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PURE VISUAL MAGIC!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 129 / 136
Date: October 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is the most awaited fantasy cRPG in the past 2 years. For most part, IT DELIVERS!
THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL cRPG GAMES I HAVE EVER PLAYED!

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? Much more than FAR CRY or FABLE. Nevertheless, quests and side-quest still have to be completed and, 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 (remember NWN2...) auto-placement can get to your nerves as it targets your character even if that is not the most logical option. Second, the controls. They need getting used to as the fighting combos are easily ruined by clicking out of sync. You do eventually get the hold of it, however it keeps glitching.

Whereas the BALDUR's GATES saga was story-heavy but (by today standards) visually lacking and the NEVERWINTER NIGHTS series was found, well, wanting in both aspects, THE WITCHER is the dream cRPG that BIOWARE was supposed to be capable of releasing all along. Finally it is here.

RECOMMENDED!

PS:
It has come up in the readers' comments, so I feel I should warn that this is the CENSORED version (the original version has some nudity and more...realistic language). Obviously, once more, ATARI believes America to be violence-insatiable yet sexually-immature.
I understand that these issues are important to many parents and they do have the right to raise their children as they see fit. Nevertheless, I would rather BOTH versions were available to chose from.
The uncensored version is available in Europe (you could try amazon.uk).

One big flaw but otherwise an excellent PC RPG

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 118 / 139
Date: November 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first....
The engine:
The one big flaw is the load/save times. Everybody hates it and everybody should. The game is easily worth the annoyance that comes with this, but c'mon people...learn to optimize your code! By the end of the game I kept a magazine at my computer which allowed me to tolerate it better...I recommend you plan ahead and do the same. I also had about one crash/ 6 hours gameplay. If you include an occasional combat lock (character would enter a tragic stutter loop, especially when pinned against impassable terrain and monsters) it came to about one forced reload / 3 hours. I don't consider that too bad for RPGs...it just isn't possible to test everything for every computer. Of course, the annoyance factor for a crash is way higher when reloading takes forever. On the flip side I never had to go farther back than one save because of a plot break.

Graphics:
Very good. Not groundbreaking, but immersive and high quality. I found myself chasing a bunch of pigeons just to watch them take off and climb higher and higher into the sky. The sunset is beatiful and lights up the whole sky. I started with the settings on high until the additional load-times outweighed the eyecandy enjoyment (about halfway through).

The combat system(gameplay):
Innovative and interesting. The attack chaining system is good, though a little unfair how easy some enemies are 'stun-locked.' Magic and swordplay interact well. They both become very powerful, but not too fast to be uninteresting. I highly recommend playing the game on hard to keep it interesting though...hard forces you to use alchemy to survive. This triumverate (sword, sorcery, alchemy), makes combat and character development very engaging. There is more than one way to conquor the system. The character has one MAJOR advantage though...speed. You can easily outrun anything. While some combats were a struggle, I could usually start running while under the influence of the 'speed healing' potion and ultimately win against more powerful enemies. Also, the game does depend on a few basic click skills. If you get stuck on one it could be very frustrating. Be sure your graphic settings do not kill your mouse timing. Also, IMHO the over the shoulder camera is far superior to the others...for all aspects of the game.

Inventory system:
Some good choices, some mediocre ones. Keeping quest items separate was a stroke of genius. You never have to worry about dropping a primary plot item. Treating big items (weapons and armor) separate from little ones (alcohol, food, greases) is a mixed blessing. There is no way to sell or delay choosing between weapons. They provide you with generous inn storage, but your on person storage is more limited. Personally I think they should go all or nothing (either very realistic like Stalker, or total conveinence (unlimited secondary items...unlimited weapons and armor would be going too far). However, there was clearly significant thought put into the whole system and it shows.

Storyline:
Slightly on the linear side, but there is still a strong sandbox element. The real strength is how your early choices impact the game later. It makes you think about the big choices for a long time because they really matter. Sometimes the consequences are very orthogonal, other times they are more predictable. There are a good number of interesting sidequests. Of special side quest note is the very 'notches on the bedpost' type set of cards that you collect for your 'secondary' conquests. While this is somewhat lewd, it is a very nice touch which adds alot of color to the game. Gambling and boxing are also secondary conquests which add alot of color. Very nice distractions from the main plot yet different from the standard FedEx side-quests. Because of the long range effect of plot choices, replayability is somewhat all or nothing. Reloading and trying the other choice works well for dialog options but not for plot twists. If you are a completist, prepare to be sucked in for a LONG time.

