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Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt.

Started by Bored of Canada, June 11, 2014, 02:53:21 AM

Previous topic - Next topic
One of the few games this E3 showed off a gameplay demo that looked actually representative of the finished product.

http://www.ign.com/videos/2014/06/09/the-witcher-3-gameplay-demo-e3-2014

And it definitely looks like a Witcher game. I think there's a lot of people excited about this who've never played one of these before, but it seems like they've been swept up in the marketing of it being like, another Skyrim, and I think they're going to have a bit of a shock going in.

I really enjoyed the combat of the first two Witcher games, but if the recently released mod for the Witcher 2 is an indicator by the in-house designers, they know the previous games flaws very well now and have a good idea on how to fix them. And I've always loved how methodical and tactical they are. Trying to take fights a bit slower, though not as slow as a Souls game, and utilising a lot of your magical skills to survive, always trying to maintain an idea of the geography around you, and also getting an idea of what you're going into before hand, and preparing your potions as such.

It's just really wonderful stuff to me. It actually replicates this feeling that you're a methodical and precise hunter, who goes into town for money, then goes to the book store to read up on what this new thing is that you're about to meet, and actually prepares, because the fights are difficult.

And speaking of which, the fact that the Griffin flies off across the map, and you have to track it via it's blood is another dynamic little thing, and takes off those Monster Hunter games, of which I've never played, but I've heard that's a general thing that happens in Monster Hunter.

People played the last two?
I never finished 1. Got to the Swamps and just threw it all in. Then Witcher 2 really grabbed my attention. Just loved the world, and the dodgy morality of it all.

And the decisions and conversations. Like the fact that for the final boss, I just sat down and drank with him and talked for a bit, and I could easily have just killed the guy.
I like those kinds of things.

I'm really looking forward to both the CD Projekt games. And those are probably the only two huge budget games that do excite me, to be honest.

Mister Six

I liked a lot about The Witcher 2 - the combination of action gameplay and a reactive RPG world was really satisfying. But I jumped in without playing the first game, and got completely lost with the story. I could keep track of what was happening from moment to moment, but never really managed to see how all the various bits and pieces fitted into a coherent narrative. I should revisit it and take the option that changes the whole second act, see if I can keep it together better this time around.

wasp_f15ting

cdprojekt are pretty epic.

Can't wait for this game looks gorgeous.

brat-sampson

Out next tuesday for PC, PS4 and XBONE, reviews are glowing, I'm writing this to fill in some of the void which is my life between now and next tuesday.

Here's an incredibly pretty NSFW CGI video as we approach launch. It's self-contained and has no game spoilers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-l29HlKkXU

For anyone new, you play as Geralt, a Witcher. Witchers are like mutated humans, trained from an early age in the arts of monster hunting, skilled at combat, spellcraft, alchemy and traps. The world of the Witcher is based around a set of stories and novels by a Polish author, and the games are made by a Polish studio and respects the Lore very well. Think muddy wretched small towns of wood and thatch, taverns of debauching dwarves and monsters skulking the fields at night, bands of roguish borderline terrorist elves and you're probably not far off. There's a rich deep history to the place and it's numerous monarchs, territories, alliances and institutions, but they've apparently done their best to ensure you can jump straight in with Wild Hunt and not feel too out of your depth. If you've got a spare save or two from Witcher 2 on PC, decisions can carry over, but if not there's a guy who grills you to double-check your choices anyway.

The game's an open-world RPG set on an enormous map and packed with stuff to investigate. Interesting stuff, rather than an oversized repeat of Dragon Age Inquisition's Hinterlands area... Think far more 'Stumble across a dilapidated shack and try to discover what haunts it, discover it out-levels you enormously, and run away' as opposed to 'I am want 5 sheeps skins and I give you 20 gp.' or Ubisoft map-sweeping. There's the main area which is probably bigger than Skyrim, a seperated region that's not much smaller and consists of a mountainous islands, zoned off to save on meaningless sailing time between the two. You get a horse, there's mounted combat, boats, fistfights, sexy times, underwater secrets, and a collectable card game called Gwent that's apparently genuinely good.

Overall it looks to be an easy candidate for GOTY and one of the most anticipated games of the year.

Here's a largely spoiler-free video of some lads taking a tour of the main area of the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XXOofl2cXE

Marvellous.

mook

i've got a "free" code voucher thing for this after buying a new computer. would it be worth playing the 2nd game first, (it's sitting in my steam library unplayed) if the story is a follow on deally?

brat-sampson

It's not required, the new one should stand on its own, but the second one's a good game too, so might as well have a crack in the meantime to get into the feel of things.

mook

Quote from: brat-sampson on May 15, 2015, 09:55:46 AM
It's not required, the new one should stand on its own, but the second one's a good game too, so might as well have a crack in the meantime to get into the feel of things.

thanks... i've got that shadow of mordor thing to get through too. i've got way too many games to play that involve staring over the shoulder of a long haired goth geezer it seems.


