I'm new to the forums and i just signed up just to give my thoughts on the game as an avid gamer. (of RPG's especially).
I have been playing RPG's ever since i was a fetus. BG, BG2, ID, PS:Torment, Gothic, Vampire: the Masquerade, Jade Empire, NWN, NWN2, TES:Oblivion, Fallout 3 DA:O, DA2, ME and ME2 are the games that i remembered most. (and yeah, most of them are Bioware. Am i a fanboy? maybe, maybe not. i dont know lol). Heck I also played the the not so purely RPG ones like Diablo, Deus Ex and other similar stuff) Every single one of those games struck me with different tunes, which made me remember each of em according to which 'tune' they played. Not so samw with FPS'es though. (heck the only FPS'es i really loved were Half-life and Portal series; if you even call Portal an FPS)
I don't know if you agree with me, but Bioware has been getting kinda soft. The nonlinearity and unexpectedness I experienced when playing BG never quite felt the same with the following games. DA2 may be the most obvious example although it's still an ok game in my books. Maybe it's just because of corporate greed *cough EA*. Nobody denies that Bioware has good writing. Just as what Yahtzee said, no one will deny that the sky is blue just as that Bioware has good writing; and I play their games because i always expect a good story when it comes with them. Anyway, Bioware needs to toughen it up, and I have high expectations for ME3. (liked ME2 by the way; presentation was awesome) They just should bring neglected RPG elements back to their repertoire. RPG elements that i have come to admire and love when I played the Witcher 2. Oh yeah to be fair ofc not just Bioware. Every other company planning to make RPG's should learn from this game;
I have played TW1 and I was intrigued my its setting. Never would you see such an imperfect world full of schemers, and where good vs evil doesn't apply. It is more of lesser evil vs greater evil. And imo TW2 has greatly improved in everything TW1 has achieved so far. I will point some aspects of the game i just had to admire:
1. A very 'alive' RPG world - no other RPG has given me such an impression (even if it's just an illusion) of an 'alive' world. When I first pranced around King Foltest's camp, i just like WTF this is awesome. Massive trebuchets and their crew doing the complete routine of operating the behemoth, soldiers' either doing their business or getting drunk and talking about getting plowed, the camp chef tasting his delicacy (though he doesn't care when i turn off the fire under his cauldron

). Everything just seems so thorough. This becomes especially evident in Flotsam.
2. The illusion of choice is less prominent here. I wouldn't really say that choices here are 'illusions' at all too. You choose, you don't necessarily win. The paths are really branched out to 180 degrees. There will always be a consequence, and this is one of those games where choosing was ACTUALLY HARD to do based on what i have experienced.
3. The characters were awesome. And i doesn't mean awesome = good/heroic. Example, King Henselt is a d***. But hell yeah was he successful at making me want to shove a pole up his a**. Saskia on the other hand was the bomb. The characters were successful in that they really made me hate em or love em. And of course, they all have their flaws, i mean serious flaws. Vernon Roche was like a friend to me, but ugh he is also an a******. Also, I didn't exactly rooted for Triss in the books, but for some reason I liked her in this game. Maybe because she showed em ******? I don't know >.<'. Which brings me to my fourth point.
4. Blatant mature content. This game is clearly not made for people who cries over broken toenails. The world is grisly and dark. Heck the real world is too.
5. The story in itself. A man supposed only to fight monsters as his profession gets embroiled in politics. Yeah, politics. The very thing that destroys man; the very thing that delves deep into man's dark desires. The very foundation of corruption, deceit, murder and ambition. This is especially true in Geralt's world, and just as when we thought he would be free from it's hold, things just have to get f*cked up. So yeah politics just wouldn't let him go. There is also the issue of the Wild Hunt, who are those riders and what do they want with our protagonist?
Just to finish things up, this will be one of those games that I will never forget, and I really felt the work and effort CDP has put to this game. This title certainly lifts them closer to companies such as Bioware and Bethesda.