Review The Witcher reviewed right here, at the Codex

[Calis]

Tags: Witcher, The

Cardtrick submitted an excellent <A HREF="http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=165">review of The Witcher</A>, explaining why exactly he loved the game. If you need more motivation to read the review, here's a choice paragraph to get you started:
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<blockquote>The Witcher is one of the first games . . . well, ever . . . to actively hype its choices and consequences. This alone should make it interesting to the average Codex reader. The basic idea, in case you've been living under a rock (or, you know, have a life outside of games) is that The Witcher presents you with choices during the course of the game without clear answers. Only much later in the game do you discover the consequences of your decisions, which can have significant impact on the plot.</blockquote>
<br>
Anyway, <A HREF="http://www.rpgcodex.net/content.php?id=165">go read it</A>.

 

[Jasede]

Just skimmed over it. Why is there no criticism that you're basically forced into a role that you can't even flesh out very well because there is no meaningful skills? I am looking at that hero screen and I see no dialogue skill, just combat. In fact, even though this review praises this game for its C&C, I think that's a rather silly thing to praise since your character is already pre-defined and you can't roleplay a pussy pacifist, or a skilled talker, or a sneaky thief, or a dumb axe-fighter.

However, it looks to be a fun action-adventure with some choices and consequences thrown in; a bit like Gothic. Not my cup of tea, but fun. Thanks for the review.

 

[Elwro]

You flesh out the role by making choices that matter.

edit: sorry, roleplaying a witcher as a pussy pacifist would be completely idiotic. I take you'd also complain about that you can't play a tiefling seductress in Planescape: Torment? Complaining about such things is like saying "Crime and punishment" is bad because it has crime and punishment, while you'd prefer to read about the subtleties of modern freighter construction.

 

[Oarfish]

Waaaagh, no cat people.

 

[MasPingon]

Why is there no criticism that you're basically forced into a role that you can't even flesh out very well because there is no meaningful skills?

Maybe because you are so fat

 

[Paranoid Jack]

Just skimmed over it. Why is there no criticism that you're basically forced into a role that you can't even flesh out very well because there is no meaningful skills? I am looking at that hero screen and I see no dialogue skill, just combat. In fact, even though this review praises this game for its C&C, I think that's a rather silly thing to praise since your character is already pre-defined and you can't role-play a pussy pacifist, or a skilled talker, or a sneaky thief, or a dumb axe-fighter.

However, it looks to be a fun action-adventure with some choices and consequences thrown in; a bit like Gothic. Not my cup of tea, but fun. Thanks for the review.

A game can't have everything that everyone wants... that would make it an Oblivion knock-off. And put it in the running for "best game evar" status. And as we all know there can be only one!

No seriously. This game is a story taken from the books (from what I have read time and time again). Geralt wasn't a pacifist nor was he whatever you want him to be. That is another game.

I have to get to work (otherwise I would go into more detail why I loved The Witcher) but before I go... this game is not perfect (again there can be only one). And it has some technical hurdles I hope they over-come in the next few patches. Never the less... it was an amazing game with over forty hours of entertainment in it. I've finished it once and plan to hit it again right after the patch is released.

One of my favorite cRPGs of all time with out a doubt.

Plus I look forward to there next release. If they did this well on their first projekt I can hardly wait to see their next.

 

[Jasede]

lol you guys are dumb

except for paranoid jack

thanks jack!

it's a nice review anyway, I just don't like those Gothic-like action-adventure pseudoJRPGs where you have to play Cloud/Squall/Geralt.

 

[Madman]

maybe you should give it a try? The story is definitely worth of giving it a chance - and i think you will like the atmosphere. Ther will be demo soon, so you'll see.
Action RPG? well, you can play for a very long time in the witcher and have no fight.

 

[Elwro]

A game does not become an action game just because it has a lot of combat.

 

[Madman]

but it looks like the witcher is thought to be A-RPG just because for quite long time combat was the only thing that devs were talking about...

 

[Kraszu]

Just becouse you have no character to choose from at beginning of the game it does not make the game jrpg wtf. Anyway you don't really play predefined character if you make decisions (c&c) in game, predefined character would alweys made the same predefined decisions.

