The Witcher

[Zenicetus]

How "Mature" is the game? I might pick it up if it has the three B's: Boobs, booze, and blood (and oddly enough, they all have two O's)

I just noticed while browsing the official forum that there are TWO versions... Euro and U.S., and the U.S. version has some censored graphics (but not language, or gore, apparently). Can't let us Americans see to much, 'ya know. Apparently it's just one NPC with clothing instead of nude, and some images on Tarot cards. Here's the thread:

http://www.thewitcher.com/forum/index.php?topic=3130.0

The workaround if you really care about it, seems to be buying the download version from the UK.

Other feedback seems pretty solid. I think I'll order it -- the U.S. disk version, since I don't like keeping track of more archived download purchases than I have to. And I've seen enough of the real thing...

[The Marcher Lord]

Really enjoying this one so far. Have finished the prologue and now playing Act 1. Great visuals which are not too taxing on my modest system (AMD 3700, 2 Gigs RAM, Gainward 7800GS+ AGP) which has everything on max except the pointless "depth of field" effect. Framerate is very smooth although I have heard Act 3 can be a bit of a framerate killer for medium to low end machines.

The biggest problem they have at the moment is the loading times between sequences and when you enter/leave a building. These are very long and if you are trapped having to reload a save on a difficult fight then it can get quite infuriating. The load times are bad on fast as well as slow machines and they are working to fix this in the next patch.

Storyline and voice acting is undoubtedly the best amongst the crop of RPG's released over the last year. Stacks of side quests to do for cash. You seem to get handed new weapons/armour as you advance through the storyline although I have only received one set at the end of the prologue so far. You can collect meteorite stone and get your sword ugraded or repaired by a dwarf smith. You can pick up other weapons lying on the ground after a fight, but I haven't seen anything better than the Witcher sword I have been given so far. No sign of new armour yet on dead NPC's or in shops.

Swordfights consist of attacks in Fast, Strong or Group modes and rely heavily on good timing to get the combos working well for maximum damage in the fastest possible time. You can only fight in third person modes, of which there are three. Personally I favour first person battles with slash and parry techniques as this is more immersive, but you do get the hang of the third person Witcher fighting very quickly.

Overall a very good game if you like RPG's

[AggonyDuck]

The fighting actually has a lot more depth than I had initially thought. Drinking the right potions, using the correct bombs and signs and oiling your weapon with a suitable oil will make or break you. In that way it is similar to BG2, where you needed to prepare yourself for tough fight with the correct spells, tactics and equipment.

[Kekvit Irae]

The voice acting is only sub-par. One minute they talk in a frightened tone, the next they talk in a peaceful tone. It's inconsistent.

I get crashes. A lot.

Combat is again sup-par. Sometimes Geralt will just blindly stand there and not attack unless you click several times.

[TinCow]

I picked it up after reading this thread. I am enjoying it a great deal. I like the combat and am not having any technical problems at all (patched before I started). The only thing that gets to me is the dialog. I think the voice acting is relatively decent, but the writing is simply... bizarre. Clearly it has been butchered in the translation, but that knowledge doesn't make it any less distracting. It's not 'engrish' in any sense, it's just... off. That breaks the immersion for me, but it's still pretty fun. Not a must-own by any means, but if you've got money to blow and want a new RPG to play, I recommend it.

[Xiahou]

I ordered the UK version (didn't want to be left wondering what's been censored). Hopefully I'll be getting it in the next couple days. Looks like a really good game.

[AggonyDuck]

From what I've read at the Witcher forums, the translation and the english voiceovers were butchered to a shorter form from the original english translation, which was a lot closer to the Polish version.