14 DAY TRIAL // The Witcher 2 is a very different experience when compared to the first game in the series and the changes that most gamers will notice right away are the ones that have been made to the battle system.
The idea of combat styles that was central to the first Witcher is now completely gone and I, for one, have surely missed the group style, which was so useful when confronting big groups of enemies and could be upgraded to make sure that Geralt was able to stun them in combat and keep himself safe while hurting others.
In The Witcher 2, the mechanics and the general feel of the combat have changed, with the protagonist now having a light and heavy attack linked to the two mouse buttons as well as being able to parry attacks and the ability to dodge out of the way of enemies.
Early on in the game, this means that any group of enemies that numbers more than three fighters needs to be handled with a lot of care, using the Signs that Geralt can use to stun one of the enemies and to cause havoc in the group and then splitting the rest up and taking them out one by one.
Throw in a few heavy armored enemies and some shielded ones and the combat situations can be surprisingly tough to get through, even on Normal difficulty.
Coming from the first game in the series, this change can be surprising and a little disappointing.
I personally spent almost two hours going through the initial castle assault at first before turning the difficulty down to Easy for some time.
The developers at CD Projekt RED has been talking about making the combat system more dynamic and more movement oriented, forcing the players to always be on their toes and react to what their enemies are doing.
But, so far at least, it feels like The Witcher 2 is more cumbersome during the combat and the results are less satisfying, with Geralt feeling more like a simple footsoldier than like a mighty slayer of monsters and men.