However, despite this - and based purely on the bits I've seen - while there's no arguing that The Witcher 2 is set in a frequently misogynistic fantasy universe, the game itself doesn't seem particularly objectionable. Even a sympathetic troll who's sunk into alcoholism after the death of his 'woman' mostly bemoans the fact that nobody's cooking meat for him at home any more. Insults like 'cunt' and 'whoreson' are thrown around like confetti. Remember that 'good' king from earlier? Even he doesn't bat an eyelid at mention of his soldiers raping and pillaging. "Just the sorceress!" the soldier protests. "You'd have raped an old mate?" asks Geralt. "We're old mates!" he adds, unconvincingly. "Boholt was just fooling about the raping and all." "We'd have set you free, the sorceress too," says one. The first big example for instance involves a group of soldiers who apparently captured Geralt at some point during his missing memories, now greeting him like an old friend. The main difference is that this time, the sexist elements feel more like the background of the world itself than the game being childish, from the notable way one female spy is introduced in her biography as one of the toughest under the local spymaster's command, yet still spends the entire prologue doing nothing but fetching drinks, to the nature of the more misogynistic characters. The Witcher's handling of sex was one of its more divisive design decisions, and that's likely to be the case here too. After the ghost-town of Kirkwall, The Witcher 2 feels positively bustling. There's no great technical feat to this, unlike some of Bethesda's Skyrim plans, but that doesn't matter. Market traders shout things out, characters note your approach (although always with the same line, unfortunately) and there are more than enough people to fill out the scene. Some of the best touches are on a smaller scale though, like the moments where Geralt gets together with his friends to just talk politics, his deadpan responses, or cute details like the way the kids in town start following him around asking "White Wolf, are you the one who ate Red Riding Hood?" or asking if he carries two swords because he keeps losing one. Is the town's leader a hyper-strict fascist just looking to line his pockets at the expense of elves and dwarves, or is he genuine when he explains that he's aware he has prejudices against non-humans, but tries to be impartial? More than any other major RPG, you don't choose between good and evil so much as aim for the lesser of two evils, or - if you prefer - the most convenient. Whether the bandit leader living in the woods is an honourable freedom fighter or a psychotic terrorist for instance depends entirely on your point of view. It's a very political game, one that still has little time for simple good or bad. Is he a good king though? That's the kind of question The Witcher loves to play with. Not everything that falls out of his mouth is a nugget of word-gold.) (Admittedly, he also says 'They've taken a good position, the bastards! They'll pick us off like ducks, and I'm no duck!'. He immediately snaps at anyone who calls his illegitimate children 'bastards', and when the tide of battle turns, his orders are "Fall back, gods dammit! I forbid you to die like imbeciles!" He's savvy about the weapons being used against him (not least because they used to be his own), and has a compassionate side to go along with his hot-headedness. He takes time to acknowledge individual soldiers. King Foltest for instance, who you start the game protecting, actually feels like a guy an army would follow. This time though, the translation is excellent, and the character work is miles ahead. As with the first game, The Witcher was written by Polish writers, which immediately gives it a slightly different feel to most American made RPGs. For all this visual improvement, it's the writing that most impresses.
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