The Witcher Eurogamer review

You can check out the whole thing here. It's a 7/10, by the way. Some excerpts:

That the game world is deep and convincingly fleshed-out shouldn't really come as a surprise. Polish developer CD Projekt not only had Andrzej Sapkowski's series of fantasy novels to provide the finer details, but they had experience translating such cIassic role-players as Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment for Eastern Europe. With Bioware's Aurora engine to provide the graphical muscle, the pieces are all in place for an above-average RPG-styIe experience.

The combat tries to find the middle ground between the turn-based approach of, say, Knights of the Old Republic and the mouse-mashing of Diablo II. Clicking on an enemy initiates a swing of your sword, but as the attack comes to an end your cursor lights up. Click again at this point and you'll follow up with another attack move, and so on. Chain your attacks successfully and your opponent will struggle to respond. Get the timing wrong, and you'll break the combo and leave yourself open to reprisals. The right button is your magic attacks and, like weaponry, these can be honed and improved by spending the bronze, silver or gold "talents" you gain from victorious quests and skirmishes.

The system can be tamed with practice, and it's certainly preferable to yet another "point at the monster and hammer the mouse" game, but it's not an entirely successful experiment and you may find yourself thinking it's a lot of arsing around for not much benefit.

Well-intentioned clickety combat aside, The Witcher doesn't offer much the dedicated role-player won't have already seen elsewhere, but that's not such a bad thing. CD Projekt has taken time-tested elements from across the fantasy-RPG spectrum and tied them to a solidly crafted story that includes elements of racial discord, religious fanaticism and sexual promiscuity in its adults-only mix. Admittedly, these elements are rather crudely introduced and are handled with a rather endearing "Look! Adult themes!" excitability, but there's certainly more to savour here than in most dungeon-crawlers. One for those who value story and character over technical innovation then, but definitely a game worth trying if the concept has tickled your fancy.

While I was hoping for a bit more, it still looks like a great RPG with a fantastic gameworld, great storyline, and adult themes. It seems that the combat isn't that great, but it's still better than the mind-numbingly boring Diablo-esque clickfest. I'm under the impression that the reviewer prefers RPG's like The Elder Scrolls as opposed to this, and I have a feeling that I'll enjoy The Witcher a lot more than he did. I also would've liked to hear more about the story and the choices you make.

Your thoughts?

I wonder if the combat system gave it a lower score overall. But still, the explanation does sound almost frustrating to play. Maybe they should've just went along with the Diablo click-fest and let the story/characters shine? I don't know.

But 7's not a bad score. Player reviews are saying it's in the 9 area, so one review shouldn't really be a big deal.

Gameinformer Review:

Concept: Polish author Andrezej Sapkowski's fantasy world is yours to explore, but you don't need to be familiar with his work to have a good time

Graphics: Environments and combat animations look excellent, but it's a pity that so many character models are recycled

Sound: You will notice music and voices coming out of your speaker, but they won't make much of an impression beyond that

Playability: Letting the player choose between two non-broken camera modes is a good idea, and the combat is fluid and fun

Entertainment: Ultimately follows the "do some quests, progress to the next area" formula, but has enough engaging content to feel fresh

Replay: Moderately High

Bottom Line: 8 (out of 10)
Second Opinion: 8.25

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