|
|
|
|
Holistic Guidance - The Witcher
|
List Price: $39.99
Our Price: $34.99
Your Save: $ 5.00 ( 13% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Atari
|
Average Customer Rating:  
|
|
Amazon Maximum Age: 20
Amazon Minimum Age: 204
Batteries Included: 0
Binding: DVD-ROM
Brand: Atari
EAN: 0742725275560
ESRB Age Rating: Mature
Feature: Story-driven role-playing game where game decisions have drastic consequences.
Label: Atari
Manufacturer: Atari
Platform: Windows XP
Publisher: Atari
Release Date: 2007-10-30
Studio: Atari
|
|
|
Features
|
Story-driven role-playing game where game decisions have drastic consequences.
Strategic use of herbalism to collect and create potions that have positive and negative effects on character.
Action-heavy real-time combat with extensive weapon and magic specializations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Editorial Reviews:
|
The Witcher is a pinnacle of storytelling in role-playing games. It shatters the line between good and evil, building a world where moral ambiguity reigns. You'll become your own idea of what a great hero should be, as you control Geralt of Rivia -- a a white-haired "witcher," monster-slayer-for-hire and master swordsman. While trying to regain his lost memory, Geralt unwillingly becomes involved in a world-shaking power struggle. In the process, you'll deal head-on with matters that most fantasy worlds ignore: Racism, political intrigue and genocide, to name a few. The Witcher emphasizes story and character development in a vibrant world, while incorporating tactically-deep real-time combat like no game before it. Incredible tactical depth - Six combat styles, dozens of potions, complex alchemy system, modifiable weapons and powerful magic -- all working together in a fluid real-time experience Inspired by the writings of renowned Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski
|
|
|
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating:
Summary: Major Mistakes Made in thie Release Do not buy
Comment: This will be short...but not sweet. This company made a huge effort to create a beautiful game and I think in a large degree they succeeded. But they made a major mistake for the US market. And for the UK and the Germany markets too. They elected to censor their own creation. They cut from the US version and the UK versions aspects of the game that are natural, normal and healthy but in the bizare modern US morality market, we are allowed to see unlimited blood, violence, gore and profanity but not the human form. In the German version they cut the "violence" but left the human aspect untouched. These are decisions the buyer has the right to make for themselves. They also did not think we read in the USA so we do NOT get a printed manual. And they do not disclose this in any evident manner in the advertising. I do not sadly recomend purchasing this until an honest and open choice is allowed the purchaser.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Definitely one of the best out there
Comment: I really recommend the Witcher.
The story & world are amazingly deep and you can really get sucked in. There is an incredible freedom in the witcher where you really do get to influence what happens and chose between sides - the choices can be really hard to make! It can be a really long game if you take your time to enjoy it fully. I absolutely love this game!
The Witcher ran smoothly on our xp, we didn't experience any crashes or bugs. The music, graphics, and voice acting are very good. One of the most impressive features is actually not part of the game: the website. There are constant updates on the witcher website, including new quests and many improvements. The support team is wonderful and the forum is very active.
If you like deep rpgs, I'd definitely give this one a try!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Everything they all say it is
Comment: I've read the other reviews, and if you like what they say, you'll love this game. The graphics are amazing, the dialogue is well done and the characters are interesting. The graphics are amazing. The game visually is beautiful. I have enjoyed playing it. Truly. However, I did not find the game at all captivating. There is now contemplation over choices or paths to take. It seemed to me to play like the Final Fantasy and Fable games, which also have great graphics. But, I DO NOT like the go-here-do-this game play where your path is predetermined and the game leads you there. You physically can't go anywhere else. Perhaps I've been spoiled by Morrowind, where you can literally go anywhere and do anything and can be anything. I like to have a choice in where I go and what I do, and I want those decisions to effect the game world. I was bored within minutes but stuck it out for hours. If you liked Final Fantasy and Fable, you should like this game. It was ok, but definitely not what I'd hoped, and not worth the price to me. People need more than graphics no matter how amazing they might be.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Witcher - Normal Ed.
Comment: This is one of the best RPGs I have ever played. I should have bought the Enhanced Edition, but the difference between the two wasn't very clear.
Pros:
-Adult content is completely avoidable
-Very nice music score. It was a different style altogether.
-Game world is believable enough to warrant a sequel (or prequel). The elven language is based on Celtic which was a nice touch (kind of how the elven language in LotR is based on Finnish).
-Flashy combat system that takes some getting used to, but is designed to cater to a more general crowd. You can choose a point and click camera angle like in the old Kings Quest games, or choose a normal 3rd person shoulder view like Oblivion/Morrowind.
-Storyline did many TYPICAL things, but was interesting and appropriately long.
-Good graphics and engine. The only place I really lagged a bit was in the Trade Quarter, but I was playing at max settings on a Geforce 8800 GT.
-The levelup system was more dependent on skills rather than stats -- definite plus. Leveling was not a grind either.
-The alchemy was well-done. It was much more interesting compared to the system from the Elder Scrolls games.
Cons:
-Normal version of the game has a major difference in voice pitch with Geralt in several conversations. I hear the enhanced edition fixed this, but it wasn't a big enough issue to matter for me.
-The glossary/character entries in the journal was a little overdone. The casual player probably doesn't care, but it adds depth to the game nonetheless.
-The game had a few boring parts that involve a lot of running around. The only thing that kept me going was the drive to finish Quest X. While the scenery was well-done, it did not give enough variety to make me explore for the sake of exploring (in Oblivion, it's enjoyable to just run around to see the sights assuming you've done some texture/environment overhauls). In fact, the player was only free to explore places that were pertinent to the various quests. There were also points of no return with the main story which made completing some quests difficult =/
-Somewhat steep learning curve. It didn't bother me, but it might give trouble to casual gamers.
-NPCs have EXCELLENT voice-overs, but their models were often fairly generic. The female NPCs all have the same generic cleavage that you could lose a dog in. It got pretty tiring. A simple face randomizer could have made things a little better.
-The player and the NPCs wear the same clothes most of the time. I think there are about....four....different armors for Geralt (yes, that includes shirt and suspenders). I was disappointed at the variety in that respect. The alternate weapons like daggers are completely useless because they "cannot be used in witcher combat styles." Why give them to a witcher in the first place? The only thing they're good for is selling in town. I've never been disarmed, so they don't even serve as a backup.
-The game menus load slowly, but the game itself is fine. The loading screen will often hang for as long as 15 seconds before bringing up the list of saved games.
-The inventory could have used more organization. I had to give separate space for potions, ingredients, weapon-related stuff, etc. The game should have done it automatically for the player.
Overall I'd give the game a 9/10. It doesn't appeal quite as much to the casual gamer. The hardware requirements are high, and the game is very detailed. It is worth playing if you don't mind all the cursing/sluts/using of women.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Solid RPG with an excellent plot and some of the best character development around
Comment: What puts the Witcher head and shoulders above most RPGs is the story. The central character, Geralt of Rivia, who originated in a series of short stories and novels, contrasts sharply with the "Nameless heroes" of the Gothic and Oblivion series. Whereas these characters are basically bank slates who run around killing monsters and foiling dastardly plots for the hell of it (there being no real motivation for their actions), Geralt is a fully fleshed out character with a more back story than can be explored in the game. One of the pleasures of the Witcher is the opportunity to make decisions and experience a genuine story arc in terms of his development.
The fact that the character is a famous "Witcher," or professional monster hunter, also does a great deal to explain what is a common flaw in RPGs -- the suspension of disbelief required to imagine that townsfolk would trust some stranger wandering in from the forest with their problems (hey I just met you, but you've got a sword so can you please retrieve my father's priceless heirloom from [insert dungeon name]).
While the Witcher has a few such moments, for the most part the quests are believable, the character interaction excellent, and the sense of consequences to your actions realistic. Both the story and the world are dark and unusually modern in terms of themes if not setting: involving racism, terrorism, and religious fanaticism. While you can choose from multiple sides in a brewing conflict, or strive to the path of Neutrality, you'll find there are no easy answers to the questions that beset you in the game.
Stepping away from the plot for a moment, the combat system is quite good and very innovative, which is important since there is a great deal of fighting in the game. The system manages to strike a pleasant balance between click-fest systems such as most Diablo clones and the simplistic click-once-and-forget systems such as WOW. The system is at once easy to use, and still requires tactics, which is a difficult trick to pull off. The balance between martial prowess, potions and limited spell-like effects is just about perfect. The inventory and skill systems, while more standard to the genre, are similarly intuitive and well thought out. The graphics on the other hand, while good, are based on the aging Neverwinter Nights engine and are unlikely to win any awards.
If there is a complaint about the game, its that its only semi open. The game is divided into chapters, in each of which you can roam free form. However, there is at no point the freedom and wonder of say Oblivion -- where after leaving the initial dungeon you are pretty much free to do what you want and wander an enormous and vibrant world. On the other hand this allows a much more intricate plot to be woven into the Witcher than Oblivion, so its a mixed complaint.
Continuing to take Oblivion as a point of reference, there is no question that the engine for Oblivion is far better, with no annoying load times, fewer crashes, and some of the most amazing grass and forest effects seen, which make riding a horse from one side of the kingdom to the other a pure pleasure. On the other hand the story and main character were a bit of a disappointment - whereas in the Witcher they are a pure joy. Combat too in the Witcher is far better. What's more the potions and limited spell effects you have access to just feels right. In Oblivion I could be a mind boggling super mage/fighter/thief/assassin/acrobat (provided I hit the jump key every 5 seconds). In the Witcher, I am just a mutated monster hunter -- nothing more, nothing less.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
