Witcher 3 compared to Witcher 1

[Valeron]

It's too bad you didn't play the 2. It was already vastly different from the 1 in term of fighting and controls. You should definitely at least try it.
As for Witcher 3... It is LIGHTYEARS better than 1 (and 2). It's just in a whole another league.

I much prefer the main story of the Witcher 2 than 3's story. But everything else I agree that 3 is better.

[Skizzit]

The combat is so utter crap it aint even fun. Its basically the same from start to the end of the game. You basically spam light attacks dodge spam some more. Heavy attacks have no impact. This on death march. Combat is just not rewarding what so ever. I am looking everyday for mods to improve combat and change it, yet to find a good one.

The story is really good, yes, Graphic is above par. Sound is ok. Combat and the game world is still such a giant letdown. Not to mention the loot that is distributed around the world. a lvl 10 relic sword guarded by a lvl 30 giant ? makes no sense what so ever. No real carrot on a stick for explorers. No super fancy loot to find. No real reason to go off the beaten path.

Huh. Maybe it changes deeper into the game or maybe I was just looking to get something different than you out of the game, but exploring off of the beaten path is one of my favorite parts of the game. I love hunting down every little point of interest since it feels like so much more thought went into them in The Witcher 3 than in most other open world games. Sure, some of them are just monster nests or random chests to open and the gear you find is usually not as good as what you can craft yourself, but there seems to me to be plenty of interesting locations with little stories to discover to keep getting my sidetracked away from the main story quests.

Yes, the combat is pretty one dimensional, but still passable. Then again, I am the kind of person who can play a game with just average gameplay and mechanics as long as there is an interesting world and/or a well told story and The Witcher 3 has easily the best world and story in any game I have played in quite some time.

Ok, so as someone that played 1 and thought it was ok, but loved two:

Do I buy the regular version or the GOTY version?

And I'll be playing on PC. Should I grab a controller?

From everything I have read, the DLC is amazing and since right now it's only $10 more for the GOTY edition, I would go for that. I did. I have not gotten to that point in the game as of yet though.

I agree with Aoewy, I like using a controller more than mouse and keyboard for 3rd person action games like this one. I just use a third party 360 pad and it works great.

[pateuvasiliu]

The story is really good, yes, Graphic is above par. Sound is ok. Combat and the game world is still such a giant letdown. Not to mention the loot that is distributed around the world. a lvl 10 relic sword guarded by a lvl 30 giant ? makes no sense what so ever. No real carrot on a stick for explorers. No super fancy loot to find. No real reason to go off the beaten path.

Above par? Show me a game with the same quality that also has shit like animated hair.

There's plenty loot to be found, the witcher gear is the best you can find by far.

If you want combat mods there are plenty that turn Witcher 3 into Dark Souls. Strong attacks certainly have impact if you level with them. And any single player, especially RPGs, become easy after a while, when you find that one combination that always works.

[Selastan]

Do what a lot of people have done, and just read story recaps/synopses on 1 and 2, and then jump into 3. Trust me, it will still be totally worth it. The Witcher 3 is by far one of the best video games ever made.

No. Nononononono! NEVER. The Witcher 3 is a terrible TERRIBLE game! First off, it claims to be an rpg but equipment is super limited. No getting to choose between epic half-ton suits of magic armor. No weighing the decision of whether your new battleaxe's damage is worth the slightly slower speed. Next, you don't even get to define the CHARACTER! Even heavy story based RPG's like Mass Effect let you guide what your character was, so that isn't an excuse. Is this a western RPG or a JRPG? IT CAN'T MAKE UP IT'S MIND! Speaking of not being able to change the character, GOD do I wish you could. Geralt is the most bland Mary Sue to ever Mary Sue his way across all fiction. "Grrr, I'm a white haired badass who is the most badass of all badasses and I have witty one-liners about everything!" This isn't even touching on things like the combat system that is more out of place in it's setting and themes than Dark Souls', the voice acting that is worse than Bubsy 3D, and worst of all the sheer fanboism of the people with bad enough taste to sit through the first hour of the game. I know I couldn't. Do you see what I am doing here, Zephyr?

[Gib Lover]

If you are being sincere, nice meltdown.


@OP, play 2. Story-wise it's the best in the series and you can 100% it in about 25 hours and you get some nice goodies for 3 if you have a savefile.

[Skizzit]

@Selastan

So how did you form these opinions about the limits and weaknesses of the game if you didn't even play past the first hour?

[Selastan]

@Selastan

So how did you form these opinions about the limits and weaknesses of the game if you didn't even play past the first hour?

