My one complaint about The Witcher 3:The Wild Hunt is that other new releases compare so poorly that I can barely enjoy them. The Witcher 2 represented a quantum leap over The Witcher and a similar trend continues with the The Witcher 3, which is remarkable considering the fact that The Witcher 2 was itself an incredibly good game. In TW3, the geniuses at CD Projekt Red expand everything that made TW2 great - the deep and dark story, interesting characters, gorgeous visuals - across an incredibly large, detailed and open world. I recall feeling great skepticism upon first hearing that TW3 was set in a large open world - I could not imagine that CDPR could possibly cram a large open world game with the amount of content required to maintain the same rich density of storytelling, characters and memorable moments that so distinctly characterized TW2. But they did it. Somehow. This is the greatest achievement of TW3. This is not to say that TW3 is merely a vastly larger TW2. Every aspect of TW3 is improved over its predecessor. The combat is fluid, challenging and deep - but I believe that you must play on the "Deathmarch" difficulty to really appreciate this. The crafting system is vast. The character build has been entirely revamped, allowing more flexibility in choosing combat, sign and alchemy abilities. The action is balanced with an engrossing main story that is best digested in chunks, taking time out to explore the world and generally behave like a witcher. Story-line choices in TW3 are as difficult as ever, with little in the way of clear right-and-wrong outcomes. The DLCs, included with this latest edition, are simply the best DLCs ever made for any game. "Hearts of Stone" is a major expansion with a great story and "Blood and Wine" is so vast it may as well have been called "The Witcher 4". The base game plus the DLCs tie together elements from TW1, TW2 and the stories of Andrzej Sapkowski for "full circle" satisfaction. Amazing.
Tropico 3 is a city-building sim with loads of character. You can establish a benevolent rule over a beautiful tropical paradise or smash all opposition in your slums with an iron fist. The game looks incredibly good and the interface is a model for how it should be done. I should also mention the "radio" and music in Tropico 3. The music is absolutely outstanding - I did not really care for salsa - until I played Tropico 3. I found the DJs and announcers to add a lot of fun but they drive some players crazy. There are some annoying flaws (that were not fixed in Tropico 3 either) - the traffic system is playable even in large cities once you know what you are doing, but it could sure use some tweaking/public transit options. More aggravating is the tourism aspect of your economy, which operates according to mysterious rules that diminish the effectiveness of your most-carefully designed tourist destinations. Still, the game is a great fun and it is easy as pie to pick up a saved game a play for a bit - an advantage for those with busy schedules.
