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The Witcher is an action role playing game, developed by CD Project Red Studio and published by CD Projekt RED STUDIO in Poland and Atari for rest of the world. The game is based on a book written by Andrzej Sapk owski titled The Last Wish. The game was released world wide on October 30, 2007. CD Projekt has released an Enhanced Edition of The Witcher in September 2008, which improves optimization and stability, decreases loading times by as much as 80%, contains re-worked English and German voice acting, provides support for any combination of game language and subtitles, and showcases new NPC models as well as more character animations during conversations. The Enhanced Edition was released in retail stores with extras such as the aforementioned improvements as well as additional in-game content, a making-of DVD, two music CDs, a short story by Andrzej Sapkowski, a game guide and a map of the game world. The Enhanced Edition has also been released as a downloadable patch for anyone who already has The Witcher, and includes all the in-game extras. The game makes use of Bioware's Aurora Engine.
Geralt of Rivia: Geralt is a witcher, a human being who has undergone several rituals to mutate him, giving him supernatural reflexes and poison tolerance at the cost of making him sterile. He uses these abilities to hunt monsters for money, using his "Witcher's Code" to attempt to remain neutral in conflicts.. He had made many friends and legend his skills spread throughout the land, but he was apparently killed during a riot in the city of Vizima. The game begins with him coming back to life with complete amnesia to account for his loss of skills as well as his ambiguous moral code. He is also a legendary ladies' man using his disease immunity and sterility to take a great number of women to his bedchamber.
Triss Merigold: A sorceress who wields magic of extraordinary power, like Geralt at the cost of her childbearing ability. She has taken a shine to Geralt and he to her, but she is also extremely manipulative and the witchers have trouble trusting her. She assists Geralt throughout his quest, but yearns to make an honest man of the aloof and often lecherous monster hunter, a goal which often conflicts with Geralt's pessimism and desire to remain a wanderer. Triss is still heavily connected to the Sorercess Guild, another source of distrust as rumors circulate that the Guild is attempting a power grab for the reins in Vizima.
Dandelion: A wandering minstrel who fell in with Geralt during their shared past. Dandelion is almost as legendary a lothario as his friend, and as a result he depends on Geralt to keep him out of trouble from the likes of angry husbands or fathers, the usual types who don't like someone like Dandelion hanging around their women. Perhaps the most shocking thing about him is that he actually is an incredibly skilled and revered bard, his reputation often earning him well-paying work in taverns across the land. Though he often talks in circles and pontificates, he is Geralt's closest and truest friend.
Shani: A skilled nurse that served with Geralt in a particularly vicious battle. She is a mortal woman and doesn't trust Triss, though this could simply be envy as she is extremely fond of Geralt. As a veteran of an especially brutal war, she is often introspective and questions her role in the battle, going to Geralt for guidance. She has become the head nurse of the Temple of Melitele, a fertility goddess, in Vizima, treating victims of the plague as best she can.
Alvin: A child orphaned by the dog beasts called Barghests, Alvin is a conduit of an incredible power that sometimes takes control of him and forces him to recite an elven prophecy about the end of the world. He can also teleport and generate tremendous power, though not at will. As he is thrust into Geralt's life time and again, he begins to see the witcher as a father figure and begins to take life lessons from him.
Berengar: A witcher that left the fortress headquarters of Kaer Morhen before the game begins, he is considered a "rogue witcher" whom Geralt winds up cleaning up after several times. He is cowardly, but skillful in combat and often takes the easiest way out rather than the best. He is disgusted by the witchers' ways, comparing them to the criminal organization Salamandra in their harsh training regiment that begins in childhood.
The Witcher is appreciated most of all for its innovative gameplay. The player has three unique combat styles at his disposal: The quick style, the heavy style, and the group style. The quick style enables the player to perform some fast attacks with high chance of hitting the enemy at the cost of a low rate of damage. The heavy style lets the player inflict heavy damage on the enemies at the cost of speed. This combat style is helpful against larger and/or stronger foes. Lastly, the group style is best when the player is being attacked by enemies in groups. In addition to style, The Witcher utilizes a unique combo system that relies solely on timing. When Geralt gains a level in a certain style, he gains the ability to attack again if the player clicks at just the right time during a previous attack. Another important aspect of The Witcher's gameplay is Alchemy. The player can create potions with the various ingredients at his disposal. Alchemy ingredients can be obtained from herbs or purchased from merchants. Some potions will increase health or provide faster regeneration of health, while some potions will slow down the enemies. Others still will enable Geralt to see in the dark and many more. Along with traditional story elements, the Witcher features nonlinear dialogue in which you may choose certain parts of your character's words which may or may not have consequences later on.
Director's Cut
Released in July 2009 for North American owners of The Witcher Enhanced Edition, this update allows players to play as the developers intended with mature content not previously available to North American gamers. The download for this patch can be found directly here. People who own The Witcher on Steam will be able to get the update for free here.
The Witcher is an Action Role Playing Game developed by CD Projekt RED and is based on the book "The Last Wish" by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. An Enhanced Edition was released in September, 2008. A director's cut version was also released for North American games on July 31, 2009.
Overview
Combat in The Witcher
Story
In the game the player takes the role of Geralt, commonly known as Geralt of Rivia, who is one of the very few remaining "Witchers", professional monster slayers with unique abilities. The game uses a commonly used formula, one in which the main character suffers from amnesia and it is up to the player to trace and discover his past. In the opening scene we see Geralt lying unconscious. He is later discovered by other witchers and is brought to Kaer Morhen, the witcher's fortress. The only thing that Geralt remembers at this point in time is that he was brutally injured few years back trying to defend non-humans. As the story unfolds, Geralt gradually learns about his unmatched witcher skills and also his identity. The story is divided into 5 chapters, and each chapter represents a different area. The Witcher also uses a choice, or morality, based system of story progression in which the player may choose which path to walk down to fill in Geralt's memories as well as influence the present. However, unlike other games where the choice is between good and evil, the Witcher often gives the player the choice between the lesser of two evils, a theme that comes up a great deal in the novel. Players are also not made aware of the consequences of their actions until much later in the story, giving the game a much more "real-world" feel, rather than something you can simply reload and try again from.
