The Witcher 3

Mostly PC, but console and mobile too
Leisher
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Post by Leisher »

Sold!
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

Your moms were working overtime.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
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TheCatt
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Post by TheCatt »

Malcolm wrote:
Your moms were working overtime.
If my mom can get sex mocap work, then more power to her.
It's not me, it's someone else.
TheCatt
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Post by TheCatt »

Witcher 3 will have 16 pieces of DLC.

All of them will be free.
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Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm »

XBone living up to its name.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Leisher
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The Witcher 3

Post by Leisher »

TheCatt wrote: Witcher 3 has 16 hours of sex motion capture.
Can confirm. You bang a LOT of women in the game. The sex scenes are so long that during them I found myself asking "Is this really necessary?" That being said, some of the sex scenes are part of very well written and twisting romantic stories. I'll give them this, they do the women right. The way they act, the voice acting, their motivations and attitudes, and the way they look are better than any other game.

In fact, there is a bit of a debate among the community as to which woman they choose in the primary storyline. I believe a shrink would have a great time dissecting how the primary women behave and the number of men attracted to each. For me, it was a no brainer. I'd be very curious to find out who some of you selected were you to ever play this game.

I'm currently thisclose to being done with it. I'm at the end of the main story with a mission to go, just finished the Hearts of Stone expansion, and will be finishing the Blood and Wine expansion next.

Let me hit Hearts of Stone before I discuss the main game. It's awesome and one of the best expansions to any game I've ever seen. The storyline is fucking tragic and the choices you make often come down to the lesser of two evils (a staple of The Witcher series). The main baddie(s?...no spoilers) is fucking great. It's a story that isn't original, but damn is it well told here. One of the missions during the storyline is very imaginative and fun. I won't spoil it, but I assure you it's nothing you've ever done in a game before. Yes, this expansion also introduces a really likeable lady friend. There are also very imaginative new monsters introduced whose difficulty is ramped up as you won't tackle this until you're level 30+, which means you've completed or nearly completed the main game.

Speaking of the main game, it's a ton of fun. It's like GTA, but in a medieval world. So open world where you can go where ever you want and do whatever you want in whatever order you want. Combat is fun with various ways to approach battles: Fast attacks, Strong attacks, Crossbows, Signs (magic), using the environment, etc. The battles with the standard baddies, particularly wolves and drowners, can get repetitive, but only if you go seeking them out or they're in your way. Your character can be customized to whatever playstyle you want. As you level up you get attribute points to spend in the various categories to match whatever play style you want, BUT only the skills you make active count, and you are limited there. I'm nearing the end and I've not even touched most of the various available skills. Seriously, around 70% are untouched. I could be playing this game in a VERY different way if I wanted to, but I went with fast attacks. How you play also affects what armor and weapon types you will craft, seek out, etc. throughout the game.

The story is really deep, involved, and prepare for cutscenes galore. Well it's Witcher 3 its got cutscenes galore. You may have a lot of cutscenes, but its got much more. I cannot possibly write "cutscenes" enough to make you understand. Here's all 13 hours of them, and that doesn't include the expansions!


Anyway, the story is that the lands you're in are at war. North vs. South. You won't come across any actual battles, but you will travel through battlefields filled with dead. Meanwhile, you're a Witcher, which is a person that gets mutated (intentionally) and trained to fight monsters. It makes you a killing machine. You are impotent and sans emotion. You can't be reasoned with. You can't be bargained with. And you absolutely will not stop, until the monsters are dead. You are searching the land for your ward, a young lass named Ciri who has disappeared with a very dangerous group chasing her, The Wild Hunt. Meanwhile, you get caught up in tons of politics, monster hunting contracts, investigations, and so on.

The biggest negative for me is it's been forever since I played the original, and I quit playing part 2 due to it just being too old and clunky. (I actually have a category in my Steam library for games that are just too old to enjoy.) Anyway, I've also never read the books. Thus, I had no idea who a lot of people were. Guys and gals would show up and they are supposed to invoke some reaction, but they didn't with me. It didn't hurt my enjoyment because the ensuing conversation would quickly get you up to speed on what sort of person they are and your relationship to them.

Special shoutout to the Bloody Baron for being one of the deepest and memorable characters in video game history. I actually allowed 5 kids to be killed and eaten just so I could get his best story line.

