Forums » General Gaming

• Overhate

  

  • 288 posts
   

  July 25, 2015 4:08 PM EDT

  Yep, sure, if you spend 20 mins preparing potions and oils for each fight, it will probably be quicker.

  But suppose I don't like preparing potions and oils in my playstyle. Suppose I just like to hack things with my greatsword

  Skyrim gives me that option. I could choose my playstyle and choose not to utilize another playstyle. W3 forces me to use a playstyle. It's probably logical, because you are a witcher - that is a fixed class, you can't be a Paladin, or a Rogue, or a Mage.

  So maybe I just dislike witchers as a class.

• Overhate

  

  • 288 posts
   

  July 25, 2015 4:10 PM EDT

  "Why everyone is wrong and only I'm right"

  Just the premise forces a thinking mind to disregard what's written.

• Paws

  

  • 1595 posts
   

  July 25, 2015 4:18 PM EDT

  When I watched reviews for the game prior to buying it, combat was one of things which kept being mentioned but the reasons varied wildly. To some it was too easy, while others said too difficult. There wasn't much consistency. I think this comes from a lack of understanding of how it works so this article addresses that problem.

  As with all things it requires an open mind to read.

• Overhate

  

  • 288 posts
   

  July 25, 2015 4:20 PM EDT

  Ok, but I've played the game for several weeks so I have a personal experience with the combat. So I don't need an article telling me what it is, because I've experienced first hand what it is and formed my opinion based also on my 25+ years of experience as a gamer

• Paws

  

  • 1595 posts
   

  July 25, 2015 4:23 PM EDT

  Yep, sure, if you spend 20 mins preparing potions and oils for each fight, it will probably be quicker.

  But suppose I don't like preparing potions and oils in my playstyle. Suppose I just like to hack things with my greatsword

  So maybe I just dislike witchers as a class.

  Just like Skyrim The Witcher 3 lets you build. My first playthrough was all about critical strikes, bleed damage and blade oils. I ignored Signs and heavy attacks almost completely. The same can be done with combat if you wanted, just slap on some Heavy Armour and focus on swordsmanship, stamina and health :)

• Overhate

  

  • 288 posts
   

  July 25, 2015 4:27 PM EDT

  I'd slap it if I could find it. Most stores sell shit and moneymaking is also crap.

• Paws

  

  • 1595 posts
   

  July 25, 2015 4:37 PM EDT

  Making money is harder until a certain point, reflecting the poverty faced by witchers in lore. I found that paying attention to detail, like that sign in Whit Orchard which says that the herbalist will buy honeycomb in large quantities, is a great way of earning coin. Seriously, she'll pay good money for that stuff which is so easy to find.

  Vendors can be a problem, as can the level requirements. I found a lovely set of Heavy Knight Armour. Looked like a Paladin when I put it on. Trouble was, it was for level 15 and I was only level 12 when I found it  

  I think the game encourages you to look at the diagrams instead of buying armour. See if there is a diagram of a set you want then get it crafted. It's not ideal, I'm not a huge fan of the crafting system in either game.

• SpookyBorn2021

  

  • 1467 posts
   

  July 25, 2015 6:40 PM EDT

  I've never found making money difficult. In my current playthrough I have over 4000 Gold and it's only been rising. I did manage to find a lot of food and Strong Alcohol early on so that's saved me tonnes of money. And I think the Stores mostly selling shit makes a lot of sense, especially in Velen. Velen is a war-torn country that isn't exactly rich nobility (about 95% of the population seems to be peasants) it makes a lot of sense that they don't have the greatest inventory to offer you.

   

• Seeks-many-stars

  

  • 201 posts
   

  July 26, 2015 12:59 AM EDT

  Witcher three was an amazing but game. I loved everything about it. The fact that you make bombs, kill Griffins, and play Gwent was amazing. I Love the game. I love the characters, especially the three Sorceresses Keira, TRISS and Yen. Geralt is a badass, just saying.
  
  On Another note, Skyrim was, at its highest peak, was the #1 RPG of its time. I agree. The game was so massive that you couldn't get everything in one Playthrough. I think people have started catching onto the whole "Open world" theme that Skyrim brought to the table.
  
  So Witcher 3 gets an 8/10. Pretty good game, you need to get it.
  Skyrim? It gets a 10/10. If a friend hasn't played it, they need to. It is a true RPG.
  
  so yes, I liked both games :D
• Overhate

  

  • 288 posts
   

  July 26, 2015 4:22 AM EDT

  On another note, I just realized that most of the people praising the game here seem to be console players. So could it be that this is once again the case of controls not optimized for keyboard and mouse, like in Dark Souls?

