Witcher 3 reviewed

Saw this review from E3

Looks goodWitcher 3 review

Witcher 3 Trailer

Oh wow - this looks really exciting. I love the first game, have the 2nd on my shelf to play, but the graphic quality of the third far surpasses what I've seen of the 2nd.

The only thing that disappoints me is the transformation of Geralt. I really liked the rough edginess of the face and physique of the first game. It gets dumbed down in the second game and becomes very Westernised in the third.

The open world concept is great. I just hope real exploration is available. The game that I felt got this concept right remains Gothic 2 - you could climb/jump/walk/run just about anywhere in the game world and I loved that. Skyrim frustrates me in this department.

Thanks for posting this Nakia - fab to watch and listen to over breakfast

From what has been said it sounds as if you will be able to explore just about anywhere.  They also said the game is story driven and not quest driven.  You see something that looks interesting go to explore and find something that is interesting.  If the game even begins to live up to the hype it should be a really great game.

I am keeping an eye on this game.

Sue, his face really hasn't changed THAT much from 2 to 3. He just looks older xD

I love the Witcher 2, it's probably the closest thing you'll get to ASOIAF in the medium. No where before has political intrigue and philosiphy been handled with such finesse as the Witcher games. 

For those who don't agree, I present to you this awesome 5 part blog:

http://knightofphoenix.tumblr.com/witcher


ETA: Well, perhaps the Assassin's Creed games too xD

The game should be available on February 24th 2015 and if you own the previous titles you can actually get a discount from gog (as well as bonus codes for fair pricing if you live in a region where pricing is more expensive than in the US).

It sounds like a fair deal, now all I have to do is complete the second game before February.

Thanks for the tip, Cara. I didn't know if I wanted to buy it now or wait a year or so when it goes on sale.

No problem Tri. Getting a lower price is not very likely unless you don't mind waiting for years.

I'm going to wait before picking it up because I feel it's way too early to pre-order and I'm a bit concerned about the system requirements which have always been rather steep at the time of release (if I can't play a game I may as well wait for it to go on sale).

That being said the Witcher series is an exception and may be one of the few franchise worthy of a pre-order. They keep improving their games and don't charge you for pointless DLC. Not to mention the fact that they are selling the game DRM free on gog.

Last but not least if you get it on gog the devs get more money (they don't have to pay Steam their cut). That's another thing to take into account.

The system requirements for this game are just crazy. Considering how the Witcher 2 was optimized I can't say I'm surprised but since number 3 is meant to run on the new gen consoles it's a bit disappointing (my system is stronger than a PS4) and I'm not spending more than 50 euros just to find out.

I've played through the tutorial at a friend's and the game is gorgeous (still not sure it justifies the steep system requirements) but the introduction doesn't seem very focused (it reminds me of the first Witcher though).

The actual gameplay seems much more streamlined compared to the Witcher 2 (that's probably a good thing) but it is also very reminiscent of Assassin's Creed. Don't get me wrong, I love Assassin's Creed but it seems every third person game is turning into an AC game these days. The good thing of course is that I can afford to wait to upgrade my system and in the meantime I can play Assassin's Creed Rogue (which is a great port that runs exceptionally well on the PC, probably the most optimized game in the series).

There's been too much hype IMO, the game was a bestselling game before release and it has received countless awards before even hitting the shelves. That is just crazy. Plus there is the silly downgrade thing that they're trying to deny when it's obvious that they've pulled the same stunt Ubisoft did with Watch Dogs, the only difference is that they're getting away with it...

I can remember when the first Witcher came out and it was an unoptimized mess but they came up with the Enhanced Edition which solved most issues. You still needed a strong PC back then but it was amazing to see what they had accomplished with the NWN engine.

In any case from what I've seen it seems like a good enough sequel. The AC vibe (including the parkour!) is definitely not a bad thing. Let's just hope the game holds up in the long run. Some games are just too big for their own good and open world games tend to be filled with mindless stuff or side quests that can overwhelm you (which is what happens every time I run Assassin's Creed Unity lately).