That's the other thing about this game, prepare to watch people die because of your decisions. This isn't "play evil" (sorry Mordigan!), this is "you can do this or do that, but people are fucked either way". Most decisions are a Sophie's Choice moment and there's a LOT of them. Some are part of discussion choices that you can mull over or google, if you're so inclined. Others are timed decisions that require you to respond within 3 seconds. Even more just depend on where you've gone, who you've talked to, and what missions you've done.

One of the most shockingly fun parts of the game is a card game within called Gwent. You've seen stuff like this added to games previously, but this one is very customizable and actually fun. Multiple decks give you lots of options, and not only are their gwent related missions, but to build your deck you need to go around and beat NPCs for special cards.

I'll return to discuss the ending of the main story if it changes my mind about the game. I'll definitely return to say something about the Blood and Wine expansion. Until then, I highly, highly, highly recommend this game. There is a monumental, metric fuckton of content. Soooooooooo much to do. I'm a completionist and have 251 hours of playtime on record. Maybe 4-5 hours of that is me watching a movie with the game sitting paused. The rest is legit play time. There's a reason it was a game of the year.

Great, great, great game. Currently $40 on Steam, but I think I got it for $19 during a sale. The value for that price is insane. Supposed to be 250 hours for completionists, 40 hours if you're a "rush through the story" person.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
Leisher
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The Witcher 3

Post by Leisher »

Finally, finally finished the game and the two expansions. Added all together this is the single best Open World RPG genre (GTA, Saints Row, Red Dead Redemption, etc.) game I've ever played. It also is very easily in the discussion for best video game ever made.

Steam says I played it for 349 hours. I'm a completionist and there wasn't a single ? left on any map. Nor were there any ! left indicating a mission waiting to be done. Granted, some of those hours are the game running while I'm watching movies, eating dinner, watching sports, etc., but the point is that if you get this (and make sure you get the expansions) there is a LOT of content. The variety of activities really helps add to the fun

The story telling is so deep. The missions are so perfectly layered and intertwined. So much work went into creating the narrative here. It's amazing. Your decisions not only affect things in the present, but also far into the future. So many times I entered missions only to discover the conditions are based upon things that happened, literally, hours of game time prior.

"Blood and Wine" is the best expansion for any game I've ever played. I don't know what it cost when it was first released, but it's got more content than a lot of full games. Some of the missions were simply brilliant. There is one mission that is fucking hilarious in how it sets up what takes place. There's a conversation that could be had between the designers and the players, and it works in game. Another thing about Blood and Wine is how alive the land feels. It's gorgeous, and the land is actually populated with more than just merchants surrounded by a small handful of NPCs.

I cannot say enough about this game and the expansions. So many more things I could discuss, but I don't want to spoil shit. If you don't buy and play the game, you don't deserve to hear about it. As consumers we should be supporting efforts like this one. These guys only skimped in one area: the whales (you'll see).

I actually want to start reading The Witcher book series now.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
TheCatt
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The Witcher 3

Post by TheCatt »

I went to install this game today, but realized I had never bought it.
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Leisher
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The Witcher 3

Post by Leisher »

You should, it's amazing.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
TheCatt
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The Witcher 3

Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote: You should, it's amazing.
Waiting for Summer Sale, or Winter Sale...
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Leisher
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The Witcher 3

Post by Leisher »

I'm certain there will be an Easter sale.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
TheCatt
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The Witcher 3

Post by TheCatt »

No cards with easter sale
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Leisher
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Post by Leisher »

Were there cards in the Lunar sale?
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
TheCatt
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The Witcher 3

Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote: Were there cards in the Lunar sale?
I think they are only on the 2 big sales.
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TheCatt
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The Witcher 3

Post by TheCatt »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waMkFIzvDpE
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Leisher
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The Witcher 3

Post by Leisher »

“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
TheCatt
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The Witcher 3

Post by TheCatt »

Leisher wrote:

One of the most shockingly fun parts of the game is a card game within called Gwent. You've seen stuff like this added to games previously, but this one is very customizable and actually fun. Multiple decks give you lots of options, and not only are their gwent related missions, but to build your deck you need to go around and beat NPCs for special cards.
Gwent is now released as a standalone app for iOS/Android (or, at least, iOS)
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Cakedaddy
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The Witcher 3

Post by Cakedaddy »

On sale at GOG for $15 for GOY. Worth?
Leisher
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The Witcher 3

Post by Leisher »

Honestly?

It's worth the full price of the base game and the full price of both expansions.

Easily one of the best games I've ever played. Read my review(s) above.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
TheCatt
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The Witcher 3

Post by TheCatt »

$5 at Epic right now, after you claim GTA V for free.
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