There are certain aspects of a RPG (Role Playing Game) that will either make it wildly successful or a disastrous flop. Those are the learning curve, the graphics and lastly - originality. No one wants to spend hours learning to play a game. If the controls are too complicated, the interest will quickly be lost. Graphics are a big part of any game for a lot of gamers - especially me. I want a game to be beautiful. Baldur's gate graphics were good for a RPG made 5 years ago, but with Direct X10 recently released, new games should have graphics that look real and set a mood. No one wants to play another Morrowind clone, either. Game content should be unique and original.
The Witcher by Bioware and Atari incorporates the best of the qualifications I mentioned above and wraps it all into a single player RPG that's easy to play, yet complex enough to offer a challenge, sports beautiful graphics with extremely detailed models, entertaining cinematics, fluid combat maneuvers and magical effects, as well as a concept and story line that I haven't seen anywhere else.
Character progress is measured in levels. Every level you're allotted points to distribute between core abilities (strength, dexterity, stamina and intelligence), which offer bonuses and special traits for other abilities, and/or magical "signs" and fighting styles. You determine what role your character will play in combat by how you assign your progression points.
One thing to note is that this game is not for children. Aside from it's dark tone, there's adult content that wouldn't be suitable for kids. Geralt, your hero, has slept with three different women in the course of my playing thus far. The game cuts to a blurry cinematic sequence when your character has an encounter. It's not pornographic, but it's still not something you would find in most RPGs. Characters in The Witcher curse. I've heard sh**, bit** and fu** so far in the course of play. Since all sequences are cinematic, you hear it all as well as see it in the subtitles. This doesn't bother me, but again for children it may be too much.
Playing The Game
In The Witcher, you play a genetically enhanced mutant, a magically inclined monster hunter - a Witcher. You begin the game with amnesia, which is a little cliché, but it fits. You're found unconscious in the wild and taken to the Witcher castle, which is subsequently attacked and ransacked. You triumph over the bandits and set out to find the cause of the attack. This is when Chapter 1 begins. There's a good two hours of play before you begin the actual game. As of this writing I have just started on the second chapter, and already I've spend a good 5 hours on this game.
Combat is not haphazard like other non turn-based RPGs. You click on opponents to attack, but clicking too fast may actually cancels your offense. You have to wait for the cursor to change icons before you can execute more advanced tactics in combat. This is a good thing, because it means the game doesn't turn into a click fest - think Diablo. Your forefinger will never get tired while play The Witcher. You can easily pause the game and queue potions to drink, change fighting styles and select signs, which again means you're not in a frenzy to click icons in combat. Geralt can perform a coup de grace on stunned or immobile opponents, which is a lot of fun to watch. He'll hop on top of an opponent and slice his sword down through his/it's head, decapitate the opponent, sever limbs, slit throats and other novelties. You see your character do this, rather than read it in subtitles. This feature makes combat seem very real and makes you feel a little bit like god when fighting lesser combatants.
Fighting styles are chosen during combat and should be selected for the appropriate opponent. One is useful against single powerful opponents, another is used when facing off against smaller, more agile enemies and the last is used when facing groups of lesser foes. The last is a brilliant concept. It saves a lot of time when you need to plow through an army of smaller opponents, rather than clicking on each one individually. Fighting styles are different for steel and silver weapons. Silver is best used on monsters and incorporeals, while steel should be used on humanoids and animals. This is one aspect of the game I didn't like. It would have been less complicated to use the same fighting styles with both types of weapons.
That's all I can say about the game at this point. I'll modify this post or post a follow-up once I complete the game. All-in-all, this is a superior single player RPG and one worth picking up. I would recommend a decent system for this game, however. It would be a shame to lose the ambiance if you were forced to play The Witcher on older hardware with mediocre graphics.
Update: I played The Witcher for another 2 hours shortly after writing this article. During the course of that session, our hero has slept with three other women. What a stud.