 

[Solaris]

Very good review, pretty much sums it up for me. I'd give it a 9/10 though. Not that scoring is a thing the codex do but just saying. The technical issues didn't bother me, loading times etc but having a finely tuned high end rig probably me helped there.

Yes you play as Geralt and he has to be a Witcher....only. So no picking classes/styles but so what? It was a refreshing change from most rpgs I've played recently, and done so well that ironically it felt more open. The C&C certainly lived up to the hype. That alone is a rare thing nowadays. As I've said before, The Witcher is one of those games that is greater than the sum of its parts.

 

[Texas Red]

Its amazing that some polish nationalists noobie developers got everything right the first time. Some here praise ME for gray C&C and fun combat but for fucks sake, how long did it take Bioware to reach this result?

In regards to RPing Geralt... you have to "take a stance" on several issues. Sure, Id like to play some rookie witcher with whom I would have more freedom to develop his personality, but surprisingly being forced to Geralt does not reduce the factor of "fun". Having a character with such a huge predefined history has actually a few good points as well, as you will see when you play.

TW will become a classic. Zero doubt.

 

[Section8]

Great review - very comprehensive, and pretty close to the mark from my own experiences. The only other thing I'd address would be the slow beginning. The Kaer Morhen section was terrible, and the outskirts could have had a denser scatter of interaction, since I seemed to spend an inordinate time running back and forth along roads without the ability to go cross country, but admittedly it was never dire enough that I felt like giving it up.

Also, I think anything addressing the Witcher ought to give mention to the fact that in spite of the tongue-in-cheek silliness of some of the sexual content and the cards themselves, the game doesn't really come off as misogynistic. Yes there is mistreatment of women, but there are just as many women willing to use sexaulity to exploit Geralt and males in general. It's hardly feminism, but it does make an interesting allegory of what too many girls/women in the real world consider to be empowerment.

 

[Gosling]

Great review! Thanks.

As for Jasede's remark - does anybody know if we'll have to play Geralt again in the sequel or if we'll be able to start from scratch with a completely new charachter?
Would be pretty dumb to make Geralt lose memory and skills yet again.

 

[Madman]

Great review! Thanks.

As for Jasede's remark - does anybody know if we'll have to play Geralt again in the sequel or if we'll be able to start from scratch with a completely new charachter?
Would be pretty dumb to make Geralt lose memory and skills yet again.

everything considering expansion/sequel is to secret. Even, watch out, for me.

 

[zlykiss]

at last, THE review

Ive been searching for TWitcher reviews and became a silent lurker on Codex after finding that mega 40+ page thread about the game. i was very curious how CDProjekt manged to translate the book into game cuz obviously im a big fan of witcher saga. Read all the books, been even on SapCon ( fans gathering with Sapkowski). Btw it was funny when at the beginning Sapek demanded a soup (beer) with refills and everybody was in hurry asking questions afraid of degradation of master`s condition

Now after some time spend on this forum im sure this game is good. Some ppl were comparing it to my fav game Fallout which is superb. I havent play the game (i want to experience it with better hardware) so dont want to jump on the wagon and praise a game. I just want to talk about games in general, its development from this infantile state to the point when games will be telling stories comparable to greatest books and films. Im tired of all these games when i need to complete the experience with my imagination to have fun. And maan its just hard work sometimes (playing NWN2 OC now). I was playing Morrowind with all these review in mind, thinking "this is a mnt Everest of rpg gaming". But why it felt so shallow and empty? I completed a good amaunt of JRPGs but all that sweetness and big headed characters...(blurp)
Talking about Japan i know that an infantilization of life is "their" way, cuz they culture is so diffrent. But im an 27yo guy from Europe ex hardcore gamer that is looking for more mature content that 15years ago. Without mentioned infantilism, without hypocritical american puritanism without all this thinking "its just a game" cuz when i finished a really good book and couldnt sleep thinking about it for me its not "just a book".

... maan I sound quite serious in my first post :]

Ok but you guys know what im talking about so dont want to bore you here. Main reason i posted here was just to appreciate Codex quest for mature quality games. And I realize that it not just my dreams or wishful thinking but a direction of gaming evolution. So it seems that a game made of passion and not just to make big $$ (ooops its euro now) has its target. And ppl love it despite various mainstream reviews. Its a good prognosis, really...