The verdict:
The real strength of the game is how it balances the different RPG elements. In this area it is amongst the best RPGs of all time. Most RPGs usually fail somewhere. Some lack a driving primary story that alters the world and choices that matter (Oblivion); some have character or combat development flaws (gothic 2...ever play a mage?); some are HORRENDOUSLY buggy (gothic 3); some are too linear (final fantasy). No game is perfect and much is a matter of taste, but most RPG gamers will greatly appreciate this offering...as long as they are patient with the loadtimes.
4.5-5 stars for the game. Subtract a star for the aggravating load times = solid 4 star game.

Excellent Story, Excellent Visuals, Excellent Dialogue

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 65 / 85
Date: November 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

As a fan of some European games such as the Gothic series, I got my hopes up pretty high when I heard this one was making it into the States. I was a bit disheartened to learn that the U.S. version is somewhat censored (self-censored by the publisher, not the government or ESRB), and owning the uncensored version I can tell you that the differences are mostly minor and do not detract overall from the story.

Being built on the NWN engine, you wouldn't know it. The entire rendering engine has been replaced, the control scheme is very different, and virtually the only thing I can say I recognized were some of the item highlights and inventory selection. Instead of tilesets, the developer designed each area in 3DSMax, and imported them into the engine.

The results are very fresh and unique areas, and each area has the 'look' that the developer envisioned.

I have not read the books by the Polish author who came up with the idea, and I do not believe they are yet available here in the U.S., but I do have to say that the story is very engaging, the characters are believable, the interaction and choices are real, and this is a very 'deep' RPG which forces you to make real choices that have no apparent right or wrong answer.

The world isn't black and white, and most RPGs are. Not this one - every choice is shades of gray, and you will find it difficult to make decisions, sometimes which bear down to the lesser of two evils.

If I had to compare it to other games, I'd say you had the story telling ability of Gothic, the feel of Knights of the Old Republic, and a bit of unique feel to the game.

I believe this is worth the purchase, and even though I think the title of the game might put some people off, you won't be disappointed.

There are no bugs to speak of, though a patch is available for download which fixes some minor annoyances.

In all, I think this is a gem that may be overlooked by some at first glance, but for those who pick it up it will be one of those games you fondly remember as among your favorites.

Exciting story that is painfully programmed

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 16 / 21
Date: January 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

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.

ENCRYTION CODE WON'T LET ME FINISH GAME

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: December 14, 2007
Author: Amazon User

First, great visuals, interesting story. But....two quest characters failed to spawn for me in chapter one. That means I can go no further. Researching the community pages for The Witcher reveals others also have this problem. It seems this problem is related to an encryption code error that prevents even some legitimate game disks from loading these quest characters early in the game as a piracy prevention scheme. So, I am stuck in chapter one.

This may only apply to the uncensored version of the game, the one I
bought.

