The Witcher - am I missing something?

Didnt know it was a PC exclusive to be honest. Makes no difference for me. I defended Crysis 2 from the 'multi platform haters'. I honestly thought the witcher was an utterly engrossing and fantastic game in every respect. I loved the characters, the story, the atmosphere and the environments. I do believe it started slow but I would no way say it was bad in the early stages. I was never into the heavy stat RPGs such as Baldours Gate etc possibly not being engrossed from the viewpoints as I love Morrowind, Deus Ex, Kotor etc.

I think it is a case of the game not being for everyone which is a shame but no game can please everyone (there are a few who dislike Deus Ex for example but they need sectioning really). I believe the second will be more of the same but a bit more refined and on a grander scale so I cant see it pleasing the people who didnt like the first (not all of them at least) and I hope that is the case. I want it to be more of the same, nothing would please me more than more of the first.

It depends on why you are playing it and in what frame of mind. If its because other people tell you its good then I dont usually get that much enjoyment as its a bit forced and you feel like your trying overly hard to like something that you werent interested in before. Mass Effect is this way for me, Just rescued the blue chick and I dont want to continue, im bored, its all a bit meh so far. People shout 'continue, its a slow starter but gets amazing' when I was on the space station but its just not a game that im enjoying it and you shouldnt have to force yourself to continue through a game you arent enjoying. It might pick up but its already got a negative image in my head. I may get to it one day and change my mind but at the minute its just a game thats not for me.

Also dont get the hate for the engine. It still looks pretty good with some nice detail. Big open areas with a lot in them. Never seen a single glitch or problem with it.
 
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Surfer said:
If people get bored in an rpg like the Witcher tbh hard to believe they would last 5 minutes in a more hardcore rpg :)
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What would you say is a more hardcore rpg?

The storyline in TW is too linear for me, and it doesn't make me feel involved with the characters, which great games like ff7 and the like do. If the combat system was fluid, fun, and had a lot of customization, or relied more on 'random' loot, then I would play it again. However, imho, the combat system is fatally flawed.
 
i played and completed this a few months back....im glad i played it and given i powered through it in about a week the game is of very good quality.

i think my problem was that i did play it so much over that week that i got very bored of it by the end, but it is a good game and im sure the sequel will be even better.

you need to give it a chance, it is an rpg after all and things do pick up in C2. Combat gets better as you go along (new attacks etc).

it is not a game for people with exceptional short attention spans ...however i have a short attention span and still played and finished it without much huffing.
 
I hate that I don't like the game but that's just the way it is. Just recently I gave the game my fourth or fifth proper attempt and after seven or so hours I just couldn't take it anymore. I'm literally not enjoying any aspect of the game such as combat, story, character building, alchemy, characters or lore. It's really hard to explain what the problem actually is because nothing seems to grab my attention in Witcher. I've played a lot of (Computer)RPGs during my lifetime like Baldur's Gate 1&2, Neverwinter Nights 1&2, Icewind Dale 1&2, Temple of Elemental Evil, Divine Divinity, Elder Scrolls series, Might&Magic 5&6&7&8, Eye of the Beholder, and a lot more that I can't remember. Then there are the more recent ones of which my favourite is probably Dragon Age Origins (and DA2 was a complete failure). Now there are also some RPGs that I don't like like the Gothic series, Risen, Two Worlds etc. and sadly The Witcher falls into the latter camp.

Now if I could just analyze why as a huge fan of the genre I can't enjoy some games that people really seem to like. Not looking forward to Witcher 2 either after watching plenty of videos and finding that nothing has really changed apart from graphics weren't an issue in the first place. Gaming sites are now hyping Witcher 2 and after the recent preview round most seem to agree that it will be the RPG game of the year. I wonder if it's great enough to change my opinion too?
 
I struggled through the castle and ended up in that village, hoping things would get more interesting. They didn't. Wondered around, listened to a lot of blah, didn't care for my character. Hoped to come accross the porn everyone was going on about, didn't find any. Wept. Shelved the game, haven't touched it since.
 
