The Witcher

**Xiahou** · 12-13-2007, 03:28

Originally Posted by Rodion Romanovich

What a coincidence, I was just browsing around gamespot to see what games had been released lately, and this caught my eye for being one of the more interesting games released lately that I haven't yet gotten. From what the reviews say, everything is great except the voice acting - or?

With exceptions, I think the voice acting is generally quite good. The biggest problem I have with the voices is that certain portions sound like they were re-recorded later and they don't blend well with the surrounding dialog. Of course, that's just my opinion- ymmv.

I think the biggest annoyance is their overuse of the same few character models for the various townsfolk. There's a handful of pretty well-done character models, but it seems like I keep seeing them over and over again, with slight variation all over the place. Even still, I've found the locales to feel much more immersive and real than say, Oblivion's were.

**Soulforged** · 12-15-2007, 14:55

Originally Posted by Xiahou

With exceptions, I think the voice acting is generally quite good. The biggest problem I have with the voices is that certain portions sound like they were re-recorded later and they don't blend well with the surrounding dialog. Of course, that's just my opinion- ymmv.

I think the biggest annoyance is their overuse of the same few character models for the various townsfolk. There's a handful of pretty well-done character models, but it seems like I keep seeing them over and over again, with slight variation all over the place. Even still, I've found the locales to feel much more immersive and real than say, Oblivion's were.

Just as there's an annoying overuse of the same 10 or 15 models, which was frankly just lazyness on the devs part, there's also an overuse for the english voiceovers (and probably for any other single traduction), that's why you noticed that weirdness during dialogs, for example: the expression "What?" or a simple "No!" have the same tone regardless of context, so it's quite funny to hear my american Geralt come with a "WHAT!!!!!" while talking calmly.

**Rodion Romanovich** · 12-17-2007, 11:31

Thanks, the demo was great - but it took some time before I could figure out how to handle the combat combos without making the character freeze

Also, the OTS camera is the only sensible way to play it IMO, the other camera modes ruin both combat and atmosphere. I think I'll definitely grab a copy of this asap!

**Husar** · 12-17-2007, 12:46

Slightly different opinion here, found the OTS camera worst because the character stands to the left but runs toward the middle(well, that he runs crooked fits with the way he seems to stand crooked

), also the crosshair is small and I often misclicked or targeted the wrong enemy so I used one of the overhead perspectives(the only difference I found between them is that F1 is slightly more zoomed out than F2).

Then the engine limitation I actually found worst, you see those wide open fields everywhere but are limited to small fenced corridors and whenever you enter or leave a house you get a reload screen, to me that just doesn't fit very well into an atmospheric modern RPG and it's so linear.

Oh and if the first act really ends after you placed five fires, I'd call that a rather short act, I was expecting to see a bit more of the game for a 2GB download and the promise of a "tutorial plus a whole chapter" though I guess there are quite a few sidequests I didn't make.

I think I'll get it eventually since it's still an entertaining RPG and I'd like to see more despite the flaws but for now I spent my money for some christmas presents.

**Xiahou** · 12-17-2007, 18:51

Originally Posted by Rodion Romanovich

Thanks, the demo was great - but it took some time before I could figure out how to handle the combat combos without making the character freeze

Also, the OTS camera is the only sensible way to play it IMO, the other camera modes ruin both combat and atmosphere. I think I'll definitely grab a copy of this asap!

Yeah, the OTS camera is the easiest for me to use as well. I also find it more immersive than the overhead view.

**Catiline** · 12-19-2007, 00:17

I'm glad this is good. I have it, but my machine turns not to be up to running int. Roll on Dubai in Jan and cheap electronics....

**Lehesu** · 12-19-2007, 00:44

Catiline! I haven't seen your digital likeness for quite some time!

**Zatoichi** · 12-19-2007, 01:23

Just bought it, installed it, and am now awaiting 1.02 patch before firing it up in anger - I want to experience it with minimal loading times. I'm totally excited about it, but I can wait for the 'optimal' experience. Any idea how long this will be?