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The Witcher (PC DVD) | 
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| From: Atari
Category: Video Games
List Price: £34.99
Buy New: £11.99
You Save: £23.00 (66%)
New (6) Used (4) from £9.00
Rating:  51 reviews
Platform: Windows Xp
Genre: role-playing-games
Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Media: Video Game
Operating System: Windows XP
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.8
EAN: 3546430130087
ASIN: B000PIVX4E
Release Date: October 26, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 PURE VISUAL MAGIC! October 28, 2007
NeuroSplicer (Freeside, in geosynchronous orbit)
48 out of 56 found this review helpful
This is the most awaited fantasy cRPG in the past 2 years. For most part, IT DELIVERS! THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL cRPG GAMES I HAVE EVER PLAYED!
The environments are detailed, realistic, and can be experienced from up close without missing on the action. Grass, flowers and tree branches moved in both FABLE and TITAN QUEST as well; these, however, seem so true I caught myself reaching for my...antihistamines! Weather affects and day-night alterations (you have to see the elongating shadows to believe them!) are just gorgeous! More importantly, they are not just eye-candy: certain NPCs and monsters appear only when the correct combination of time-of-day and weather coincide...The horizon is far and the clouds move in endless variations. It reminded me of the sky of the original UNREAL, another visually ground-breaking game - at its time. PURE VISUAL MAGIC!
The character (Geralt) can master both sword-fighting and magic spells (what is known as a Warlock). To some die-hard RPG fans this may seem like heresy, nevertheless, keep in mind that multi-classing is not unheard off. It would have been nice to be able to specialize though.
The movement repertoire for both practices are impressively designed. Spell-casting is not unimpressive; however, the sword-fighting moves are at par to any console action game.
Free roaming? Yes and no. One can decide which parts of the map he will visit but loading is still needed to travel even annoyingly short distances. And since quests and side-quest still have to be completed, yes, eventually a subtle, yet ever present, directionality is present.
Looting and bartering? Aaah...yes, sort of. You practically never change the sword you start off with (although you do get to improve its abilities), whereas good armor is only a little easier to come by compared to PLANESCAPE. On the upside, you get to gamble, have romantic relationships (FABLE was full of great ideas after all!) and bribe for information, so trinkets have other uses as well.
Detailed character modifiers? Nothing like the AD&D rules. You gain talents (gold, silver & bronze) which you can spend to improve your fighting or magical abilities. Pretty much like the DIABLO or the TITAN QUEST abilities systems.
So, apart for the slight action-cRPG handicap, I have only two other objections. First, the...camera placement. Once more (remember NWN2...) auto-placement can get on your nerves as it targets your character even if that is not the most logical option. Second, the controls. They need getting used to as the fighting combos are easily ruined by clicking out of sync. You do eventually get the hold of it, however it keeps glitching.
Whereas the BALDUR's GATES saga was story-heavy but (by today standards) visually lacking and NEVERWINTER NIGHTS series was found, well, lacking in both aspects, THE WITCHER is the dream cRPG that BIOWARE was supposed to be capable of releasing all along. Finally it is here.
RECOMMENDED!
PS:
This is the censored version, however, since the uncensored version is also available available, the issue of censorship is a moot one.
I understand that issues of nudity (even of the fleeing partial type) are important to many parents and they do have the right to raise their children as they see fit.
Now that both versions are available however, AMAZON customers will be able to make the appropriate choice.
A No Mercy return to Form October 31, 2007
David Walker (sheffield, England.)
48 out of 54 found this review helpful
Lately there's been next to nothing of big releases that have gripped or even pleased me. Oblivion? Dull, faceless, static. Two Worlds? Beautiful but broken (not fond of restarting 3 times because factions switch to hostile, cheers.)
But here's The Witcher: a no mercy return to form for character and story rpgs on pc.
Gameplay: It comes from the Aurora engine that built Neverwinter Nights. That much is apparent from the kick-off. Combat, at its core, is turn based as you'd expect but with full real-time dodging, running and combination attacks. During combat you can alter fighting style to suit the opponent, shoot up on drugs, take potions, backflip to safety, use spells. Nothing particularly new on the RPG tree, but a tried and tested system that doesn't disapoint.