I've read that the Witcher 3 is going to be the last game featuring Geralt and that's something that I'm actually looking forward to. I never cared much for that character and I prefer RPGs that allow the player to create their own characters. The fact that you only had a few choices (albeit significant ones) is the main objection I've had regarding the RPG tag attached to this series. They really need to come with Witcher adventures that would cater to our own characters instead (both male and female) that would be a step in the right direction IMO.

Carabas wrote:

The fact that you only had a few choices (albeit significant ones) is the main objection I've had regarding the RPG tag attached to this series.

RPG is a genre that includes any kind of a system that improves your character stats and skills. It is not role-playing.

At least this is how it is used nowadays. Action/RTS with RPG elements, means Action/RTS genre includes some kind of a an upgrade system for the character or other npcs.



Good review, I'm interested how exactly W3 is gonna be, Didn't like W2, but this one looks interesting.

The Witcher 3 feels a lot like an Assassin's Creed game it has the parkour, the "Witcher vision" to highlight points of interest and the combat is not that different. I'm not complaining, I think that it improves on the Witcher 2. A parkour mode is a great way to make a game feel more dynamic (like Shadows of Mordor, the Batman games or even Dying Light).

RYUchan wrote:

Action/RTS with RPG elements, means Action/RTS genre includes some kind of a an upgrade system for the character or other npcs.

Sad but true. The term is abused everyday.

Taking things in such a broad definition the Tomb Raider reboot is almost an "RPG" (and in all fairness if it wasn't so terribly linear it could be an awesome RPing experience).

Just fired it up today for fun and the patches seem to have enhanced the game a bit. I'm not sure whether I'm into this game or not some things are great and definitely better than 2 in certain respect (inventory for instance) but 3 is absolutely freaking huge so much so that not losing focus is something of a feat.

I've been playing more on and off and I think I can point at things I like and things that annoy me.

Basically it feels a lot like Assassin's Creed without any stealth and very little parkour (which are the two elements that make Assassin's Creed fun). Combat is the major thing that got lost down the road. Witcher 2 wasn't perfect but combat wasn't so much about button mashing. In 3 you can get away with using the shield Sign to protect your guy then pressing the attack button repeatedly and dodging if Geralt gets hit so you can bring the shield up again. So far I've found that I didn't even have to worry about parrying attacks.

The other thing that irks me is the insistence on the game to use levels for everything. Monsters have levels to indicate their threat, items have levels to restrict you from using them. It adds some artificial padding to the game since you feel like playing a single player MMO in which you end up grinding levels to unlock the cool stuff that has been stuck in your stash for a while because you didn't reach the artificially enforced threshold that's just there to fuck with your enjoyment of the game.

Level scaling can be bad in games like Oblivion (that's crappy for all sorts of reasons) but FNV and to a certain extent Skyrim got away with toning down level scaling so it can work but still represent a challenge if you went out of your way to get to a tricky place in the game (especially true with FNV). It's my opinion that Fallout 4 did mess things up with legendary mobs because they end up being silly and forcing you to use foreknowledge and throw everything but the kitchen sink at them. The Witcher 3 does have skulls next to very dangerous creatures that are far above your level and woe to you if you try getting toe to toe with any of them.

The problem with fixed levels in the Witcher is that it makes a perfectly reasonable open world game feel much more linear because you are seriously encouraged to stick to quests that are in your level range. In old games (I'm thinking of you Might & Magic VI Mandate of Heaven) it wasn't that big a deal because the game didn't tell you that the quest/dungeon you were going after was high level. You found out when you got your ass kicked by a big bad bunch of monsters who killed your entire group with one single hit and it was ok. In the Witcher 3 you keep getting information about levels telling you what kind of opposition you can expect making it less fun and not less frustrating if like me you enjoy being contrary and don't like being told what you're supposed to do.