EDIT UPDATE 12-27-07
I finally got the game to work. Here's what I did. I installed patch 1.2 (latest patch released just prior to Christmas), started the game all over again (took an hour or so to replay into chapter one) and I always start the game by reinserting the disk instead of leaving the disk in the drive between plays. Now the two main quest RPCs appear!!! Researching the community pages for this game indeed revealed that the game developers (CdProjekt) hired a European security company (TAGES) to install an anti-pirate scheme. It works by not allowing two key RPGs from respawning later in the game if you have started the game using a pirated copy. So, one can not finish the game with a pirated copy but a pirate will presumedly have played it enough to want to buy a legit copy.
Unfortunetely, many folks with legitimate copies also had this problem (me included). Writing to CdProjekt or Atari(US distributor), or TAGES (Security company) got me no usefull responses. Actually, no response from either CdProject (sent to two DEVs) or Atari (sent twice). The email response from TAGES was so poorly written in english, I could not decipher it's meaning.
So this remains a bitter sweet review. Even though they finally fixed the problem (I suspect the new patch), I have also learned that Cdproject and Atari have absolutely no usefull customer service to help someone when a problem occurs. Unlike Bethesda (Morrowind/Oblivion) and Ubisoft (Silent Hunter/Sturmovik IL2 series sims) who always answered me within one day with solutions or recommendations to my querries, Cdprojekt/Atari did not even respond that they will look into the matter. Hope this helps.
02/13/08 Final Update
I thought patch 1.2 fixed everything but I was wrong. When I started chapter 4 of the game, it started crashing constantly, every 5 minutes. I was just about to give up when I went back to the community pages and researched if anyone else was having similar issues. Sure enough a player named Mobidoy had the crashing problem and suggested modifying your vista machine. Go to the community pages and search Mobidoy to get the specifics (go to The Witcher Official site. Navigate to the forum pages. Select search. Type in "mobidoy". Scroll down to "Things to try to get the game running on vista".). You may not have to do them all but following Mobidoy's steps difinitely helped me. NO MORE CRASHES. The steps involve turning off user accounsts, increasing user Va, removing Enable Write Caching on the hard drive, disable visual theme and desktop composition. It seems like alot of mods but I did it in just a few minutes. I have not noticed any bad effects with my new vista machine or with any other software on the machine. My hat is off to Mobidoy for sharing the fixes. They really worked and probably helped my computer's overall performance.

Ridonkidonk

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: November 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I had never heard of the Witcher when my roomate brought home a copy of this game. Never read a book, etc etc.

I'm freaking hooked. This game is a great blend of "role playing" and real time action. A lot of games are getting closer to melding the strategic/action element, and this is probably the best one I've played so far.

I'm going to play this for at least a month. I was bummed about Hellgates online hiccups, but now I don't care. I can wait until they iron out their problems. Shoot, I can probably wait longer. This is an awesome, awesome game.

PS (I am interested in what the euro differences are. If anyone knows if they are significant, let me know. I'd go so far as to buy another version of the game - or even pay for a "de-censored" patch.)

Best RPG in YEARS!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: January 14, 2008
Author: Amazon User

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.

Completely engrossing game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: January 14, 2008
Author: Amazon User

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.

The Dreadful Aurora Engine

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 17 / 27
Date: November 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

***Revised since the initial review with the patch 1.2***

I reserved this game after the promising previews released by many medium. Once the installation is completed, I was in for a shock.

The game is quite linear, and many times you are confined to one small section of the worldmap until you complete enough essential quests to advance to the next level. The game is divided into several chapters. Within limit, you can do side quests any order you choose to or completely ignore them. To emphasize the strong narrative drive and more character-driven game, certain sacrifice of freedom is understandable. Not all RPGs should be TES (The Elder Scrolls) series. What cause the serious flaw of the game is the engine that was used to create the game.

The immersion is constantly broken and hindered by horrific engine called 'Aurora Engine'. What could have been an impressive game is seriously marred by the dreadful 'Aurora Engine' by Bioware. Although the Polish game developers 'CD Projekt' modified 'Aurora Engine', they inherited all the shortcoming of the engine such as long loading time, framerate issue, bad camera angle, etc.

The biggest problem caused by this God-awful engine is the loading time. You thought the loading time in 'NWN 2' was bad. The excessive loading times last from 30 seconds to upward of 2 minutes. It's bad enought that you do need to see the loading screen between indoor and outdoor environment, but God. I've never experienced such a long loading time since 'Gothic 3'. It breaks the immersion since you spend more time staring at your loading screen than traversing a tiny section of the game map at a time. Games like 'Oblivion' and 'Two Worlds' put the entire 'absolutely gigantic in-game map' on a single loading within 10 seconds, why does 'The Withcher' requires longer than 2 minutes to load small section of in-game map? Although 'Gothic 3' has arguably the worst loading time in the history of CRPG, once loading is done you don't have loading areas ever until you are dead. As often as you need to move back and forth into diffrent loading areas in 'The Witcher', this is quite a back-breaker.

***Revision Begins***
With the patch 1.2, the loading time is significantly reduced, however, the initial loading takes still longer than 1 min close to 2 sometimes. Loading into smaller area takes about 10 seconds, but coming out still takes 20 to 30 seconds. The loading time is now definitely bearable, but still too long with all that required frequent loadings.
***Revision Ends***

Almost equally problemetic is the camera angle. None of the three-available camera is good enough. Furthermore, it is really difficult to adjust the camera position within the already-confined range of the camera. At least in 'NWN2', the gamer had the ability to adjust the angle of the camera.

