Review: The Witcher - PC

by Nick Haywood on 6 November 2007, 11:23

Tags: The Witcher, Atari (EPA:ATA), PC, RPG

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Conclusion, final thoughts and awards

So let’s figure out just what’s going on in The Witcher because it all seems a bit of a muddle. On the one hand you’ve got a simplistic interface aimed at the novice RPGer but crippled by awkward camera controls whilst on the other hand you’ve got a fairly respectable third-person action RPG that whilst easier to control, is still hobbled by a laggy combat interface.

NPC character interaction feels like Activision’s Zork games (yes, I know the original Zorks were Infocom, ok?). The looping, goldfish-memory set response sequence feels out of place and with Geralt repeating everything you say, his stereotyped tough guy gravel voice started to grate after a while. That said, some of the main characters, especially in the cut-scenes, are voiced and acted very well indeed, which makes the NPC voices stand out all the more as being, well, a bit poo.

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The inventory, character and skill trees screens are more complex than they really need to be, which can start off being quite confusing. I know that most RPGs require you to at least have a glance at the manual but even then you’re a bit uncertain what the hell is going on. That said, with a bit of use it does become obvious how things work though you can’t help but feel that others before did it better and simpler. I’m not looking for dumbing down in RPGs, far from it, but over-complication, which these screens lean towards, is a no-no too.

And it’s a similar gripe with the combat which, though it keeps you engaged and feels like you’re doing something other pummelling a mouse button, could’ve been so much better. The biggest problem is the lag caused by the animation winding up to make a strike. If Geralt gets hit before he’s started his attack sequence, the whole thing is interrupted but you’re given no visual clue to this so you wait and then realise he’s not attacking and have to click again… You do get used to the timing and combat can be rewarding but if it weren’t for the pause feature to select your combat style and weapon, you’d be facing a lot of reloading as Geralt takes an undue pummelling.

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But despite all these niggles, The Witcher actually has an awful lot going for it. Sure, it’s probably the slowest starting RPG you’ll ever come across and yes, the interface can sometimes be a bigger obstacle than the enemies you’re fighting but in spite of all that, if you pile in the playing time you’ll find the game opens up into something really rather good.

I suppose it’s a combination of getting used to the timing of the combat and blanking out those awful, near comical accents, but once you get past those there’s a lot of game here that’s damn good fun. Yes, it’s pretty stereotypical stuff littered with out-of-place NPCs and the like, but it’s enjoyable all the same. I guess The Witcher is asking you for a pretty big suspension of belief rather than providing you with a watertight medieval world. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the dialogue which is full of anachronisms, but again, invest a bit of time and you’ll open up a game where characters calling each other ‘babe’ really doesn’t matter.

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All in all, The Witcher, try as it might to entice new blood into the RPG genre has too many failings that new players will find hard to get over. Of course, if they do stick with it they’ll be rewarded with a game that shows them what a serious RPG can do. More seasoned RPG fans too might find The Witcher’s oddities too much to put up with and even those that plough in the playing time might just find it too much. However, if you give it a fair crack, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Pros
Gorgeous graphics
Plenty of sub-quests that don’t lead you too far from the main story
Massive skill tree
Alchemy is a pretty much a free for all create-athon
Two ways to play

Cons
Adult theme boils down to cartoon nudity and a bit of swearing
Needs a pretty big investment of time to reap the rewards
Voice acting dire in places
Overly complex character, skill and inventory screens

The Witcher: It’s like Marmite, you’ll either love it or hate it.

HEXUS Awards

The Witcher - PC

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Posted by DevilMayCry42 - Tue 06 Nov 2007 13:34
Hmmmm…Took a while (for the review), but I'm still on tenterhooks between this, Gears of War, and waiting for Devil May Cry 4…
Posted by kalniel - Tue 06 Nov 2007 19:12
Was the review based on the retail version Nick? There are a couple of inaccuracies.

hexus
The Witcher can be played from one of two viewpoints,
There are actually three now - high isometric, low isometric and over the shoulder. High isometric is more like baldurs gate style. Low isometric has the camera swing round behind the character when you move, so it's not totally in your control anymore - it zooms out slightly on combat as well. I personally found the low isometric best by far - I got used to the camera controls and now find it quite easy to control :) Same with combat, you do get used to it.

I don't think the nudity has anything to do with the ‘adult’ focus - I found that was more to do with the world situation you're in - Geralt is not a save the world type hero (I obviously disagree with the review in that respect) and nor is the world an innocent RPG setting as in most other games.

What's wrong with Scottish dwarves and Welsh druids? I found that hilarious! :p

Keeping track of quests should be fairly simple but for some reason CD Projekt have opted to allow you to view all your past quests, completed or not.
Again this is different in the retail version - you can choose to view all your past quests, but by default you only view non-completed ones, and only the current phase as well. You can turn on view of non-active and non-current phases if you want, but you don't have to see it.
Posted by acrobat - Sat 10 Nov 2007 19:51
Only played it for a few days (Although many hours a day…). But this game is wierd! Its like complete crap, mixed with some decent bits. Somehow… overall… I actually enjoy playing it. But when I look at the individual components of it, its bloody aweful.