The three camera modes let you choose from a distant, Neverwinter style movement system, point and click, whilst the third brings you right up close, at times the handheld feel of the camera gave it a Gears of War-esque intensity.
Story: I think it's one of the first games where player choices do actually matter above anything else, despite was Fable, The Elder Scrolls and Gothic will tell you. Definately not the standard ixie-pixie D&D style world that's so common today either. There's strong racism, bad language, indiscriminate sex, child labour, terrorism - things a conventional RPG wouldn't touch with a 10ft barge pole.
Sound: Massive. Smashing the seven shades of ginger out of your opponents can be a room shaking experience if you've got a subwoofer. Dialogue ranges from superb to clunky and includes most of the modern world's dialects and accents. One moment i'm talking to an English Yorkshireman, the next, A Russian gambler, next, an American. Music is brilliantly composed but performance is lacking. The UMPHH! just never comes and definately shows sampling and sequencing over life performance.
I have to rate this as one of my best PC purchases this year. More gripping than BioShock and Two Worlds by far. Gambling, shagging every woman you meet, getting drunk, smacking some monsters - it's really like playing the hero we (hulking great apes sat at our machines) want to be. And if i were to be blunt, it's alot like Conan (that's good...)
Tech:
Okay thus far i've only encountered one crash in the 18 hours i played (solid). But i've picked up on a fair few complaints of repeated crashes. Runs with a frame rate of 54 on 5600AMD Dual Core, Geforce 8800gtx. Some screen tearing occurred, and with no V-sync option that could be a problem .
 Must Buy !! July 13, 2007
Villa1982 (UK)
24 out of 129 found this review helpful
In response to the idiot " Impatient Adult " I have played this game at a test session @ Atari and believe the hype - this game rocks!!
If your a fan of RPG's then this is a must buy. The story line is gripping from the 4 hours I have played and have already pre ordered this.
YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPOINTED......
Amazon - you should really be kicking people like Impatient Adult of the website as they gave this game a 1 star without playing it.
Requirements for this game October 13, 2007
S. Lee (UK)
22 out of 45 found this review helpful
Apologies for the 5 stars without playing it, but it seems unfair to 'penalise' the game in advance for just posting the pc requirements and I believe if the game turns out to be that bad when it finally comes out, that the negative reviews will then overturn any good ratings.
Anyways onto the system requirements etc which I've gotten from the offical site.
Minimum requirements:
Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2, Vista (Operating System must be up to date with the latest fixes)
Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz or AMD Athlon 64 +2800
1 GB RAM for Microsoft Windows XP / 1536 MB for Microsoft Windows Vista
128 MB Video RAM or greater with DirectX9 Vertex Shader/ Pixel Shader 2.0 support (NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or ATI Radeon 9800 or better)
8.5 GB available hard drive space
DirectX 9.0c compliant soundcard, plus speakers or headphones
DVD-Rom
Recommended requirements:
Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2, Vista (Operating System must be up to date with the latest fixes)
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.13 GHz or AMD X2 5600+
2 GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX or ATI Radeon X1950 PRO
8.5 GB available hard drive space
DirectX 9.0c compliant soundcard, plus speakers or headphones
DVD-Rom
The Witcher - A breath of fresh air in the RPG market October 29, 2007
Jez
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
Just bought this game on Friday and its very good indeed.
From the moment you start up the game (install is 8.5 gigs!) you are treated to a delightful intro sequence which is probably the longest and best intro i have seen for a while. It gives you a little background on your character Geralt - A Witcher. Witcher's are a breed apart from normal human beings: taken at an early age they are trained and modified to fight monsters and creatures of the night, they are expert swordsmen and have some magic ability as well.
Once you are in the game proper : you find yourself at the Witcher castle headquarters with other witchers. This part is mainly a tutorial for you to learn combat, movement etc. So do not be put off by the game if you are unimpressed by the start.
