The Witcher, RPG, 2007
Witchers are old guild of professional monster hunters. They are loners, traveling the world from spring to autumn, hunting magical beasts for money, doing favors, and in winter, returning to their mountain fort. You play one known as Wolf, or Geralt of Rivia. You are found by your friends in the filed near fort, disoriented and without memories. Two days after, a gang attacks fort and this is where game begins.
Stairs in the Witcher's fort...
Tutorial
This is where you will learn how far Aurora engine has gone. This game does not reassemble to Neverwinter Nights at all. For the first time, isometric 3D rpg looks like old school 2D games - beautiful graphics, full details, nice effects and quality game play make Witcher probably best 3D rpg ever! But first things first - while you fight with bandits in courtyard, you learn that there are 3 ways of fighting - one for fast opponents, one second for strong, and third for enemy's that come in groups. You will often have to change your fighting style in the game, and sometimes weapon too - there is steel sword or axe for humans, and silver for monsters.
Fighting the first Boss in the game ends tutorial...
All your fighting and puzzle solving wont do any good - bandits, leaded by notorious professor and unknown wizard steal all mutagen potions and disappear in magical portal. Even worse, Leo, only witcher apprentice (you will learn soon after that witchers can not have offspring because of their mutations) is dead, and your lady sorceress lies injured. Who else will need to find all the ingredients to make potion to heal her, and clean the fort from remaining marauders. Yes, you. Here we come to the alchemy, another important part of the game - you can make potions with various effects, by collecting necessary substances, and mixing them while meditating. And, if you ask yourself how will you learn what things have powers and what don't - well, from books that you can find or buy.
Now, there is one more aspect of the game that you will learn of in the beginning. If you play your cards right, you can have sex with various female characters - first of them is sorceress you save. What you get by doing that - well, nice "cards" in Journal and... :)
First Chapter
Warning: I will try to make this text contain as less spoilers as I can, but some of them will appear inside, and they may ruin your game play experience if you read them.
At the beginning you meet Alvin, the kid...
If you give some food to beggars, they will be more helpful...
Even the loading and save screens are made like beautiful paintings... And loading do not takes forever... at least in 1.1+ version of game...
This is where Drowners will come... You can kill them with regular steel sword, just read your Journal for instructions on combat style... That is good recommendation for every monster...
When entering crypt it is recommended to drink Cat potion, so you can see in the dark...
This is how "morning after" card looks like. This particular belongs to barmaid you lay down in the mill...
When you solve all side quests priest will tell you that your friends, the Salamander gang, are in abandoned house, and that innkeeper of the inn has the key... When you get there dough, he is dead and your lady friend in danger... So, after using some of your combat skills, you find missing children in cave, and Abigail the witch in next underground passage... Story get its end - you learn about her, her business and villagers, and it is up to you to decide who is to be blamed...
I slept with her and after that went in front of the mob and told them not to bother her any more. What you get if you do another way and surrender her to them - I have no idea. By doing this, however, you get to fight the Beast, and i recommend using Thunderstorm potion and fast attack, and fighting the beast alone, because all the other dogs will disappear after you slain it...
This is the Beast... good puppy? NO? Then DIE!
Thunderstorm potion makes everything slow and blurry...
And that is where second chapter begins... And you get silver sword, at last... You will notice that water looks even better than in Oblivion, even if sunlight that gets past bars is somewhat strangely done...
So... This was short introduction to the game, its tutorial and first chapter. If you believed I will tell you all the juicy stuff, you were wrong. Oh boy. You go and buy this game, and play it! It is best thing that can happen to you, after Fallout, Baldur's Gate, Arcanum and Bloodlines. And it looks better! Have I forget something important? Probably, but, after all, this is my first real post...
Stairs in the Witcher's fort...Tutorial
This is where you will learn how far Aurora engine has gone. This game does not reassemble to Neverwinter Nights at all. For the first time, isometric 3D rpg looks like old school 2D games - beautiful graphics, full details, nice effects and quality game play make Witcher probably best 3D rpg ever! But first things first - while you fight with bandits in courtyard, you learn that there are 3 ways of fighting - one for fast opponents, one second for strong, and third for enemy's that come in groups. You will often have to change your fighting style in the game, and sometimes weapon too - there is steel sword or axe for humans, and silver for monsters.
