Product Details
 | The Witcher Enhanced |
| List Price: | $19.99 |
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Product Description
An Acclaimed PC Role-Playing GameProduct InformationThe RPG of the Year is back in a Premium Edition packed with Powerful Extras!Assume the role of The Witcher Geralt a legendary monster slayer caught in aweb of intrigue as he battles forces vying for control of the world! Makedifficult decisions and live with the consequences in a game that will immerseyou in an extraordinary tale like no other! Representing the pinnacle ofstorytelling in role-playing games The Witcher shatters the line between goodand evil in a world where moral ambiguity reigns. The Witcher emphasizes storyand character development in a vibrant world while incorporating tactically-deepreal-time combat like no game before it.Includes Improved Enhanced and Expanded Edition of the "Best RPG of 2007" Bonus DVD (D'jinii Adventure Editor and Two New Adventures) The D’jinni Adventure Editor allows players to create or modify their own adventures in the world of The Witcher. "The Price of Neutrality": the adventure tells the story of Geralt coming back to Kaer Morhen and finding a mysterious camp near the stronghold (featuring 3 new quests) “Side Effects”: the first ever release of this new adventure which focuses on Geralt's close friend Dandelion and his troubles in Vizima City (featuring 5 new quests) "Making of" DVD with never-before-seen bonus material (180 minutes) Game Soundtrack CD (73 minutes) "Inspired by" Music CD (59 minutes) Official Game Guide (112 pages) "The Witcher" short story by Andrej Sapkowski featuring new artwork Map of The Witcher’s worldProduct Features Visit the huge cit of Vizma the bustling capital of Temeria. Experience jaw-dropping graphics as you battle horrifying enemies. Three distinct camera modes let you choose your playing style. Enter a magnificent and believable fantasy world based on tProduct Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1759 in Video Games
- Brand: Atari
- Model: 27655
- Released on: 2008-09-16
- ESRB Rating: Mature
- Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 95
- Format: DVD-ROM
- Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
Features
- You will need a plan to make accurate decisions and think through combat tactics. Over-reliance on your reflexes is what will get you killed
- Uncontested swordsmanship, uncanny night vision, unrivalled knowledge of alchemy, and ability to spark desire in women and trepidation amongst foes
- Training, trials and tribulations let you tap into supernatural abilities that have mutated your organism
- Non-linear Decisions and Consequences
- A vast set of choices, each with it own impact on the fate of the fantasy world. Retracing your steps with different decisions will unlock alternative endings and previously unseen sequences
Customer Reviews
GAMING AS IT SHOULD BE!
Were I a member of the gaming Industry right now, I would be shamed
to be taught what gaming should look and feel like and how it should be
marketed by a small Eastern European company. Who of the multi-billion
gaming "giants" ever went back to improve a released game? Yet, there
you have it: thanks to CDPROJECT gaming as an art-form is still alive
and kicking!
This was the most awaited fantasy cRPG in the past 3 years. Not only
did the original deliver, but even more work has gone into truly
improving it.
THIS WAS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL cRPG GAMES I HAD EVER PLAYED -
AND NOW IT IS GORGEOUS!
The environments are detailed, realistic, and can be experienced
from up close. Grass, flowers and tree branches moved in both FABLE and
TITAN QUEST as well; these, however, seem so true I caught myself
reaching for my...antihistamines! Weather affects and day-night
alterations (you have to see the elongating shadows to believe them!)
are just gorgeous! More importantly, these are not just eye-candy:
certain NPCs and monsters appear only when the correct combination of
time-of-day and weather coincide...The horizon is far and the clouds
move in endless variations. It reminded me of the sky of the original
UNREAL, another visually ground-breaking game at its time. PURE VISUAL
MAGIC!
The character (Geralt) can master both sword-fighting and magic
spells (what is known as a Warlock). To some die-hard RPG fans this may
seem like heresy, nevertheless, keep in mind that multi-classing is not
unheard off. The movement repertoire for both practices are impressively
designed. Especially the sword-fighting, it is at par to any console
action game. And the spells (both offensive and defensive ones) are not
less impressive.
Free roaming? Yes and no. One can decide which parts of the map he
will visit but loading is still needed to travel even annoyingly short
distances. And since quests and side-quest still have to be completed,
yes, eventually a subtle, yet ever present, directionality is present.