• Paws

  

  • 1595 posts
   

  July 26, 2015 4:36 AM EDT

  That's something I hadn't considered. The keyboard and mouse would really help with the  inventory system which, despite the recent patch, still is a pain in the ass. I hadn't thought of what combat would be like without a controller, though. You could be onto something there.

  The article's title is clearly designed to provoke a reaction so don't read too deeply into it. Maybe TW3's combat system is just like marmite?

• Vazgen

  

  • 1483 posts
   

  July 26, 2015 4:43 AM EDT

  Don't think so. The company and the games have the history of focusing on PC. I doubt its different for this game.

• Paws

  

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  July 26, 2015 4:52 AM EDT

  Thanks Seeks  Out of curiosity, have you ever played Red Dead and what did you think/rate that game? To me TW3 shares so many similarities with RDR that it's hard not to make comparisons.

  At the end of the day, Skyrim does what it does without equal, only beaten by Oblivion in certain areas in my book. The ability to create your own character and live another life in another world is truly epic, not to mention the richness and uniqueness of the setting.

  Yet it's also true that I am an old school rpg gamer so story and character driven games like Mass Effect, Knights of the Old Republic and The Witcher will always draw me in like no other type of game can and they are the true rpgs  

  I look forward to seeing whether Fallout 4 can marry story and characters with open world as it will certainly pave the way for the next TES game. The perfect game would give me the same emotional response as I get from Bioware rpgs with the freedom afforded by TES games. I think The Witcher 3 is the closest any game has ever come to that ideal.

• Idesto

  

  • 394 posts
   

  July 26, 2015 5:04 AM EDT

  You sound a lot like me Phil: story and character, as well as exploration, are what attracts me in a CRPG. Mass Effect never grabbed me but every one here seems to rate it so I may have to look at it again: it seemed too shooty for me. I have KOTOR but haven't started it. I hadn't thought of RDD as an RPG; I'll have a look at it. 

  In what ways  is Oblvion better than Skyrim? I stopped playing it when I started Skyrim. 

  How old school? My 1st RPG was Ultima V - on an Atari ST - and I've been hooked ever since 

• Idesto

  

  • 394 posts
   

  July 26, 2015 5:21 AM EDT

  I played TW2 on Xbox. I found the combat hotkeys a pain in the ass, too fiddly for my big thumb, and thought it would be much better on a PC. The inventory puts Skyrim to shame, on Xbox anyway. 

• Idesto

  

  • 394 posts
   

  July 26, 2015 5:26 AM EDT

  That's just a ploy to get you to read it - usually. An old bloggers trick 

• Overhate

  

  • 288 posts
   

  July 26, 2015 5:28 AM EDT

  Doesn't work for me. I read through such ploys and don't read it in return.

• Idesto

  

  • 394 posts
   

  July 26, 2015 5:31 AM EDT

  Fair enough! You're obviously far too savvy to fall for an old trick like that, I guess

• Paws

  

  • 1595 posts
   

  July 26, 2015 5:31 AM EDT

  Then you sound like a great guy indeed!

  Seriously, I think there are a fair few of us here. Games like Skyrim will always be bigger in terms of playtime because of the reduced amount of story and character content and as such will last longer. But the emotional impact of those rpgs I mentioned resonates for much longer and effects the player for the rest of their life. Mass Effect fans tend to be passionate because it is a shared emotional culture. We can discuss those personal, anecdotal moments of awesome which TES games provide, but it doesn't compare with the sheer intensity of feeling you get when you hear someone say "man, I just released the Rachni Queen"

  I wouldn't say Red Dead was an rpg, I just think that in terms of theme it is very close to TW3. Westerns, especially revisionist, as general rule have an atmosphere of futility. Man's struggle against nature, freedom battling against the encroachment of civilization and the sense that the old ways are dying are frequently expressed either visually, musically or emotionally in the story. The Witcher 3 has all these things and by the time we get to Kaer Morhen and finally understand what makes Lambert tick we get the sense that the witchers themselves are part of that old way. It's a very human story, the futility of it all is hammered home when we get those little plot-wrap ups in a Geralt montage. No matter what choice you make you know you cannot win.

