I'd rather people not respond if they haven't had sufficient experience both games, though to avoid selecting against people who hated either game so much that they couldn't finish it, I'm only asking that you have completed most of the chapters in both games. For The Witcher that means finishing Acts III, while for DA2 that means finishing Act II.
Poll is here.
Many of the more unique aspects of DA2 compared to its predecessor can also be found in The Witcher.
-Protagonist with a set background. Hawke's single human refugee story strikes many as a large step back compared to the six origins, while Geralt has thousands of pages already written about him in the real world, and a robust reputation before the story begins. Hawke begins the game with his family but starts fresh in the Free Marches, while Geralt's amnesia has him re-encountering people from his past for the entire game.
-Action elements in combat. DA2 strives to make combat more active than it was in Origins, reducing the incentive to stack sustained abilities while giving rogues and warriors more active skills that aren't worthless. Consoles lose autoattack funtionality (though it should return in a patch) in exchange for an attack button. Combat in the Witcher is arguably even more action-oriented, with Geralt's sword styles relying on a timing minigame to execute combos, while requiring the player to switch stances and blade types to handle different foes. The Witcher balances this somewhat with the lack of activated melee abilities. Both games encourage a perspective closer to the battlefield, with The Witcher going as far as a Mass Effect-style over-the-shoulder camera
-Defined act breaks with gating. The acts in DA2 rely on the passage of time to divide the story segments, while The Witcher places its events in one continuous timeline but mostly prevents backtracking to the earlier hubs.
-Focus on a single city. Hawke moves in an out of Kirkwall throughout DA2, but makes it his permanent home after the prologue. Geralt has Vizima on the mind past the prologue as well, but only spends about half the game working out of the city itself.
-Deemphasis of equipment. DA2 takes much of the companions' item management out of the player's hands, with only Hawke having much variability in his armor. In a given playthrough Geralt only has access to a couple of armor upgrades, and sticks with the same basic steel sword/silver sword setup the entire game.
-Smaller scope of storytelling. DA2 concerns itself chiefly with the affairs of a single city, a far reach from Origins' "kill the Archdemon, save the world" focus. The Witcher similarly lacks a traditional fate-of-mankind tagline, focusing first on the attack on the witchers' stronghold, and then on the growing racial tensions in and around Vizima.
-Dark fantasy feat. prejudice. DA2 developed further on the mage/chantry schism and the conflict between humans and qunari, though the lack of origin stories and warden treaties reduced the focus on elves and dwarves. The big choice for Geralt revolves around the escalating conflict between human militants and nonhuman rebels.
The games also have plenty of differences, to be sure. The Witcher is strictly a solo affair while DA2 pride itself on its companions. Hawke must select between three very different classes, while Geralt can gain access to almost all the basic and intermediate sword and sorcery skills. DA2 heavily streamlined Origins' somewhat clunky crafting mechanics, while The Witcher boasts an incredibly robust alchemy system. I could go on, but the bigger point is some of DA2's more controversial changes may have been met with considerably more optimism in The Witcher.
Of course, please express your opinion on the connections between both games if you feel strongly in favor or against the similarities.
Modifié par CLime, 14 mars 2011 - 05:25 .
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