The Witcher: Enhanced Edition

At first I thought this was going to be just another generic RPG not bad but nothing that would stand out and wow me. After playing through the first chapter my jaw had hit the floor both from the rich combat system and engaging world. Few stories have drawn me in like this, this is on par with KOTOR in my book or a mass effect game.

Great game. Amazing value. Thank you GOG. I will buy Witcher 2 in the future and continue to support you. Thank you.

I purchased the box version of Witcher 1 a long time ago when it first came out, via a friend who's staying in United States at the time. It was an incredible experience, to say the least--crashes and bugs notwithstanding yet unfortunately and inevitably made me reluctant to finish it up, like many gamers and most of CDPR's fans, apparently. And then came The witcher 2. I was blown beyond the cloud with this one. So much that I was a bit disappointed to find it was rather short, somewhat "unfinished" and less epic than the first one did. The end game--I don't know, it felt somehow like a puff of smoke compared to the grand opening and middle in Prologue, Chapter I and II. I understand (and even rejoice) to the subtle hint that the story is indeed not supposed to finish in Witcher 2, that there will be more revealing and grandeur journey in Witcher 3 (a promise I hold so dear for CDProject to fulfill). As it is, The Witcher 2 remains one of the best and most entertaining game experience in my 16 years of gaming life. And as a side note, thanx to Witcher 2 I found the spirit to finish what I left of in Witcher 1--especially now with the existence of Enhance Edition via GOG and/or patch 1.4. Both cases bears a daunting download since I only have dial-up connection, but I persevered just for the sake of it. Back to my dream above... I'm seeing the possibility of remaking Witcher 1 using Witcher 2's 3d engine and mechanics. At the very least in realization by means of community's story mod. Heh, imagine how long one would undertakes such a project. It's insane, I know. But I'd imagine that should CDPR takes the opportunity, any fanboy would be more than willing to open their wallet again for this. I know I would. No question about it. Besides, it would serves to be a nice waiting medium until the release of Witcher 3, no matter how long it would looms on the horizon. Hhhh.....

The storyline and characters are excellent (for a crpg, obviously- we're still not really approaching novel quality). The dialogue writing/translation is a bit dubious at times, but even the voice-acting is quite good. My problem with it is the gameplay. I don't like the combat system at all (it is undeniably a bit weird- you won't find anything like it in any other game), and character development is very limited- you're basically constrained to two options: swordplay or signs. You can't even (effectively) use any weapon other than a sword.

I originally heard about The Witcher shortly after it had came out a few years back (07? 08?). I promptly downloaded it and....wasn't impressed. I played the first twenty or thirty minutes of the game and then deleted it a few weeks later after never giving it a try. Fast forward to a few months ago when I came across a sell of the game on Steam. I figured for the money why not give it an honest try for once. It's one of the best gaming decisions I have made in a long time! The story is nothing short of amazing. The way the smallest choices affect things in a big and unexpected way later on is...amazing. Extremely unique in the world of gaming where you usually have 2-3 very distinct paths that you can mindlessly follow (You know the ones I am talking about. Where every choice has 2-3 options. One clearly being good, one clearly being bad, one clearly being indifferent.). The Witcher doesn't have that. The choices don't paint a clear path to the future and that makes the game and story very interesting. It's 10 bucks. You spend almost that much on one meal. Give the game an honest shot and I can promise you that it'll be placed in one of the top spots in your "best games of all-time" list.