April 16 – April 20

Section: 

We saw The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition on the Xbox 360 at PAX a week and a half ago, and I have to admit that I was really quite surprised to see how much visual horsepower the team was able to push through the old girl. It was far from a perfect recreation of the PC version, and there were little places here and there where you could tell that the engine was working with limited resources, but all that said the gorgeous game that landed on my computer screen is well preserved.

The controls also seemed to handle well in the transfer over to the home console universe, and though it is still fundamentally The Witcher 2, that's hardly a bad thing. If you didn't have the PC to run this beast, then you can do far worse over the next couple of weeks than to spend your sheckles on this outstanding RPG title.

Meanwhile on the PSVita Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention gets a fancy rerelease, and Trials, Evolution makes its way to XBLA. But, for my money, it's hard not to focus on The Witcher 2 making its way to the 360.

PC
- AZMD! Scorepocalypse
- Botanicula (download)
- Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (download
- MacGuffin's Curse (Steam)
- Super Ski Runner (download)
- Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP (Steam)

Xbox 360
- Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat
- The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition
- Trials Evolution (XBLA)

PS3
- Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat
- The House of the Dead 4 (PSN)

PSVita
- Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention
- StarDrone Extreme (PSN)

Nintendo DS
- I Must Run! (DSiWare)

Comments

*puts away gun*

Good choice! I'm looking forward to starting a new play-through with the enhanced patch tomorrow. I've got a whole other plot path to explore.

So pumped for Witcher 2 360.

I still have the first Witcher on my backlog, so I probably won't get to 2 for a while, but I think generally-PC-centric devs supporting their game after release is awesome. That it means I'll be able to play it on my 360 is just gravy.

I'm also looking forward to the PC patch for TW2. I had been planning to go back and explore the other path starting from a chapter two save game, but with all the new content I think I'm just going start over from the beginning.

Nice that console folks can experience Witcher 2, easily in the top 5 action RPG's I've ever played.

So I tried to get through the first Witcher a while ago but had trouble getting through it, the combat was just a bit too clunky for my liking and the story never quite sunk it's hooks into me. I'm usually the sort of guy who absolutely has to play games in order, but I may be willing to make an exception for Witcher 2, would I be missing any big plot points? Is there a summary of the plot I could read somewhere?

I always thought a website that has a short, 30 minute version of game stories in video form would be a great idea. I could see that being issued a take-down pretty darn quickly though...

Perfect time to replay Witcher 2.
Although I liked Witcher 1 more.

Certis wrote:

*puts away gun*

Good choice!

So... what was the original choice this week?

shoptroll wrote:
Certis wrote:

*puts away gun*

Good choice!

So... what was the original choice this week? :shock:

Journey.

/troll

Garden Ninja wrote:

I still have the first Witcher on my backlog, so I probably won't get to 2 for a while

Yeah.

Statements like the opening paragraph here is why I like to blame PC gamers for studios currently pushing graphical limitations instead of design philosophies.

Not that it's sound, but it comforts me.

So Sean, how's Xenoblade treatin' ya? You're giving it a whirl, right? Right? Seein' what all the fuss is about? Hm?

That cover art makes me giggle. It has to be intentionally like Battlefield and Modern Warfare. I want to see the blog post of the 13 year old that gets it for his birthday thinking it's a shooter.

That cover art makes me giggle. It has to be intentionally like Battlefield and Modern Warfare. I want to see the blog post of the 13 year old that gets it for his birthday thinking it's a shooter.

ccesarano wrote:

Statements like the opening paragraph here is why I like to blame PC gamers for studios currently pushing graphical limitations instead of design philosophies.

Not that it's sound, but it comforts me.

Will. Not. Take. The. Bait.

garion333 wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

Statements like the opening paragraph here is why I like to blame PC gamers for studios currently pushing graphical limitations instead of design philosophies.

Not that it's sound, but it comforts me.

Will. Not. Take. The. Bait.

Not worth it. The pendulum swings a full period across every console generation. When consoles are new, they're the ones pushing graphics while PCs push design. When consoles age, the two flip.

So Sean, how's Xenoblade treatin' ya? You're giving it a whirl, right? Right? Seein' what all the fuss is about? Hm?

PAX interrupted the planned pickup, but honestly the Gamestop exclusive thing is a barrier as well. I just never shop there any more.

