Nonek

Hmmm it has the two features of combat I thought personally were missing from the second game, strafing the opponent and more variety in escape methods, I think somebody went back and played Severance. The detective vision seems a little too overt, one would have thought a search for spoor and clues was more in order. The environmental navigation seems very Assassin's Creed-ish, which is no bad thing. Seemed a touch stuttery, i'm assuming that was because of console limitations, 30 fps and such. Edit: Not sure about the UI, looks too much like the second games for my personal comfort, far preferred the first games in this instance.

Try the feet.

In general I agree, I usually wait a month before purchase until the BEST GAME EVAH reviews have died down and the truth emerges, however with CDPR i'm quietly confident. Their last two games very much catered to my own particular tastes, with obviously some exceptions, and more importantly the games were improved and enhanced based on player feedback for free, along with the free DLC. Thus I am giving the developer a little support in the same manner as helping Obsidian with their Kickstarter, as they have so far earned that in my eyes. If that proves to be untrue then I shall exercise a little more Caveat Emptor in the future, but until then I shall take the first step on the road to disappointment. This is how I justify it in my own head anyway. I would of course not pre-order a sequel to a poor game, as then I would just be a blinkered fanboy who was exercising wishful thinking, and wished to be fooled twice.

Three hundred to me sounds like quite a reasonable number spread over all of the cities content, with patrolling guards, shopkeepers, passers by, quest givers and such. The lack of voice acting helps as well, so we can more easily implement broad and diverse text responses, something that for instance Torment does very well.

Nonek faced with all this empirical evidence I am hoping that you and others come to an inescapable conclusion " The great avalanche of Romance in RPG is upon us, let us embrace it with open arms " It is only in opposing the impossible that humanity may advance into enlightenment. Fight for what is right, even if there is no chance of victory. @Malcador & Bruce: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_Ju8WVY2a4

The plague spreads, there is no cure and no one is immune, it is time to dispatch Inquisitor Monte Carlo to purge and scourge the promancers.

I'm wondering about possession, and whether it is feasible for an Animancer to swap bodies or Souls? The Fistandantilus situation from the Twins trilogy springs to mind, an ancient Wizard swapping his failing body for that of his apprentices. Investigating or stumbling across this kind of situation has so much potential, one can almost see the scenes making themselves, and ancient eyes watching the characters from a form of young, innocent flesh.

Two stand out for me, Britain from Ultima VII and Vizima from the first Witcher. Obviously npc routines help, along with reactions to the weather and protagonist, I especially liked how the common folk would run for cover when it rained, or Geralt would push them out of his way. A lovely addition in the Witcher 2 was Geralt drawing his sword in Flotsam, at which point everybody would be alarmed and back away in panic. I agree that this is an important feature, if cities are just empty grey and boring background paintings, like say Kirkwall from Dragon Age 2, then they are robbed of all vibrancy and interest. The worst feature is of course when one can walk through the npc's, as if they were ghosts, really a cheap and nasty trick that nobody should settle for. Sigil and then Athkatla are less ambitious, but satisfactory, for me.

Carrying Aryan through the dungeons later (if you spare him) also confers the strong back perk, allowing one to carry an extra fifty pounds of weight.

I would agree that the North was in the process of a long defeat, they took no advantage of their victory at Brenna, only Radovid sought to secure his power base and defeat the regicide who usurped his fathers throne after killing him. Foltest, Henselt and Demavend should have been doing the same instead of pursuing pointless wars amongst themselves and personal matters. Though I think Demavend may have had a little aid from the Lodge in his regression from the smartest ruler in the north to an alcoholic idler, it was definitely a departure from the books. The hidden hand of Enid in Dol Blathanna perhaps? My Geralt couldn't judge Letho for assassinating potentates for Emhyr as he'd just slain Jacque's for Foltest, and eight thousand Orens. He did blame himself for failing Foltest when he'd agreed to act as his bodyguard following the assassination attempt by the Viper at the end of Witcher 1, and saw to it that Anais took the throne of Temeria with Roche and Natalis at her side. He was not going to fail another child. After that he bid good riddance to the mire of politics and hopefully will fly free like the ladybird, pursuing Yen and personal matters.

Swimming in the Witcher 3? The obvious joke must be made, Geralt always uses breaststroke. Sorry.

Only one real problem with Letho for myself, and that was the forced outcome of the melee under the Elven Baths, apart from that I agree that he was fairly much a perfect foil for Geralt. Perhaps purposely so? Edit: I admit i'm somewhat worried about Yen's voice actress, she needs bite and class, the polar opposite of Triss hopefully.

At the :32 second mark, is that Letho on the right of the screen behind the Wolf school Witcher's? Is Emhyr enthroned in Vizima's throneroom from the first game? The raven taking the Nilfgaardian's eye at the end, is it Philippa the mistress of shapeshifting, or maybe even Borch Three Jackdaw's? The trailer keeps giving.

