The Witcher: Enhanced Edition

I spent a little over 50 hrs on this game and certainly enjoyed it for the most part (I wanted to finish it after all). Story, atmosphere and music definitely deserve a thumbs up. You obviously feel the 10+ years of the game but that didn't really spoil the overall fun I had with it. However, what caused several frustrating moments was the combat, especially in winding, narrow locations such as the swamp maps. Drowners quickly became the most annoying creatures I've ever had to deal with in a game (Chap. 5 god damnit), not because they are tough to fight but because they made it a real chore to enter a cave because of them constantly spawning. Some character motivations and actions felt unreasonable and forced. And the limited number of character skins didn't make it easy to keep track of all the different people you meet throughout the game because of so many NPCs looking alike. Still, as much as I cursed the game for the clunky camera controls and occasionally frustrating combat, for making me run around the swamp, (pretty much identical) crypts and sewers like an errand boy, the game offers many rewarding moments and surprises, likable main characters, some beautiful scenery (despite its age) and an interesting skill tree. And again, the soundtrack is outstanding. All in all, I'm glad I finally gave it a shot but I'm not sure if I'll play it again anytime soon.

[NOTE:- This is a Repost of my 2014 Review for The Witcher Enhanced Edition via Steam] The Witcher 'Gaming' Saga Begins Here for "Geralt of Rivia", * One of the Best Stories told in a RPG, it's not just the Main Campaign even all the Side Mission adds lot of depth. * The In-Game Choices & Path you choose defines how the story & gameplay unfolds, I loved it. * Sound & Music are Awesome, so does the dialogues which were very nicely done. * Atmospere & Graphics are good nothing ground breaking though for game released on 2008 using Aurora Engine. * Such a Dynamic Combat System, It's Joy Ride to Play on Hard Mode that’s where you start using lot of "Alchemy" * Many People didn't like the control system, even i find it very wonky at the beginning but once you familiarize them it's a cake walk. Years ago I've finished this Game twice with "Sco'iatel Path" & "Order's Path" now this time around I’ve done it right and completed the game with "Neutral Path" which is the True Witcher's Path. ****Definitely a Must Play RPG for the Fans of the Genre.""""

I don't feel like writing a whole novel about it, so I'll just sum up: Pros: + Gorgeous scenery, weather, and day & night cycles. + Fun combat (if repetitive) + Really unique story and characters + A sense that your actions have grander consequences + Interesting character progression options Cons: - Limited character models. Even some important named characters get hand-me-down generic models. - So-so voice acting. A lot of it really isn't that bad, but the game's a horrible mish-mash of "fantasy" accents. Gerald of Rivia sounds like he's sleepwalking most of the time. - Cumbersome inventory system, especially in a game with so many fetch quests - So many fetch quests - Sex Card quest. I get it that Gerald is an insatiable and sterile Don Juan, but this got to be just gratuitous. Nothing wrong with romance and sex in a game, but use Mass Effect and Dragon Age as your model, not Leisure Suit Larry and Japanese dating-sims. I give the game a solid B (80%), but all the extras and goodies Projekt Red throws in (2 soundtracks, art book, guide book, story book, map, etc) bring it up to an A minus (88%?). I spend 160hrs playing The Witcher EE. If you get it for $10, you'll certainly get your money's worth. I just hope the sequel is more mature in some regards.

100% worth full price. The game really shines in its writing: great story; characters are well written and have great personalities; world-building is done well and information is drip-fead over the course of the game; dialogue is fantastic; choices affect the storyline; brilliant voice acting; music is also great. On the other hand the gameplay isn't so great: - Most late-game enemies spam you with stun moves so I couldn't get the chance to attack before dying. So my only choice was to pick off enemies 1-by-1 which is pretty boring. - Group combat mode stopped working properly and Geralt wouldn't build up any attack streaks even when he wasn't affected by stuns, etc. - Geralt puts the torch away every time you loot an enemy/chest. - Geralt puts his weapon away a few seconds after a fight ends. This is frustrating when you're in a crypt and pull out the torch after killing enemies, and then he puts it away again shortly after. - Geralt moves quicker with his sword out on group mode, so I suggest you activate this whenever possible. But stay away from enemies or he'll put it away when the fight ends. - *possible spoiler*: there is a house in Chapter V that has a bunch of characters you met in earlier chapters which kinda just pulls you out of the immersion. Maybe if they were in separate, random houses it would be more believable, but lumping them all in one hut felt like a cheap way of saying "Hey, remember all these people you helped?!?!?" These seem like small problems, but the first two are so common that they really dampened my experience of the game. Any combat sequence or crypt location became a real bore, and I started to wish they'd just offered the game as a visual novel instead. But I played on and I'm glad I did because ultimately the storyline/characters/dialogue is what really makes this game so great. Spent 48+ hours on my first playthough. Will play again with different choices to see the other possible storylines.

The Witcher is clearly a game made with a heap of care to ever asset. It's clear that the team at CD Project poured their hearts and souls into it, unsure whether it would be their last game. These are the sorts of games that used to be made, and why they deserve the connection to the classics we love. Set in a familiar but completely new world onto itself, The Witcher takes what you may first see as "generic fantasy" and turns it on its head with a real weight to everything. Never in any game, old or new, have I ever felt like my choices hang so heavily on my shoulders. You may not see the death of planets due to them, but you do see people you may have cared for go due to a simple missed step. Speaking of the people, everything in the game feels fully fleshed out even from the tiny stints of unimportant NPC dialogue. I think a comparison to NWN is apt, since it's both built on the engine and shows exactly how the old style of play can morph into the new. The game's mechanics are definitely an acquired taste, what with fast 3D movement and a rhythm based system, but I for one loved it due to the fact that it was so strategic. Everything about the workings fits so well into the narrative, creating something very cohesive to both people who indulge in fantasy and only sample it. The worlds itself is a real draw, with that absolutely mind-blowing soundtrack completely taking you into its world despite the borders which must exist. The areas are always wide open with many interesting things to try, and a plethora of sidequests that you can outright fail if you don't devote yourself to them, and you can miss even more if you're not exploring. While one would be remiss to call it a gorgeous game, it definitely excels in its purpose more than most games do with high textures. I could go on about this game, but it's simply impossible to over recommend it if you love fantasy of any sort. It's straight forward, but complex. It's foreign, but nostalgic. It's deep and charming. There was a sense of euphoria when I really got into this game, one that I could not break even if it has a few issues in definition. In no other game have I felt so free, so at peace, and smack dab in a situation.