One of the biggest problems facing RPGs is the stagnation of turn-based combat. While it’s not something that ruins every game, it’s hard to deny that constantly clicking through a menu with limited interaction isn’t very engaging. Juggernaut: Revenge of Sovereign breaks through this mold with an overhand swing by creating a touch-based combat system that’s fun and surprisingly deep. Did I mention that it has great visuals and is free to play?
Your typical playthrough of Juggernaut: Revenge of Sovereign will look something a great deal like Infinity Blade. You’re seeking to destroy a great force of destruction (Sovering, Demon of Grief), but you have to battle through waves of enemies in one-on-one combat to get to him. Unlike your typical RPG, gameplay puts a high emphasis on combat and a low emphasis on story.
Your journey begins by choosing one of five unique heroes. Each one brings a different skill, elemental affinity, and weapon. Whether you want to pound your way through with Ursula’s war hammer or fry your foes with Torus’ magic, there’s a character that will fit your play style.
Each section of the game is divided into its own chapter of five to ten unique encounters. Every victory brings you experience, gold, and loot, while also bringing you another step closer to Sovereign.
Battles make complete use of the iOS touch screen, with directional swipes, taps, and motions determining your every action. Unlike traditional turn-based systems, Juggernaut: Revenge of Sovereign is constantly active, with character models striking and weaving throughout the battle. Every foe has a respectable set of combat animations, making each fight feel unique and dynamic.
Gameplay begins simply: a swipe of a finger attacks your enemy in the direction that you please. However, as the game presses on, the system gets pretty heavy. Certain blows will spill mana orbs from your target, which can be collected in order to unleash powerful magic attacks. Certain enemy attacks will expel rage orbs, which allow you to engage in a risk-reward system of combat bonuses. Some enemy attacks can be dodged by completing a quick-time event, such as tapping all of their magic orbs in time, or by successfully recreating a memory sequence.
It sounds like a lot to handle, but the game introduces each new element one-by-one in a tutorial that keeps things easy to understand.
The only factor that I didn’t really enjoy was the game’s execution feature. Occasionally, enemies you fight can be expelled by a gory Mortal Kombat-style finishing move. Unlike Mortal Kombat, however, the move is mandatory, and rewards you with twice the amount of loot. For a game that really isn’t very violent otherwise, it’s a pretty strange mismatched aesthetic.
Aside from chapter combat, there are plenty of side quests at your disposal. Each completed area draws loyal citizens who pledge money to your cause. Occasionally, a monster will attack the citizens, giving you a chance to fend them off and keep your gold earnings high. Completed areas can also be scoured for treasure with scarabs, letting you earn large rewards of treasure and items through a lock-picking minigame.
Being a free-to-play game, there’s the usual pick of in-game and premium real-money currency. You can buy the game’s best items right away with real money if you want, but there’s no point if you want a decent challenge. I was able to play for several hours without having to invest a dime, and I was able to buy plenty of gear along the way with regular gold.
The problem, however, is that this system doesn’t last forever.
By the time that I had been stumped (at the final boss of chapter 4), there simply wasn’t enough gold available in order to power up without dropping real-life money. I’m not opposed to a system like this at all, especially after a game has let me play it for nearly half a dozen hours for free. Unfortunately, one quick look at the game’s shop had me looking the other way.
In my scenario, it would have cost me 1600 of the game’s premium currency in order to upgrade each of my eight pieces of armor. The cheapest way to get that much currency through microtransactions? A whopping twenty-three dollars. While I’m not sure that I would need an upgrade for all eight of my items in order to beat the boss that I’m stuck on, that is still a very steep price to climb.
Yet, despite the giant price hurdle, I really can’t complain too much. Juggernaut: Revenge of Sovereign looks great, plays great, and has plenty of different modes to keep a player occupied for a long time. While Mail.ru could likely have drawn several more hours from me with a more attractive premium system, I still loved the zero time I spent with it, and will likely be trying out a second character soon.
Pros:
High production value with cutscenes, voices, and dozens of unique models and animations. Unique and engaging turn-based combat system. Several minigames and extra features to keep you occupied for hours.
Cons:
“Execution” feature seems very out of place. Difficulty curve skyrockets at the end of chapter 4, requiring a considerable amount of in-app purchases to stay competitive.
