The Witcher 2

Can't decide whether I liked The Witcher 2 more or less than the first in the series.
It's slicker and more focussed; while there are still plenty of fetch quests there was less aimless wandering about - I never felt like ALL my quests were at a dead-end (for more than a few minutes).
That said, the side quests didn't quite gel so well with the plot as the first game - there were definitely more quests that felt like an irrelevant (and unrealistic) distraction from the world-shaking events of the main story.
The simplification to the combat was probably for the better, I didn't miss the QTEs, but I could probably have done with more choice of weapons - I kept the equipment for most of the game. Maybe I just missed something major!

I think my real issue with the game was the constant nagging feeling that I'd missed something important about the plot. Characters were doing and discussing things that didn't make sense, like I was missing background knowledge. Playing a character with amnesia, this is probably realistic, but did give me a few "huh? What?!" moments.

Of course, the REAL reason I felt I was missing something was that I really was.
Near the end of Chapter 1, you make a critical decision under pressure and that completely changes the rest of the game - at least Chapter 2 has a completely different story, with different characters in a different location.
So you really do need to play the game twice (at least from a convenient save about 15 hours in) to get the full story. The decision I made was different to the majority consensus on-line; sounds like the choice I made had the better quests but was out of character for Geralt. I really didn't agree with that - I was happy with the choice I made - but maybe the story would have made more sense played the other way.

So I'm really torn about this.
In terms of player agency and meaningful choice it was great; to choose which side of a war to be on and for that to actually carry through the rest of the game is outstanding. Most games give you the illusion of choice then quickly force you back onto their pre-defined path, with perhaps just a few dialogue changes to reflect the decision. This was the real thing.
On the other hand, I'm kind of cheesed off that I have to play half the game again to get the whole story. I'm happy with the choices I made and the outcome - for better or worse, the story is told. I don't like having to retell the story.
I enjoyed the game and its mechanics, even playing straight after the first game, so (unusually for me) I am playing through again - which I guess is testament to how good it is.

At least... I was playing it again, until Bioshock Infinite was released... :-)