The Witcher
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Video Game Reviews of The Witcher
Customer Review: one of the best RPGs since Planescape: Torment or Diablo 2
Summary: 4 Stars
I almost did not try this game. It had a strange name, was foreign made, and several reviews I read complained that the interface was clumsy and storyline was confusing.
On a whim, I purchased it and I do not regret it one bit. The interface does take some time to get used to. The story line can be somewhat confusing at times about what you need to do next. At times, it almost reminds me of the early text-base games of the 1980's where you had to really think about what to do next. That makes it all the more interesting to me. Too many RPGs today are overly simplified, which I think is a shame and a major reason of the decline of single-player RPGs.
The Witcher is everything I have looked for in a RPG in the last few years: interesting, immersive storyline, excellent character development, rich mood-setting graphics, tons of side-stories & mini-games, and a HUGE world setting. The world has a depressing, gloomy, goth feeling which has a huge impact on the feeling of the game.
The Witcher is deep, and not the kind of game you can finish in one 12 hour sitting... or even multiple such sittings. There are so many side stories and quests that to just focus on the main quest and end-game would be a to miss out on most of the game.
It isn't, however, without some faults. As mentioned incessantly, the load times between areas can be long (15-30 seconds for major zones depending on your hardware). In today's instant gratification world is probably quite annoying to some. In defense of the game, the longer load times are between zones which happens rarely. There are load times any time you change rooms, but they are fairly quick (3-10 seconds). The views take some getting used to (strategic top-down, medium distance top-down, or OTS aka over-the-shoulder which I prefer). Also, choice of equipment and weapons is severely limited. Coming from the materialistic mentality of most modern RPGs, this was a bit of a shock to me... but come on, how many swords do you really need while taking on ghouls and demonic beasts?
Alchemy is a major part of the game (i.e. mixing potions, oils for coating swords with certain powers, or making bombs). It can be slightly annoying that you have to find a certain ingredient to make a certain potion to beat a certain part of the game.... but, to me, that is part of what makes the game so rewarding.
This game is definitely for the more mature crowd. The US version was censored for nudity, and I understand some of the "crudeness" was censored during translation from Polish to English. The US version still has plenty of the "crudeness" in the game. If possible, get the UK version of this game for full effect, although it will be minor. I have played both the US and UK versions of this game and don't really feel that the UK version is worth the extra effort if you are located in the US.
In summary, the story, side-quests, and immersion of The Witcher make this a must-have title for any RPG enthusiast.
Customer Review: Best RPG in YEARS!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is by far the best RPG I have played in years. I consider as one of my all times favorites along with Fallout, & Baldurs Gate. The story line is very rich & complex. The choices you make really DO AFFECT you & others. Realy, it is just a FUN overall experience. Customer Review: Completely engrossing game
Summary: 5 Stars
This review is for the 1.2 patched game- ignore reviews complaining about load times- the latest patch provided relief. (Would still like it a bit faster, but it was a vast improvement.)
It took me a while - restarting the prologue - to get into this game. But once I grasped the mechanics of the combat system and moved the story along, I have to say this is flat out one of the most engrossing rpg-type games I have ever played. You get dealt a character, rather than making your own, which I initially thought would be off-putting. Instead, because the game world is so diverse and Geralt's development is "flexible", I ended up with a protagonist that I became quite attached too. You quickly realize you have to make decisions - for the most part, no wimping out - pick a choice and live with it. And the game rewards you for smart gameplay - don't want to spend money on books, to learn about plants and animals? Start asking around... some useful info can be found in the unlikeliest places. You need to strategize in some of your battles as well - you can't just jump in swinging and chug a potion to stay alive. The alchemy system is wonderful - and they found a smart way to prevent the player from simply chugging potions and creating a boringly uber character. If you don't manage your potion imbibing, your toxicity increases and Geralt's effectiveness is reduced.
They gave the game world itself a lot of atmosphere. Each location has it's unique qualities, but the NPCs do go about and the place has the feel of being a dive section of a city, or a shoddy outskirts, or a seemingly bucolic island. The swamps are brutal (and a major complaint in the Cemetary Swamp - they overdid it on the drowners, to the point of ridiculousness.) The background language can be crude, but it suits the world that was created and does not feel particularly gratuitous.
Geralt was fun to develop... play him as a hound dog, bedding many a pretty wench (tastefully done, although the US version was afraid to show a nipple or two for fear of upsetting... the mature people who would play this game, I guess.) Make him a true cold-hearted witcher, or develop him to have a bit of a conscience and make decisions that will affect the story going forward. Or create him with some sort of middle ground - neither truly cold, but also still quite self-interested. Some of the decisions suck - there is no clear right or wrong, and it may be quite a bit further on in the story where you will see a result from one of your earlier choices.
For such a linear story, the game has replay-ability, because of the flexibility in developing Geralt and the changes you can make in the story will cause some events to change as well. After completing the game, I found myself actually sorry that it was over. (The ending narration is rather sad). As a result, I started a new game fairly quickly, wanting to see if I could keep Geralt more neutral this time around. The second go-round is as engrossing as the first (if a little easier, since you can play a bit smarter.) The opening and closing cinema cut-scenes are stunning and you'll end up watching them several times.
