep scars, which are prominent enough to make me wince. It's in this opening sequence that you also meet Ciri, Geralt's ward and a warrior-in-training herself, though she would not be subjected to the trials that leads to a true witcher's mutations. At certain moments in The Witcher 3, you will experience the world as Ciri, though just how frequently is uncertain.
I'm left thinking a lot about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in the week since I have played it. Its visual technology is undeniably impressive, but its the way that the technology is used that evokes such strong emotions. The lines on an older woman's face aren't just there to be there: they are there to remind us of her hardship and sacrifice. I think about its gameplay improvements: the convenience of mounting Geralt's steed, called Roach, and galloping across great distances, and the greater focus on looting and treasure-hunting, a focus enabled by a logical inventory system that replaces The Witcher 2's more cumbersome approach. Then there's the ability to eat a bit and replenish some health even when you aren't meditating. You might worry that being able to gain a bit of health during combat may assuage the challenge, but the benefit is minor, and every combat encounter I had required my full attention. This isn't an Elder Scrollsgame; enemies don't seem to scale to your level, so you might need to retreat if you find yourself in over your head.
What I am mostly remembering, however, is what a strong identity The Witcher 3 possesses. You couldn't mistake this role-playing game for another. It isn't about fun as much as it is about standing up to forces that would see you dead--the forces of evil, the forces of politics, and the forces of a world so hostile that it's a wonder anything could thrive within it.