Phinor said:
I hate that I don't like the game but that's just the way it is. Just recently I gave the game my fourth or fifth proper attempt
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Heh, this sounds exactly like me. I bought it not long after release, tried it once, didn't like it... then tried it again later, didn't pan out, then again later and again and again. I knew it'd be a good game if I could get past some of the points I didn't like about it (such as basic and clunky combat). Onto my fifth attempt now and it's the furthest I've gotten and I'm still enjoying it so hopefully I'll finish it :)

There's still some things I don't like about it... such as the combat is still quite clunky, there's no fast way to heal up other than meditating at a campfire for an hour, inventory management can be a 'mare, had numerous crashes so far, some things are overly difficult unless getting a bit lucky (looking at you "The Beast"), no controller support, no vsync option, the fact that half the NPCs look identical to each other or that there's about 5 voice actors doing all the work.

But the pro's are outweighing the cons and it's always been like that for me with this game, which is why I keep going back to it and attempting to finish it. I just hope I complete it this time, as I really want the second but I doubt I'll bother unless I can finish the first.
 
I can forgive cons when the pros are really good, more interesting than an evenly meh game imo.

But games, like music, books, films, etc are all subjective anyhoo. Films and games suffer more from overhyping though.
 
True... True....


I can't stand the Beatles or Elvis..... most of the bloody world thinks they are alright though...


Different strokes n'all that.
 
It's unfortunate that The Beast is the most difficult fight for a long, long time in the game. Puts a lot of people off, especially since the combat system hasn't always clicked fully with people by the time it comes around.
 
kalvindeane said:
What would you say is a more hardcore rpg?

The storyline in TW is too linear for me, and it doesn't make me feel involved with the characters, which great games like ff7 and the like do. If the combat system was fluid, fun, and had a lot of customization, or relied more on 'random' loot, then I would play it again. However, imho, the combat system is fatally flawed.
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More hardcore? Probably Temple of Elemental Evil, Bloodlines a little more, Arcanum, Fallout 1+2, Realms of Arkania, lots more!


My point is: i found the balance between depth and instant action appeal near perfect in The Witcher. So it should appeal to both action fans & RPGers.

I loved how the combat is implemented, however i agree i think allowing more customization of loot and weapons and armour would have been nice. Loot in this game isnt really worth a lot so the habit of collecting lots of loot then selling it to make money doesnt work so well. I think there shouldve been more weapon choices with skill paths for each of them (instead of just a sword for instance). Same with armour, not much choice for the player in these respects. Would have loved to deck out Geralt in different boots, gloves, armour, custom weapons.

FF7 is a different game - more a party based rpg. I think for a "one character" rpg The Witcher is in my top 3. (Bloodlines, Deus Ex being the other two probably :))

I think its all about balance. Diablo and action rpgs type - you get uber loot but for the combat its very poor imo (click spam and all attacks look the same really) Find that mind numbingly boring myself and the game becomes all about reaching x uber level with x uber loot.
 
Not sure I understand. What if we got bored with the mechanics? Because we like more strategic, party-based RPGs?
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Ahh then you are at the other end of the scale totally ;) Not many single character rpgs with more depth (some but not many) strategic party based rpgs certainly but different sub-genre.



Witcher was a pretty simple game, with an engine I despise, and mechanics that lacked much in the way of depth, but wasn't as visceral and plain fun as Diablo
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You didnt mention why you didnt like the engine? You do know that CDprojekt heavily modifed the engine. I had zero problems with it. No camera problems like i had with NWN2. Not stutter, artificats or other errors.

I agree there are plenty of rpgs more hardcore than the Witcher but the point is, for me The Witcher managed to create an excellent balance between instant action gratification (e.g. diablo) BUT with also the depth you find in other single player (or even party based) rpgs. Potion system and skills advance system certainly has a ton of depth to them. (much more so than Diablo and most other rpgs)

I think i mentioned in my previous post what i thought about Diablo.... :)
Good for what it is but zero depth and repetitive...unless you are a big fan of loot driven rpgs i guess.
 
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I couldn't get into this game either. I'm not a massive RPG fan but liked KOTOR a lot. I don't like the kb and mouse controls in this game and wanted to use my 360 pad but the game doesn't support it :(
 
My brother bought this after playing it on a friend's machine.

I'm still waiting for him to install the damn game so I can see what all the fuss is about! :D
 
Bought it in the xmas sale as well,

Played through the castle and was walking round some villages / castles in some fields and just really couldnt get into it...am willing to give it another go, but i really didnt like the combat system in it
 
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