The combat can take some getting used to but if i were to describe it: i would say it is a cross between Diablo style and Knights Of The Old Republic style. There are different camera viewpoints you can use for playing the game: an Over the shoulder 3rd person close-up style, a low isometric 3rd person style (ie further away - more tactical) and a high isometric 3rd person style (more top-down and further away)
Basically with combat; it is about timing and fighting multiple opponents. Pressing LMB on a monster initiates an attack and then you can chain attack combos further if you press the LMB again at the right time. The graphics and animation for the combat are excellent. You see your character Geralt perform some silky smooth sword techniques depending on what level and what upgrades he has.
As well as levelling up your main attributes (str, int, stam, dex) you can upgrade your swordmanship skills in 3 areas: Strong, Fast and Group. Hopefully those are self-explanatory. But the great thing is: when you upgrade one of these you see the new combat animation in battle. You can also somersault and twirl around apponents which becomes handy if you are fighting multiple enemies (common). This combat is very enjoyable which makes a change for an RPG because normally combat takes a backseat in RPGS. You can also upgrade your weapons and collect trophies of boss monsters you have managed to kill.
The Story is fairly unique and interesting as it is based on a series of polish fantasy novels. It is certainly not your standard fantasy fare here. More interesting is that there are a lot of decision-moments in the game where you must make a moral choice and it affects the story! But you dont find out till much later in the game what effect it had. Absolute genius!
Graphics: 93% Graphics are similar to Gothic 3 and better than Oblivion imho. Animation is superbly done and very smooth. What is most impressive is the lighting: morning, afternoon, evening and night, they all look different because of the lighting and it is very atmospheric.
Sound: 90% A Brilliant orchestral soundtrack (using bagpipes?) accompanies the game when your playing.
Gameplay: 95% This is the trump card imho. Gameplay is what makes games great and this has some magic ingredient which hooks you in, its partly the story, its partly the art style and its partly the sound but it all comes together magnificently to create this experience.
Overall 94% It may not have the out and out freedom of Oblivion but it combines some freedom (think slightly more freedom than KOTR) with a superb structure. Tons of sidequests (80 hours+ game) and its not all about simple Fedex quests; a lot of them have heart and soul :)
The interface and menus are very well designed as well - it all feels very fresh and original.
There are so many things i havent mentioned yet but i dont have space: The Alchemy system (brewing potions) is the most in-depth i have seen in a PC RPG. Also because this is an 18 game the story is quite dark and mature! Some of the jokes are quite bawdy as well! So be prepared for that. But when is the last time you played a PC game that treats you like an adult?
There are numerous mini-games with the game, including: fist-fights, dice-gambling and sleeping with women as well as collecting herbs and brewing potions for yourself. And i'm only in chapter 1 !
You know in most RPGS - there are main NPCS and there are the NPCS which are just part of the scenery and dont affect the story/game so much at all. In this game a lot of the so-called minor NPCS actually make a significant difference in the game! In a normal rpg like Oblivion if you ask them something they will respond with a bland nondescript answer but in this game you can get new knowledge, surprises, gifts and money among other things from them!
The way quests are handled is well done as well: If you had a quest to kill x amount of Ghouls you cant just go out and kill them. Because you need to harvest them as well - And for that you need --Knowledge-- You will have to find out about the enemies either through what other NPCS tell you or through books but this is a great innovation. The quests are knowledge dependant which is how it should be! Brilliant!
If you are wondering how well it will run on your system - i am happy to report that it seems to run and scale extremely well for most DX9 systems: im running it on a xps1710 laptop with a go7900GTX and 2gig ram (very important in this game) at maximum settings and its super smooth. I think there may be a few problems with vista users but the developers have been very quick with patches for the game.
Loading times between areas can be a bit long but if you have 2 gig ram it should be fine.
All in all an excellent rpg with 80 hours of gameplay! Finally the clincher.....which other game is so realistic it lets you sleep with numerous women? (collectible cards for each woman!)
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