Plus the level thing (that people seem to mistake for an rpg prerequisite) is out of place when considering the character of Geralt. In the first game Geralt was suffering from amnesia after coming back from the dead which offered a very solid (if rather cliched) justification for him starting over. It made sense somehow that you had to go through all the learning process but in the Witcher 3 he is supposed to be this badass veteran so starting at level 1 doesn't make one lick of sense except that it is a mechanic that reminds you that you're playing a game... See that level thing could work with a custom made character but it doesn't because they've decided to force us to play that tiresome formulaic albino badass... A badass who will feel (and fall) like a wimp if he ever goes against a bunch of foes that outclass his current level.

After reading this rant you may very well wonder why I keep playing this game and that's because behind all that crap there is a great adventure game (not a true rpg mind you unless of course you're part of the school of thought that claims levels and hitpoints make rpgs in which case we'll have to agree to disagree and if the Witcher 3 is supposed to be an rpg then the new Tomb Raider games are rpgs as well) with some solid questing to be done something that Bethesda could (and should) learn a lot from. There is some really cool sidequests too and I can't stress that enough (I certainly don't miss Bethesda's stupid radiant system that shits all over Skyrim and Fallout 4).

Last but not least the Witcher 3 is a nightmare for the truly obsessive compulsive gamer simply because of the sheer size of the world. There is something particularly daunting in realizing the huge number of secrets that you can easily miss if you're not thorough enough and all the places you need to go to if you want to explore every question mark on your map. It may be a good thing for some people but once again I would have preferred the game not telling me with a big "?" that I have to go to that certain place to check it out.

I've just found out about this mod W3EE and it simply solves all the issues I have with this game.

Not only does this mod fixes the terrible combat but it also removes all the level BS so you're free to go anywhere and tackle any monster by relying on your wits and game prowess instead of having some arbitrary figures dictating what you could or couldn't do.

That's not saying the Witcher can't learn new tricks but you actually unlock new skills through practice and you'll need to fight more to unlock combat talents or craft potions to unlock alchemy talents.

Geralt is treated like a veteran witcher and as such we have access to all the bestiary entries right from the start.

There are also some quality of life improvements (meditation, night vision, UI) so all in all it's a rather comprehensive mod.

Nice! It's still on my wishlist, and might be for a while still. All I've heard is its a good game but very loooong. Since I have limited playing time, it might not be a good fit right now. I will definitely nab this mod if I get it though. What you posted sounds like a very big improvement.

(sidenote : I always hate it when sequels with the main character almost brings your character back to 0 experience. At least Baldur's Gate gave us different level forks to continue the story).

The current Steam price is fairly decent but if you get it from Gog you can get an extra game as a bonus.

I haven't played much with the mod (barely out of the tutorial) but it looks like it does what it says and that's simply great (those levels ruined my fun I can tell you).

I just found out about a very cool mod for fans of the Netflix series: HENRY CAVILL and Anya Chalotra.

I was sick and tired of the old Geralt face so this makes for a nice change of pace and it's pretty cool especially considering the fine job the actors did on the series.

Spoiler:

Hehe, nice! I haven't watched the show, so I don't associate Henry Cavill with Gerald all that much, but it's a nice touch for the fans.

The coolest thing about him is that he is actually a fan of the game (and the Total War series according to his own words).

EDIT: by the way there is a retexture that looks pretty good in game https://www.nexusmods.com/witcher3/mods/4171

I've stumbled on this very cool video:


Henry Cavill is such a nice guy and you can tell he's got real passion for both his craft and the Witcher.

Indeed, he seems genuinely interested in the role and his work. And it looks like a really tough scene to get right. Like he says, a lot of things can go sideways. If only one of the actors or the tech crew forgets something, hesitates or isn't 100% precise, the scene has to be reshot (and there might even be injuries).

Reminds me of the government building shootout scene in the first Matrix. The walls were made of styrofoam and imbedded with small explosives to simulate the bullets hitting the walls. There was a take where an actor slipped and fell down. They had to take a four hour break to reset all the explosives and redo the styrofoam. That'd be too much pressure for me.

Now they can get away with a lot thanks to CGI (including using shorter swords as props as he demonstrated) but still the sequence he commented was just a single shot.

With modern cameras they don't have to cut that much but it's still quite a performance to get everything right.

Plus not cutting makes the action flow so freely it really makes a difference.