SPLICED Magazine Issue 01 Oct/Nov 2013 | Page 86

In the first Witcher there was a fair amount of controversy over the fact that you could collect cards of the women you managed to seduce throughout the game. *Ice giant pictured above not withstanding. 86 but I was a little disappointed when the combat was made easier for the Xbox 360 version of The Witcher 2. Don’t get me wrong, I still played it, still loved it, but it somehow wasn’t nearly as satisfying. It seems more changes have been made to the combat system. The number of strikes and swings as well as possible combo attacks have been increased, apparently quite significantly, offering a more intricate, satisfying and realistic combat system. As always Geralt fights with multiple weapons, and switches between a silver sword and an iron sword depending on the fight – silver for beasties, iron for humans. Utilise The Witcher Senses system to strike at an opponent’s weak points using Geralt’s knowledge of the enemy he’s fighting, and watch out for the environment, as this will also have an impact on your combat, providing additional weapons for you to use. One of the things I have always loved about this franchise, and indeed am always interested to see how others handle, is the levelling up and experience system. You can gain an entirely different experience of the game simply by focusing your energy on a different skills tree. If, like me, you prefer to level up your Igni (fire) sign and simply blast enemies out of the way, you can, however if you’re more interested on stunning them and them finishing them off physically, you have this option available to you as well. Ultimately it has always been about finding a combat system that suits your style of play. Most excitingly in combat, The Wild Hunt features an extended sign casting system, with two modes of use, allowing you to completely customise your magical casting skills during combat. T he Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt brings to a close the tale of Geralt of Rivia. This makes me sad. Geralt has been a big part of my life for the past few years and we have spent many hours together, roaming The Northern Kingdoms, fighting monsters I’d only heard of in the weird fairytale books I read as a child. I was with him when he stood up for the oppressed Scoia’tael and felt all conflicted about getting involved in politics. I was with him when he chose the side of the Order of the Flaming Rose. I was with him when he went in search for Triss. Geralt and I have history. I will be sad to see him go. Best I make the most of this final adventure. And hope like hell that there’s DLC.? feature / GAMING / The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt