The Witcher
Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 7:10 am
I fell in love with this game almost instantly. It's fairly non-conventional for a CRPG, in that it isn't dumbed down. The alchemy system in particular really excited me, and while it's a bit too simple for my taste, I did have a lot of fun "strategizing" my ingredients and formulas. I took the time to lay down ingredient rosters and recipes — something I haven't done since drawing up my own maps for DM some 15-odd years ago — and assembled it into an Excel workbook, which I then spent an entire day converting to HTML. (You can view it here if you like.)
But what I also like about it is the combat. It's just easy enough for a casual gamer, just twitchy enough for a hardcore gamer — sort of like the active reload system in Gears of War: it's there for those who want to master the game, but you don't specifically need it to win.
And then there's the story itself, which isn't particularly interesting when you boil the meat off the bones and are left with quite a few cliches, but the choices you make really do have an impact on the game, and there are many times when you are presented with a "lesser of two evils" choice, rather than the blantantly moral good-evil dichotomy.
Character advancement takes a fairly straightforward approach but has interesting limitations on what abilities you can learn and when. Some of them can only be acquired by brewing and drinking potions made from the parts of unique monsters — not all of which you will obtain, depending on your choices. (I missed a particularly powerful one because I wanted to play the good guy, but then I got a powerful ally later on.)
It's nothing like Dungeon Master, but I consider it a game worth playing for any CRPG fan. I've seen one of three endings, and I'm going to take a hiatus until the game isn't so fresh in my mind. Meanwhile, I plan on taking the alchemy system to a new level for my own project. Love the concept; just needs some expansion.
But what I also like about it is the combat. It's just easy enough for a casual gamer, just twitchy enough for a hardcore gamer — sort of like the active reload system in Gears of War: it's there for those who want to master the game, but you don't specifically need it to win.
And then there's the story itself, which isn't particularly interesting when you boil the meat off the bones and are left with quite a few cliches, but the choices you make really do have an impact on the game, and there are many times when you are presented with a "lesser of two evils" choice, rather than the blantantly moral good-evil dichotomy.
Character advancement takes a fairly straightforward approach but has interesting limitations on what abilities you can learn and when. Some of them can only be acquired by brewing and drinking potions made from the parts of unique monsters — not all of which you will obtain, depending on your choices. (I missed a particularly powerful one because I wanted to play the good guy, but then I got a powerful ally later on.)
It's nothing like Dungeon Master, but I consider it a game worth playing for any CRPG fan. I've seen one of three endings, and I'm going to take a hiatus until the game isn't so fresh in my mind. Meanwhile, I plan on taking the alchemy system to a new level for my own project. Love the concept; just needs some expansion.
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