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65 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
GAMING AS IT SHOULD BE!, September 20, 2008
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
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!
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45 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The RPG of the year if not the decade, September 21, 2008
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
You are Geralt, the wife wolf, biologically enhanced with super reflexes and healing powers, magic, alchemy and the sword are at your disposal, and there are monsters everywhere, which is good for you, it's your to kill them.
The first "Witcher" released last year turned a lot of heads and turned a lot of gamers off as well. Sure the graphics are hyper-realistic, the fighting system dynamic blending RPG and Action together in a way similar but superior to "Diablo" or "Neverwinter Knights" and the story is epic, complex and ripe with side-quest, complex characters and decisions that really make a difference in how the game unfolds, but the glitches. The first Witcher was a mess of ultra long loading times, cloned NPG's, annoyingly repetitive and stifled dialogue that cloaked the brilliant game and sent some gamers back to the store for refunds.
The new "Witcher" is free to customers with the original disk, I opted however to buy it again. Why? Because the "Enhanced Edition" comes with a 112 pg guide (which is unfortunately small enough to fit in a DVD box) as well as a nice fold-out map. A game editor, new quest and two CD's of music from or inspired by plus a print book of a short story from which the game and characters arose. Again, all this is available in digital form for free to those who purchased the old version, but I wanted the print copies.
So, the pros? Well, the loading times are vastly cut, but the game takes up to a WHOPPING 13 GIGS of HD space and a minimum of 9. Most of the dialogue has been re-written and re-recorded to great effect, this is all good. The cut scenes are still boring to watch, though a little more movement has been added. Overall, the presentation and loading issues are all solved and extra quest are always good and welcome. If you're in the middle of the game you can update now and keep playing your old saved games, you don't have to start over. They also added and auto-sort system for you items and alchemy ingredients.
The Cons? The game takes up 13 gigs of space on a full install and still requires the disk to run. The game claims to be optimized for x64 and dual processors, but I have to make sure everything on my notebook is shut down to run the game with decent frame rates, version 1.3 ran at a better frame rate for me. This version seems to take more resources, I don't know why.
Now, what systems am I running on? I have two. The first is my notebook. I run a Turion x64 dual-core @1.8 X 2 ghz, 4 Gig 4-4-4-12 ram, 7200rpm sata 100gig hd, on a 1680 X 1050 hi-def monitor but I have the Witcher settings @ 1280 X 800. Runs 25 - 45 FPS as long as all other programs are shut down, including the side-bar and back-ground programs.
My other system is a custom desk-top I built myself.(updated 10/20/09) I have an ASUS M3N HT DX MOBO with a Phenom Black x64 2.6ghz true quad-core, 8 gig 5-5-5-15 ram and 2 GTX250 SLI cards with 2gig DDR4 Ram. Running at full graphics at 1440 X 900 resolution the game is smooth and frame rates are 60fps steady. Still, the video cut-scenes look jagged (there are verticle lines on the people.)
As for the gameplay? This looks a lot like a "Diablo" style game, but it's not. "The Witcher" is a game about story and characters, an old school RPG. The Witcher is what gamers who are tired of MMOG and FPS games are looking for. This is definitely a game for fans of "Final Fantasy" or even "Zelda". This game is an addiction, it sucks you right in and keeps you hooked. The game has three levels of difficulty and I highly suggest starting with "easy" so you can focus on the story and exploration and save the harder levels for you second time around. Why? Because the harder levels require more alchemy and fighting skills, it's longer and more frustrating and if you want to experience the narrative without being hindered by trying to become stronger and better stocked constantly, then easy is the way to go. I also prefer the OTS mode, I use an optical track-ball mouse that gives me great 360 degree movement.
Overall, excellent game, just exceptional, but a huge resource hog that needs a powerful PC to look really good and will translate well to a PS3 if they ever go that way. If you like RPG's then this is the must own this year, if not this decade.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesomeness, October 13, 2008
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the best cRPG of all time. No joke. With the Enhanced Edition out, the flaws that detracted from the gameplay, and gave games like NWN, (only because of the vast user-created modules), and Planescape a chance to compete, there are no longer any RPGs in the Witcher's class, let alone with a similar grade. Okay, bad analogy, but it works.
You play as Geralt, a white-haired witcher, (read- monster slayer), who has lost his memory, and has apparently been raised from the dead. Despite this non-original start, the rest of the game seems to go out of its way to make up for it. (Don't worry about spoilers, you find this out in the opening cutscene.) The sheer enormousness of the world, and the multitude of NPCs, (which is my one and only gripe with the Witcher, that their aren't enough models, and you end up having someone talking to themselves), that you interact with on a frequent basis, makes you feel like you know them.
The world that The Witcher is set in is a dark and gritty world, with racism and genocide in it, along with language that would curl your mother's hair, and quite a few unnecessary sex scenes. Pretty much every woman you meet is trying to jump your bones. That said, there is a believable reason for this promiscuity, besides simply attracting the 13-year-old Nerd demographic of gamers, which, however, I will not share here, as it would be a moderate spoiler, and some people might not like me for that.
The fights are simply awesome, whether you are chopping a character's head off, or slitting his throat from a stranglehold, or repeatedly stabbing him with a dagger while he writhes on the ground, well, you get my point. The combos make combat interesting, while not too hard like some button-mashing excuses for gameplay that pass as good RPGs nowadays, (Read- Too Human), and yet keeps the combat from becoming a simple point and click, (Neverwinter Nights).
The plot is incredible, and I had to play through it twice before I understood all of its ramifications.
The fact that CDRP took the time to re-release the entire game, fixing all of its flaws, and most importantly, ALLOW ANYONE WITH THE ORIGINAL GAME TO UPGRADE TO THE ENHANCED EDITION FOR NO COST, says a lot positive about this small company.
This brings me to a practical point. If you want to save $7, buy the original Witcher, then go the site and download the EE for free. Of course, then you don't get the EE's extras, but now its up to you whether they are worth $7.
Back to the final component of this review, the D'jinni adventure creator, which to my knowledge, has already been used to create 3 add-on modules, (granted they are the official ones, but it shows what can be done), and given the Witcher's enormous fanbase, i wouldn't be surprised to see something like NWN's immense and varied community of module builders spring up for the Witcher, so that you can have limitless adventures playing as Geralt, or even as another character, perhaps one of your own making, in future modules.
Fun- 6/5
Overall Rating- 5/5
As a postscript, some people have been spreading the rumor that this game comes with DRM, its not true, well, not in the way you are thinking. It comes with Tages, which is a program that is designed only to check to make sure the CD is in the drive before you start the game up, to prevent cracked copies, and is nothing like an invasive protection system such as Starforce. I am pretty sure the new patch even removed this feature, but don't quote me on that.
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