Game:

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011)

Duration: 12:33

1,196 views

1

This is the first WRPG that interested me enough to buy it. I've tried two that felt close to a WRPG: Eternal Ring (PS2) and Dark Souls (on the PS3). I didn't like both, and the first one particularly gave a bad impression of what WRPGs could feel for me. Maybe it's because I was so into conventional JRPGs at the time and the stark difference between the two alienated me. Funny enough, both games were made by the same company. Now, here I am with The Witcher 2, and I'm liking it, so far. If there's anything I'd like the game to improve on it's the characters' stiff demeanor and dead, soulless eyes.

The game is actually based on a series of Polish fantasy books bearing the same title, and you also play the protagonist in it named Geralt. He is a witcher, monster hunters for hire who possess strange abilities; armed with spells (called Signs), potions, and two swords -- one made of steel for humans and another made of silver for magical creatures. In The Witcher 2, Geralt is accused of killing his king and has set out on a quest to clear his name. You can practically go into it without playing the first game, as it does a fine job explaining previous events through narratives.

There's a realistic touch to the game; time flows, the weather changes, you see what you equip on your character, everything you carry (from items to weapons) has weight and exceeding the limit affects your mobility, etc. Battles can be challenging, even on Normal difficulty. The game doesn't allow the use of potions during battle and enemies can easily gang up on you if you're not careful. In TW2, making preparations, playing smart, relying on spells, and saving often are encouraged to ensure smooth progression. These being the case it's a refreshing change from the JRPGs I'm used to.

TW2 was first released in 2011, while the Enhanced Edition -- including new content and improvements -- was released the following year. For a moderately older game the visuals still hold up until now. It's one of the prettier WRPGs I've seen, and I'm happy the Y410p could handle it on Ultra. Well, almost... All settings were appropriately disabled/enabled, save for the Ubersampling and the cinematic DOF. Cinematic DOF is a performance hog and it's implemented rather poorly (artistically and technically), so it's better to turn it off. As for the Ubersampling, it's probably something like SSAA, which means you can't use it well unless you have a really powerful gaming PC. Apparently, the laptop can run the game quite decently and only experiences drops below 30 fps when looking towards a direction with very dense activity.

For the exact settings I used, go here:
http://bit.ly/1lQLzpA

For a more detailed explanation on every TW2 setting, go here:
http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/guides/witcher-2-tweak-guide#1

Maximum Operating Temperatures (3 hours of gaming):
CPU - 81 to 83 °C
GPU - 85 °C

## Model Configuration ##
Lenovo IdeaPad Y410p-20216
Windows 8, 64-bit
1366 x 768 Native Resolution
Intel Core i7-4700MQ "Haswell" @ 2.4 GHz (3.4 GHz turbo)
GeForce GT 750M GDDR5 2 GB VRAM, SLI ready
8 GB DDR3 Samsung RAM @ 1600 MHz (single channel)
1 TB Seagate HDD @ 5400 RPM
JBL Dolby-certified Home Theater v4

Notes:
OS Version - Windows 8.1 Single Language
Nvidia Driver - 337.88 WHQL
GPU - Dedicated, Single
CPU Tweaks - 80% Performance Level
GPU Tweaks - Target max temperature of 87 °C
Recording Utility - Nvidia Shadowplay
Gamepad - Yes, DS3 Controller

Other Statistics