A great new take on the fantasy RPG genre
The Environment
The Witcher is set in a harsh medieval setting where poverty, jealousy, bigotry are everywhere and people are eeking out a living while at the same time being plagued by horrible monsters. I was not initially sold on the concept of a "gritty" world beset by many of the ills of our current one. Mostly because whenever, games, tv or film head in this direction, it is usually because of a lack of creativity so they go for shock value instead. The Witcher is an exception where the "grittiness" was just one more element of the story. Many other reviewers talk about how alive the environment seems. I will certainly confess a degree of shock when I noticed someone taking a leak on the street.
The Story
You are Geralt who has to find his way amongst all sorts of rivalries, plots and unclear choices to track down those who have attacked the Witchers. It is the first time in my memory where a game has managed to truly integrate character choices into the plot line. Save someone now and they will murder someone later on etc. The story and the desire to follow it where it leads was what kept me at the computer for hours on end.
The Books
I am now very interested in reading the English translation of the Polish author behind the Witcher. It is my understanding that they will come out this summer. Hopefully the translation will do them justice.
The Combat
This was arguably the weakest part of the game. While on the surface it was a refreshing mix of combat/magic styles, it instead turned into a rather boring click fest. There were periods where I would find myself sighing as I slaughtered x of y in order to advance the plot. I will confess that I did greatly enjoy the finishing moves (randomly selected by the computer) whenever I attacked an opponent whom I had knocked down. I am not sure what to say about this beyond that as I think PC gaming need a new control interface before combat will evolve from a clickfest or stats based system like never winters.
My Take
If you are looking for something new and refreshing and like a good story line in your RPG then the Witcher is absolutely for you. Just don't ask it to be the most challenging combat system ever. This is well worth your money and CD Projekt is a developer to keep an eye on.
Enjoy,
Foe