Witcher 2007

Damn the Witcher, Azar Yavad, Professor and Andrzej Sapkowski who gave birth to them. CD Projekt finally finished their long-term construction dedicated to the adventures of a white-haired monster killer, and I lost sleep. “Now, there’s just one more task ...” And again, you go to bed when the alarm clock informs you that in an hour it’s time to move to study, and on the street the first wipers embark on a crazy dance with their brooms.

The protagonist of the game is a witcher named Geralt. The Witcher, in short, is such a dangerous mutant guy who can give a weighty kick in the ass to any monster, is well versed in alchemy and knows how to use magic signs. The plot of Witcher is different from the events described in the printed source. During the pogrom in Rivia, the glorious Geralt allegedly dies. Five years later, the half-dead witcher is found by his comrades in the vicinity of Caer Morhen. But bad luck - the fearless fighter of evil spirits and the conqueror of girls’ hearts does not remember anything. However, amnesia is not such a rare disease among RPG heroes.

Literally immediately upon returning to their refuge, witches are attacked by armed people. Fortunately, Geralt did not forget his fighting skills, and a couple of dozen attackers remain writhing on the ground in dying convulsions. Outside, the two main antagonists kill one of the witchers and hide with most of the magic elixirs. Now Geralt, driven by a thirst for revenge, has to find the Lidedeans, smash their insidious plans and, if possible, remember who he really is.

In general (if we forget about the notorious loss of memory), the plot is very, very good. The game keeps in suspense until the last moment: each decision is given very difficult and subsequently significantly affects the course of passing. After the choice is made, the player often has doubts: “have I acted in good conscience?”. Rarely what kind of game makes you empathize.

The medieval world of The Witcher is cruel and unfriendly. There is no place for fabulous princes and fire-breathing dragons, but there will always be a couple of ugly drowners or wyverns who strive to bite the witcher's throat. Racial hatred, terrorism, bloody massacres in the name of freedom and equality - this and much more distinguishes the Witcher from other similar projects. Although Geralt is trying to maintain neutrality, he is somehow involved in this war between elves and people, and in any case is responsible for its consequences. All this stimulates re-passage.

Non-linear tasks are also enough. These are standard for the witcher contracts for the killing of monsters, various mail orders and the like. There are really a lot of quests, especially in Vizima.

By the way, just in the city the main pitfall of the project emerges to the surface - indecently lengthy downloads. Moreover, the symptoms of such a "disease" are observed on high-end computers. Believe me, it’s really boring to wait, so I advise you to stock up on good reading; I, for example, during the downloads I read almost completely notorious “Masters and Margarita”.

But the combat system was surprisingly original. After the first click on the enemy, the player must wait until the cursor “lights up” with fire, and click again - then Geralt will conduct a series of strokes with additional damage. In total, the witcher can perform up to four such combos (if everything goes as it should) and the latter usually ends with killing the enemy. Not without spectacular fatalities - while the enemy “rests” in knockdown, Geralt effectively finishes him with the hilt of his sword or beautifully pierces with a blade. And indeed the entire animation of the battles deserves extremely flattering reviews. It is worth noting that in everyday activities Geralt actively uses two swords (steel - against people, silver - against monsters) and three fighting styles, which, combined with five magic signs, open up a huge scope of tactical possibilities.

The role system is also not entirely ordinary. All witch attributes, styles and magic signs are divided into five turns of development, each of which is associated with related abilities. Three types of talents (bronze, silver and gold) will not allow the player to pump one thing and forget about the rest forever - you do not want to, but you will have to learn the basics. But the interface let us down - all the things in the inventory look almost the same, but given the enormous importance of alchemy in the game - such a flaw is simply unforgivable. Because of this, the desire to engage in the manufacture of potions is completely discouraged - as long as you find which particular ingredients you are missing, you don’t want to live anymore, not like mixing herbs.

Aurora Engine licensed by Bioware is responsible for the graphic part. "Motor" is doing its job with a bang. The scenery is magnificent. The developers love the details: all, without exception, even the most unnecessary characters, seem as alive as Geralt himself, and the cities resemble huge anthills, where something is constantly happening. Of the minuses - the downloads already mentioned above, pseudo-plastic models, hackneyed animation of characters during conversations (lips do not keep up with the text, facial expressions leave much to be desired, and hands are always outstretched).

Despite all the shortcomings, the game was a success. After the first passage, I want to study The Witcher again, make other decisions and see how it all ends this time. And, in principle, what bothers you?

Pros: a fascinating plot; great atmosphere; original combat system; Superb graphics and soundtrack.
Cons: too much download time; instability.

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