Highlight the last bit of text on my post, then read this, preferably on the actual page to see what I am responding to:

Ummm....with this game, two hours is more than enough to determine if you're going to like it or not. The rest of the game is exactly more of the same of the first two hours.

[Zephyr Storm]

Highlight the last bit of text on my post, then read this, preferably on the actual page to see what I am responding to:

So you purposely hunted me down and responded to me in that manner simply because you're butt hurt about something I said in the NMS thread months ago? The fact that you either can remember something like that or dug through my post history is a whole new level of pathetic. The fact you went on a rant about the Witcher 3 simply to make a jab at me is pretty fucking pathetic.

My God, that is some serial killer stalker level of crazy right there man. Let it go and move on.

Also, comparing the Witcher 3 to NMS is a huge insult to the Witcher 3 and the development team that did such an amazing job with the game. Critics and the gaming industry as a whole, including the player base themselves, would all strongly disagree with you.

A complete, full fledged AAA game that delivered pretty much everything the development team said it would, with more polish than 90% of the games released nowadays, and more hours of content than you can shake a stick at, while adding in what most consider to be the epitome of what DLC should be. Compared to a game that could barely be considered to be in its pre-Alpha stages at release and failing to deliver on most of its promises while being one of the most repetitive games of all time. The side quests in the Witcher 3 alone shit all over anything NMS could ever hope to achieve. End of story.

The fact that you seem to adore NMS and think Witcher 3 is a steaming pile of shit speaks volumes of your level of intellect. Everyone can have their opinions of course, but yours would still be wrong.

[Selastan]

See? That's exactly how I feel seeing your endless rants in the NMS thread. I honestly don't like the Witcher 3, and everything I said in my rant is my actual opinion, but I don't go into threads and tear it down and ruin everyone's good time. Just pointing it out, gonna vanish now. Bye.

[Zephyr Storm]

See? That's exactly how I feel seeing your endless rants in the NMS thread. I honestly don't like the Witcher 3, and everything I said in my rant is my actual opinion, but I don't go into threads and tear it down and ruin everyone's good time. Just pointing it out, gonna vanish now. Bye.

You're very, very pathetic dude. Whole new level of immature right there. Bye Felicia.

[Hey There Guys its Metro]

Witcher 1 is much better. The new devs are ruining the game, never listen to the community, and only care about making money. The new game is way too easy compared to the original.


Sound familiar?

[Dadwen]

I agree even though I liked them all the controls on the early version made me want to slit my own wrists, but they get better each version and I reallllly enjoyed 3 and I didn't have the issues with the controls at all.
Finished the main story in 3 and for one of the first times I bought DLC's for any game (Witcher 3 does not feel like anything was left out just for DLC's and those DLC's feel more like sequels than DLC so far and totally worth it).

[Jastall]

The combat is so utter crap it aint even fun. Its basically the same from start to the end of the game. You basically spam light attacks dodge spam some more. Heavy attacks have no impact. This on death march. Combat is just not rewarding what so ever. I am looking everyday for mods to improve combat and change it, yet to find a good one.

The story is really good, yes, Graphic is above par. Sound is ok. Combat and the game world is still such a giant letdown. Not to mention the loot that is distributed around the world. a lvl 10 relic sword guarded by a lvl 30 giant ? makes no sense what so ever. No real carrot on a stick for explorers. No super fancy loot to find. No real reason to go off the beaten path.

I wouldn't go that far, but yeah, I do think the combat isn't very good. And, crucially for an RPG, there's little progression. My level 37 Geralt played pretty much the exact same as a newbie level 1, apart from having potions, a half useless crossbow and a few different Sign abilities. All the upgrades you get are statistical and do not influence gameplay in meaningful ways.

Contrast that with traditional RPGs where you could start as, say, a level 1 Mage who has a few basic spells that died to a sneeze, and ended up as a demigod who can level entire rooms in a single cast (see: Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age). That's progression, your gameplay changes as your character grows more powerful. WoW also does it, as you gain spells from leveling, then gain special powers (tier bonus, Legendaries, artifact) through max-level activities.

Cripes, I think Batman Arkham City has more meaningful progression than Witcher 3, and that's not even a damn RPG.

I'll also echo your criticism of the level scaling. It's all over the place, Velen has level 17 bandits strewn around level 2 Wolves and dumps many quests on you that you can't complete until a coupel dozen hours in. And looking for loot is mostly pointless when Witcher gear looks better and is better than any of the generic loot and rewards.

Again, I disagree and think it's a great game, but it does have some failures in terms of game mechanics that are not often acknowledged.