Also, I like pretty graphics. I've got no shame about that.

Elysium wrote:
So Sean, how's Xenoblade treatin' ya? You're giving it a whirl, right? Right? Seein' what all the fuss is about? Hm?

PAX interrupted the planned pickup, but honestly the Gamestop exclusive thing is a barrier as well. I just never shop there any more.

Also, I like pretty graphics. I've got no shame about that.

Darn. We were looking forward to you poking your head into the catch-all soon.

garion333 wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

Statements like the opening paragraph here is why I like to blame PC gamers for studios currently pushing graphical limitations instead of design philosophies.

Not that it's sound, but it comforts me.

Will. Not. Take. The. Bait.

Hey now, I confessed the logic isn't at all sound at least.

Elysium wrote:
So Sean, how's Xenoblade treatin' ya? You're giving it a whirl, right? Right? Seein' what all the fuss is about? Hm?

PAX interrupted the planned pickup, but honestly the Gamestop exclusive thing is a barrier as well. I just never shop there any more.

Also, I like pretty graphics. I've got no shame about that.

Weeeeaaaaak.

I'm not saying I won't get it. Just that I haven't yet.

Absence of Detention is a good thing, right? Or is it that you missed detention, and so have twice the detention now? When does the principal call my mother, is what I'm asking.

I do say. Can we not agree that Triss is a most interesting character? A well written female character with a unique backstory and indistinct loyalties? Most compelling.

Also, I believe, the most capital of knockers! What what.

Michael Zenke wrote:

I do say. Can we not agree that Triss is a most interesting character? A well written female character with a unique backstory and indistinct loyalties? Most compelling.

Also, I believe, the most capital of knockers! What what.

Just so we're clear: You are not talking about the Brian Jaques character.

Witcher 2 I am ready for you.

In fact I was ready for it last night but the kid at the mom 'n pop wouldn't let me pay for it with a credit card since it was the day before release, and I left in a bit of a huff.

Slumberland wrote:

Witcher 2 I am ready for you.

In fact I was ready for it last night but the kid at the mom 'n pop wouldn't let me pay for it with a credit card since it was the day before release, and I left in a bit of a huff.

What? Mom'n'pops are supposed to be the sort of place you go to break street date! Hasn't anyone taught that kid how to do his job?

Well, he was ready to go if I was paying in cash, but the ATM was a block and a half in the wrong direction, and I wanted to plow through some L.A. Noire anyway.

TheWanderer wrote:

That cover art makes me giggle. It has to be intentionally like Battlefield and Modern Warfare.

Holy crap, you're right!

Now I can't unsee it.

Thanks.

I really couldn't get into the combat system of the first Witcher, but it sounds like Witcher 2 has revamped stuff enough that I'll give it another shot. Of course, that's whenever I stop playing ME3 multiplayer, finish Skyrim, get through a few other things, and probably at some point buy Kingdom of Amalamadingong: Reckoning (or whatever it was) I'll probably get it. Assuming the "combat system changed considerably" thing is correct, because I really didn't like the first game's combat at all.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

I really couldn't get into the combat system of the first Witcher, but it sounds like Witcher 2 has revamped stuff enough that I'll give it another shot. Of course, that's whenever I stop playing ME3 multiplayer, finish Skyrim, get through a few other things, and probably at some point buy Kingdom of Amalamadingong: Reckoning (or whatever it was) I'll probably get it. Assuming the "combat system changed considerably" thing is correct, because I really didn't like the first game's combat at all.

It is a completely different combat system. It's basically a fairly standard action RPG system and not a ... timing button press, hold, press, hold, press system. God I hate the combat in the original Witcher SO much. Terrible design. Terrible.

Slumberland wrote:

In fact I was ready for it last night but the kid at the mom 'n pop wouldn't let me pay for it with a credit card since it was the day before release, and I left in a bit of a huff.

Mom n' pop game stores still exist?!

(Can publishers audit store credit card transactions to determine if the stores broke street date?)

EDIT: Also, is it just me or does the box art look like something ripped from a Michael Bay film?

shoptroll wrote:

EDIT: Also, is it just me or does the box art look like something ripped from a Michael Bay film?

TheWanderer wrote:

That cover art makes me giggle. It has to be intentionally like Battlefield and Modern Warfare. I want to see the blog post of the 13 year old that gets it for his birthday thinking it's a shooter.