Witcher = Neutrality = Good?
Like many of the games that get released today, The Witcher is something of a diamond in the rough. Whether you're willing to put up with the flaws or wait for someone else to come along and polish it is up to the individual. Perhaps like the protagonist, the game is neither strictly good nor bad, but instead takes the neutral path. Depending on your own inclinations, neutrality may be just what the doctor ordered. Certainly, this isn't a game for everyone, and I imagine there are some people out there that absolutely despise it. Those people probably also hate games like Oblivion, Fallout, Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, Ultima Underworld, and a number of other games that I absolutely loved.
 Druids would be proud. |
If you liked any of the titles I just listed, chances are you will enjoy The Witcher, warts and all. The combat system is a refreshing change of pace, keeping things from getting bogged down in the turn-based world of Dungeons & Dragons without becoming completely twitch-based. The story is definitely compelling, and while the choices you make might not ultimately have a huge impact on the ending, I at least was left wanting more. The graphics and sound are good if not great, helping to draw the player into the rich world of Andrzej Sapkowski. In fact, after playing the game, I'm one of likely many people that will now go out and pick up his books, just to experience more of the world of Temeria and its denizens.
 Look - depth of field effect (which is only in cut scenes). |
The Witcher ranks as the best PC role-playing game I've played since Oblivion. Then again, outside of Neverwinter Nights 2, there haven't been all that many RPGs in the past two years for PCs. If you're willing to stretch the definition of RPG a bit, games like STALKER and Bioshock enter the picture, both of which I would rate above The Witcher. However, the game is a lot closer to Oblivion than it is to STALKER, so that's probably not a fair comparison. If you're like me — an RPG fan that detests MMORPGs and is eagerly waiting on Bethesda to finish up Fallout 3 — there simply aren't that many other options out there right now. Lucky for us, we have The Witcher to help tide us over. We may be left wondering how or why Geralt came back from the dead, but you certainly won't find me complaining about his reappearance.
| The Witcher Official Requirements | ||
| Required | Recommended | |
| CPU | Pentium 4 2.8GHz+ or Athon* 64 2800+ | Pentium 4 3.0GHz or Athlon* 64 3000+ |
| RAM | 1GB | 2GB |
| Storage | 8.5GB free HDD space, DVD-ROM** | 8.5GB free HDD space, DVD-ROM** |
| GPU | GeForce 6600 or Radeon 9800 | GeForce 7800 GTX or Radeon X1950 XT |
| DirectX | DirectX 9.0c | DirectX 9.0c |
| OS | Windows XP/Vista | Windows XP/Vista |
*: Athlon
XP series is not (officially) supported.
**: Direct2Drive version available.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
39 Comments
View All Comments
szellem - Monday, February 25, 2008 - link
Hi!I have just bought the withcher, installed, and tried to run, but the game does absolutely nothing, the launcher window comes up, but does nothing when I try to run the game. I use an XP, with SP2, AMD2, ATi HD2600XT, game updated to 1.3
got any idea?
thx
g.
panathatube - Monday, January 28, 2008 - link
I think that there is a big emphasis on the games' flaws in the review. Perhaps because the game was not created by a western studio there is a bit of prejudice. Whilst i do not deny the games' flaws, i find it an excellent game overall (especially after the 1.2 patch). We have to see the big picture here. Having finished it has given me the sense of a character driven RPG action drama. Almost all the main characters have their own agendas, their own hidden secrets, and the bad guys believe that what they are doing is right, and they make arguments about their beliefs. I thing the game is actually better than the Knights of the Old Republic games and that says a lot as those were excellent. The alchemy and the way u level up your character is excellent too. I also enjoyed Oblivion but most of its characters and society feel to me rather 2dimensional now. The alchemy and the way u level up in Bethesda's game have really dated also.nHeat - Friday, January 25, 2008 - link
What game is up next for review?JarredWalton - Friday, January 25, 2008 - link
I'm open for suggestions. :)I could do Crysis if there's a desire, and because I haven't played through it yet. Vote here for what game you might like to see reviewed, and I'll get to it. It might be a month (or more) before I'm done, though. LOL
Screammit - Sunday, January 27, 2008 - link
I'll suggest an MMORPG like Tabula Rasa, only because you hate them and I'm a sadist :)foxracing13 - Saturday, January 26, 2008 - link
nice review. I personally loved the game! Although I did have to deal with insane load times it kept me glued to my computer the whole first week of november.BikeDude - Saturday, January 26, 2008 - link
I'd like to see a proper Flight Simulator: X (w/SP2) benchmark. This game stressed both CPU and video cards. FSX SP1 added multi-core support and striking a good balance when trying to figure out which CPU(s) and GPU to buy becomes an interesting challenge.Yoshi911 - Sunday, January 27, 2008 - link
Yeah, Flight sim X is a resource HOG. I've installed this on a few client/personal/friends computers, and anything below godlike GPU/CPU combo seems to drop in the mud.Otherwise, pick the big names and go with it. Great job!
JarredWalton - Sunday, January 27, 2008 - link
I could do a performance article on FSX, perhaps, but a review? Not a chance. Might as well ask me to try and write an article on automobile repairs! I know there are tons of people out there that love MS Flight Simulator "games" - or at least people that buy it every new version - but I'm not one of them. I *do* have a copy of FSX and the expansion, courtesy of NVIDIA, but it's not a game that even remotely interests me. As a resource hog benchmark, though... that has potential. :)poohbear - Friday, January 25, 2008 - link
wow is this the first game review for anandtech? usually u guys do benchmarks of game engines, but this was a nice review nonetheless and hopefully we'll see a few more reviews of major games. i'd also appreciate u continue benchmarking 3d engines cause hardware is ur speciality, there are so many game review sites out there, albeit they might not be as impartial as u guys. cheers.