I agreed with that review, mostly, but I didn't personally care about the stereotype dwarves or gruff hero voice. It was a bit of a surprise because I read that they where going to avoid these boring old stereotypes. But I don't see many other options really. Everyone has an accent, so why not choose one that kind of fits? Better than scouse dwarves running around going, “eee aarr laaaa, giz a decent game of dice will yeh!”, or a hero with a voice like David Beckham or someone, “Hewwo. Oi fink I am a warrior or sumfink like that. Oi find you vewwy pritty and oi would vewwy much loik to get you into bed to haf sum sex wif youuu”.

I think its storytelling perfection almost. I love the story, and how they tell it and how you are involved with it.. is just great. I love the world too, and the mood - thanks to the sound effects and the great graphics just make it really immersive. I am hooked because of these things. But it was VERY nearly completely ruined by many other things. The control method is crap. The combat “system” is really terrible. I am amazed to see people going easy on it, and some people even saying its good… Its one thing to have different tastes and stuff, but I just can't see how anyone could give this any credit at all. Its horrible. The combat is a case of click, wait, click, wait, click… and very little else. And whats worse, is that the only prompt you get for when to click… is the flaming cursor. So you spend the whole time in combat, staring at your cursor… So you dont get much chance to watch your guy fight, and you rarely get to even look at the enemies either. Its just focusing on the cursor, waiting for it to change colour to tell you to click. The only “game” element there, is clicking on time, which makes it feel like whack-a-mole. If only you could just just select the target and then use a key to trigger the attacks, it would be much better, and atleast let you watch what is going on, rather than having to concentrate on the cursor, and concentrate on keeping it hovering over the enemy.

The worst thing for me, is the lame customisation and half arsed attempt at a magic system. Not only are you unable to pick a class like most other RPG's (or even multi class like NWN….), but you can't even just build up your character how you want. You get some customisation from the skill tree, but its so limited, you've got no chance of building your character up as a ranger or a mage or anything like that. The fact is, you play the game as a melee character, fighting with weapons, whether you want to or not…. with the occasional blast of magic to help you out.

Perhaps nearer the end of the game, I'll be able to use this magicy stuff more, but thats too little too late. I've played the game a LOT so far, and you only get 2 magic/psychic power things. You get loads of skill points, but you end up just having to spend them on things you didn't want to spend them on. It really is one of the worst combat systems I've ever seen, and the lack of customisation makes it worse.

The looting is all boring and mindless and suited to cleptomaniacs, and the limited inventory space makes it a chore. You have no idea what you should be keeping or leaving behind, so you end up just wanting to keep everything and then running out of space in the first 5 minutes, and then spending the entire rest of the game, struggling with your limited space.

And besides the combat system being rubbish, its also far too easy and FAR too simple. You don't HAVE to switch your styles at all. You seem to be able to play the whole thing on that fast style. I know, because I have done. Its only recently that I bothered switching to the heavy mode when I'm fighting some guy with a big hammer or something. But really, its all pointless anyway. If its an easy enemy, you click click click and its dead. And if its a hard enemy….Right click to stun. Lift click to lop its head off… and its dead. I'd be embarrassed to release a game like that.

The dungeon crawls are simple too, and boring. I sometimes feel like I'm playing Diablo, and have to resist the urge to just uninstall it.

Yet despite all that, I still somehow enjoy playing it. I get peaved by the combat, but I get lured on by the storyline. The story and the way its told, is what keeps me playing. Its a great story, and I like the characters and the voice acting. And although there are a few “kill 10 ghoul” quests, they are mostly good quests. Proper quests with proper story.

So its an odd one for me. It half rubbish, and half great. Overall, it manages to keep me playing (just). I just wish the rubbish parts werent so rubbish… If they had the NWN/NWN2 class and magic and customisation and combat system in here (or something similar), this would probably be one of my top RPG's. I just find the story much better and much less convoluted than the NWN stories. And I much prefer the graphics and the world and the layout etc, and the characters.. So take the good bits from each game and put them together, and it could have been really great. But as it is, its a decent RPG imo. Decent, but not great.

p.s. As for the lurve making side of it, I found that a bit odd. And it made me feel a bit uneasy. Some of the women are just like air headed sex objects. Ohhh! You saved me from evil monsters!!! Now let me reward you with sex!!!

Blah… I don't like that. It also makes me think its one of the cheapest game mechanics I've seen in the history of gaming, ever, evar. Its like, they couldn't think of a way to REALLY reward you for completing one of the game's quests, so instead they just showed you some cartoon boobs. I know there is not a whole lot they can do to reward people for completing quests, but other games seem to cope. I've played loads of RPG's, and usually I do the quests because I am driven on by the thought of loot, exp, progressing the storyline, seeing some interesting dialogue, getting a new spell, watching a cool cutscene etc… To just show you some boobs as the reward seems cheap to me. And it also makes me think it has opened the door for other games in the future. Mark my words… Gone are the days of some “Whoopee” in The Sims. Its now just a matter of time until you complete a quest and get a hardcore penetration scene as your reward. /nod