It would be nice to have all of those options back, unfortunately the game was not built with PC gaming in mind.

The ones I miss are the dodge, walk/run backwards, and the finishing moves that flowed with combat and were not QTE cut scenes. I also miss being able to select among the 6 distinctive fighting styles.

yeah, true. but none of those things were actually effective in the witcher 1. in that game, you were very much glued to a "grid" around enemies. sure, you had some flashy animations that would shift you around that grid, but you didn't have the positioning freedom that you have in the witcher 2.

for example, what happens when the grid spaces around an enemy are completely filled up with other enemies? well, suddenly, all your 'options' are locked away and you have literally nowhere to go.

witcher 1: animations tied to positioning; if you can't reach the right position, you can't do the animation

witcher 2: animations NOT tied to posiitoning; you can still perform animations despite them not ending where the game usually expects them to. you can change directions mid-roll, etc.

I think this is true only when Geralt attacks his target. In TW 1 click = 1 attack (sequence of blows). The attack is automatic and Geralt is indeed restricted around the enemy. But you can break the fight any time you want and evade even when tightly surrounded. I did this a few times even in tight spaces, like when ambushed by Salamandra thugs inside hideouts or by Alghouls in the cellar with the special wine. The only situations when I got stuck in the middle of foes was when Geralt suffered some critical effects like stun, blinding or poisoning but after leveling up the resistances it wasn't a problem anymore. :)

In fact outmaneuvering and evading the enemies is so effective in TW that I played it for 2nd and 3rd times without developing or using group styles.

EDIT In TW you can instantly switch the attack to another target and, if timed correctly, without interrupting the flow of the fight. In TW2 you can't do that because of the auto aim.

I agree that Geralt's evasive maneuvers were almost useless in TW1. At least the roll works.

In W1, when "spaces in the grid" are filled with enemies, you could switch to group fighting style, which you can't do in W2, and use your signs to knock them away and find a crevice to escape the "circle of death". BTW, in W2, you can also get surrounded and not be able to move, so..

As for animations tied to a "spot" or where the game expects you to be, ave you tried to cast a sign in W2? Like Quen, for example? Or use your medallion? Your character needs to stop, then cast, then the animation plays, then, whoever is chasing you catches up to you.

Rolling has one problem in my opinion, and it's that you can't take advantage of it in tight spaces. If they let you jump over opponents like W1 it would be fine.

I find the combat very enjoyable in open spaces. Far better than W1 imo.

I preferred the feel of combat in TW1, really.

TW2 looks cooler and flows faster (especially once you got some CC options, upgraded Quen, multi-Axii, Red Haze, such stuff), but it lacks... atmosphere. I don't know, tough to describe.
TW1 felt a lot more like I would picture a pen&paper character I play do swordfighting. TW2 feels more like a hollywood thing, by comparison. But meh ,that doesn't really describe my issue, either.

Rolling on the ground all the time is not what skilled swordsman do and is not consistent with the witcher stories; they stay on their feet. It's one of the few things I missed from the first game.

How about a front flip so you can't get cornered. I used that all the time in TW1.

I'm also not entirely sure that it's consistent with carrying large quantities of explosives in easily-accessible pockets. :D

From a story perspective it looks quiet silly to have Geralt constantly rolling away from more then one enemy.

Game really needs a Zelda style lock-on system. Everything would remain the same but the addition of different animations for dodging in every direction would add so much to the feel of combat. I was pretty damn shocked to see that the lock on mechanic added no such thing. Big missed opportunity. It just always looks like Geralt has to fall back on guerrilla tactics to defeat more then one enemy.

I would like to see someone do a somersault with a sword in hand... well maybe not. I agree that swordsmen should stay upright - no flips, somersaults, cartwheels - maybe a roll if you hit spacebar at the right time to recover from a knockdown. If I want to do somersaults I'll dig up mah Genesis and pop in Sonic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLZCsQSkJ7k you asked for it

>_< I lold XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

what would make the combat better is if the animation for quick attacks didn't take longer than strong attacks. and i find that's consistently the case.