The Witcher 2 - Regarding Diverging Stories
I'm playing through a second time to see the major differences in path. While I'm not actually to chapter 3 yet, it was short enough and didn't look like it would play out radically differently, so I feel reasonably safe in pondering the story arc(s).
A lot of games that provide differences in story based on choice tend to go for a good/evil thing. That's not so here. Toward the end of chapter 1, you side with one of two conflicting people/factions. Your choice determines where you end up in chapter 2 and, though there is some overlap, shapes most of the story you get there and probably about half the quest. Some events, including a number of quests, play out about the same regardless. You may be breaking an ancient curse for a different reason, but you're still collecting relics to break the same curse.
The problem I have is that the choice and outcome seem a little... out of sync?
As chapter 1 winds down, you choose to more closely ally with one of two people.
One is Vernon Roche, the human leader of the Temerian "special forces" who believes Geralt enough to help him get out of prison and provides support to pursue the kingslayer. He's fiercely loyal to his men and to his kingdom, to the point where he'll readily cut down or torture threats to either. He's not a shining beacon of morality, but he seems a pretty decent guy for the setting and I really liked him. Siding with him felt natural to me.
The other is Iorveth, an elven "resistance" leader. He's bitter, bigoted and while he seems to say he's fighting for the freedom of his people, I really get the sense he wouldn't know what to do with peace if he had it. Geralt's first meeting with him turns hostile (admittedly because Roche attacks first). Iorveth is a zealot to his cause, too, but he seems willing to kill anyone in his way, not just those who would be enemies. I really found little to like in him.
The twist, then, is chapter 2.
If you sided with Roche, Geralt ends up working with/for King Henselt, who is pretty much a self-righteous ass. This is a guy who tried to capture his opponents during a meeting prior to battle and does some other personally low things along the way. Geralt feels really out of place to me amidst the military encampment.
If, on the other hand, you side with Iorveth, Geralt ends up on the other side of the battle, among a mix of outnumbered nobles, dwarves, peasants, and Iorveth's elves. Geralt and his friends seem to fit in pretty well, all told. The undercurrents of trying to bring together and hold together the varied sub-factions is more interesting than anything on the other side. And the side quests have thusfar felt more rewarding to me.
It feels a little like a no-win scenerio. I'd rather be able to side with Roche and then go to Vergen to work with Saskia and her rag-tag army. But nooo, that's not actually an option.
And I'm sure there are some differences in the final chapter, depending on the path taken, but the overall story seems to converge and meld back into a finale that's mostly the same either way. That in itself is different from how other branching games tend to do things, but I suppose it does make it easier to write a sequel. Overall, it's not a bad way to do things, though I'm a little disappointed at how the specific options in the game play out.
Addition: Heck, there's even a point in Iorveth's chapter 2 path where Geralt meets up with Roche. He chides a little for going off with the elves, but still helps Geralt get into Henselt's royal encampment.
A lot of games that provide differences in story based on choice tend to go for a good/evil thing. That's not so here. Toward the end of chapter 1, you side with one of two conflicting people/factions. Your choice determines where you end up in chapter 2 and, though there is some overlap, shapes most of the story you get there and probably about half the quest. Some events, including a number of quests, play out about the same regardless. You may be breaking an ancient curse for a different reason, but you're still collecting relics to break the same curse.
The problem I have is that the choice and outcome seem a little... out of sync?
As chapter 1 winds down, you choose to more closely ally with one of two people.
One is Vernon Roche, the human leader of the Temerian "special forces" who believes Geralt enough to help him get out of prison and provides support to pursue the kingslayer. He's fiercely loyal to his men and to his kingdom, to the point where he'll readily cut down or torture threats to either. He's not a shining beacon of morality, but he seems a pretty decent guy for the setting and I really liked him. Siding with him felt natural to me.
The other is Iorveth, an elven "resistance" leader. He's bitter, bigoted and while he seems to say he's fighting for the freedom of his people, I really get the sense he wouldn't know what to do with peace if he had it. Geralt's first meeting with him turns hostile (admittedly because Roche attacks first). Iorveth is a zealot to his cause, too, but he seems willing to kill anyone in his way, not just those who would be enemies. I really found little to like in him.
The twist, then, is chapter 2.
If you sided with Roche, Geralt ends up working with/for King Henselt, who is pretty much a self-righteous ass. This is a guy who tried to capture his opponents during a meeting prior to battle and does some other personally low things along the way. Geralt feels really out of place to me amidst the military encampment.
If, on the other hand, you side with Iorveth, Geralt ends up on the other side of the battle, among a mix of outnumbered nobles, dwarves, peasants, and Iorveth's elves. Geralt and his friends seem to fit in pretty well, all told. The undercurrents of trying to bring together and hold together the varied sub-factions is more interesting than anything on the other side. And the side quests have thusfar felt more rewarding to me.
It feels a little like a no-win scenerio. I'd rather be able to side with Roche and then go to Vergen to work with Saskia and her rag-tag army. But nooo, that's not actually an option.
And I'm sure there are some differences in the final chapter, depending on the path taken, but the overall story seems to converge and meld back into a finale that's mostly the same either way. That in itself is different from how other branching games tend to do things, but I suppose it does make it easier to write a sequel. Overall, it's not a bad way to do things, though I'm a little disappointed at how the specific options in the game play out.
Addition: Heck, there's even a point in Iorveth's chapter 2 path where Geralt meets up with Roche. He chides a little for going off with the elves, but still helps Geralt get into Henselt's royal encampment.
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