Preordered it on PS4. Looks like Skyrim mixed with Souls lite combat. Up my street. I could give a fuck about warring factions and Game of Thrones droning about power and courtly fucking shite though. I just want atmosphere and exploration. I literally couldn't give a shit about anything any more.

Ignatius_S

Quote from: mook on May 15, 2015, 09:50:11 AM
i've got a "free" code voucher thing for this after buying a new computer. would it be worth playing the 2nd game first, (it's sitting in my steam library unplayed) if the story is a follow on deally?

If you give me the voucher code, I'll play it and let you know. I wouldn't do this for everyone but I'm willing to put in the hours because of my very deep, very genuine respect for you. But if this cunning ploy doesn't work...

In terms of narrative, no but in terms of enjoying the second, my gut feeling is maybe. The new game is the first that's open-world, has a new engine and with the other new features, suspect some will struggle playing the second after the third as a result. Also, playing a previous game can obviously be interesting to see what works better/worse etc.

Quote from: mook on May 15, 2015, 10:13:44 AM
thanks... i've got that shadow of mordor thing to get through too. i've got way too many games to play that involve staring over the shoulder of a long haired goth geezer it seems.

One of the best things about The Witcher games is that everything is basically shades of grey, rather than black and white. This doesn't suit everyone (e.g. they don't like that whatever your actions, the result is a mixture of bad and good) but it's pulled off very well and helps the series to stand out.

kittens

this looks really good
i reckon i'll give witcher 2 a go next week

Shoulders?-Stomach!

The wind effects look impressive on the tall trees. A little jumpy with the ferns.

City buildings, the timbered buildings especially look shit-hot.

The gore though, on the combat video, that's the gift that's going to keep on giving.

Mobius

I'm so excited for this and am convinced it's going to be the greatest RPG ever created.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

It all looks a bit clean in comparison the first game which was very dark, gloomy and muddy. What's happened to the gothic atmosphere? Also, did anyone like me think with the horse and boat transport 'It's just GTA Olden Days'?

mobias

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on May 16, 2015, 09:29:06 AM
It all looks a bit clean in comparison the first game which was very dark, gloomy and muddy. What's happened to the gothic atmosphere? Also, did anyone like me think with the horse and boat transport 'It's just GTA Olden Days'?

The horse riding reminds me of Red Dead and the over all look of the world feels very GTAV. I couldn't care less though. GTA meets dungeons and dragons suits me fine.

Just watched the Games Radar review and it sounds like the main story is a bit shit but the random side missions are really what makes the game and draws you into the world. Again a bit like Red Dead Redemption then. Looks like the game is more fun if you play it on the easy setting so you can just sit back and enjoy slaughtering everything and not get frustrated by certain clunky game play mechanics. 

Mister Six

#14
QuoteJust watched the Games Radar review and it sounds like the main story is a bit shit but the random side missions are really what makes the game and draws you into the world.

Really? I found the RDR side missions to be fucking tiresomely written. The flower-picking one made me laugh and I liked some of the others, but once it became obvious that all of them - every single one - had an ironic grim ending, I just stopped doing them. Oh, a bloke who wants to build a flying machine? I wonder if he will plummet to his death?
Spoiler alert
I actually have no idea, but I bet you he does.
[close]

Wasn't that impressed by the graphics in that gameplay video, mind. It did look very lovely after an initially quite mediocre start, but GTA V has really raised the bar for PS4 lighting effects...

Shoulders?-Stomach!

The commenters also overplayed how big the cities- I mean, they aren't that big. If you looked on a map there were only a few streets. However they have managed it quite cleverly, having the city split up into circular islands and seperated by water, which gives you the impression of this sprawling medieval metropolis the length and breadth of your vision. In reality, not.

I've always wanted someone to make an RPG with a genuinely interesting and large historical city as its setting, so hype like this was guaranteed to be a let-down, especially on an open world game.

Also, even though the water-physics are good (and tbh you can go back to 2002 and find similar on the likes of Bloodwake), I didn't think the rendering and style they've gone for looked genuinely watery, more cartoony.

hoverdonkey

I've managed to garner £130 worth of Game vouchers over the last few weeks by trading games in and then getting a boss present as best man a couple of weeks ago. I think I'll make a dent in it with this.

Ignatius_S

Quote from: mobias on May 16, 2015, 10:06:55 AM...Looks like the game is more fun if you play it on the easy setting so you can just sit back and enjoy slaughtering everything and not get frustrated by certain clunky game play mechanics.

I would be surprised about that.

One of the aspects of the series that has been superb is the roleplaying one (as mentioned above) and that seems to be the case here. Something I've read in reviews – and this was the case with the previous game – is that your choices have very interesting impacts upon the world. What a lot of people – myself included 0 like about the games is that nothing was in black and white, and key choices weren't easy to make, particularly compared to so many games.

mook

#18
anyone know how to change the drive GOG wants to install this game on?

it appears dead set on chucking it on my mechanical drive D: and i want the bugger to go on the SSD drive C:




i'm guessing that the first bit (1 of 7) will download & install all the other bits?!


why can't it be idiot proof like steam?



think i've sussed it

Space ghost

Quote from: The Boston Crab on May 15, 2015, 10:18:33 AM
Preordered it on PS4. Looks like Skyrim mixed with Souls lite combat. Up my street. I could give a fuck about warring factions and Game of Thrones droning about power and courtly fucking shite though. I just want atmosphere and exploration. I literally couldn't give a shit about anything any more.