P.S.
ah and ofcourse thx for great review Cardtrick

 

[cardtrick]

yr wlcm

 

[FrancoTAU]

I never understood the posters here with such specific needs in their RPGs. In the golden era of RPGs we had Ultimas, Wizardries, Gold Box AD&D, etc all bringing a different take on RPGs. But for some reason we have people who either want their games to all be just like Fallout or just BG2ish.

That's the big reason that I'm so excited about the indie market right now. AoD is going to be Fallout-ish, Broken Hourglass is BG2ish, Eschalon & Spidersoft is Ultima 3-5ish, Frayed Knights & Grimorie (heh) is Wizardy-ish, Ashes & Dhargul are Ultima 7ish, Scars of War is Daggerfall-ish, etc. Even better, most of these indy devs are adding a twist to the original inspirations.

I dunno, go blackball a good game because you can't change their gender or you have a predefined personality. Stay a Turn based nazi. It's such a narrow minded childish view to have.

 

[elander_]

Just skimmed over it. Why is there no criticism that you're basically forced into a role that you can't even flesh out very well because there is no meaningful skills? I am looking at that hero screen and I see no dialogue skill, just combat. In fact, even though this review praises this game for its C&C, I think that's a rather silly thing to praise since your character is already pre-defined and you can't roleplay a pussy pacifist, or a skilled talker, or a sneaky thief, or a dumb axe-fighter.

However, it looks to be a fun action-adventure with some choices and consequences thrown in; a bit like Gothic. Not my cup of tea, but fun. Thanks for the review.

There are skill choices that determine what skills we use to solve quests, morality based choices and the type of choices the Witcher provides with delayed consequences. Even if this game doesn't offer the full package of your common list of crpg choices the quality of what it offers is superior to simple visual customization or skill choice and is truly refreshing to see someone going beyond the mediocrity of the latest crpgs.

I agree that in relation to skill choices DeusEx or Bloodlines did it better and it feels strange to call a game an crpg when this is so limited. I consider the Witcher a very good light crpg and not a complete crpg like Fallout that offers the full package.

I'm afraid that had they focused in adding more types of choices the ones they have would be lower quality.

 

[Jaesun]

Very nice review cardtrick. Well done.

 

[Brother None]

I never understood the posters here with such specific needs in their RPGs. In the golden era of RPGs we had Ultimas, Wizardries, Gold Box AD&D, etc all bringing a different take on RPGs. But for some reason we have people who either want their games to all be just like Fallout or just BG2ish.

That's the big reason that I'm so excited about the indie market right now. AoD is going to be Fallout-ish, Broken Hourglass is BG2ish, Eschalon & Spidersoft is Ultima 3-5ish, Frayed Knights & Grimorie (heh) is Wizardy-ish, Ashes & Dhargul are Ultima 7ish, Scars of War is Daggerfall-ish, etc. Even better, most of these indy devs are adding a twist to the original inspirations.

I dunno, go blackball a good game because you can't change their gender or you have a predefined personality. Stay a Turn based nazi. It's such a narrow minded childish view to have.

True dis.

Though I'm not sure who, specifically, you're replying to in this thread.

 

[Futile Rhetoric]

I never understood the posters here with such specific needs in their RPGs. In the golden era of RPGs we had Ultimas, Wizardries, Gold Box AD&D, etc all bringing a different take on RPGs. But for some reason we have people who either want their games to all be just like Fallout or just BG2ish.

That's the big reason that I'm so excited about the indie market right now. AoD is going to be Fallout-ish, Broken Hourglass is BG2ish, Eschalon & Spidersoft is Ultima 3-5ish, Frayed Knights & Grimorie (heh) is Wizardy-ish, Ashes & Dhargul are Ultima 7ish, Scars of War is Daggerfall-ish, etc. Even better, most of these indy devs are adding a twist to the original inspirations.

I dunno, go blackball a good game because you can't change their gender or you have a predefined personality. Stay a Turn based nazi. It's such a narrow minded childish view to have.

True dis.

Though I'm not sure who, specifically, you're replying to in this thread.

He just had to get it off his chest.

 

[Nael]

snip

True dis.

Though I'm not sure who, specifically, you're replying to in this thread.

*speaking into a communicator, shaking with rage*

Saaaaaaarviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis!!!!!

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Lulz.