One must admit that pushed the right buttons personally and I think i'll indulge in a pre - order, I was over all very satisfied with Assassins of Kings and with a mouse and keyboard UI being implemented (instead of the barely disguised console abomination) i'm hopeful for better controls. The combat had a few flaws but was mostly satisfactory, though personally i'd have preferred a turn based system to simulate Geralt's speed, or simply go the whole hog and copy Severance to the full rather than the semi action system they had. The plot, narrative, setting and characterisation were all more than satisfactory, though there were a few things stripped from the first game that were obviously troublesome, and personally i'd like to see certain areas reflecting the Slavic Folk feel of Murky Waters. Edit: Nice to see the other gentlemen of Kaer Morhen, however Yen's face seemed too soft, not shrewd enough.

Commiserations or congratulations Mr Neutral, one is not sure which to wish you.

An insomniac?

The potential is almost boundless I agree, and a trial setting precedents and codes of conduct might be a perfect method of exploring the matter. The collecting of evidence, witnesses, clues and opinions from the great and good as well as (of course) the corrupting elements that seek to help and hinder for their own reasons. It might be nice to be supported by the bad man for the wrong reasons, and yet ironically reach the right conclusion, like the original Junktown Gizmo ending.

A rather appropriate video I think: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAyZSAHPBLY Edit: Personally I say damn the consequences and take the risk, but with an eye for more research and more study before experimentation. If my character is in a position to fund the work of a blossoming Herbert West, then I shall do so, lest he undertake his own research under less than ideal circumstances. I pity the prisoners in my cells however.

I commute into London and walk the last few miles, a bit of extra cardio to offset the chair bound nature of work. There are ethnic ghettoes all across England however where Englishmen are rather rare, and certainly not welcome, in the north where my wife comes from there have been large influxes of foreign nationals for the last half century or so*. There are also native villages whose make-up has not really changed since the recording of the Domesday book however, and personally I wouldn't be deterred from walking through any, my ancestors have shed blood and liberty to assure my rights and safety. The finest insult i've personally heard was "Blue eyed devil," I felt remarkably empowered. *As opposed to London which is historically an international hub and a multicultural city whom no one race can claim, not even the English due to the union.

That's both an interesting and concerning story Nonek. Are you prepared to share more details like where did this happen and under what circumstances, what ethnic group attacked you and what do you mean by "few individuals comments".. is this something the BNP said? It was SusurrusParadox on the SJW thread (wonder what happened to that?) Bruce, but as I said I found the gentleman laughable and nothing to be concerned about. I've been called a white (excuse my language) bastard before on the street, and still felt nothing but mild amusement, if I felt anything more i'd be allowing the abusers undue importance. Or i'm just an emotionless shell of a man?

Personally I can't tell, I was recently insulted for being an Englishman and accused of being thus a fascist, despite the large amount of my family whom died in the second World War. However I just laughed it off as the ranting of a bigot, as the gentleman had allready proven himself to be by introducing himself with insults and condemning a whole group based on a few individuals comments. I may not have the correct victim mindset to be able to judge, then again this runs in the family, while my great uncle was being tortured after capture in Burma he always said he would never give his tormentors the satisfaction of seeing himself as a victim. Strange and complex business.

Then again I think that if there were political dissent or a revolutionary movement, a few key agitators might find themsleves in the dungeons of the Dunryd Row, contemplating the loss of their testes, eyes or fingers. A rulers primary aim is after all to ensure the continuation of their rule, at the expense of those they rule usually. One thing that occurs to me is Necromancy, the art of raising the dead to talk with, as was so prominently featured in Arcanum, to great effect in my opinion. Can an Animancer do such a thing, wrench a recently deceased Soul back from the wheel for a time and question them? It raises interesting questions of morality and obviously highlights a use for Animancers in such organisations as Dunryd Row.

It would seem a little early for a Poe equivalent of Robert Peel's famous organisation to be appearing, in which case Dunryd Row's police would be tools of state rather than public servants, and follow the lead of those in power rather than neccessarily enforcing law and order. Of course this doesn't mean that they will not do this as well, as an orderly and wealthy city is preferable to the alternative, merely that their first loyalty will be to whatever organisation is in power. However given the Dyrwood's unique position perhaps the Dunryd Row are or will become public servants, it's entirely possible. Until that happens however one suspects the crimes they investigate will involve maintaining the status quo, ensuring taxes are paid, murders of the important are avenged and that the rulers of the city are in effect the biggest and nastiest gang to sit atop the whole pile.

Personally I preferred Rebecca Romijn in the role of Mystique, can't see why they've replaced her with the young and less delightfully spiteful wide faced girl that is in X Men: Moody Blues Cover. Romijn had a great ability to say a lot without words that the young lady does not, plus she was obviously far easier on the eye.

Can Animancers torture people? The inquisitorial role discussed above raises that obvious question, we know that Ciphers are Spellswords now with only a few psychic powers, so would gleaning the truth from a suspect be something an Animancer could be employed to do? Remember those great old spells from AD&D that one could torment a Demon or Devil with, thus bending it to ones will, perhaps there are powers in an Animancer's repertoire that can wrack and ruin a soul, pain on an unimaginable level Soul deep. Would such experiments mark or weaken the Soul, or maybe the reverse, perhaps strengthen it as it is tested and found to be not wanting? Is Animancy advanced enough to let the torturer be efficient in his use of such cruelty, or is it a blunt and clumsy tool?