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Review The Witcher seduces Sci Fi Weekly

Elwro

Arcane
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Divinity: Original Sin Wasteland 2
Tags: CD Projekt; Witcher, The

<a href="http://www.scifi.com">Sci Fi Weekly</a> has a raving <a href="http://www.scifi.com/sfw/games/sfw17534.html">review</a> of <a href="http://www.thewitcher.com">The Witcher</a>. Just look at the setting description:<blockquote>The tenability of easy dichotomies like "good" and "evil" is itself at issue in The Witcher, and nothing is as it seems in Polish developer CD Projekt's inspired translation of Sapkowski's beautifully turbulent, oftentimes amoral universe. Friends can be (and probably are) backstabbing cult members. Guards and thugs alike turns out to be aggressive sexual predators (sex as a theme in general is something the game embraces, instead of prudishly whitewashing this most elemental of biological imperatives). Witches sell poisonous suicide solutions and craft voodoo dolls to compel siblings to kill each other. Barmaids and plenty more besides will sleep with you for booze, money, gifts, and occasionally just temporary infatuation. Pious religious fanatics turn out to be repugnant misogynists. Mages who can't control their powers become half-insane, slobbering oracles. And for all the wonderfully "un-Tolkien-y" alghouls and echinops and graveirs and bloedzuigers you'll grapple with, the most hideous monsters in the game aren't the ones with six or a dozen consonants crowding a single vowel, but other humans, like you.</blockquote>What's not to love here? Anyway, the reviewer notices some flaws of the game (e.g. when an unexpected course of action by the player can screw up quest sequencing), but ends the piece with "That said, I'd probably play The Witcher with twice as many glitches. It's that unmissable.".
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Read the whole thing <a href="http://www.scifi.com/sfw/games/sfw17534.html">here</a>.
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Thanks, <strong>Ausir</strong>!
 

Elwro

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Divinity: Original Sin Wasteland 2
When I read this sentence:
In The Witcher, which begins where Sapkowski's saga adjourns, Geralt is unexpectedly alive but suffering from partial amnesia.
I had the strange sensation that I knew the author's style from somewhere. "Adjourn" just didn't belong in this sentence (in my humble non-native English speaker opinion of course). After finding a few more theasurus-inspired lines in the review, I finally decided to check who the author was. Guess who?
 

pug987

Scholar
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Sep 12, 2007
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Although the name doesn't ring a bell (I hardly know any game journalists' names), a quick google search gave me this link: http://www.rpgcodex.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=21513

I don't know about the rest of the review but in that paragraph he paints a rather bleak picture of the world of witcher. In the game, and in the books as I've read, things are mostly gray. Most of the things he desribes are in the game (although he does exagerate a few) but there are also spots of sunshine like the wearwolf who is saved by true love etc.

EDIT: You beat me to the link. :wink:
 

Ausir

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Ah. Haven't played NWN2 nor Mass Effect, but I like this Witcher review.
 
Self-Ejected

Wilco

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This reviewer has some pretty confused standards when it comes to linearity from reading his other articles.

He critically pans Mass Effect for being linear and only offering a few different dialogue choices that change the tone of the game but not the direction of the story. Then he goes on to cite 'Oblivion' as an example of story non-linearity :shock: . At least Bioware offers you at least three, 'real' and different dialogue options in the story... Oblivion? "Kill him", "Do not kill him", "Gossip". Oh wait, you weren't even given the damm choice, you 'had' to kill even if you didn't want to.

I do agree with this review however...
 

Ausir

Arcane
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Anyway, looks like Witcher is so good that even the Codex and Peckham agree.
 

Jeff Graw

StarChart Interactive
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Matt Peckhham, you never cease to surprise me...

He still missed the most glaring flaw in The Witcher though, just like everyone else.
 

Brother None

inXile Entertainment
Developer
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Messages
5,673
Heh, first time I get the impression Matt doesn't hate all cRPGs and grinds his teeth in frustration when playing them.
 

Deleted member 7219

Guest
There's stats and rules in this one, I thought Peckham would hate it and throw it out of his pram.
 

Ausir

Arcane
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The fact that the Codex hivemind and Matt agree that a game is great proves its awesomeness.
 

Risine

Liturgist
Joined
Dec 26, 2005
Messages
114
Only seeing good reviews here for this game, and I'd like to be able to play it, but my computer does not think the same way with its geforce 4200 :(
Anyway, just saw a bad review in Edge UK, giving 5/10.
( and giving 7/10 to Mass Effect )
 

Ausir

Arcane
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Oct 21, 2002
Messages
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Poland
Jasede will probably call Matt a Polish nationalist now.
 

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