The first Witcher game is an excellent RPG that gets more slack than it really deserves. Although most of it comes from that fact that it can be slow to start, rendering it rather impenetrable to most people starting off.
Yes it does start off kind of slow, and has some pacing problems in act two, but if you can stick with it and keep playing, you won't wanna stop. Act 1 is slow and is the "dullest" of all the acts, but it has some sparks of brilliance in it. Act 2 suffers from pacing issues because it gives you a laundry list of quests to do, both primary and side quests. A LOT goes on in act 2, and it can be quite daunting with all the stuff you have to do that you can lose track of what you were doing.
Everything else in the regards to pacing is rather smooth and well done, and the writing is as excellent as the sequels. The choices you make have just as big an impact, and can vastly change certain plot threads. The story is a slow burner, but if you stick to it you are treated to some excellent characters, a vibrant and earthly world, and just a great story/sub plots over all. Even the whole amnesia shtick works out quite well as a framing device to allow comfortable leeway into the world of the witcher without prior knowledge of the books.
The gameplay isn't BAD, but it isn't GREAT....just sort of OKAY. It actually starts to grow on you as you progress through the skill trees. The click fest isn't for everyone, and people seem to take issue with the whole stance thing when it really isn't difficult to grasp nor is it cumbersome. It's sort of like playing WoW or KotOR I guess....just don't go in expecting Witcher 2 gameplay. The game gives you enough skill points to experiment with all the talents Geralt can learn without ever making you feelt like you've screwed up in your build. It's when you start investing in the Silver level talents is when the gameplay grows on you and combat becomes rather addicting (at least I found it to be).
Alchemy isn't too complicated/ difficult either; certainly a little more advanced that it is in the second game. The book reading thing can get annoying though, but it can be a ice immersion tool for the player to understand monsters and what a witcher does. You need only read books once and then you can sell them back, you will permanently retain the knowledge.
The game overall is a very "your mileage may vary", and can be rather uncompromising to the player. But there is just something about it that can just hook you and not let you go. I got stuck on chapter 1 as well like most and just left it be for a while, and then I restarted from scratch. After I buckled down and finished chapter 1, I saw 40 hours of my life fly out the window as I just plowed through the game in utter joy, captivated by the world, character, and story.
Give it a chance. If you liked the Witcher 2, you just might have it in you to play through the first one and really enjoy it if you just have a little patience. It's an under appreciated gem in my eyes, and this is my honest opinion on the game.
I hope I gave you some good info, and if you got more questions I'd be happy to reply.
EDIT: There are also mods you can get which change the combat to something you may like more. I've not used any mods on my game, but on my next playthrough I'm going to try out the Full Rebalance Mod 1.5 [http://www.thewitcher.com/community/entry/105] which is fully supported by the devs too.
