Welcome to My World
The Witcher is powered by BioWare's Aurora 2007 engine, a heavily modified version of the engine behind Neverwinter Nights — and it really is heavily modified, to the point where if the BioWare logo wasn't present on the box, you likely wouldn't make the connection. Initially launched in late October 2007, The Witcher is set in a dark, violent world perched on the brink of destruction. Your job, naturally, is to take the role of the Geralt, the White Wolf (from The Witcher books — now apparently resurrected without much of his memory) and set things right.
 It's good to be the king |
How you happen to define "right" will affect certain aspects of the game; as the box says, "There is no good, no evil — only decisions and consequences." If you read the marketing material, you'll find information about how you have to make tough decisions that have world changing consequences. Depending on the choices you make, the game will branch down different paths with three supposedly unique endings. I'm also a big fan of the Fallout games, so perhaps I got my hopes up a little too much. Suffice it to say, while there are a few major decisions to make throughout the game, the actual impact on the game world appears to be extremely small, mostly determining whom you have to fight and which characters "like" you. The three "unique" endings are achieved by deciding to side with the bad guys, the other bad guys, or by refusing to choose a side and remaining neutral — and you get to fight both parties of "bad" guys.
 The ice age cometh |
Okay, so perhaps it's not quite that simplistic, but if you're looking for an ending where everything turns out okay, prepare to be disappointed. This is not to say that the ending is bad, but this isn't a story put together by your typical Hollywood think-tank, and Walt Disney definitely wouldn't approve. This is a mature game with mature themes, and like the real world rarely do things and "happily ever after". That said, the ending was satisfying, even if it does leave the door open for future titles.
 American dryads have long hair and wear thongs; European dryads are less inhibited |
One final item worth mentioning before we get into the heart of the review is that this really is a mature game, in every sense of the word. The Witcher definitely earns its 17+ ESRB rating, with the following content: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, and Violence. Yes, that's correct: your in-game avatar can actually participate in sex during the game, with a variety of women. Before any of you get too excited, the reality is that the sexual content doesn't even match what you're likely to see on primetime television or soap operas, basically giving you a fade to black with a picture of a woman in a revealing pose. Of course, if you're capable of reading this article, you're more than capable of finding much worse material in a matter of seconds. [Note: The non-US version is apparently less prudish, featuring actual nudity at parts. The European version would qualify as an R-rated movie, in computer game form.]
If you enjoy listening to the Jack Thompsons of the world, games like this are contributing to the downfall of society and turn people into raging sociopaths. Apparently, The Witcher doesn't have a large enough following as yet to warrant his attention, and I have managed to stave off the urge to kill anyone or go looking for a prostitute. Still, if any of the last two paragraphs offend you, definitely give The Witcher a wide berth. [Ed: There goes another three readers….] Okay, with that out of the way, let's get into the nitty-gritty details of The Witcher.
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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.