Then comes the awful 'floating in the air' feel issue just as in 'NWN2'. This issue will take tolls even on the most powerful computer rigs currently available, and lowering your video options will hardly improve the matter. This is non-specs specific symptom caused by lack of optimization rather than serious stuttering framerate drop caused by lack of computer horsepower. Once loading is completed, the framerate itself is very steady and the game runs very smooth without hiccup or tearing.

Besides all the inherited evils from 'Aurora Engine', the combat mechanics is broken. I give credit to the developers for trying to innovate RPG combat mechanics by combining turn-base / menu-driven combat and hack-and-slash click-fest combat. Although it works in theory, the gamer will be too preoccuppied to connect the combo attack, they miss out on combat animation altogether. The problem here is without constantly connecting chains of combo attack, you will not be able to carry out any attack, so you have to pay attention to on-screen signals to time your mouse-clicking. At least in clickfest combat, you can fix your eyes on the animation and enjoy.

It's a shame, because this game has some impressive plotline and depth of characters and conversation that hasn't been seen since 'Planescape: Torment'. Past the aforementioned flaws, there are plenty of good gaming to be had, but what flaws the gamers are asked to overcome.

Maybe some prefers isometric, bird's eye view camera angle deep into the 21st century. Many people claims to be a hard-core RPG gamers, and are proud to enjoy the limited camera angle, uninvolving combat, and clumsy menu interfaces. They wear them as if it were the badge of honor. I still have the original copies of every single 'Ultima', 'Baldur's Gate', 'Fallout', 'Diablo' series along with 'Planescape: Torment'. I enjoyed them in the past, and I'll cherish the awesome memories of them in the back of my mind, but I've moved on. In the 20th century, they were more than acceptible because of the limitation of the technology. I am forever ruined by non-linear, open-ended, free-form RPG such as TES, Two Worlds, and Gothic series. Heck, even some 2D isometric CRPGs like 'Divine Divinity' and 'Sacred Gold' offer huge non-linear, open-ended, free-form game world that require no loading. As much as I enjoy many games made by 'Bioware' engines, I really hate the fact that their games always give me this confined, limited feel due to the modular nature of the game world. If I have to give up nonlinear gameplay, then I'll have the grandeur of Final Fantasy series anytime of the day. If I have to give up more up close and personal combat over 'point and click with mouse', then I might as well just give up RPG altogether and enjoy the ever-terrific 'Total War' series.

For those who can overcome the flaws of the game, character design is delicate and well-drawn, the environment is beautiful, dialogues are well-written, combat animation is exciting and various, and most of all, the story is distinctively different from the typical RPG elements. Choices are plentiful during the conversations. Many will affect the outcome in the future. The game is a spiritual succesor of the RPG classic 'Planescape: Torment'. If you ever played the game, you have some idea of what to expect. The overall production value is exceptionally outstanding, and the game is nicely polished. It is truly a shame because this game could have been one of the best RPG game without in-game technical flaws, and these are flaws patches cannot fix.

Classic of the Genre

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: November 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The Witcher will punish you. And you will like it. It will annoy, perplex and frustrate you. You will curse the 90's era inventory system. Get dizzy with the wonky camera. Marvel at how poorly the UI supports the crafting of potiions. Wonder at a character advancement system that forces everyone to be a generalist. You'll squint at the almost useless minimap and be thankful because it is the only thing that shows the many invisible terrain boundaries. You'll laugh, then cry, at quicksaves taking up to a minute to finish. And you'll curse when you crash and the games random autosave last backed you up two hours ago. Most of all, you will feel you're life slipping away as you stare at the loading screen for minutes at a time. During the load times you will catalog the games many faults in your head and wonder why you play it.

The Witcher sucks you in like few other games. If you ever enjoyed an RPG, get The Witcher and give it three hours. The next 50 will be pure bliss. Top five all time RPGs, easily, and in terms of immersiveness it's at number one. It is hard to describe how it all comes together to pull of this amazing illusion of a real world populated with real people that you are really affecting. You need to see for yourself.

Update: Load and save times are vastly improved as is stability with the latest patches. These are by far the most serious problems so now the game is that much better.

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