  It's personal opinion but Skyrim was miles ahead of Oblivion in terms of presentation an accessibility. Yet Oblivion has it beaten in terms of story, I think. Not so much the MQ which got a little repetitive when shutting down Oblivion Gates, but then Skyrim's dragons were the Oblivion Gates of TES V. No, Oblivion's strengths lay in it's side quests, faction quests and dlc content. The Thieves Guild was one of the best questlines in the game and as a rule I'm not a fan of stealth.

  How old school? I don't have you beat, that's for sure. My first computer console was a Sega Mega Drive. I played Prince of Persia at my friends house and a few point and click games like Monkey Island and Legend of Kyrandia with my dad but I never had one of my own until I got that Mega Drive. For me it was Streets of Rage 2 all the time  I realised I like long-winded exposition games when I played Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen on the PlayStation. Games like that which had huge personality always beat the somehat shallow but enjoyable Diablo types.

• Paws

  

  • 1595 posts
   

  July 26, 2015 5:43 AM EDT

  I see such things as opportunities to learn. If someone tells me what I should think then I listen anyway rather than fight it. I'm comfortable enough with my own sense of identity that I will form my own opinion and stand up for it regardless, but I just might learn something along the way or see something from another perspective to make it worthwhile.

• Idesto

  

  • 394 posts
   

  July 26, 2015 5:57 AM EDT

  Then you are a fine chap indeed Phil 

  Thanks for the comprehensive reply.

  The community here is 'awesome': respectful, intelligent - dare I say 'mature'?It's a breath of fresh air compared to the trolling and petty flaming you often get on gaming sites. 

  Skyrim obv has Oblivion beaten for graphics, making it more immersive, which is a major attraction for me. Oblivion's MQ was too repetitive and the interface and alchemy process clunky and fiddly. I have it on PC and vanilla so maybe I needed mods. I was focussed on the MQ: now I think I'll have to start it again thanks to you : thanks Phil, thanks a lot! So many games, so little time!

  I actually stopped Oblivion for TW2 when I got my Xbox 360, then Skyrim, now that I remember. 

  Just watched RDD trailer: I see what you mean. Reminds me a bit too of Firefly, which I love. 

  Edit: I don't like Diablos either: no story, no character, non-immersive, just bang bang bang repetitive combat. Boring! The Monkey Island games are still some of my all-times faves, and Grim Fandango. 

  Just 1 thing: some of us haven't played TW3 but would like to, and your reply seemed to  contain spoilers which I scanned over. Sorry if I'm wrong, and thanks again

• Idesto

  

  • 394 posts
   

  July 26, 2015 6:33 AM EDT

  Also though, as Phil suggests, the title's just meant  to grab your attention: blogging is highly competitve and a writer needs to try to stand out from the crowd or be ignored. It doesn't necessarily mean the article is bad. 

• Overhate

  

  • 288 posts
   

  July 26, 2015 6:39 AM EDT

  Here, in Bulgaria, if anyone tells you what you should think, you beat him to a pulp and then ask him "What did you say, bro, I didn't quilte hear you?"

• Overhate

  

  • 288 posts
   

  July 26, 2015 6:43 AM EDT

  However, Phil, I do like Mass Effect a lot, especially the first game. So it's not just about being story driven, it's the story itself that matters.

  On another note, I've never played Witcher 1 and only played 10-20 mins of 2.

  So there are three possibilities here: 1) you have to play from the first game to get immersed, 2) Witcher story is worse than Mass Effect's in general, and 3) Mass Effect story is better just for my personal preference.

• Veloth the Prophet

  

  • 641 posts
   

  July 26, 2015 11:19 AM EDT

  I LOVE The Witcher and I LOVE that Wild Hunt's overarching theme is parenthood. I love the super gritty, immersive and nuanced world the Witcher is set in and I love that every character is a fully fleshed out person with their own aims and goals and none of them are just window dressing. I also love how deep the combat system is. Many people seem to struggle with the combat and I'm not sure if it's because they are just so used to Batman-like combat or Skyrim stabby stabby combat whereas Witcher sits closer to the Dark Souls school of combat, with a lot of prep, traps and character movement tracking needed. I loved The Witcher 2 and Witcher Wild Hunt is one of my favourite RPG's of all time.

  HOWEVER with all that said I still like Skyrim better lol. Getting deep in to the crazy lore behind Elder Scrolls is like  actually studying religion and I think it's amazing, it just pulls me in deep. Also the absolute freedom in Skyrim is unparalleled where I can be any character I want and make my own backstory and fit it to the world.