The Witcher, A Mature RPG That Holds No Punches
Overall
The Witcher is a game that had quite a reputation preceding it before I jumped in and played it and from my experience hype is a horrible thing for games. This was luckily not the case in the Witcher. I enjoyed almost everything about this game, from the environments, to the creatures, and even the people while not FULLY fleshed out it was just enough to leave me satisfied about who they are and not bore me with more details that I couldn't care less about.
Story
The first and foremost part of the Witcher is the story. This is a story driven game, there are a few quests free of any story whatsoever but those are usually just simple contracts that you pickup around the local pub for a few extra Orrens (the in game currency) and a bit of experience. The story drives it forward at a nice rate and everything you do is based around some larger objective so there is no "Why am I even doing this for this guy?" Which is a refreshing change and keeps you engrossed the whole play through. Some parts can get kinda stale when you have few missions left to do in an area and get sort of stuck but that is subjective to how well you can follow the ever changing perspectives you will see.
Overall I can't recommend this story enough for anyone wanting to truly live the game and not just see it. It grasps you and doesn't let go.
Environment
What use is a good story if the environment doesn't top it off and keep you immersed? The environment in The Witcher will keep you right where you want to be from thieves to strange creatures attempting to kill you the dark and gritty dog eat dog world really comes to life. While there are a few complaints about this such as the citizen banter can get mildly repetitive when you run by as well as the voices for some of the non important people being played by the same person being a little strange at times. It keeps to the setting they attempted to achieve which is a dark world that is being attacked by evils on all fronts, from politics, to the evil monsters that you will so promptly dispatch of.
Gameplay
The gameplay can be a little quirky at times, at least it felt like it to me. For example the combat system involves clicking then waiting for the cursor to change into a flaming sword then clicking again to chain together combos which get stronger as you level the style of fighting you are using. This system sometimes felt unresponsive when fighting a lot of people all at once, I assume that when you get hit a lot or so hard you loose your attack chance but if Geralt is simply moving in to attack clicking again will interrupt the combo leaving you defenseless again. I am not trying to say I didn't like the system though, in fact I loved it I just wish they could have had more indicators to let you know that you are about to attack or something.Alchemy is another option that directly and indirectly ties into the combat. When resting you can mix up some potions from various ingredients that you find on your journeys and they have a bunch of different effects when consumed from health regen, to seeing in darkness. Alchemy takes a little effort and if you don't want that then choose either the normal or easy difficulties because the hard difficulty will pretty much require it.
Overall
Overall I am in love with the Witcher universe and game. I like the dark gritty world and all of the serious choices you have to make as you progress through the story, these aren't easy or clear choices either. You will doubt yourself a few times after making choices and maybe some will come back and haunt you. Hell, sometimes there is no right choice but you have to make the best one that you can! This is why I love the Witcher, the fantastic and exciting combat and alchemy is just icing on the cake.
If you wan't to experience the Witcher to the fullest extent though you have to get the enhanced edition so you get all the content. The ESRB wouldn't allow all the gritty and objectionable content that is in the game at its initial release but got accepted as a new edition a few years later. But keep in mind, no matter which edition you purchase this is not a game for children. It is still a very mature game.
