I finally got around to picking up The Witcher Enhanced Edition for PC. With that, I’m actually down to only a few solid PC-exclusive titles left to pick up. In any case, the first thing I have to say is that this game was the most difficult game for me to get to run on Vista for a game that claims Vista support. I was downloading and installing the most random patches. And it’s not like they were simple Witcher game patches like version 1.31 or something that brought in Vista functionality, but rather, cryptic stuff like patches off the Microsoft website or a patch that fixed EAX sound issues that would allow the game to launch.
After the headache of finally getting it to run, I have to say that I’m pretty pleased with the game. The biggest issue I currently have right now though is the camera, because you can’t really control it – or at least, I haven’t been able to find a way to. It’s locked and moves slowly so if you’re not walking or running forward, it’s annoying. I guess I’ve kind of gotten used to the camera already, and can enjoy the game for what it is: a deeper and more mature version of Fable II on the 360. While Fable II had a certain level of comical animations and design, The Witcher has none of that. It’s a darker game but also explores morality to a degree, allowing the player to choose how he wants to handle various quests.
The game’s presentation is done quite well for a non-North American developed game, especially after the negative impressions I got from playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl. I’ve gotten through the first chapter so far, but I am finding the second chapter to be more slow going than the first. I think the game’s town to dungeon ratio is far too high – I’m getting a bit bored with my gaming hours simply entering houses to search cupboards for food instead of hacking down monsters for treasures. I guess one can argue that you don’t have to go through every house, but even if I were to skip houses there’s not extra dungeons or something for me to go check out.
It’s a shame that the console port of this game may never come out, but for those with a PC good enough to run it and are looking for a contemporary single-player PC RPG to play, the Witcher is probably a good choice for those brought up on popular PC RPGs of the last decade like Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale. Unfortunately, the game isn’t as enjoyable as the classics I’ve mentioned, but probably good enough to hold us over until Dragon Age: Origins.
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