Dview: The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (Xbox 360)

The Bottom Line:
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is an M rated third person action RPG.  This edition is the Enhanced Edtions released for the Xbox 360.  The story and surronding themes are a little bit more mature than your typical why is the M rated again faire (like Mass Effect or Skyrim).  Some of the themes and references are a little bit more mature (there is nudity, public urination, suicide, execution, rape, regicide, etc).   Overall, this game seems to be slightly better than average (with an average-ish story of political machinations).  The big letdown for me in this game is the combat (which can be dodgy at times).  i didn't have this game freeze on me, but there were issues like screen tearing and the screen flashing black at times (sometimes after/during an auto save).


With all that being said, i kind of wish they would release an Enhanced Edtion of the first Witcher. 
Grade: C+

What to Expect:
* A somewhat dodgy camera (why do 3rd person games typically have so many problem, at least for me?)
* Generic-ish combat (basically fast and strong attack) with some spells, you have to dodge as Geralt is not a damage sponge.
* You have to use potions before battle, not during
* Semi-upgradable armor and weapons to purchase, find or craft
* Numerous herbs and crafting items to find/buy
* Unlike many modern RPGs, money is a little bit hard to come by
* Numerous quests to complete across 3 chapters (and a prologue)
* Mini games: dice poker, arm wrestling (absolutely dislike) and fist fighting (QTE heavy)
* Level cap at 35 (you have to do most of the quests to even get close, i haven't seen a good level grinding place - as the enemies give too little XP)
* Occasional stealth sections - you "turn off" torces to conceal yourself,  hiding at certain times (by pressing  A) is dodgy.
* Ending that leaves thing open for a sequel.
* Map/mini map that can be misleading/bad at times
* Somewhat different chapter 2 depending who you side with in Chapter 1

How i Played:
Difficulty: Easy
Playtime: ??: the save files have a time associated with them, but i don't know what it is - it doesn't seem to be playtime or time saved.  Probably about 20-30 hours (guess)
Achievements: 27/50 (470 GamerScore)

Achievements:
There are 50 achievements for 1,000 gamerscore.  Some acheivements require two playthroughs (do one choice one playthrough, the other the next).  There are achievements for beating the game on the hardest difficulty level (i'm not even going to try), story related achievments, completing fight in the arena, using skills, progressing sufficiently on skill paths, etc.