8 Video Games That Pushed Petty Feuds
6. The Dead Assassin - The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings
The Witcher trilogy is full of nods to other media franchises, be they other games, films or literature. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, for example, contains numerous references to Skyrim, with city guards ordering "no lollygagging" much like Skyrim's hold guards, and archers on gwent cards declaring that they "always aim for the knee".
Some of these nods are a little more caustic, such as a mage's magical defense system that has backfired on him being known as the Defensive Regulatory Magicon - a reference to controversial DRM implementations in many modern video games.
It's The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings, however, that contains a much more direct riff on a successful franchise. Early on in the game, during an assault on King Foltest's castle, Geralt can come across a dead body splayed out on the ground amongst a pile of hay.
The corpse, clad in white robes, is an obvious reference to the protagonists of the Assassin's Creed series and their penchant for diving from ludicrous heights into hay carts. Furthermore, finding the body will net the player a new character ability named "Assassin", rewarding them with increased damage from attacks from behind.
Geralt, in classic fashion, simply looks solemnly at the body and remarks: "Hmmm. Guess they'll never learn".