How far did you get: One completion
The most notable addition is that there is a legitimate tutorial. The original game had an opening that sort of acted like a tutorial, but it didn't really tell you how to do anything. To be honest, the new tutorial isn't that helpful either. Rather than tell you what keys to press, it will give you a general idea of what button to press. For instance, instead of "press left click", it would say "press the attack button." At one point I was actually stuck in the tutorial because I didn't know which button threw bombs, and I actually had to exit back to the main menu to access the key configuration.
Once you get through the tutorial, you're in for a really deep, mature story. Every decision you make in this game has consequences, and for everyone that you do something good for, someone else is going to get screwed over. Every time you are in a position to make a decision, there is never a real right answer, and it makes for a really intriguing experience. At the end of chapter one, you are given a choice on whether to side with one of two different factions, and chapter 2 and 3 are vastly different depending on which you choose.
The PC version is stunning to look at. In fact, the only PC games that probably look better than this are the last two Crysis titles. It does require a very powerful PC to run on Ultra, and a pretty good one to run at all. It manages to load big open spaces without a hitch, and look absolutely amazing in the process.
The game is designed in an interesting way, too. It's not quite open world, but it's not quite linear either. It's a bit like Dragon Age, but more open world. It has a prologue, 3 main chapters, and an epilogue. In each, you are exploring entirely different areas, but most of the time you are allowed to explore them at your own pace, and you can do whatever quests you want to do in whatever order you want to do them in. Side quests are entirely optional, but the rewards make them worth it. The side quest stories are also incredibly in depth and no less interesting than the main quests.
The combat is a mixed bag, though. It's different from any western style RPG I've played, but it doesn't always pay off. The controls are not very tight. There's a delay when you click to swing your sword, making the game feel almost like a free to play MMO. Fortunately, it is in depth and challenging enough to keep you feeling engaged. While many games of this sort will have you relying on health potions and healing magic to keep you alive, The Witcher 2 wants you to not need to do something like that in the first place. The idea is to use buff potions on yourself before battles, so you'll survive the fight. If you're getting low on health in a fight, you're just going to have to play better, buy or craft new armor, or use different potions before the fight next time.
The crafting system is a mixed bag, too. The mechanics of it are actually quite good, but you only need it for particular things. If you do all the side quests, you'll almost never need to craft armor or swords, as the side quests give you some really awesome gear. Potions and enhancements are a different story. They aren't exactly lying around to pick up in most cases, so you're either going to need to buy them, or craft them. Considering how plentiful ingredients are, you'd be silly not to just craft them in most cases.
The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition is truly a must play for fans of the western style RPG genre. Despite a few snags, it's unique, challenging, nice to look at and tells one of the best stories the genre has seen yet.
Rating: 88/100
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