Review: The Witcher

ComradePepp...

95%

The Witcher is one of those unique games that a lot of people will miss out on due
  to lack of advertisement. Sadly, most people like what they're told to like. The Witcher has the number 1 sign of a great game; you thinking about it when you're not playing it.
  At its core, it is an action RPG. The controls will be tricky, but once you figure them out you'll start enjoying this game to the fullest. TW has a fantastic combat system that is not just a point and click affair--you will have to time your clicks correctly in order to execute massive combos which often result in decapitation of 1 or more targets and dismemberment of other body parts. Often you will get an opportunity to knock down your foe. When a target is knocked down, you can perform an execution move which is well animated, using realistic sword fighting techniques.
  Geralt is not your average RPG hero; unlike common homo erotic RPG characters, he is all man. He has chest hairs, he likes to drink, and gets into bar fights. He is feared and respected--he is no one's errand boy. Geralt has no shortage of women either. When he's not fucking whores, he's on various missions ranging from ridding the village of monsters to saving a dwarf from getting his beard cut off. Temeria is a grim place filled with corruption, racial inequality and political intrigue, much like our world. The Witcher is not
  a bubble gum hugs and kisses RPG. Day and night cycles are there for a reason
   The NPCs are unique and have different personalities, they have jobs and they are always up to something. The Witcher can easily be declared the best game of the year. It might as well be Diablo 3. No other game will give you so many options and so many unique encounters.

Newton

91%

The Witcher is an RPG I have been waiting patiently many years for. It is the next step in the evolution of real time combat RPGs; a genre I am a huge fan of. It’s dark and adult oriented and the NPC interaction has no equal in any game I can think of.
  Every day I found myself extremely eager to get back into the swing of the story. Playing this was like listening to a book on tape in how strongly it pulled me in and made me want to continue. The day and night cycle is one of the features that gives it that special edge. When it is dark things really do get more interesting. I would love to see this in a multiplayer scenario. I wonder if the real crazy players would mostly come around at night, or if they just wouldn’t care.
   The Witcher also highlights to me one of the key problems in all of gaming that researchers should immediately begin work on. Little tiny rocks or bumps that stop my character running (when he is perfectly fine walking across corpses or through swords) are the worst problem in this otherwise spectacular title. It’s annoying when you are getting deeply into a scene and then you are reminded that you are just playing a game by the guy running in place on the screen. Smoothing things out should be one major area of concern in any sequel.
   Overall I really did love the game. It wasn’t linear; it was deep and entertaining as all hell. I wish there was more to it. I would love to see this adapted into an online game. You really have to see and feel the combat in The Witcher and you will know exactly what I’m thinking about. Since Gods and Heroes got cancelled I’ve been thinking about MMOs with knockdowns and fatalities. The combination of this sick combat with the way the AI of the NPCs behaves made The Witcher my favorite RPG in the last 10 years.

Newton

94%

The Witcher follows today’s pattern for an extremely successful game. It isn’t just fun and innovative; it is polished to an extent that is jaw dropping start to finish. Nothing bothers me more than a game that over hypes itself and then doesn’t deliver, but If anything The Witcher was under advertised in the extreme.
   This game should have received the “it’s going to blow you away” type of treatment instead of Assassin’s Creed. I’ve never played another RPG game where I just wanted to stop and enjoy the world. Sandbox gameplay is cliché to the extreme, but this game has the ability to just amuse you while you don’t progress the storyline at all.
   Loading times were a slight detractor, but unless you can figure out how to squeeze all that detail into a tiny file it’s just something that has to be accepted. Having a ton of RAM really helps speed things along too so bear that in mind when you build your next system.
   There were some bugs that would really make things weird. Some quest items vanished on me and monsters also vanished a few times. I hope these issues are remedied quickly. Crashes have also been a problem and it’s something that needs to be absolutely avoided for any future game. Vista is really a shit operating system.
   I think the best thing about The Witcher is just the mentality in which it was developed. There is so much out there that is just garbage. The game clearly has some alternative standards than it’s competition and I loved it. Just the fact that it’s rated R makes it more fun. When is the last time you were really excited about a movie that was rated Pg-13 and could not even contain the word “fuck?” When something comes up on the television and you see the “N” before it you know it’s going to be worth watching.