Strategy vs. Tactics - a balance where this game excels (Gaming)

by Kahzgul, Monday, March 06, 2017, 23:22 (2819 days ago) @ CyberKN

Boy do I ever agree. The combat really ran the risk of being either too fiddly (similar to the Witcher 1 and 2, because there are a bajillion different things you can use in your arsenal) or too simple (like how in most games all of the weapons do basically the same thing), but instead it really hits the goal of each different weapon providing you with a new tool in your arsenal, and each enemy being particularly susceptible to certain tools. I love that there is no single weapon that is the "best" in all situations, but rather everything is a role-player.

You cannot go in simply guns blazing here. You need to aim for weak spots, know which elemental weapons do bonus damage, set traps for fleeing prey or to catch aggressive enemies as they charge you, have an escape route in case things go south, and you need to know how your downrange enemies react when attacked. The first time you fight a particular enemy type is particularly stressful, as you'll want to study their behavior, which means isolating them whenever possible. Once you know how an enemy behaves, fighting them in groups is easier because you can plan in advance.

There's an element of the witcher between fights as you need to gather healing herbs and build up your ammo stocks. During combat it feels a lot like tomb raider, with movement through the world being more of an assassin's creed variety. Everything borrowed is well executed and smooth; nothing feels like a mistake here.

As I titled this response, the thing this game does which no game I've ever played has done before, is give equal weight of importance to both strategy and tactics. If you ever wondered what the difference between those two things was, let me illustrate:

You see a herd of prey-type enemies up ahead on the path. Time for strategy. You first scan... Ahh, they have a small vanguard of watchers, looking out for dangers such as yourself. You also note their weakness: Fire, and that they have a large cluster of weak spots on their backs that could explode if lit aflame. So you prep your flame arrows. Moving to higher ground, you realise that the herd is in a series of gullies which friendly forces have already lined with log traps. Excellent. You set an explosive tripwire in the gully between two log traps. The explosion should trigger them both. Then you position yourself at a third, closer to the enemies. Just in case they turn aggressive instead of fleeing, you place a shock trap at your feet to stun any beast that may assault you directly. The first step will be to assassinate the three watchers from hiding. One is close enough to be lured to you, the other two will need well placed arrows in their critical weak spots. After that, you'll lob a bomb to one spot, causing the herd to flee away from the explosion, right into your traps. With luck, you'll score 9 kills with only two traps, two arrows, and one bomb. Of course, if things go sideways, you've prepped your fire arrows, which should easily dispatch any survivors of your ambush.

You execute your strategy to a tee, dispatching all three watchers before the herd even notices. The bomb goes a bit off target, however, and only four of the herd are funnelled into your waiting traps. Time for tactics!

The remaining two beasts turn aggressive and charge you. They both ran part way up the gulley before seeing you, so neither hits your shock trap. Damn. You roll out of the way of the first one and loose an arrow at the canisters on his back. The resulting spurts of flame mean he's about to blow! Leaping over your own trap, you sprint down into the gulley with the bomb-backed beast close behind you, he trips the wire and goes down, only to explode a moment later. One enemy to go, and this one was badly damaged by that explosion. From this angle, you can't shoot the tanks on its back, so you draw your spear and prepare to dodge the inevitable charge. Here it comes... you roll left and deliver a brutal swing that sends the beast sprawling. Now that he's down, it's a simple thing to deliver a fatal, killing blow with your melee weapon.

This reads like an action movie, but those playing the game can probably picture it perfectly, because nothing I just described is embellishment at all - this is literally how the game plays.

Should I mention: I just described one of the more simplistic scenarios you can find in the game. As the enemies become more and more technically difficult to defeat, and the herds become more varied, you'll find that you need to be even more clever in your strategy and will find yourself running attack and retreat combos from time to time in order to pick off the more dangerous foes (or, depending on the situation, the weaker foes to leave the strongest without support).

I've also said nothing of the stellar plot, engaging missions, and competent, if not quite as good as Mass Effect, voice acting.

This is a great game.