The Witcher (PC)

A foul-mouthed, morally ambiguous role-playing treat.
1/31/2008 12:00 AM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 3

Unless you're Polish, you've probably never heard of Andrzej Sapkowski -- the fantasy author behind The Witcher. His eight-book cycle follows the adventures of Geralt, a white-haired monster hunter in a morally ambiguous medieval world. Sapkowski's bawdy tales of swords and sorcery spawned a TV series, a film and, finally, a videogame by first-time developer CD Projekt RED STUDIO.

Up to this point CD Projekt was best known for localizing and publishing international games for the Polish audience. The Witcher, a startling debut for a fledgling developer, proves that CD Projekt learned a thing or two when bringing classics like Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment to Poland. It's more than a little ironic that CD Projekt's debut game is nearly hamstrung by half-assed English-language localization. The game's American publisher Atari isn't exactly in the position to toss money around. Despite shoddy translation, frequently terrible voice acting and straight-up censorship, The Witcher remains an imminently playable role-playing adventure.

Sadly, The Witcher doesn't make a great first impression. The game starts with Geralt cloistered in a crumbling castle under siege. Here players learn the nuts and bolts of the game's combat and magic, which to be honest, are serviceable but nothing to write home about. To fight, players select targets, then make timed clicks to trigger stronger attacks. Geralt handles the rest. Initially Geralt doesn't feel very agile; he doesn't always run up to the enemies you are trying to cleave in two. Frequently you will find yourself needing to manually re-position the warrior so he'll start fighting.

This introductory level also marks the beginning of an epic wrestling match between the player and the game's camera. None of the three options (over the shoulder, high isometric and low isometric) are ideal. To add insult to injury, the game's plot kicks off feeling like an Uwe Boll flick. Much of the blame for the Z-grade vibe can be pinned on the game's stilted translation and cheesy voice acting. But the core plot, one that involves a gang stealing a bunch of potions and killing a paper-thin character, doesn't really do much to flesh out Geralt's motivations.

When Geralt finally ditches his allies and sets off on his own, the game's strengths really begin to coalesce. The first act finds Geralt in a village on the outskirts of the walled city Vizima. The town is quarantined because of the plague, so Geralt must try to work the angles in the small exterior village and find a way to breach Vizima's security. The game opens up here, giving players multiple ways of attacking the story. There's nowhere near the amount of freedom afforded by The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion -- a game that could be The Witcher's distant cousin. But The Witcher is much more hemmed in than Bethesda's sandbox-style behemoth. Geralt is locked into a small village, with clear boundaries. But from the outset the adventurer has tons of options. While following his leads Geralt can do favors for villagers, gamble and brawl for dough, and drink bar-goers under the table.

Unlike Oblivion, where the number of available choices feels paralyzing, all of The Witcher's extra tasks help push the story forward (or at the very least line Geralt's pockets). In fact, players will probably feel a little World of Warcraft d&eacure;jà vu. You can stock up on quests and side-jobs, fully confident that you'll achieve a good part of them while chasing the plot.