Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:57 am
(Before I get into the review, this game hasn't been getting the attention it deserves, so I want to say up front that if you like RPGs, you should go out and buy The Witcher. Right now, go. What else is out right now? Nothing. It's the spring and nothing comes out in the spring. Well, ok, GTA 4 is coming out in a few weeks, but c'mon, you'll have that beat in a week or two. Then what? The Witcher is fucking epic and could be played for months if you followed all the side missions.)
I haven't reviewed anything in a while, and I'm not done with the game yet, but let me throw out a review of The Witcher. I believe I know enough about the game at this point to do it justice.
The Witcher is a single player RPG set in a world under attack by mysterious forces. You play Geralt, a witcher who has lost his memory. Witchers are essentially monster bounty hunters. The twist is that they themselves are monsters of sorts.
When you first boot the game up, let the cinematic play, it's pretty bad ass and actually sort of important to the story. Once you do start a game, you might find it's got a bit of a learning curve, but not a terribly steep one. It's just that the battles are a bit different...but the same...hard to explain, but I can say it works well.
You start off with other Witchers for the training portion of the game until the story gives you a logical reason to set off on your own.
One thing that is very cool in this game is that your decisions affect the story. In fact, during this opening chapter, you make one of those decisions. You have to decide, during a battle, which person to go help and that decision has ramifications throughout the game. For those of you who love this sort of "choice" or like to replay through games, you're golden. For people like me who like to see and do everything on a single run through, it can be tough to figure out which is going to benefit you in the end.
In fact, my biggest complaint about the game is that it probably gives you too much freedom. Be aware that this game was designed by people who figured true RPG players were going to be their audience so they don't nerf much here. This can lead to tasks where it takes a bit longer to figure out what to do or missed opportunities.
For example: in the prologue, I spent 5 minutes trying to figure out what I was supposed to be doing to defeat a certain enemy. Once I realized it, the fight was over rather quickly and easily. Also, in the first chapter, I had the chance to meet up with this chick and fuck, but I didn't do everything properly to get there.
I'm now in Chapter 3 (it's a long game), and I did some light reading over at gameFAQs.com to see what I missed from the first two chapters and I did miss some things mainly because I didn't yet know the ins and outs of how this world worked. But that's ok because more so than any RPG I've ever played, this game screams replayability.
Oh, and did I mention "fuck" earlier? Yes, you fuck. In fact, there are a LOT of opportunities to have sex in the game, and with each conquest, you get a playing card of sorts showing the woman you had sex with in a state of undress. Now it should be noted that the original version actually has adult versions of those playing cards, including an adult version of the actual scene. With the American version, the scene of you screwing plays behind the card you get and it's mainly a blurry CGI of Geralt kissing a woman. For you perverts...so everyone reading this...there are two patches to "correct" this issue.
And not just that issue. Apparently, the story is MUCH more fleshed out in terms of dialogue in the game's original language, Polish. I know one of the patches brings all the entire game's original content back into play, while another brings in the adult stuff for the U.S. audience, but I'm not certain if it helps to fill in the additional dialogue.
I would love to see what didn't get translated because I think the story is excellent as it stands.
Back to gameplay, let me discuss some of the easy stuff:
-The graphics are nice for an RPG. I mean, don't expect any Crysis type of effects, but RPG fans know better. I don't know that I've encountered a single issue with graphics.
-The camera I've had a problem with, but it's not a deal killer. usually, it works fine, but there have been a few times during fights where it puts something between my eyes and the action.
-The sound is excellent. Nothing more to say.
-The controls are a touch different, as I stated previously, but they work really well. I could describe it as a combination of Diablo style action and the typical RPG tactics. You can fight battles in real time or use the pause button to be more tactical, your choice.
The monsters are a mixed bag with some being pretty awesome and others being annoying as fuck. The designers used one monster a LOT and they know it as they did insert an item into the game that's a "repellent" for this particular breed.
In terms of levels and skills, when you gain levels, you get skill points to spend, ala Diablo.
