I have been eyeballing it for awhile on steam but I'm not really sold yet. I hear it has a good story but the combat is really bad. My biggest question is how bad we talking here, like unplayable bad, hair pulling bad, or just tedious bad?
So... is The Witcher any good?
- Thread starter Elfgore
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The combat is pretty bad, that is gospel truth. The swordplay is basically clicking every few seconds, so it's not exactly a thrilling experience.
I wouldn't say the story is much better though. Much of the dialogue and characterization is pretty atrocious, and the story is the equivalent of watching paint dry for hours. I spent somewhere in the range of 15-20 hours with it before quitting, so I can't recommend it.
Try the second one though. I've played a bit of it, and it's a night and day difference. The second one improves on virtually everything you could have asked for involving the gameplay and story.
I wouldn't say the story is much better though. Much of the dialogue and characterization is pretty atrocious, and the story is the equivalent of watching paint dry for hours. I spent somewhere in the range of 15-20 hours with it before quitting, so I can't recommend it.
Try the second one though. I've played a bit of it, and it's a night and day difference. The second one improves on virtually everything you could have asked for involving the gameplay and story.
I didn't like the first Witcher too much, the combat was repetitive and the loot wasn't very exciting.
The story's not your typical fantasy genre, I think it's closer to fantasy shows like Hercules or Xena rather than Lord of the rings, therefore it was refreshing.
You can just jump in the second one, which plays more fluidly and has better questlines. Although it helps if you play the first one before the second so you get a feel of the world and knows who is who.
The story's not your typical fantasy genre, I think it's closer to fantasy shows like Hercules or Xena rather than Lord of the rings, therefore it was refreshing.
You can just jump in the second one, which plays more fluidly and has better questlines. Although it helps if you play the first one before the second so you get a feel of the world and knows who is who.
If you're interested in the series, I'd recommend going straight for the second game.
The original is just... awful. Boring combat, looks like turd, terrible dialogue, even worse voice acting.
The story has some potential under there, but the sloppy execution just kills it.
The original is just... awful. Boring combat, looks like turd, terrible dialogue, even worse voice acting.
The story has some potential under there, but the sloppy execution just kills it.
Combat isn't great but I don't see why it's being portrayed as the worst thing since Hitler either. The Witcher is certainly more engaging than some other rpg's I've played, some of which are extremely popular but which shall remain unnamed. But for some reason people give those games a pass while critising the hell out of The Witcher over every perceived fault.
Which isn't to say Witcher is without faults, far from it. It was the very first game of an inexperienced developer using an older game engine that clearly wasn't designed for that sort of combat and it shows. You can clearly see in places where the engine was brought to its limits and other places where the developers ambitions exceeded their ability.
Still I find it a charming game. Not one of my favourites but it does enough right to be worth recommending.
Which isn't to say Witcher is without faults, far from it. It was the very first game of an inexperienced developer using an older game engine that clearly wasn't designed for that sort of combat and it shows. You can clearly see in places where the engine was brought to its limits and other places where the developers ambitions exceeded their ability.
Still I find it a charming game. Not one of my favourites but it does enough right to be worth recommending.
Am I the only one who liked the combat in the first game? It's clever and different from what we're used to in RPGs, and I prefer it over the Diablo-style clickfest or just clicking once and wait for the enemy to die.
It has a very good plot, memorable characters, interesting potion-making and potion-consuming mechanic, lots of exploration, and it looks good for its time. The only downside I found was the voice acting, which is not as good as what you'd get in most AAA games.
The Witcher got many bad reviews for its initial version, and that the version you buy now (The Witcher: Enhanced Edition) has everything people were complaining about back then fixed or improved.
It has a very good plot, memorable characters, interesting potion-making and potion-consuming mechanic, lots of exploration, and it looks good for its time. The only downside I found was the voice acting, which is not as good as what you'd get in most AAA games.
The Witcher got many bad reviews for its initial version, and that the version you buy now (The Witcher: Enhanced Edition) has everything people were complaining about back then fixed or improved.
I really enjoyed The Witcher 1 & 2 and i didn't even mind the combat, i wont rant about all the stuff i liked about them and simply say i felt they were both good games.
I played 2, with an import from Witcher 1. All that top end gear really helped me out at the beginning. Never made it past the first town unfortunately, nasty bug kept crashing the game randomly. Don't know if it's been fixed. Probably not. Be prepared to quicksave every few seconds.
I honestly don't think that the combat was bad in The Witcher 1 at all. Sure, it's pretty different to other games, but I don't think it's bad. It just requires good timing and use of different stances for different situations. I honestly thought it was refreshingly different.