Characters
Geralt of Rivia: Geralt is a witcher, a human being who has undergone several rituals to mutate him, giving him supernatural reflexes and poison tolerance at the cost of making him sterile. He uses these abilities to hunt monsters for money, using his "Witcher's Code" to attempt to remain neutral in conflicts.. He had made many friends and legend his skills spread throughout the land, but he was apparently killed during a riot in the city of Vizima. The game begins with him coming back to life with complete amnesia to account for his loss of skills as well as his ambiguous moral code. He is also a legendary ladies' man using his disease immunity and sterility to take a great number of women to his bedchamber.Triss Merigold: A sorceress who wields magic of extraordinary power, like Geralt at the cost of her childbearing ability. She has taken a shine to Geralt and he to her, but she is also extremely manipulative and the witchers have trouble trusting her. She assists Geralt throughout his quest, but yearns to make an honest man of the aloof and often lecherous monster hunter, a goal which often conflicts with Geralt's pessimism and desire to remain a wanderer. Triss is still heavily connected to the Sorercess Guild, another source of distrust as rumors circulate that the Guild is attempting a power grab for the reins in Vizima.
Dandelion: A wandering minstrel who fell in with Geralt during their shared past. Dandelion is almost as legendary a lothario as his friend, and as a result he depends on Geralt to keep him out of trouble from the likes of angry husbands or fathers, the usual types who don't like someone like Dandelion hanging around their women. Perhaps the most shocking thing about him is that he actually is an incredibly skilled and revered bard, his reputation often earning him well-paying work in taverns across the land. Though he often talks in circles and pontificates, he is Geralt's closest and truest friend.
Shani: A skilled nurse that served with Geralt in a particularly vicious battle. She is a mortal woman and doesn't trust Triss, though this could simply be envy as she is extremely fond of Geralt. As a veteran of an especially brutal war, she is often introspective and questions her role in the battle, going to Geralt for guidance. She has become the head nurse of the Temple of Melitele, a fertility goddess, in Vizima, treating victims of the plague as best she can.
Alvin: A child orphaned by the dog beasts called Barghests, Alvin is a conduit of an incredible power that sometimes takes control of him and forces him to recite an elven prophecy about the end of the world. He can also teleport and generate tremendous power, though not at will. As he is thrust into Geralt's life time and again, he begins to see the witcher as a father figure and begins to take life lessons from him.
Berengar: A witcher that left the fortress headquarters of Kaer Morhen before the game begins, he is considered a "rogue witcher" whom Geralt winds up cleaning up after several times. He is cowardly, but skillful in combat and often takes the easiest way out rather than the best. He is disgusted by the witchers' ways, comparing them to the criminal organization Salamandra in their harsh training regiment that begins in childhood.
Gameplay
Scenery
Enhanced Edition
The Enhanced Edition was released in September 2008, featuring additional content, bug fixes and both sound and graphical improvements. Most prominently featuring a complete rewrite and rerecording of the entire dialogue which comprises of more then 5000 lines. This is likely due to the criticism of the Polish to English translation of the first, specifically of those who are fans of the novels the game is based off. It contains two official mods titled "The Price of Neutrality" and "Side Effects" adding approximately 5 hours of additional gameplay time and 2 new erotic cards. On top of these additions, a mod editor was packed in as well, which allows users to create their own custom content. Load times have also been reduced by 80%, cutting back on the lenghty load times in the original. For the people who bought the original game, the changes found in the enhanced edition can be downloaded at the official site here . A complete document on the edition changes and additions can be found on a factsheet released by CD-Projeckt here. The Enhanced Edition is available at retail, and as a patch for owners of the original game.Director's Cut
Released in July 2009 for North American owners of The Witcher Enhanced Edition, this update allows players to play as the developers intended with mature content not previously available to North American gamers. The download for this patch can be found directly here. People who own The Witcher on Steam will be able to get the update for free here. The Price of Neutrality
Geralt comes back to Kaer Morhen for winter. He finds a small camp near the stronghold where he meets a nobleman and a sorceress Sabrina Glevissig. They came here to find Deidre, a young woman, who is staying in the witchers' stronghold. She is Eskel's surprise child, born on the Black Sun (ancient prophecy says that such children would ruin the World). It turns out that the nobleman is her brother, who wants to make sure she will not have the crown. Sorceress Sabrina wants to kill Deidre and examine her body to find out the truth about the Black Sun curse. Geralt has to decide whether to defend the girl or stay neutral.Side Effects
Dandelion gets into trouble in Vizima. Geralt has to collect a certain amount of money to buy him out and pay for his excesses. He collects the money by completing various tasks. The player can join effects of one task with another. For example: in a fistfight competition he can win cash or a bottle of alcohol. If he chooses to take the booze, he can use it to get one bandit drunk. Then he will give Geralt a key to a chest with loot. The mood of the story is similar to Dandelion's incidents with Vespula and Bibervelt's economics.
| Game Name | The Witcher |
| Platform(s) | |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Developer(s) | |
| Genres |
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| Themes |
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| Original US Release |
Oct. 30, 2007
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| Original US Release |
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| Aliases |
The Witcher Witcher |
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