The Witcher: Enhanced Edition

This RPG classic needs no introduction: It made Geralt of Rivia famous outside Poland. It is also "a game with a soul", unlike most video games. The game is more or less a standard RPG with exploration, questing etc. and the story somewhat above average. This is a one-character RPG, playable with either isometric or 3rd person camera. The combat is essentially point-and-click (like in baldur's gate or neverwinter nights), not reflex-based like in action games. But you also need well-timed clicks for extra hits in a combo, and you also use signs (jedi powers, witcher version, you cannot be a pure-class mage). Things like alchemy, mini-games (dice, fist-fighting and drinking), etc. spice up the game. The graphics was pretty good in 2007 (and still looks beautiful). Why not perfect score? First, the "quicksave" is actually a full save. Translation: you have to regularly delete (and backup, if you want) by hand, otherwise thousands of saves fill your disk. You must also disable GOG cloud, because of that. Second, the "Cannot load module - invalid IFO file" bug is VERY nasty. It can be cured with some "delete temporary .sav file" trick, but I prefer games which can be actually finished without hacker skills.

And by get it, I don't mean buy it, or have it in your library. Virtually everyone who has even typed GOG.com into their browser should have a copy of this game. I truly mean if you understand it. One of the best RPGs I've played. Your choices matter, your character grows, the characters are (mostly) true to their origins, except where they are stand-ins for other characters. Too many set pieces are ripped directly from the books, including conversations lifted word for word. It is a game that retcons the end of the books, then relives many of the moments in them again as our protagonist has amnesia. Apparently, the exceptionally important characters of Ciri and Yennifer were left out, when they were central to the plot of the books, this was later remedied in the Witcher 3. The combat is a weird mix of rhythm game and RPG, with timing your clicks to get stronger combos. It feels extremely hit or miss, though because the game arbitrarily decides that you were not in the proper window to click when you did, and finding the proper timings is a chore (the colored prompts don't line up). Ideally, this system would have more resembled the system present in Legend of Dragoon or Vagrant Story, or even Shadow Hearts. Overall, the game is a good get to play. I bought it MANY years ago and I loved it. But around chapter 3 it starts to drag so much that I've never finished it. I did make it to chapter 4 once or twice. It has potential, but it falls short. I paid $40 for this game. It is easily worth the $5, $0.99 or free that it is often offered for on here.

The mechanics of game play are very odd and takes some time to adjust. Pressing the space bar in the game puts you into active pause where you can then call up several screens to aid the Witcher in combat or learn something about a new character or monster or navigating the game world via a map or the journal entries that track the quest discoveries and makes notes of your progress in the game. Character abilities are extensive but as to which to develop for your Witcher are not very clear. The GUI screens are over sized but cluttered and not very enlightening. Combat is via simple L R mouse clicks that are furthered by watching a visual cue of your mouse cursor indicator lighting up with a flaming sword to indicate to press the L button to string the next combo of blows and parries providing you have bought the right abilities via talents you acquire as you level up. Odd indeed and it takes getting used to and a sense of timing and anticipation to know when to press the button to be effective in combat. Be prepared for a bit of frustration when fighting powerful monsters or opponents and be prepared to get mowed down unless you learn how to concoct the Witcher's special Alchemical brews to survive the heavy bosses. Another weirdness is the fact that sometimes you'll get penned in by the physical environment as experienced in the swamp cemetery. The last bad thing is the Witcher is super unstable with frequent crashes so save often.

I was terribly disappointed with this game. It looks interesting, the graphics are good for the time it was made, but the controls are hideous - ESPECIALLY the combat controls. You can't configure your mouse for movement, and the attack function is horrible.

The game is fantastic and beyond expectations — until the technical issues became too much for me. I've tried a few workarounds regarding the game not starting and crashes and whatnot, and I'm now re-downloading and re-installing the game. It's frustrating, so be warned if you're thinking of getting it — you may need to devote plenty of time to GOG support forum among others before you can get it to work. (I'm on OS X 10.9.3)