An RPG that is an instant classic and sets the bar for mature RPG titles for the future. Truly worth your time!
This game might be coined as a D&D-Diablo, but it is not. It is RPG at it's best. It is RPG with interesting combat, not lucky dice rolls. Next time you buy another RPG you should expect a good combat system, and thank The Witcher for this. RPG's can longer be excused of having boring combat solely on the basis of being an RPG. Actually it does better at what most ARPG's fail at.
You are Geralt of Rivia, a Witcher. You are a professional monster hunter, and if you choose to be, also a woman hunter. You are kick-ass. This game seriously set a bar for the way a game should be presented, especially an RPG. I do not wish to spoil ANY detail of the game's plot, just believe that this game will not dissapoint you with the plot. It is not a masterpiece plot, but its execution and presentation is close to one - if any game ever had one. This game has one good story to tell you, for one good 60-80 hours.
First an foremost this is an RPG and plays like an RPG. You explore, solve quests and rescue damsels in distress, which later are extremely thankful depending on how thankful you want them to be. This game also adds an innovative combat system which at first can seem confusing, so pay attention to the prologue and your cursor because it is a pleasantly subtle and quick discovery. If you choose to play with only your two main weapons, a steel two-handed sword or a silver sword you can, but there is a wide range of weapons for Geralt to use, so if you find the combat becoming stale there is many ways to spice it up. Hopefully future developers will take a note from The Witcher.
There is also one other aspect of gameplay which is mingled with the dialogue. That's Geralt's ability to convince women to sleep with him. If you are an ostracized male or a female you might find this part tasteless. Yes it is in the game, but if you want to experience this content is completely up to you. Of course there are times when the choice is available you find it so inappropriate you wonder, it's wonderful. This game can sometimes feel really real with the occasional racism and inappropriateness... look at our perfect world. It is hard to believe that this game is using the engine from the original Neverwinter Nights. This game is gorgeous, alive and believable. The graphical presentation and the sound can sometimes activate your imagination which in turn makes this game even more beautiful. Some dialoge, rather the choice of some wording, can seem out of place, but this seems like a translation error, albeit the context of the meaning remains the same. The voice acting is very good, though sometimes it can sound bland it happens rarely.
This is an RPG which became an instant classic and will be played for a long time by fans of this genre. Though this game has its technical problems, which can be frustrating sometimes, I cannot mark it down just because of that. For a novice development team, from Poland, working with Atari. This game is exceptional and so is the future of CDProject,