Version:
Enhanced Edition (+ FCR)
;
Genre: RPG, Fantasy;
Release
date: 16-Sep-2008 ;
Game progression: finished (2014) ;
Difficulty played: FCR (hard package/Witcher) ;
Overview:
Become The Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, a legendary monster slayer caught in a web of intrigue woven by forces vying for control of the world. Make difficult decisions and live with the consequences in an game that will immerse you in an extraordinary tale like no other. Representing the pinnacle of storytelling in role-playing games, The Witcher shatters the line between good and evil in a world where moral ambiguity reigns. The Witcher emphasizes story and character development in a vibrant world while incorporating tactically-deep real-time combat like no game before it.
Features:
Geralt of Rivia: a one-of-a-kind protagonist
- A charismatic and unique character, Geralt is a mutant swordmaster and professional monster slayer.
- Choose from over 250 special abilities correlated to attributes, combat skills and magical powers to build the character in a way best suited to tactical needs and style of play.
Original fantasy world drawn from literature
- Inspired by the writings of renowned Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski.
- Featuring adult themes, less fairy-tale than typical fantasy, with mature social issues like racism, political intrigue and genocide.
- It is a harsh world where nothing is black or white, right or wrong, often forcing players to choose between the lesser of two evils to advance.
Non-linear and captivating storyline
- Full of turns, twists and ambiguous moral decisions which have real impact on the storyline.
- All quests can be accomplished in several ways and the game has three different endings depending on the player's actions and choices throughout the adventure.
Stunning tactical action
- Engage in complex yet intuitive real-time combat based on real medieval sword-fighting techniques.
- Motion capture performed by medieval fighting experts at Frankfurt's renowned Metric Minds studio, resulting in 600 spectacular and authentic in-game combat animations.
- Six combat styles, dozens of potions, complex alchemy system, modifiable weapons and powerful magic add tactical depth to the fluid real-time experience.
Story:
Being based on a novel series by Andrzej Sapkowski – a bestselling Polish author – gives the game’s universe and characters credibility, authority and exceptional cohesiveness. In this harsh fantasy world abstract, absolute and unconditional ideas such as “Good” and “Evil” written in upper case letters do not exist. Instead, however, while moral good exists , the protagonist will often only have a choice between two evils, deciding on the path which he regards as the lesser evil of the two.
The story begins with Geralt reappearing after being feared dead. He is found unconscious, dazed and with only a vague recollection of past events. This way, players unfamiliar with Sapkowski’s works will be able to gradually immerse into the fantasy realm.
The game features an innovative, time delayed decision-consequence system, prodding players to make their decisions seriously and with thought.
The whole world does not revolve just around Geralt. NPCs will lead their lives independently of the protagonist, yet upon interaction they can be influenced by and react to the Witcher’s actions. It’s basically a living world, of which Geralt is only a part of, despite his involvement in its ultimate fate.
Very solid RPG that has everything once you install Full Combat Rebalance (FCR) mod that fixes a lot of things in the game and re-does the combat system. On highest difficulty almost all fights will be challenging and you'll have to use everything, from oils and potions to using the environment to your advantage. Some fights might appear impossible but that makes them all the more rewarding. Best combat experience that I ever had in an RPG. Some people recommend skipping this game and going directly for The Witcher 2 but it would be a shame as this is a great game and you get to "live" the story from the beginning.
Pros: very rich story and lore, very good mechanics.
Cons: quite bad without FCR.
Rating: three love potions that only work on yourself.
Article
date: 22-Mar-2015
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