The game is tough on the default setting, but beatable. Geralt will die a few times, so save. There was some unstability in my game in the later chapters IV and V, with several crashes to desktop, which was frustrating. (and again, save frequently.)
I truly appreciate a game that makes me think, makes me like my heror in spite of his definite flaws, makes me work a bit and doesn't even attempt to handhold me through decisions. It even gave me a few laugh out loud moments - the voice acting is excellent and some of the dialog was great. It was one of my favorite gaming experiences to date.
Customer Review: One of the best RPG's in a long time
Summary: 4 Stars
This game is a ton of fun!!
Graphics: Amazing visuals in this game, from the detail of towns and cities to the rain. Crows flying overhead complete the picture. Just the general feeling of everything being alive is really something to experience. 5 stars to graphics.
Gameplay: The interface is very smooth and easy to use, and the controls are simple yet involving. The fighting is really really fun, and nothing like the monotonous hack and slash, button mashing of say...oblivion elder scrolls. There are tons and tons of characters to get involved with and you may find yourself a little overwhelmed at first with the number of quests. But not to worry, all tasks assigned to you flow smoothly together so that you wont find yourself getting annoyed at having to run all over the place. Characters are surprisingly life-like, and you wont find yourself just being able to short cut yourself through tasks by sleeping or waiting a little. Characters have schedules during there day that they adhere to, and wont just come back to their houses if you run in and out again. Once again really life-like. Your choice to support one group or person may find you ill favor with another, limiting your ability to buy certain items or get information, essentially changing how you succeed in quests. Leveling up is quick enough so that you dont spend hours wandering around and fighting monsters final fantasy style, and yet not so fast that you are all powerful right away. You get all your magic spells within 20 hours or so, allowing you to have fun with them instead of getting some at the end of the game with no chance to use them. The adult like ability to get layed is also amusing and a refreshing twist, although dont worry those easily offended...no nudity. This game is long but surprisingly not frustrating. Boss fights are more like hard monsters and not impossibly huge beasts that take hours of training to survive. Several mini game like dice, fist fights, and drinking are also fun. 5 stars to gameplay. Gameplay 5 stars
Audio: Absolutely amazing soundtrack!!! Interesting, well composed, not repetitive, and really reflects the dreary-ness of a post war wracked world, where money is hard to come by, and choices must be made between the lesser of two evils. Audio 5 stars.
Now you may have noticed that Ive given five stars to everything. So why the four star rating? Well, you need one hell of a computer to play this game even close to smoothly. And that of course could be the one reason that negates all the positive things. My brother recently purchased a brand new xps with 3gb ram, Intel core 2 duo 2.4Ghz processor and a 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT video card, and running the game on medium setting still skips once in a while, and during a boss battle had to turn setting down to low. Setting on high is not playable during some cut scenes and boss battles.
Customer Review: Exciting story that is painfully programmed
Summary: 3 Stars
The Witcher is an exciting RPG with an extremely interesting storyline. I mention this bit first because it is the game's biggest selling point... and because everything else in The Witcher is painfully flawed (even with the 1.2 patch installed). Let me put that out there again: EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE WITCHER IS PAINFULLY FLAWED. That's why this game is getting a 3 rating from me instead of a 5, and I'd go so far to say that, if I hadn't installed the patch, I'd have given the game a 1.5 at best.
The most frustrating thing I've found about The Witcher is that it is buggy. Prior to the patch, save games would often be destroyed for no apparent reason, so players would have to be extremely diligent in storing their data often and in multiple slots. Even after the patch, corruptions still occur - they just happen less frequently. As well, the game tends to crash during large fights (especially those preceded by cutscenes) - something that is EXTREMELY frustrating (and may have to do with the autosave feature).
But bugs are not the only failure in this game. The Witcher suffers from unoptimized code that runs poorly even on cutting-edge machines. The forced saving slows everything down, and load-times can be painfully slow. The graphics are decent, but not top-notch - they certainly aren't next-gen enough to be hogging the amount of resources that they do.
What is coded tends to be poorly thought-out and executed. Combat is sluggish and, even though there are two modes, both feel clumsy (especially when trying the "over the shoulder" mode). Inventory management is painful, and the tavern vaults quickly become storage nightmares because players can not control how the locker is organized. Stereotypical RPG barrels abound, filled with unrealistic amounts of treasure and other items you'd think people would miss if you just took them - too bad they don't! ::sigh::
The only saving grace of this game is the interesting story that develops around The Witcher as he adventures. Your character, a sort of supernatural Van Helsing that has seemingly returned from the dead, travels the world making one-liners and battling monsters while his memory slowly returns (yes, the influence of Planescape: Torment is obvious). Where has this dark hero been, and what impact will his previous and current actions have on the world? While most of the story is fixed, some choices DO have consequences, and alter the plotline to a degree. This adds a lot of enjoyment to the game, drawing the player in and making him/her care about what is going on.
Conclusion: When it works, The Witcher is an extremely enjoyable RPG. Bugs, unoptimized code, and poor design choices diminish a lot of the games enjoyment, however. 3 Stars.