The Witcher

Did anyone else get this?

Being a long time RPG fan I had to pick it up, despite the lack of the usual hype. Completed the first couple area over the weekend, and I have to say it's a lot of fun, *Plus* the first really good story in a long long long time. Not quite Planescape-Torment or Fallout 2, perhaps, but certainly worthy of mention in the same sentence.

Definitely *NOT* a game for small kids, though! The first hour of gameplay has the potential to get... horizontal. And this trend continues. Liberal use of bad words - though definitely not in the gratuitous sense AKA Grand Theft Auto. But without a doubt: Any game where an NPC yells VERY pointed accusations about your mother's personal passtimes with the local Dwarves earns *huge* sarcasm points in my book! I almost spit drink all over the screen when I heard that! And the part where I had to kill some monsters while *BLIND* drunk had me laughing out loud.

It's fun from a gameplay perspective too - Not a huge clickfest, but you have to pay a bit of attention to your attacks. Strategy, melee versus spell usage, and potions make meaningful differences in the battles. Excellent, and not overdone, graphics. It's no MMO, but it doesn't feel very linear to play either. You are generally free to tackle quests in a given area in whatever order you feel. The balance between exploring and not having to wander directionlessly all over the world in order to do something seems about right.

The downside is that some of the areas are somewhat small, especially in indoors area. A fast computer makes it not so bad, but I can see where this would be really annoying on a slow box...

I'd post a "Favorite Lines" thread, but the moderators might take exception.

Didn't bother getting it... other games are more.... exciting