I'd also argue that The Witcher 1 has a better story. I'm usually the type of person that has a strong opinion either way, so for a game to change my mind part way through and make me pick the neutral path for the first time ever is a pretty big thing for me. This, of course, won't be the case for everyone, but it had a pretty big impact on me. In contrast, 2 (so far; I haven't finished it yet) doesn't allow a neutral path and forces you to pick a side. Take from that what you will.
I'd also argue that The Witcher 1 has a better story. I'm usually the type of person that has a strong opinion either way, so for a game to change my mind part way through and make me pick the neutral path for the first time ever is a pretty big thing for me. This, of course, won't be the case for everyone, but it had a pretty big impact on me. In contrast, 2 (so far; I haven't finished it yet) doesn't allow a neutral path and forces you to pick a side. Take from that what you will.
Here's my take, people tend to exaggerate when it comes to combat, it's really not that bad if a bit simplistic, but considering other RPG's this one's ... let's put it, more dynamic than your average Neverwinter Nights/Dragon Age ''click and watch it die'' style, it's like a sequence of quick time events that you can break with dodging moves (pirouettes, flips, rolls etc.) and magical signs (your basic magical powers), also the sequence of moves becomes more complex the more you upgrade every combat stance (same goes for the powers who get special abilities like knock-down or incinerate). Another thing people tend to miss is that the game wasn't specifically made to be played in third person, there's a top-down view that works wonders considering the gameplay style, so in context it makes sense!
As for the voice-acting, it was pretty awful, but ever since the Enhanced Edition (standard edition of now, they re-recorded almost every line of dialogue and patched the game to Enhanced Edition while adding tons of new features for free to anyone who previously bought the game) it never really bothered me as much as the facial animations, still like they said, new developer, central-eastern European one at that and the godawful Aurora engine from BioWare's NN game it's pretty amazing what they achieved, the graphics were gorgeous for an RPG back then (think of Dragon Age Origins with better environments and worse facial animations) and the writing is top notch, with some of it lost in the translation, hardly noticeable.
Would I recommend it?
If you like Baldur's Gate, Planescape Torment and Neverwinter Nights 2, Knights of the Old Republic 2 and other recent Obsidian titles as well as Dragon Age Origins, this would be a shame to miss, especially since you can import your save game into Witcher 2 which is just on a whole different ballpark when it comes to recent RPG's.
Take care!
As for the voice-acting, it was pretty awful, but ever since the Enhanced Edition (standard edition of now, they re-recorded almost every line of dialogue and patched the game to Enhanced Edition while adding tons of new features for free to anyone who previously bought the game) it never really bothered me as much as the facial animations, still like they said, new developer, central-eastern European one at that and the godawful Aurora engine from BioWare's NN game it's pretty amazing what they achieved, the graphics were gorgeous for an RPG back then (think of Dragon Age Origins with better environments and worse facial animations) and the writing is top notch, with some of it lost in the translation, hardly noticeable.
Would I recommend it?
If you like Baldur's Gate, Planescape Torment and Neverwinter Nights 2, Knights of the Old Republic 2 and other recent Obsidian titles as well as Dragon Age Origins, this would be a shame to miss, especially since you can import your save game into Witcher 2 which is just on a whole different ballpark when it comes to recent RPG's.
Take care!
Wow, you'd swear Geralt personally came to some of these people's homes and pissed in their cornflakes.
The Witcher games are two of my favourite rpgs. I've played a lot of rpgs and I'm highly critical of their stories and I still think those games have a great story especially compared to some of the other slop they goes for "story" in games these days. What's more is that the game makes you make decisions that aren't black and white and have repercussions on the story.
The combat is different and can be somewhat of an acquired taste because it's a little different from what other games offer. exxxed in his post gives a good explanation of how the combat works. For me the combat took a little getting used to but I found it rather refreshingly different from the standard fare offered.
The Witcher games are two of my favourite rpgs. I've played a lot of rpgs and I'm highly critical of their stories and I still think those games have a great story especially compared to some of the other slop they goes for "story" in games these days. What's more is that the game makes you make decisions that aren't black and white and have repercussions on the story.
The combat is different and can be somewhat of an acquired taste because it's a little different from what other games offer. exxxed in his post gives a good explanation of how the combat works. For me the combat took a little getting used to but I found it rather refreshingly different from the standard fare offered.
You obviously haven't played many games if Witcher 1 is the worse game you ever played.hazabaza1 said: