The Witcher
Geralt is going to kick your ass and sleep with your wife
Tags: Witcher (the) Categories: PC Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Dec 31st, 2007
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Witcher (the) (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Role-Playing | No | ||
 |
Those of us that grew up playing pen and paper RPGs will certainly appreciate what The Witcher has to offer. Unlike many of today’s games that throw in a lot of swearing, violence and perhaps a topless woman or two in order to demonstrate how “adult” they are, The Witcher tackles adult themes in an adult manner. Sure, there’s a fair bit of gratuitous and visceral adult trappings to be found here, but the game doesn’t simply wave a pair of breasts around saying “Look at me. I’m for adult gamers only.”
What many will first see is just how good The Witcher looks. The recommended specs are not going to tax many of today’s machines heavily, but it won’t play on too many older rigs. The graphics are really good, providing plenty of detail and displaying the broken world of the game’s setting.
 |
 |
It is this broken world that sets up the game’s story, rather than simply being a pretty backdrop. Yes, we have an amnesia cliché for the game’s protagonist, but it makes sense here and is integrated into the story and gameplay from the beginning. Players will need to go through and relearn much of what they need. As part of a group that has fallen out of favor, but still having a skill set that is needed, Geralt finds himself in some interesting situations.
Players can choose to play Geralt as a noble helper or a womanizing jerk with only money as a motivation for helping others. There isn’t a moral scale as can be found in games such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic or Fable, but instead this is more realistic allowing for situational changes rather than one of two moral paths to follow.
 |
 |
As for combat, it takes some getting used to, and if you’re like me and have a few games to juggle at a time, it can be frustrating. Instead of simply point and click combat, there’s a rhythm combination system in place where timing the mouse button to the swing of the sword is essential. By timing the sword movement wrong, players leave Geralt open for a counter-attack.
Swordplay isn’t the only form of attack Geralt has at his disposal. There are magic spells to be cast, but they aren’t as big a part of the game is with many other RPGs. That’s not to say that The Witcher is simply an endless series of hacking and slashing, but the combat emphasis is a bit more up close and personal.
 |
There is a very deep alchemy portion to the game as well. Plenty of options and whatnot to enhance various abilities are to be had. Of course a few quests for special ingredients will be necessary to undertake, but when you pop a game like this in your computer, you expect that – right? What makes The Witcher different is not necessarily what it does, but how. Geralt sits in front of an campfire and meditates. This is how players not only work the potion-making part of the game, but also how leveling up and assigning new skills is done. It is a much more realistic method than simply doing it all in the street in front of a merchant’s shop or in the middle of a battle.
 |
Unfortunately, The Witcher does have some problems. The autosave function is fairly useless, so save often. RPG players should be used to doing this anyway. The combat can be quite unforgiving, especially on the harder difficulty settings. While these two things are easily worked around, they do bear mentioning. However, the worst offense is the translation and repetitive conversations. There was a lot of effort put into the story, and for the most part it carries over here very well. At times (often enough to be a problem) the dialogue just doesn’t work right. Interacting with some of the villagers will net the same conversations over and over as well. This is a problem with most larger scale RPGs as well, but because the production values are so high throughout the rest of the game, it is especially notable here.
As for the game’s audio, the soundtrack is outstanding. The dialogue at times is also really good, but inconsistent – at times is devolves into a typical RPG over-earnest melodrama.
 |
 |
Overall, The Witcher is one of the best RPGs for grown-ups and while it may not change the genre, it certainly elevates it in terms of narrative.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Great story + Good music + Adult presentation without devolving into gimmicks + Immersive world |
8.9 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Combat difficult to get into - Inconsistent dialogue/translation |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| One of the better offerings in the genre and worth picking up. | |
[ Post the first comment | View related posts ]
Tags: Witcher (the)
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Dec 31st, 2007 and is filed under PC Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
