Did they change things in this game? I just had to fight two guys when saving the topless chick, I could only stealth kill the one before confronting the second. Or is that because of the difficulty, I haven't started it up in ages so I don't remember what I chose. I think I also noticed more chatty prisoners in previous rooms though, unless I somehow missed those previously (maybe they were bugged).

The game just bugged out, the cut scene after saving her ended before the two guards and that guy who she then follows came, they arrived after I received full control of Geralt but don't continue the scene, they just stand there. I also can't proceed beyond the stairs in the next room either, it's blocking me with an invisible wall. After all this time I guess it's still such a dodgy release... Not that this is restricted to game breaking stuff, it's in the game's very core, controls included. I really hope Cyberpunk takes a different direction.

http://i.minus.com/iTAPSeFn2pVJk.bmp
http://i.minus.com/ibadwD1sqh0yY4.bmp

I'm playing it via Steam if that makes a difference. I noticed it download a huge patch, like the whole game or something, but figured it's just a bug too, maybe due to the Mac release. I guess I was wrong.

It really does. Whenever something happens with the game, the Steam version becomes broken and buggy. You should consider using your key to get the GOG version here: http://www.gog.com/en/witcher2/backup/

Was it ever possible to knock out both guys? Never actually managed that; I thought it forced you to fight the torture dude no matter what. At any rate, the game is actually quite polished after all of the patches, with no more bugs than any other game. I'd bet that the problems you're facing are a Steam thing, because I've never heard of it happening before.

Wait wait wait... how long has it been since you played? It's possible that it downloaded the Enhanced Edition (which is around the size of the original game), which would explain a lot. Old saves aren't compatible with games patched to the EE, so weird bugs pop up that make it impossible to continue.

No, it hadn't been that long, I had the latest known patch before Steam mysteriously downloaded (a ton) more on the night of the conference. I do start Steam up often after all, just not this game after I had finished it. I guess I must have forgotten the second guy was there. Or maybe he was added with the Enhanced Edition but I hadn't replayed the beginning yet. I don't really wanna get another 16GB to get it from gog though, if you are right about such issues existing only with that version CDP should work with Valve to solve them...

There were always two guys. Here's a video someone uploaded just nine days after the game's release that shows both guys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7doHRKxKmN4

Anyway, you can't trust Steam with this game. Others, maybe, but not this one. There have been long stretches where only Steam owners had troubles: Mystery updates like the one you're mentioning, download loops, problems that can't be circumvented because Steam doesn't allow the .exe to be run directly, messed-up files that caused weird stuff to happen... lots and lots of problems.

I've had the GOG version from the beginning and only encountered a couple bugs, myself. Pretty sure that's why they allow for that GOG backup in the first place—it's been the best version with the least problems from the very beginning. Annoying to have to download a lot, I know, but I seem to remember them already trying to work with Valve to fix it and nothing coming out of it. I wouldn't hold my breath for any kind of solution on that end.

Well, I uninstalled it all, downloaded it from gog, tried to start it up, then it downloaded patch 3.1, then I tried to start it up, then it downloaded patch 3.2, then I tried to start it up, then it downloaded patch 3.2 for Chinese or whatever (wut?!), then I started it up and it went past that point properly, I guess. Though it stutters like hell even when the frame rate is good like in the early areas... I guess a replay will have to wait for when I have a better PC...

Try the stutter fix: http://depositfiles.com/files/urohn7ntp

Used to use it, and can personally vouch for it. You just put the two files in your Witcher 2/bin folder and the stuttering is (more often than not) fixed.