Originally Posted by
DMKA
Originally Posted by
Bolivar
2 weeks:
Yeah, about that...
I really wanted to play those games until I played the first ten minutes or so of the first game. The battle system scared me off in record time. It just feels incredibly awkward. I was still going to continue to play through it because I thought "Eh I can put up with it long enough to get through the storyline probably"....until I read that the storyline is
sixty hours long. Which is a shame because I hear the story is pretty great.
The sequels look like they changed the battle system to something more in line with what I like, but I have this damned mental hangup with playing sequels without playing the first game. Meh.
The Witcher games are more like 30-40 hours long, more if you do a lot of side quests. Hang-ups aside, you really wouldn't have a problem jumping into 2 or even 3, as the stories are very much stand-alone - it's not overarching plots like Mass Effect or anything. Games like The Witcher 3 are the reason people buy GTX 980s in the first place.
The first game's combat is... unique but I look at it more like rhythm-based attacking and managing your spells in between strikes.. The heart of it is preparation - making sure you're using the right sword and combat stance, drinking appropriate potions applying the right blade coating beforehand. It puts you into the mindset of a professional monster hunter.
And the stories really are that good. Out of the modern WRPGs I've played that are plot and choice heavy, the Witcher games are far and away my favorites.