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Immersive, intelligent and sexy
This is probably the best single player RPG I've ever played.
First the game play: You are a witcher, a human fighter/mage that has been trained and mutated for the specific purpose of fighting monsters. An opposing mage attacks your castle in the prelude/tutorial and your main mission is to find him and kill him. To achieve this you will travel around the game world and complete a variety of tasks. Some essential to the game play, some optional, some simply opportunities for the witcher to earn money by carrying out his trade: Killing monsters.
There are major differenced with other games, even those using the same bioware engine. There are no choices as far as class, race or alignment. You are a witcher, period. As far as the alignment, as the game box states:
There is no good or evil, only choices.
Many of the choices will have consequences further on in the game that may force you to follow one course or the other. This leads to great replay value. You may try different alternatives or different quests in the next game.
There is a great web forum that is very helpful available in both Polish and English.
About the censorship issue; it's no big deal. There are two versions available, and both can be purchased through Amazon. The North American version has the (little, tasteful) nudity taken out, the European version available through the third party sellers is uncensored. The differences are so minor as to be trivial however if you have the North American version, there is an unofficial "patch" available through the forum that turns it into the uncensored one. Probably not worth the effort.
The graphics are really good, and the game itself is immersive. Plays like a movie.
In the expanded edition there is also a game editor, but I have not tried it.
Can't wait for the sequel.
GAMING AS IT SHOULD BE!
Were I a member of the gaming Industry right now, I would be shamed to be taught what gaming should look and feel like and how it should be marketed by a small Eastern European company. Who of the multi-billion gaming "giants" ever went back to improve a released game? Yet, there you have it: thanks to CDPROJECT gaming as an art-form is still alive and kicking!
This was the most awaited fantasy cRPG in the past 3 years. Not only did the original deliver, but even more work has gone into truly improving it.
THIS WAS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL cRPG GAMES I HAD EVER PLAYED - AND NOW IT IS GORGEOUS!
The environments are detailed, realistic, and can be experienced from up close. Grass, flowers and tree branches moved in both FABLE and TITAN QUEST as well; these, however, seem so true I caught myself reaching for my...antihistamines! Weather affects and day-night alterations (you have to see the elongating shadows to believe them!) are just gorgeous! More importantly, these are not just eye-candy: certain NPCs and monsters appear only when the correct combination of time-of-day and weather coincide...The horizon is far and the clouds move in endless variations. It reminded me of the sky of the original UNREAL, another visually ground-breaking game at its time. PURE VISUAL MAGIC!
The character (Geralt) can master both sword-fighting and magic spells (what is known as a Warlock). To some die-hard RPG fans this may seem like heresy, nevertheless, keep in mind that multi-classing is not unheard off. The movement repertoire for both practices are impressively designed. Especially the sword-fighting, it is at par to any console action game. And the spells (both offensive and defensive ones) are not less impressive.
Free roaming? Yes and no. One can decide which parts of the map he will visit but loading is still needed to travel even annoyingly short distances. And since quests and side-quest still have to be completed, yes, eventually a subtle, yet ever present, directionality is present.
Looting and bartering? Aaah...yes, sort of. You practically never change the sword you start off with (although you do get to improve its abilities), whereas good armor is only a little easier to come by compared to PLANESCAPE. On the upside, you get to gamble, have romantic relationships (FABLE was full of great ideas after all!) and bribe for information, so trinkets have other uses as well.
Detailed character modifiers? Nothing like the AD&D rules. You gain talents (gold, silver & bronze) which you can spend to improve your fighting or magical abilities. Pretty much like the DIABLO or the TITAN QUEST abilities systems.
So, apart for the slight action-cRPG handicap, I have only two other objections. First, the...camera placement. Once more the atrocious Aurora Engine (remember NWN2...?) will keep auto-placing it where it is bound to get on your nerves - as it targets your character even if that is not the most logical option. Yes, this has indeed improved compared to the original but one cannot teach an old dog new tricks.
Second, the controls. They need getting used to as the fighting combos are still easily ruined by clicking out of sync. You do eventually get the hold of it, however it keeps glitching.
Nevertheless, its shortcomings are not enough to diminish the breath of fresh air this release brings to the scene. The Enhanced edition not only is a truly reworked game but it also comes full with detailed Manuals, beautiful Maps and all the extras that games used to come with in the good old days...
Whereas the BALDUR's GATES saga was story-heavy but (by today standards) visually wanting and the NEVERWINTER NIGHTS series was found, well, wanting in all aspects, THE WITCHER is the dream cRPG that BIOWARE was supposed to be capable of releasing all along but never did - and its current EA bedfellows surely put a stop to such aspirations now. That game, however, is finally here - and not from whom you would expect.
A tip of my hat to CDPROJECT for keeping the ART-FORM of Gaming alive. Well done indeed!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Good Stuff!
Out the gate, I really enjoyed this PC game. At its roots, it is a high voltage hack & slash with familiar (but new) inventory, potion creation and spell progression. The fighting part of the game is a cut above your average hack & slash - you must use timing, weapon and style selection to finesse your way through. The spell trees and potions are also a step above the usual. I liked the way game elements complemented each other. For instance: slaughter some big ugly, use their guts to make a potion which then gives you unique spell casting abilities. Story line is real good (uncensored - meh) and there are two unique paths to take with different quests being available through the two branches.
Price: $249.00
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