As some people have already said, the Quest for Glory series shares a lot in common with King's Quest and Space Quest, but never really seemed to get the same accolades as the other two, especially King's Quest. This is a shame because I always felt Quest for Glory was the best of the bunch. The Quest for Glory series has the wacky humor and fun (and occasionally goofy) puzzle elements of other Sierra adventure games. But where Quest for Glory always shined was integrating that with an action oriented combat system and skill based character development system that added a lot of depth to the experience. The ability to carry your character over from one game to another was huge too. By the time I got to Quest for Glory 5, I had a magic wielding Paladin with thief skills, all because the game was smart enough to not lock you in to your chosen class too strictly. Each game tried to mix up the game play a bit too, whether it was putting the game on a timer, altering the combat system or world map, or adding a new class to play as. Some times these new elements were rough around the edges, but they were always welcome a experimentation with the formula. The games can occasionally be buggy, and Quest for Glory 5 is a bit of a departure from the other four in that is has a greater focus on action but doesn't quite successfully transition into a good action game. And to be fair, unlike Quest for Glory 1, QFG2 never got a graphics and interface update, so younger games might be in for a real shock with the EVGA graphics and typing interface. I sunk a lot of hours into these games. They have great game play and story, and any fan of adventure and fantasy RPG games should give these a shot. 1-4 are absolute classics and seeing these on GoG.com has really made my weekend. I can't thank GoG enough for adding these.
I have been meaning to write this review for a while. I loved The Witcher. At a time when there when Bethesda was really the only other game in town, The Witcher managed to be new and interesting and really engaging. It wasn't perfect - the game had a lot of bugs and combat was only okay - but the narrative was superb and the setting was great. The Witcher 2 is interesting in that the combat, graphics, leveling and basic nuts and bolts have all been drastically changed and improved. The Witcher 2 has a really engaging and unique combat system that feel different from other games and, for me, feel more realistic and engaging. Leveling choices feel more important, and you definitely have a sense of character progression and development. While it takes a while to get used to, I ended up loving these changes to the series. Oh, and the game is gorgeous. Not just in its graphics, but in art design and the use of color in what is still a gritty, urban fantasy series. The narrative is also very good. I did feel that the first game told a more complete story, but I really respect the fact that a person can have two wildly divergent experiences based on their own decisions (especially in regards to Act II). But while the story does have a definitive end, they developers were also setting themselves up for a third game. I of course desperately want them to make it, so that I can continue, but the first game does shine a bit stronger here. There are still some bugs, but the enhanced edition cleared a lot of them up. Its not as bad as, say, Fallout: New Vegas, but it might bother some players. Overall, this is a great game, with a unique feel, complex game play and a good story. Fantasy RPG lovers need to play this game.