Looting and bartering? Aaah...yes, sort of. You practically never
change the sword you start off with (although you do get to improve its
abilities), whereas good armor is only a little easier to come by
compared to PLANESCAPE. On the upside, you get to gamble, have romantic
relationships (FABLE was full of great ideas after all!) and bribe for
information, so trinkets have other uses as well.
Detailed character modifiers? Nothing like the AD&D rules. You
gain talents (gold, silver & bronze) which you can spend to improve
your fighting or magical abilities. Pretty much like the DIABLO or the
TITAN QUEST abilities systems.
So, apart for the slight action-cRPG handicap, I have only two other
objections. First, the...camera placement. Once more the atrocious
Aurora Engine (remember NWN2...?) will keep auto-placing it where it is
bound to get on your nerves - as it targets your character even if that
is not the most logical option. Yes, this has indeed improved compared
to the original but one cannot teach an old dog new tricks.
Second, the controls. They need getting used to as the fighting
combos are still easily ruined by clicking out of sync. You do
eventually get the hold of it, however it keeps glitching.
Nevertheless, its shortcomings are not enough to diminish the breath
of fresh air this release brings to the scene. The Enhanced edition not
only is a truly reworked game but it also comes full with detailed
Manuals, beautiful Maps and all the extras that games used to come with
in the good old days...
Whereas the BALDUR's GATES saga was story-heavy but (by today
standards) visually wanting and the NEVERWINTER NIGHTS series was found,
well, wanting in all aspects, THE WITCHER is the dream cRPG that
BIOWARE was supposed to be capable of releasing all along but never did -
and its current EA bedfellows surely put a stop to such aspirations
now. That game, however, is finally here - and not from whom you would
expect.
A tip of my hat to CDPROJECT for keeping the ART-FORM of Gaming
alive. Well done indeed!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Awesomeness
This is the best cRPG of all time. No joke. With the Enhanced
Edition out, the flaws that detracted from the gameplay, and gave games
like NWN, (only because of the vast user-created modules), and
Planescape a chance to compete, there are no longer any RPGs in the
Witcher's class, let alone with a similar grade. Okay, bad analogy, but
it works.
You play as Geralt, a white-haired witcher, (read- monster slayer),
who has lost his memory, and has apparently been raised from the dead.
Despite this non-original start, the rest of the game seems to go out of
its way to make up for it. (Don't worry about spoilers, you find this
out in the opening cutscene.) The sheer enormousness of the world, and
the multitude of NPCs, (which is my one and only gripe with the Witcher,
that their aren't enough models, and you end up having someone talking
to themselves), that you interact with on a frequent basis, makes you
feel like you know them.
The world that The Witcher is set in is a dark and gritty world,
with racism and genocide in it, along with language that would curl your
mother's hair, and quite a few unnecessary sex scenes. Pretty much
every woman you meet is trying to jump your bones. That said, there is a
believable reason for this promiscuity, besides simply attracting the
13-year-old Nerd demographic of gamers, which, however, I will not share
here, as it would be a moderate spoiler, and some people might not like
me for that.
The fights are simply awesome, whether you are chopping a
character's head off, or slitting his throat from a stranglehold, or
repeatedly stabbing him with a dagger while he writhes on the ground,
well, you get my point. The combos make combat interesting, while not
too hard like some button-mashing excuses for gameplay that pass as good
RPGs nowadays, (Read- Too Human), and yet keeps the combat from
becoming a simple point and click, (Neverwinter Nights).
The plot is incredible, and I had to play through it twice before I
understood all of its ramifications.
The fact that CDRP took the time to re-release the entire game,
fixing all of its flaws, and most importantly, ALLOW ANYONE WITH THE
ORIGINAL GAME TO UPGRADE TO THE ENHANCED EDITION FOR NO COST, says a lot
positive about this small company.
This brings me to a practical point. If you want to save $7, buy the
original Witcher, then go the site and download the EE for free. Of
course, then you don't get the EE's extras, but now its up to you
whether they are worth $7.
Back to the final component of this review, the D'jinni adventure
creator, which to my knowledge, has already been used to create 3 add-on
modules, (granted they are the official ones, but it shows what can be
done), and given the Witcher's enormous fanbase, i wouldn't be surprised
to see something like NWN's immense and varied community of module
builders spring up for the Witcher, so that you can have limitless
adventures playing as Geralt, or even as another character, perhaps one
of your own making, in future modules.