General Overview of the Game
The graphics of this game are fantastic. The attention to detail is outstanding. – PadGadget (4/5)
Juggernaut: Revenge of Sovereign looks great, plays great, and has plenty of different modes to keep a player occupied for a long time. – GameZebo (4/5)
Juggernaut: Revenge of Sovering is a unique experiment in touchscreen gaming, and brings something unexpected to the fantasy action genre. - Slide To Play (3+/4)
This is a fantastic game. It is beautiful and has amazing graphics. The gameplay is exciting without being overwhelming. -AppAdvice
If you are a fan of turn-based RPGs, this game is a must for your collection, and even if you weren’t before, this game might just make you a fan of the genre. - iPhone Life
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An entirely new breed of RPG has risen from the smoldering ashes of Haradan. You, as one of 6 legendary warriors known as “Scorpions”, are entrusted to defeat the terrifying Sovering and save the land. Venture into a surreal 3D world to slay over 100 horrifying beasts and complete perilous quests on your way to an epic final battle against the formidable demon! After eons of ceaseless bloodshed, the time to destroy civilization’s greatest adversary has come. Can you take on the legion and fight your way to freedom?
“Juggernaut: The Revenge of Sovering” – innovations in the game!
The first players have already set foot on the scorching land of Radway to do battle against the terrible Sovering and his minions. But this does not mean that the game’s developers are resting on their laurels. Work is constantly underway to improve Juggernaut: The Revenge of Sovering!
There are no limits to perfection, and the creators of “Juggernaut: The Revenge of Sovering” have many more surprises in store.
Note : No Root Required
This Application May Have not purchased “ERROR” you can Clear Data of Juggernaut from Manage APPS and place data folder properly,then play.
Now it’s been a while since I blogged about my gaming activities. I want to share one of the best RPG games that I played last year.
Dragon Age 2 was released back in March 2011 to drooling PC RPG fan like me, and was generally well received. DA2 focuses around the hero known as Hawke, whose dark and gritty story compliments the bloody and visceral combat riddled throughout the game. Along the epic quest you meet several interesting characters, complete several insane challenges, and kill lots and lots of dark spawn. Sounds great right?
Unfortunately, Dragon Age 2 also has its fair share of problems. Some of these issues include horribly annoying design and HUD decisions, an almost unholy amount of gore, and poor loot itemization. And these issues are exactly why modders have taken Dragon Age 2 to task, developing several gameplay improvements almost as soon as the game was released.
However, as with most games, Dragon Age 2 mods come in a large variety or sorts, many of which are not really appropriate or useful.
Frankly, most DA2 mods are terrible. So what is a gamer to do? Well, I asked myself this very same question and decided to make the top 10 best Dragon Age 2 mods list to help everyone else improve their DA2 experience also. So keep reading to find out exactly what mods make DA2 awesome again.
10. Autorun and Tab Highlight Toggles
The first DA2 mod on this list, Autorun and Tab Highlight Toggles is relatively self-explanatory. Basically, Dragon Age 2 forces players to run all over the world, picking up copious amount of loot on the way. Unfortunately, there is no auto-run function and in order to toggle item highlights players have to hold down the Tab key the entire time. Obviously these small yet ridiculous oversights make traversing the world a total drag.
Autorun and Tab Highlight Toggles fixes these two annoyances by providing players with a way to autorun, and a way to toggle off and on item highlights with one tap of a key. While small, these fixes make a huge difference in how enjoyable DA2 is, and may even save some gamers a trip to the doctor’s office for carpal tunnel syndrome.
9. Hide Weapons
Bioware is well known throughout the gaming world as the foremost leader in cutscene storytelling. Their prowess has been seen in the likes of KoToR, Mass Effect, and the original Dragon Age Origins. Of course, Bioware’s penchant for the dramatic and immersive is on display yet again in Dragon Age 2, and..wait, what’s that? Why is Hawke holding his giant, 45-pound Zweihander when he is talking to his close companion Anders?