Fighting the first Boss in the game ends tutorial...All your fighting and puzzle solving wont do any good - bandits, leaded by notorious professor and unknown wizard steal all mutagen potions and disappear in magical portal. Even worse, Leo, only witcher apprentice (you will learn soon after that witchers can not have offspring because of their mutations) is dead, and your lady sorceress lies injured. Who else will need to find all the ingredients to make potion to heal her, and clean the fort from remaining marauders. Yes, you. Here we come to the alchemy, another important part of the game - you can make potions with various effects, by collecting necessary substances, and mixing them while meditating. And, if you ask yourself how will you learn what things have powers and what don't - well, from books that you can find or buy.
Now, there is one more aspect of the game that you will learn of in the beginning. If you play your cards right, you can have sex with various female characters - first of them is sorceress you save. What you get by doing that - well, nice "cards" in Journal and... :)
First Chapter
Warning: I will try to make this text contain as less spoilers as I can, but some of them will appear inside, and they may ruin your game play experience if you read them.
At the beginning you meet Alvin, the kid...First chapter leads you to outskirt villages of some town. I cant remember the name. So, you are after the bandits, but no one will speak with you, until you make people trust you more. You can do this by helping three citizens, and start by talking with priest of eternal fire. One need you to kill living plant, and you will do that - completely drunk, second want you to fight of Drowners, and third to clean the Crypt of Ghouls. Also, if you go slow and try everything, you can save dwarf named Zoltan and open some new side quests, save barmaid and later have sex with her in haunted mill across the river, and that kind of stuff... Game is pretty linear and do not let you to go where you shouldn't be, but you do have choices - almost in every dialog. Some of them do mean difference.
Level of detail is magnificent - birds and little animals on the road that flee when you run by, grass, fireplaces (that you can use to meditate and advance levels, mix potions and rest), signs, trees, little children playing some weired games...
Level of detail is magnificent - birds and little animals on the road that flee when you run by, grass, fireplaces (that you can use to meditate and advance levels, mix potions and rest), signs, trees, little children playing some weired games...
If you give some food to beggars, they will be more helpful...
Even the loading and save screens are made like beautiful paintings... And loading do not takes forever... at least in 1.1+ version of game...
This is where Drowners will come... You can kill them with regular steel sword, just read your Journal for instructions on combat style... That is good recommendation for every monster...
When entering crypt it is recommended to drink Cat potion, so you can see in the dark...
This is how "morning after" card looks like. This particular belongs to barmaid you lay down in the mill...When you solve all side quests priest will tell you that your friends, the Salamander gang, are in abandoned house, and that innkeeper of the inn has the key... When you get there dough, he is dead and your lady friend in danger... So, after using some of your combat skills, you find missing children in cave, and Abigail the witch in next underground passage... Story get its end - you learn about her, her business and villagers, and it is up to you to decide who is to be blamed...
I slept with her and after that went in front of the mob and told them not to bother her any more. What you get if you do another way and surrender her to them - I have no idea. By doing this, however, you get to fight the Beast, and i recommend using Thunderstorm potion and fast attack, and fighting the beast alone, because all the other dogs will disappear after you slain it...
This is the Beast... good puppy? NO? Then DIE!
Thunderstorm potion makes everything slow and blurry...After you finish the beast, and IF you saved the Abigale - priest, Odo and Harran will attack you. Kill them and go to the Inn, so you can proceed to the city gate. No sex with that girl, for now...
Just to know, when you enter the town, you will be arrested, and thrown in dungeon, with all your possessions gone... bad luck...
Just to know, when you enter the town, you will be arrested, and thrown in dungeon, with all your possessions gone... bad luck...
And that is where second chapter begins... And you get silver sword, at last... You will notice that water looks even better than in Oblivion, even if sunlight that gets past bars is somewhat strangely done...
Graphics: 10/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Freedom: 7/10
Overall: 9/10
I totally forgot about this game, I'm gonna have to go out and get it.