Nugs said:
Do i miss out on anything ?
a great game, imo.
best action RPG since Gothic 2: NotR.
the beginning parts of the game are a bit misleading - tutorial contains unusually high amount of cutscenes and while there´s quite a lot to do in chapter 1, it overall comes off as rather bland and good quality of its climax may be diminished by a badly placed unbalanced encounter that comes right after it.
the game hits its stride in the second chapter and it takes a long time before it looses it a bit again in chapter 5.
its main persisting shortcomings are simplistic combat, limited character development and constrained movement (no jumping, climbing, swimming).
if you´ll play the game on hard (which i´d consider mandatory even for a first playthrough), you´ll get rid off retarded sword icon in combat and, at least to some extent, it should force you to utilize available combat options more fully (sword styles, alchemy, bombs, spells) as well as put a bit more weight on character development.
constrained movement and chapter-based storytelling aside, you´re given a solid amount of freedom within chapter limits so the game doesn´t feel entirely linear and retains a bit of openendedness.
i agree with Heresiarch that "it's one of the only true Dark-Gritty-Mature(tm) RPG" - there´s nothing marketing-y about this in The Witcher, it feels natural and it captures tone in Sapkowski´s books really well.
the story is well told and C&C are implemented effectively. even though you may not be aware of actual consequences to your actions, chances are that at some points you´ll be taking your time evaluating what decision to make.
solid visuals, great music and overall tone of story and dialogues gives the game a very strong edge in the absorbing atmosphere department which you´d be hardly pressed to find anywhere else, at least when it comes to newer titles.
anyway, got carried away a bit, your potential enjoyment depends mostly on how strongly you feel about the game´s shortcomings and whether you find its setting and tone appealing.
personally, i think that along with Mask of the Betrayer it´s the best RPG released in last 5 years or so.