The above scenario is an example of another small, yet quite large gameplay bug that went overlooked in Bioware’s rush to get DA2 out the door and to the streets. Characters always have their weapons equipped, even when strolling through peaceful towns, or participating in campfire conversations. It gets to be quite ridiculous as you discover more powerful weapons with elemental effects, as having a flaming bow and arrow set sticking out of your character even when she is talking to a merchant is just plain absurd. That is why the Hide Weapons mod for Dragon Age 2 was created. It completely hides any and all weapons from view when you and your party are out of combat. This makes the game much more immersive and fun to show off to friends. Hide Weapons is a must download Dragon Age 2 mod.
8. No More Gibbing!
One of the best elements of the Dragon Age series is its staunch refusal to portray a gritty, mature plot and world in a sterilized way. By that I mean there is quite a lot of blood in Dragon Age 2, and for the most part it fits the theme. That is until you start to become the Hawke of legend, not just the street kid with a knife and a sense for glory. Once your characters are powerful enough to complete several late game challenges, many regular enemies just don’t stand up to your ferocious attacks…and by stand up I mean remain as a whole entity. As soon as the tip of your blade hits just one of your enemy’s arms, he explodes in a shower of bloody giblets, staining your outift for the foreseeable future.
Obviously, that gets to be a bit gratuitous, even for 2011. So several fine members of the Dragon Age modding community decided to end some of this nonsense, and made the No More Gibbing mod for Dragon Age 2. This mod takes away the exploding internal organs of vanilla DA2, and replaces them with a simple one or two large piece dismemberment with an appropriately small red shower. The improvement has to be experienced to be appreciated, but it does add a sense of depth to an otherwise ridiculously dark world.
Click on Next Page to find out the rest of the best Dragon Age 2 mods!
7. Character Generator Revamp
One of the largest differences between Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age 2 is that in 2 you are forced into the protaganist role of Hawke, a legendary hero(ine) whose conquests against the Dark spawn are well known. However, the character generator used at the beginning of Dragon Age 2 allows you to customize your Hawke how you so wish. While the game provides you with a dashing and scarred starting face, what you end up with is ultimately under your control.
Unfortunately, the starting Hawke options are almost always the best options, as the current character generator is more of a character uglifier if anything. Of course, this is completely modifiable, and the Character Generator Revamp does exactly that. Gone are the days of butt ugly “ünique” characters. The generator revamp sharpens the edges of most unique character features, allowing even the most terrible facial artists to create a heroic figure that is sure to be the envy of all. For its gift of player character beauty, the Character Generator Revamp mod is one of the best Dragon Age 2 mods available today.
6. Archery Critical
Dragon Age Origins had one pretty large knock against its stellar gameplay; Mages were unbelievably overpowered. Thankfully, a slew of early mods fixed this problem in a variety of ways. It seems as though Dragon Age 2 has swing the pendulum in the opposite direction for protagonist Hawke, as instead of being horribly overpowered, the one balance problem is that an Archery based Hawke is incredibly useless.
One of the reasons a rogue style Hawke is so pitiful is his lack of critical skills that are on par with Warriors or Mages at a higher level. Of course, this balance issue really sucks, as it takes players a full 30 hours of gametime to finally realize their Hawke is completely gimped. Thankfully, modders have recognized this problem once again and have produced a backwards-save compatible mod that gives Hawke a reliably powerful Archery Critical Build Up Skill. This makes a rogue Hawke a great character to play, and fixes one of Bioware’s largest balance issues.
5. Dragon Age Save Generator
One of Bioware’s touted selling points for Dragon Age 2 was its backwards compatibility for previous save games from Dragon Age Origins and the Dragon Age Downloadable Content. Depending on the stage of your saved games and the plot choices you enacted, the plot for Dragon Age 2 is slightly changed to reflect your previous games. Of course, this is useless for those who played DA:O on different machines, lost their save games, or didn’t enjoy the game and never finished.
If you fall into one of the aforementioned groups who didn’t complete DA:O or buy the DLC, you may miss out on several interesting pieces of DA2 content. Thankfully, modders have rectified this horrible situation and produced the Dragon Age Save Generator, which lets you create a save game from the previous Dragon Age content, and select different choices to build up to your Dragon Age 2 game. This mod basically lets all players see all of the hidden content in DA2 without forcing them to replay DA:O several different times. For its ease of use and functionality, the Dragon Age Save Generator has earned the number 5 spot on the list of the top 10 best Dragon Age 2 mods out today.
