The Witcher

Yes, after successfully resurrecting my Windows 7 machine from video card failure and a few more upgrades with even a new bios battery to boot, my Steam account also got a few more additions to its repertoire.  On a side note, yes, I'll probably be doing a lot more game reviews on my next posts.

 I have mixed emotions about this game.  To be exact I am like Cartman on the recent South Park episode commenting on just reading The Cather in the Rye.  And that feeling is "WTF?".

Let me elaborate because it is going to be complicated.  To begin, this game is based on a popular Polish fantasy series of the same name which featured an enigmatic, kick-ass, womanizing monster hunter named Geralt of Rivia.  Set in a world where elves and dwarves are at best tolerated, Geralt is part of a clan of of monster hunters known as witchers.  The witchers subject themselves to mutations that endow them with supernatural powers that aid them in their conquests - both in battle and to some extent in bed.  In any case witchers are hired swords and work in the grey when it comes to the matters of good and evil.

The novels were your basic male fantasy freak's wet dream teeming with violence , blood, and sex all of which was released into the European version of the game.  When the game was released in the United States, the publishers on this side of the Atlantic had the game dumbed down.  All "nipplelage" removed or draped over but of course in true "this is America" fashion all violence remained intact.  Eventually due to the overwhelming requests for the "uncensored" version a restored director's cut with bug fixes and graphic enhancements was released and a patch for previous purchases was made available.

With that history aside why was I disappointed?  I guess I didn't think the whole fuss over the game was worth the measures taken to bring this title in North America.  In both the censored and uncensored versions of this game Geralt's sexual encounters are basically a bunch of ambiguous suggestive images cheezed over with a presentation of a collectible card image of the same woman in a compromising pose.  As bad and juvenile as this may sound I did feel that this was at least very innovative of the game.  The voice acting and scripting of the game was sort of cheesy but reminiscent of Conan the Barbarian novels.  It is what I expect of the genre and to that I credit its truthfulness to what it is trying to do.  If the publishers came out and marketed the game as a return to male oriented fantasy adventures then I would then say it has successfully done so.

Further on the merits of this game the world of The Witcher is very immersive.  There is much to do and the quests and plot events feel truly non-linear and yet you never feel lost at what to do next.  The things you do as Geralt progress the game which was the one thing I have still to feel playing the much more acclaimed Oblivion: the Elder Scrolls title.  The game is very pretty with golden skies and expansive territories to wander through.  I really felt like I was in an epic fantasy adventure.

In the end I felt that The Witcher is definitely worth the play.  I really suggest if you are of age to purchase the Enhanced Director's cut which is presently going for $19 USD on Steam.  The release of this game on Steam under this title is only recently the game the developers intended to make.  This version, furthermore, has updated its 3D models with finer details and has many of the original release's bugs resolved.