Fun- 6/5
Overall Rating- 5/5
As a postscript, some people have been spreading the rumor that this
game comes with DRM, its not true, well, not in the way you are
thinking. It comes with Tages, which is a program that is designed only
to check to make sure the CD is in the drive before you start the game
up, to prevent cracked copies, and is nothing like an invasive
protection system such as Starforce. I am pretty sure the new patch even
removed this feature, but don't quote me on that.
The RPG of the year if not the decade
You are Geralt, the wife wolf, biologically enhanced with super
reflexes and healing powers, magic, alchemy and the sword are at your
disposal, and there are monsters everywhere, which is good for you, it's
your to kill them.
The first "Witcher" released last year turned a lot of heads and
turned a lot of gamers off as well. Sure the graphics are
hyper-realistic, the fighting system dynamic blending RPG and Action
together in a way similar but superior to "Diablo" or "Neverwinter
Knights" and the story is epic, complex and ripe with side-quest,
complex characters and decisions that really make a difference in how
the game unfolds, but the glitches. The first Witcher was a mess of
ultra long loading times, cloned NPG's, annoyingly repetitive and
stifled dialogue that cloaked the brilliant game and sent some gamers
back to the store for refunds.
The new "Witcher" is free to customers with the original disk, I
opted however to buy it again. Why? Because the "Enhanced Edition" comes
with a 112 pg guide (which is unfortunately small enough to fit in a
DVD box) as well as a nice fold-out map. A game editor, new quest and
two CD's of music from or inspired by plus a print book of a short story
from which the game and characters arose. Again, all this is available
in digital form for free to those who purchased the old version, but I
wanted the print copies.
So, the pros? Well, the loading times are vastly cut, but the game
takes up to a WHOPPING 13 GIGS of HD space and a minimum of 9. Most of
the dialogue has been re-written and re-recorded to great effect, this
is all good. The cut scenes are still boring to watch, though a little
more movement has been added. Overall, the presentation and loading
issues are all solved and extra quest are always good and welcome. If
you're in the middle of the game you can update now and keep playing
your old saved games, you don't have to start over. They also added and
auto-sort system for you items and alchemy ingredients.
The Cons? The game takes up 13 gigs of space on a full install and
still requires the disk to run. The game claims to be optimized for x64
and dual processors, but I have to make sure everything on my notebook
is shut down to run the game with decent frame rates, version 1.3 ran at
a better frame rate for me. This version seems to take more resources, I
don't know why.
Now, what systems am I running on? I have two. The first is my
notebook. I run a Turion x64 dual-core @1.8 X 2 ghz, 4 Gig 4-4-4-12 ram,
7200rpm sata 100gig hd, on a 1680 X 1050 hi-def monitor but I have the
Witcher settings @ 1280 X 800. Runs 25 - 45 FPS as long as all other
programs are shut down, including the side-bar and back-ground programs.
My other system is a custom desk-top I built myself.(updated
10/20/09) I have an ASUS M3N HT DX MOBO with a Phenom Black x64 2.6ghz
true quad-core, 8 gig 5-5-5-15 ram and 2 GTX250 SLI cards with 2gig DDR4
Ram. Running at full graphics at 1440 X 900 resolution the game is
smooth and frame rates are 60fps steady. Still, the video cut-scenes
look jagged (there are verticle lines on the people.)
As for the gameplay? This looks a lot like a "Diablo" style game,
but it's not. "The Witcher" is a game about story and characters, an old
school RPG. The Witcher is what gamers who are tired of MMOG and FPS
games are looking for. This is definitely a game for fans of "Final
Fantasy" or even "Zelda". This game is an addiction, it sucks you right
in and keeps you hooked. The game has three levels of difficulty and I
highly suggest starting with "easy" so you can focus on the story and
exploration and save the harder levels for you second time around. Why?
Because the harder levels require more alchemy and fighting skills, it's
longer and more frustrating and if you want to experience the narrative
without being hindered by trying to become stronger and better stocked
constantly, then easy is the way to go. I also prefer the OTS mode, I
use an optical track-ball mouse that gives me great 360 degree movement.
Overall, excellent game, just exceptional, but a huge resource hog
that needs a powerful PC to look really good and will translate well to a
PS3 if they ever go that way. If you like RPG's then this is the must
own this year, if not this decade.
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