Click Next Page to find out what the top 4 best Dragon Age 2 mods are!
4. Nightmare Difficulty Tweak
Bioware created Dragon Age 2 by listening to the feedback coming from a large number of vocal gamers and critics, and then attempting to mix their own preferences with the criticisms received from their audience. While wonderful in theory, oftentimes only the loudest minority are able to be heard as they drown out the relatively content majority. This is exactly what happened with Dragon Age 2, as the sometimes brain-tweaking strategy required in Dragon Age Origins was completely ripped out of DA2. Bioware instead opted for a much faster paced action-rpg hybrid mix that went well with critics, but not holdovers from Origins.
One of the tactical decision players often had to make in Origins was to nuke or not to nuke. See, mages in Origins had very powerful area-of-effect spells that would also damage the rest of the friendly party, not just the enemies. Thus, players had to be judicious in their use of nukes. In DA2 that strategic gameplay element only exists in one mode: Nightmare. Unfortunately, Nightmare mode also increased the number of enemies, how hard they hit, and how much health they have. Basically, it is not much fun to play.
This leaves regular old gamers out in the cold, yearning for the tactical based combat of Origins but too casual to take on Nightmare mode in DA2. Of course, there is a mod for that, as the Nightmare Difficulty Tweak allows casual gamers to get their strategery on in Dragon Age 2. It takes the friendly-fire aspect of AoE attacks and puts it into regular game modes. Casual RPG gamers, you can now breathe a sigh of relief.
3. Facial Tweaks
One of the most recognizable features of Dragon Age 2 is its incredibly high resolution character model graphics. Especially noticable is the quality and care taken in rendering each notable character’s face. Bioware isn’t quite as bad as Bethesda is at rendering facial beauty, but some of their design choices still manage to stump gamers regularly.
Luckily, the Facial Tweaks mod gives the control to the customers in this situation. It allows players to select from a set number of options for each major character’s face, such as giving Anders a greasy ponytail, or Meredith many more wrinkles than she already has. Silliness aside, facial tweaks has default options that make most characters fit their personalities much more. Meredith goes from a girly blonde to a harrowing grey warrior, Aveline gets rid of her Arnold Schwarenegger-like jawline in favor of a more realistic face, and Anders appears to be much more rogueish than before. While small touches, Facial Tweaks is an incredibly immersive mod, and one of the best Dragon Age 2 mods out now.
2. TrufflesDuval HighRed Texture Pack
Ah, the Bentley of mods in most gamer’s minds is the graphical enhancement mod. Made extremely popular by the Natural Landscapes mods for Oblivion and Morrowind, graphical mods usually give a game’s graphics a next-gen bump by increasing the screen resolution and texture size of the existing files. TrufflesDuval’s High Resolution Texture Pack mod for Dragon Age 2 is more of the same, in a very good way.
The mod takes almost every texture from DA2 and reworks it. Cobblestone roads now appear uneven and positively medieval, while Dark spawn revenants are now every bit as frightening from far away as they are up close. This mod even changes the armor textures, giving more detail to the moving pieces of Hawke’s armor, and ultimately delivers a much sharper Dragon Age 2 grahpical experience. However, the best part of this mod is how little processing power it takes to run. Talk about turning a molehill into a mountain, in the very best sense.
1. Sunnie’s Evolving Weapons Pack
And the absolute best Dragon Age 2 mod out right now is…..Sunnie’s Evolving Weapons Pack! Let me explain; in my opinion there is nothing more frustrating in an RPG than getting fantastic new loot every other battle. It sounds crazy, but many gamers like myself like to familiarize themselves with their awesome new loot before they wear it out. Unfortunately, vanilla Dragon Age 2 loot drops like candy, and you are simply another dungeon away from a completely new set of armor.
Sunnie’s Evolving Weapons Pack changes all of that, allowing players to literally bond with their weapons and armor. In Sunnie’s world, weapons grow in power as you do, and as you kill more enemies your swords gain different abilities depending on severla factors. Also, it allows you to continue to use great looking armor and weapons with relatively crappy stats, as those items will grow alongside you. Say goodbye to an ugly looking Hawke. For all of these tremendous gameplay improvements Sunnie’s earn the top spot on the best Dragon Age 2 mods list.