Overall, The Witcher is an RPG made for experienced RPG players and more mature gamers. Vastly different from what you'd get from any console RPG where most of the characters are 14 and travel with cartoon dogs or something equally stupid. The gameplay is rock solid and the storyline is exceptional with deep characters. There is a LOT to do here and I'd probably recommend having a walkthrough nearby to consult just so you don't miss anything if you ony plan to play through once.
9 out of 10
I haven't reviewed anything in a while, and I'm not done with the game yet, but let me throw out a review of The Witcher. I believe I know enough about the game at this point to do it justice.
The Witcher is a single player RPG set in a world under attack by mysterious forces. You play Geralt, a witcher who has lost his memory. Witchers are essentially monster bounty hunters. The twist is that they themselves are monsters of sorts.
When you first boot the game up, let the cinematic play, it's pretty bad ass and actually sort of important to the story. Once you do start a game, you might find it's got a bit of a learning curve, but not a terribly steep one. It's just that the battles are a bit different...but the same...hard to explain, but I can say it works well.
You start off with other Witchers for the training portion of the game until the story gives you a logical reason to set off on your own.
One thing that is very cool in this game is that your decisions affect the story. In fact, during this opening chapter, you make one of those decisions. You have to decide, during a battle, which person to go help and that decision has ramifications throughout the game. For those of you who love this sort of "choice" or like to replay through games, you're golden. For people like me who like to see and do everything on a single run through, it can be tough to figure out which is going to benefit you in the end.
In fact, my biggest complaint about the game is that it probably gives you too much freedom. Be aware that this game was designed by people who figured true RPG players were going to be their audience so they don't nerf much here. This can lead to tasks where it takes a bit longer to figure out what to do or missed opportunities.
For example: in the prologue, I spent 5 minutes trying to figure out what I was supposed to be doing to defeat a certain enemy. Once I realized it, the fight was over rather quickly and easily. Also, in the first chapter, I had the chance to meet up with this chick and fuck, but I didn't do everything properly to get there.
I'm now in Chapter 3 (it's a long game), and I did some light reading over at gameFAQs.com to see what I missed from the first two chapters and I did miss some things mainly because I didn't yet know the ins and outs of how this world worked. But that's ok because more so than any RPG I've ever played, this game screams replayability.
Oh, and did I mention "fuck" earlier? Yes, you fuck. In fact, there are a LOT of opportunities to have sex in the game, and with each conquest, you get a playing card of sorts showing the woman you had sex with in a state of undress. Now it should be noted that the original version actually has adult versions of those playing cards, including an adult version of the actual scene. With the American version, the scene of you screwing plays behind the card you get and it's mainly a blurry CGI of Geralt kissing a woman. For you perverts...so everyone reading this...there are two patches to "correct" this issue.
And not just that issue. Apparently, the story is MUCH more fleshed out in terms of dialogue in the game's original language, Polish. I know one of the patches brings all the entire game's original content back into play, while another brings in the adult stuff for the U.S. audience, but I'm not certain if it helps to fill in the additional dialogue.
I would love to see what didn't get translated because I think the story is excellent as it stands.
Back to gameplay, let me discuss some of the easy stuff:
-The graphics are nice for an RPG. I mean, don't expect any Crysis type of effects, but RPG fans know better. I don't know that I've encountered a single issue with graphics.
-The camera I've had a problem with, but it's not a deal killer. usually, it works fine, but there have been a few times during fights where it puts something between my eyes and the action.
-The sound is excellent. Nothing more to say.
-The controls are a touch different, as I stated previously, but they work really well. I could describe it as a combination of Diablo style action and the typical RPG tactics. You can fight battles in real time or use the pause button to be more tactical, your choice.
The monsters are a mixed bag with some being pretty awesome and others being annoying as fuck. The designers used one monster a LOT and they know it as they did insert an item into the game that's a "repellent" for this particular breed.
In terms of levels and skills, when you gain levels, you get skill points to spend, ala Diablo.
Overall, The Witcher is an RPG made for experienced RPG players and more mature gamers. Vastly different from what you'd get from any console RPG where most of the characters are 14 and travel with cartoon dogs or something equally stupid. The gameplay is rock solid and the storyline is exceptional with deep characters. There is a LOT to do here and I'd probably recommend having a walkthrough nearby to consult just so you don't miss anything if you ony plan to play through once.
9 out of 10