An imaginative Adventure / RPG that feels different from what has gone before.
The plot follows Geralt's quest to uncover the identities of the assailants and track them down, and along the way he'll find himself thrown into a lot of other problems and situations. Yes, there'll be fighting, and plenty of it. But there's also a fair bit of investigation, some general adventuring, and a slew of people to meet and things to do. Yes, the Witcher treads similar ground to that which Bioware's KOTOR and Jade Empire games trod before, presenting you with moral choices to shape your path. But the Witcher's aren't so clear cut as the Light Side, Dark Side argument. For Geralt, its more often a case of siding with the lesser evil, then dealing with the consequences. And there will be consequences. One of the games main strengths is its ability to dynamically change the way the story unfolds based on earleir actions- and I don't just mean the outcome of a conversation. No, your decisions can have much longer-term consequences, and often you won't have any idea what these might be when you make the decision- or even that the decision might affect anything at all. And that, really, is how it should be - how often in life can you forsee where your choices will take you? When coupled with the morally ambiguous world that the Witcher inhabits as well, where your decisions really aren't a clear cut good / evil choice, these make for interesting situations that ensures that you'll never have the same game experience twice. But lets veer away from the story a little, to consider another important factor: just how the game plays. The Witcher uses an active combat model thats more familiar to action rpgs than traditional roleplaying games; Geralt has a variety of combat styles which he can switch between on the fly to suit the situation. Combat controls are pretty easy; a double tap of a movemebt key (or double click on the ground if you're playing with the top-town camera, more on that later) makes Geralt dodge aside, and a left-click on an enemy initiates a brief combo. For a fuller attack, you'll need to click again at just the right time to string together more hits, in a manner thats more remniscent of the combo chains of Phantasy Star Online than anything else I can think of. These chains automatically incorporate parries and ripostes as well, which can lead to an odd feeling of distance from the actual combat, but it all comes together to create a very flowing battle system that delights in throwing enemies at you that require different styles and skills to defeat. The Right mouse button, by the way, is used for casting spells, of which there are precious few which you'll need to unlock as you progress.
Visually, The Witcher is striking, if not stunning. The towns and landscapes are full of minute detail, as are the character models, which are some of the finest I've seen. Lighting and dynamic weather effects are also particularly good, although the visuals are let down by some odd, wooden animations in dialogue sequences and poor lip synching. The re-usage of character models also gets old fast, and whilst each is lovingly detailed there could really use to be more of them. Holding ther game up equally well thoguh is the sound; celtic-themed orchestral scores accompany the majority of the game, and the voicework- of which there is quite a lot- is mostly very well done. Geralt inparticular suits his gruff, gravelly voice.
The game isnt without its flaws, however, Some iffy trabnslations marr the dialogue, and the inventory system is cumbersome at best, with no easy way to sort or even identify the myriad components you'll be collecting for brewing potions and poultices. The game can also be quite obtuse with its direction, forcing you to peer through your journal to work out what you should be doing next. These are minor flaws though, and hopefully might be addressed in a future patch. As it stands, however, The Witcher is still a solid roleplaying experience thats different enough to warrant a look, even if you're growing tired of western rpgs. It'll keep you hooked for quite some time, and has enough character that you'll want to see more of what it has to offer.