Now, some mods tend to make the game easier to play and you’ll loose the real challenge that the game offers. Try to balance your Mods and make sure you don’t create god-like characters. The whole thing becomes useless that way. I can fill 20 more pages with the number of Mods that I have used with this game. If you want to know more about game modding. Visit the Nexus Sites for more information.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is a gift, gilded with moments that stay with you even after the curtains close on its dark tale of uncertain pasts and uncertain futures. Like the rare Roses of Remembrance you might find growing in this role-playing game’s lush fields, these moments are carefully cultivated. They’re meaningful not just because they are packed with excitement, but also because there are stakes–both personal and political. As Geralt of Rivia, your actions don’t just bring you closer to the truths of your own murky history, but they also influence the tides of war. And just as you exert your power on this game’s events, they work their power on you, drawing you further into a gorgeous world populated by quarrelling trolls and drunken, sex-crazed dwarves. Some bugs, combat quirks, and other foibles prove bothersome, but they don’t greatly diminish the impact of exploring a dungeon whose walls ooze the agony you’ve just witnessed. This superb role-playing sequel offers a bold world woven together by tenuous alliances and closely guarded secrets.
The Witcher 2′s phenomenal visual design isn’t its defining characteristic, but it’s an effective lure and makes for an immediate connection with the game’s provocative tone. On the outskirts of a dwarven enclave, sunlight glistens upon a misty pond; a tower just beyond it bristles with potent magical properties; the underbrush surrounding you casts deep shadows, yet rays of golden sun coax you onward. In The Witcher 2, sights like these communicate so much. The delicate lace of a sorceress’s collar gives her a regal air, yet dark makeup and dark brown eyes speak to mysteries beneath the surface. A red scar above a defiant elf’s upper lip is not just a testament to past violence–it suggests a permanent scowl. Walls, cliffs, and meadows aren’t just repeated textures. Look closely at the patterns carved into a stone column, and you notice how each one is slightly different. These may seem like unimportant details, but they’re indicators of how much care went into every facet of this game’s environments and character models.
The superlative art is rendered by equally superlative technology that ensures you can admire the rips on a mercenary’s trousers, a harpy’s individual feathers, and the buckles and seams on Geralt’s clothing. Yet The Witcher 2 is as much about grand gestures as it is textural detail. You cross paths with a giant dragon and other grotesqueries, each of which moves with a sense of weight appropriate to the creature’s proportions. Pungent colors, roaring flames, and shafts of glowing light make mainstay environments like sewers and caves a wonder to explore. Impressively, all of this beauty is rendered using DirectX 9 technology rather than the newer DirectX 11. The game is nevertheless demanding of your hardware, though it is attractive even at lower settings. A few imperfections stand out amidst all the graphical wizardry, such as mechanical facial animations, characters that pop in during cutscenes, and the occasional frame rate dip. But such quibbles are easily tolerated in this luxuriant digital world.
And what a world it is, alive with activity yet tinged with violence and sorrow. The opening moments ready you for the game’s brutal overtones, showing a captive Geralt of Rivia whipped and taunted by his jailers. Geralt’s defaced flesh is not an easy sight to take in, but it’s thematically relevant: The witcher is scarred by his past. Geralt, once thought dead, is still piecing together his memories of a savage battle and a beauty called Yennefer. The story takes its cue from these lost memories, juxtaposing violence and sex. It also presents both as inevitable and natural results of the human (and nonhuman) condition. You can still bed various women in The Witcher 2, as you could in the original game, though you no longer collect sex cards. Lovemaking (or ploughing, as so many characters call it) is a frequent subject of conversation, and it’s one of Geralt’s favorite pastimes. You can bed a few different women, and the game hardly shies from nudity, handily earning its mature rating. The lacerations on Geralt’s back are a stark reminder, however, that this earthly pleasure is only a temporary respite for him.
