The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

[Ashtrot]

I was going to buy this until I heard people here and there talking about the difficulty. I'm too old and have too little patience anymore for difficult games.

I cannot stress how much you're missing out by skipping it. If you're worried about difficulty, play on Easy mode.

[mjrpgfan]

They've improved the combat since the original launch. Great update considering it's free.

I'm pretty sure the easiest mode is very forgiving.

[Eusis]

I was going to buy this until I heard people here and there talking about the difficulty. I'm too old and have too little patience anymore for difficult games.

I cannot stress how much you're missing out by skipping it. If you're worried about difficulty, play on Easy mode.

I'm also pretty sure you can change it on the fly, so if you try Normal anyway and decide it's too much, you can scale down to Easy.

[kyuusei]

Easy is very doable. I haven't played since the day it came out but if you're worried about combat you'll be fine on easy. Seriously.

(I am still going to switch to Normal if I don't die anytime soon.)

[Esper_Crusader]

I'm playing in normal and it's been fine so far.  Just gotta remember to use ur bombs and traps and such. Sword buffs are very important too, obviously.  It's all about preparation.  The game is crazy good.

[Aurian]

So is this more like Mass Effect/Dragon Age or like Skyrim? (I like one, but not the other)

[Ashtrot]

Gameplay is like... well, none of them. It's a beast unto itself. It's an action RPG, but strategy and tactics matter just as much as reflexes.

Story is more like Skyrim, if Skyrim was less about FUS RO DAH and more about its Game of Thrones-esque political maneuverings.

[Eusis]

It's closer to Bioware in structure, yes. Maybe the best example is Jade Empire actually, focus on a single character and going through areas in a specific order, but with plenty of sidequests and whatnot to tackle.

[Farron]

I'm playing in normal and it's been fine so far.  Just gotta remember to use ur bombs and traps and such. Sword buffs are very important too, obviously.  It's all about preparation.  The game is crazy good.

Funny you mentioned the traps, as I particularly never found a proper way to use them. They were somewhat slow to place and by the time you meet enemies, they are already somewhat aggressive so I would never find the proper moment to use them. The only time I thought they were good were in the arena where you have some room to run around.

The bombs on the other hand, at some point I had so many I just starting using them without ever worrying of running out and some do help a lot.

[Aurian]

I'll give it a try, although my reflexes have never been top notch. I do like DragonAge/Mass Effect as a mage/biotic because I can pause the screen while "choosing a spell" aka looking for enemies and aiming better at them while the screen is paused.  :)

[Yoda]

There is an action wheel similar to Dragon Age you can open up but it's more of a bullet-time slow down.

[Akanbe-]

There is an action wheel similar to Dragon Age you can open up but it's more of a bullet-time slow down.

and on the fly, it's pretty much just used to pick your spells if you didn't already have the one you want equipped.  However definitely not something that will save you if it's too late.  I wouldn't worry about reflexes.  Properly reading the situation and preparing a strategy for the fight will go a long way in helping you win.

[neogalahad]

The combat reminds me of Mass Effect adaptation to a hack n slash. I think this is what Dragon Age 2's combat system should have been like.

I am loving this game so far, it is very reserved in the beginning playing off like a normal medievil lore with the castle siege and then they throw you into a dark fantasy dream! The voice 'acting' is amazing, but the sound quality is very weird like they are not in the environment that is shown. It sounds like they are always inside. Not a big issue.

[Eusis]

Mass Effect? I don't think so.

To be honest, the best comparison is Batman. Which actually IS cited as a source of inspiration here, so while it's not as autmoatic feeling there is some of that there.

[Cyril]

Demon's Souls was a cited source, too.

I actually think it feels a bit clunkier than Demon's Souls, which does the slow, cautious, and precise well.  This feels like it attempted slow and precise, but didn't quite go all the way. It's stuck somewhere in an uncomfortable middle ground.