[FobManX]

Witcher 1 is unplayable. I've tried a few times to play it and just can't the gameplay is so bad.

I never tried Witcher 2 as by the time I really heard/got into it 3 was already out and I didn't want to bother with 2.

Witcher 3 is incredible and one of the best RPGs I've ever played, although the combat does take some getting used to(at least on PC, on console with controller its probably easier).

[Tekkommo]

Witcher 1 and 2, are very dated games. You had to play them at the time. Some people can play and enjoy dated shit, I can't.

Witcher 3 is a great game, but its main fault is it just drags on and on, it gets boring. I love the game, but I've yet to complete, because the end story became far too dull and it also just dragged on with too much pointless crap.

[melodramocracy]

Just started Witcher 3. Some hilarious graphical glitches (horses being nothing but eyeballs and saddles), and the combat is forgettable to say the least. Very pretty otherwise. Will have to play it a bit more.

[Zephyr Storm]

I agree even though I liked them all the controls on the early version made me want to slit my own wrists, but they get better each version and I reallllly enjoyed 3 and I didn't have the issues with the controls at all.
Finished the main story in 3 and for one of the first times I bought DLC's for any game (Witcher 3 does not feel like anything was left out just for DLC's and those DLC's feel more like sequels than DLC so far and totally worth it).

Yeah, the DLC for the Witcher 3 even puts other standalone games to shame. The quality and content in them is top notch. Hearts of Stone is probably one of the greatest DLCs I've ever played.

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I wouldn't go that far, but yeah, I do think the combat isn't very good. And, crucially for an RPG, there's little progression. My level 37 Geralt played pretty much the exact same as a newbie level 1, apart from having potions, a half useless crossbow and a few different Sign abilities. All the upgrades you get are statistical and do not influence gameplay in meaningful ways.

Contrast that with traditional RPGs where you could start as, say, a level 1 Mage who has a few basic spells that died to a sneeze, and ended up as a demigod who can level entire rooms in a single cast (see: Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age). That's progression, your gameplay changes as your character grows more powerful. WoW also does it, as you gain spells from leveling, then gain special powers (tier bonus, Legendaries, artifact) through max-level activities.

Cripes, I think Batman Arkham City has more meaningful progression than Witcher 3, and that's not even a damn RPG.

I'll also echo your criticism of the level scaling. It's all over the place, Velen has level 17 bandits strewn around level 2 Wolves and dumps many quests on you that you can't complete until a coupel dozen hours in. And looking for loot is mostly pointless when Witcher gear looks better and is better than any of the generic loot and rewards.

Again, I disagree and think it's a great game, but it does have some failures in terms of game mechanics that are not often acknowledged.

The level scaling issue and quests that are higher level than you at the start of the game are problems that are present in almost every open world game like this. When you have the freedom to go where you want and do what you want, you will come across mobs that severely outlevel you sooner or later. And in the Witcher 3, this is actually an intended feature. You can actually kill lvl 30 mobs at lvl 10 in this game if you prepare yourself appropriately for the encounter (oils, potions, signs, etc) and dodge effectively. I've done it more times than I can count. It actually adds more challenge to the game and makes it more fun (IMO).

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Witcher 1 and 2, are very dated games. You had to play them at the time. Some people can play and enjoy dated shit, I can't.

Witcher 3 is a great game, but its main fault is it just drags on and on, it gets boring. I love the game, but I've yet to complete, because the end story became far too dull and it also just dragged on with too much pointless crap.

You really need to finish it sometime. The story had some major feels going on in it by the end. And you really need to experience the story in the Hearts of Stone DLC. That one was really good. The story in Blood and Wine however, fell a little flat (IMO).

[Leafcast]

My favorite game of all time. I would and have recommended it to everyone.

[Nerevar]

Witcher 2 is a rolling-ball simulator, and if you're not going Roche way, you're basically missing out on the main content since the alternative is extremely lacklustre.

The plot in Witcher 1 is better than in the 2 & 3 games. Some complain about the gameplay, but you get used to it. The atmosphere in the game is also a lot better than what is offered in the sequels.

[Orby]

Witcher 1 has aged horribly. The acting, oh my the acting... I didnt notice it at the time as much as I do now, but I did enjoy it, probably wont go back to it though. Witcher 2 and 3 were vastly better.

Witcher 3 has probably become my favoruiote game of al time, knocking of Legend of Zelda: Majora's mask to that title. We'll see in few years when I look back on it, but for me at least Witcher 3 was close to a perfect game, and one I was happy to spend over 200 hours on and not feel like anything dragged or got boring