The Witcher was a game that was interesting, original, engaging but holy crap was it complex. The manual alone was a terrible abomination rising from the ground like a monolith of evil. However, it's definitely a game that rewards the initiative to dig in, especially since i heard the Enhanced edition resolved a lot of the technical problems that held the game back.
I disagree, but your point is fairly taken.Mass Effect is a very slick production (except for the repetitive side missions), but it felt like a mashup of classic sci-fi TV shows and movies that didn't feel very original. It's still fun to play, but the Witcher was more impressive as an alternate universe I'd never seen before.
If you read my Gears 2 review in the "What are you playing" thread you'll know i actually took points off for the whole "Humanity vs inescapably alien threat that is bent on genocide" plot. The reason I think it works with Mass Effect is that, it's not just Humanity in the fight. Although you can certainly make it seem that way if you play Shepard as a bigot. I can see where some people can roll their eyes at Mass effect's main antagonists, but in my opinion the presentation is what saves the game and puts it high on my list. It just does what it does so well that it's hard to take off points.
Both are games you should check out, Mass Effect's learning curve is a lot less steep (though quite challenging on the higher difficulty levels) while The Witcher is insanely complex but overall a great game. I can't decide if the complexity helped or hindered the game honestly.
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