But The Witcher 2 is not primarily about sex, nor violence. It’s about the search for truth. Geralt seeks clues to his past, as well as the royal assassin that ended the life of King Foltest at the conclusion of The Witcher. This man’s identity is not a secret for long, but then, this is not a murder mystery; rather, it’s a chronicle of discovery, redemption, and political upheaval. Geralt is blamed for Foltest’s murder, but as he gets closer to the true killer, he becomes more and more involved in the region’s power struggles. Not including the prologue and epilogue, The Witcher 2 is split into three acts. The first is primarily concerned with following the killer’s trail, while the second greatly expands the plot, introducing so many new characters and so much lore that you might be initially confused. Yet, the convoluted plot seems poised to explode in the final episode, only to fizzle at the end. The lack of closure intimates a sequel, and it makes the final act feel abrupt when compared to the robustness of the first two.
Characters new and old both assist and hinder Geralt’s quest. These include the flamboyant bard Dandelion and the earthy Zoltan, a foul-mouthed dwarf who, like most of The Witcher 2′s dwarves, loves women and drink. Dwarves are a rich source of humor in most role-playing games, and The Witcher 2′s are no exception. Yet, the tone is different here. These are the raunchiest dwarves you’ve ever encountered, yet the comedy is undercut by underlying anguish. It’s initially funny to learn that teetotaling dwarves are outcasts. But when a dwarf confides that he fears being ostracized because he doesn’t drink, you understand his dread. You might admire a bearded character’s enthusiasm for heading to battle for the first time, but when pressed, he admits his misgivings. Aside from the occasional expository speech, most of the dialogue sounds natural, including the asides spoken by random citizens. Most of the voice actors do a good job of bringing these characters to life, in spite of the occasional hollow note. (The actress playing Triss Merigold again sounds like a random meter maid rushed into the studio for some last-minute line readings.)
The Witcher 2 is not an open-world game in the way of The Elder Scrolls games; each area is relatively contained though expansive enough to encourage exploration. The rewards for doing so aren’t just pretty vistas. You might uncover a chest that can be opened only by interpreting the clues on a nearby scroll or stumble upon a giant arachnid guarding treasure. However, the game’s flexibility isn’t a result of wide-open journeys; it is the extraordinary ways you can influence the story and fundamentally change the direction of your future travels. For example, choices you make at the end of Act 1 not only determine how immediate story events play out, but also have a dramatic impact on the entire game. The characters at your side, the enemies you face, the dialogue–they all differ based on a series of decisions that the game never forgets. And these aren’t “good” or “bad” choices: these are ambiguous circumstances with ambiguous results, which is just as well. Geralt is not interested in heroism or villainy. He navigates turbulent waters seeking neither justice nor injustice, only answers.
A number of stupendous moments punctuate your choices. Typically, the events you most fondly recall from RPGs are story related: the characters, the plot twists, the losses, the finales. By contrast, The Witcher 2 etches gameplay events into your imagination. What you remember most isn’t just what you witness, but what you experience firsthand. Once such moment occurs when a large clash on a battlefield causes it to become awash with a golden supernatural mist. This moment is recalled several times later yet retains its power due to its otherworldly ambience, sense of scale, and fun combat. Its terrifying scream makes your first encounter with a harpy unforgettable. Viewing another’s memory, taking on a ghostly identity, and other inspired occurrences plant seeds of apprehension: you never know what might be lurking around the bend.
If you played the original Witcher, then forget what you learned from its combat mechanics. The Witcher 2 abandons that rhythmic system for a more traditional and challenging one. You still switch between silver and steel swords, depending on whether you are facing monsters or humans, but regardless of the weapon you equip, be prepared for the occasional beatdown. You initiate standard attacks with your mouse, and you block and cast signs (Geralt’s magic spells) with the keyboard. (You may also use a gamepad.) Your first encounter during the prologue/tutorial makes for a punishing introduction: Expect to die a few times as you learn just what the game expects of you. The extreme difficulty right off the bat, paired with tutorial hints that don’t pop up long enough or soon enough to be much help, don’t make for the friendliest introduction. But you learn an important lesson: You must tread carefully. Eventually you grasp the rhythm, which is similar to that of the PlayStation 3 game Demon’s Souls. You must position yourself well and pay close attention to your supply of vigor, which is required to block, as well as cast signs; get in a few choice hits; and then block or tumble into a safer position. You may also want to soften the enemy or control the crowd by throwing bombs (blind them!) or laying traps (turn enemies on each other!), particularly during the first act, when you feel most vulnerable.