Its nothing like that.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

It's more like Ridge Racer Revolution.

Yeah, I preordered it. What a fucking bag of shite. It's more like some Poles have played Dungeon and Dragon and thought fucking hell this is piss.

I haven't played it yet.

ziggy starbucks

cdkeys.com are selling it for 25 quid

everywhere else for 40-50

Am I right to be suspicious?

mook

seems a much slower and gentler start than witcher 2 (mind, i only played an hour or two of that) just a nice little potter about in the sunshine riding my little pony & picking wildflowers, relaxing as fuck as it happens. i have got a griffin to kill, but i can't be bothered with all that hassle. i don't like the bloody card game though, load of shite that is & i bet it's bloody important too.

Ignatius_S

Quote from: ziggy starbucks on May 19, 2015, 05:04:11 PM
cdkeys.com are selling it for 25 quid

everywhere else for 40-50

Am I right to be suspicious?

They're usually considered legit but IIRC, aren't an official retailer - they're well established and a lot of people use them. Although key sellers are often looked down upon, they've got a relatively high reputation.

Thursday

Yeah they're a bit of a legal grey area, in some cases there's been accusations that key resellers obtain them using stolen credit cards, although that's never been proven. And it's not exactly clear what the laws are because they make a profit by buying them from different regions where the price is cheaper, if I understand correctly.

But yeah it is legal, and I've used these kinds of sites before and had no problem.

First impressions. Looks great if a bit cartoony, like super saturated. Characters seem pretty generic but the interaction and dialogue is decent, way better than Skyrim. Combat also way better, though a ton of Bloodborne hasn't helped me adapt. Seems deep enough though and I like the on the fly magic stuff, it's also pretty tough. I did get a Red Dead vibe from riding and having some exposition stuff, which I don't particularly like. Hope the other guy fucks off sharpish.

My main issues are fairly minor but similar to my issues with GTA, in that the main guy's movement is a bit jerky and clunky. I like that his default walking speed is a jog but it makes it awkward picking up items nearby and getting in the right position. Also the item alert symbols are fucking tiny and you need to be standing in the exact spot to interact with stuff, which exacerbates things. Also, the font is illegible to me, with perfect vision, from eight feet away, like GTA. It already feels tiring squinting to read item descriptions on loot so I've just not bothered.

Patchable? Don't think they will, if they even could.

Lt Plonker

The text is annoyingly tiny, isn't it? I'll be boss-eyed by the end of this game. I like all the 'ello guv'na swearing. Is there not a 'spend all day in the pub' quest? There should be.

brat-sampson

Managed to have a good long crack at this now. The introduction area is really great at what it does. Nice interesting range of quests, focusing on different elements of your Witchering, Nasties out there that can twat you at level 1 or 2 but you feel you can take them on by the end, cool fight against a big ol Griffon etc. Then you get into the Real World and christ, it really just steps off the underwater pool ledge. I wandered over to one of the first ?s I saw and everyone was level 14. I've done a sort of Dungeon-y thing that was really long with a couple of bosses in it. Half the small towns are either razed to the ground or everyone seems to hate me. I picked up a thing and it said the recommended level for the quest was 33. I'm level 5. This is crazy.

Main gripes are the stop-start movement as mentioned elsewhere, and a slightly fiddly crafting system. Though I am actually using it, which is more than can be said for most crafting systems. I haven't quite decided yet if automatically refilling all your potions/bombs etc on meditation makes it too easy or is absolutely required just to get through the day. Technically you need to have some hard alcohol in your pockets for this to work, but you basically always will. I've heard the text is too small, but I'm playing on PC so it's not something I've been affected by. Speaking of which, kb/m controls are pretty fine, but a couple of annoying button placements had me trying the controller instead and I'll probably stick with that. I can still quicksave 1/ f5, so I'm happy.
I can see how this could theoretically take 100-200 hours to do literally everything. Might have a go though.

Pit-Pat

#29
I'm really enjoying it.

EDIT: Playing PS4 version

Pros:
- Masses of personality - characters feel really well written and very convincing. I laughed out loud several times, not because of straight out comedy but because I found several characters quite charming
- Interesting decisions - I'm enjoying deciding between taking money and not taking money and worrying about what the severe consequences will be
- Combat (obviously it's nowhere near as good as Bloodborne's, but it's so nice to be able to parry)
- Scale and depth - it feels like there's a vast amount to discover, and I'm looking forward to doing some proper crafting and character customisation

Cons:
- Performance - framerate can be really iffy
- Animations can sometimes be quite awkward and inconsistent. As I was fighting it, the gryphon was flickering about like anything
- Cutscenes - there are so very many of them, and I don't quite have the heart to skip them because I'm afraid of missing good line readings and character animations
- It doesn't yet feel open-worldy enough, though I'm not that far in admittedly