Even after you grow accustomed to The Witcher 2′s combat, there are a few scenarios that are more than just difficult: They are cruel. A couple of boss fights are frustrating, as is a quest in a dark cramped mine that has multiple dwarves crowding you, all while you are hounded by fiendish foes that explode upon death. It’s too easy to inadvertently tumble toward an enemy behind the one you meant to attack and find yourself in the center of a deadly mob. Yet, the action is largely satisfying and enjoyable. There’s a great sense of weight in every swing. Geralt might somersault toward his victim and slash him with a steel sword or use a flaming staff pilfered from a succubus to land slower, heavier blows. As you level up and spend skill points in four different skill paths (witcher training, swordsmanship, magic, alchemy), combat becomes more manageable, and you begin to feel more powerful. And yet, the action never becomes a cakewalk, and it always retains a sense of urgency.
And so death is inescapable, but The Witcher 2 allows you to properly prepare before trying to conquer the wilds. You aren’t stuck with the same weapons and armor, of course. You loot new ones or buy them from vendors, and these can be upgraded in various ways. You might also purchase equipment schematics and have a vendor craft items for you using the iron ore, timber, and other raw materials you stumble upon as you explore. You can also brew up potions and quaff them, though you can’t just down a health drink in the midst of battle. Instead, you must down potions while meditating. Meditation is a returning mechanic, though you no longer have to find a campfire as in the first game. Potions are toxic to Geralt; thus, the number you can drink is limited. It might take you a while to come to terms with this “prepare in advance” approach to potions. Brews act as statistic buffs rather than immediate cure-alls, and unless you know what monsters you might be coming up against, you don’t necessarily know which potions to take. When the story snatches you up into a series of battles and cutscenes, you may never be allowed to meditate and, thus, never reap the benefits potions may have granted.
It may also take some time getting used to the interface. It isn’t complex but there are some minor idiosyncrasies, some of which are rather sensible. You can’t hold a key to identify loot and items of interest as you can in most RPGs; instead, you activate Geralt’s medallion. It’s a neat way of taking a game-y function and making it seem more natural. Other interface quirks are less understandable. You can’t quickly identify and sell vendor trash, for example, and there is no easy way to compare the equipment a merchant has for sale with your current stuff. These are minor quibbles, however. Not so minor are the few quest bugs that can aggravate your travels. A quest marker and journal entry may refuse to update when completing an action, leaving you to wonder what to do next; choosing dialogue options in a particular order might lead to a similar circumstance. The only solution to these circumstances is to hope you accidentally stumble upon the next phase of the story or reload a previous game save. These are disappointing errors in a well-made game with an otherwise stellar presentation.
Combat is central to The Witcher 2, but it’s not the only way to pass the time. Dice poker returns and works much the same way as in the original. Proving your mettle with your fists is a more consistent way of earning some extra coin, however. You can trade blows with certain locals, though you may cringe when you first learn that doing so entails quick-time key presses–the kind associated more with console action games than computer RPGs. (Such quick-time events crop up in various boss fights and other scripted sequences as well.) Yet, the game hardly relies on them too much, and the close camera angles and barbaric punches give brawls some pizzazz. An arm-wrestling minigame is much less enjoyable, forcing you to keep a sluggish cursor within the proper boundaries. And, of course, certain characters (and the town’s task board) will have some odd jobs for you, many of which involve the game’s signature moral dilemmas. Who do you believe: a mythical seductress accused of murder or the elf jealous of her many lovers? When each accuser is equally unconvincing, you must carefully consider your path. And in this complicated world, just as in the real one, there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong choice–or a neat resolution.
Like many ambitious games, The Witcher 2 requires you to shoulder some minor burdens; in this case, it’s a finale without bite and some unfortunate bugs. Yet, you rarely sense that any given element suffered because more attention was given to another. This distinguished game makes an important statement: Visual beauty, challenging action, and game-changing decisions can coexist in a modern RPG. In one beauteous stroke, The Witcher 2 has raised the stakes. No longer need we accept that role-playing games must sacrifice the quality of one element in favor of another. Instead, we are allowed to have it all. And how wonderful that we have it right here, right now, in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.
