Witcher Disappoints, Now Skeptical of Reviews

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smackababy

Lifer
Oct 30, 2008
27,024
79
86
Again skyrim story wasn't that Great but better than witchers.. what makes up for the story in skyrim is the free roaming open world. I like skyrim's combat as well. The skills are much more rewarding.... Fus Ra Dohing a person off a ledge is classic. . I think the point of a game like skyrim is having a main story but kind of relying on imaginative play.

Witcher to me fails because it fails on Character, Story, and Combat plus all the other things i have mentioned.

I wanted emotion from witcher or intellect.. but preferably both. I got neither. Instead i got what feels like is a teenager sex sensationalized product... not stylized but underdeveloped. If you simply changed one element of the game it would have been better. keep all the combat etc the same change the story to the Legacy of Kain universe. +1 keep the story but make the combat more enjoyable +1 Keep everything the same except for the acting +1 I think you can see where i am going with this.

This game is out of harmony... each individual element does not resonate with the other elements that were chosen.

The sex in the story fits the time period which this game took place. Men had "rights" to women and a lot of sex happened because of it. And, which I guess is not the norm of this forum(jk >_<), a lot of people have sex every day. Sorry that in a time period where brothels were expected, sex was a part of every day life.

Also, Skyrim was lacking in combat, story, immersion, and character development.
 

diesbudt

Diamond Member
Jun 1, 2012
3,393
0
0
The sex in the story fits the time period which this game took place. Men had "rights" to women and a lot of sex happened because of it. And, which I guess is not the norm of this forum(jk >_<), a lot of people have sex every day. Sorry that in a time period where brothels were expected, sex was a part of every day life.

Also, Skyrim was lacking in combat, story, immersion, and character development.


Very true. Stuff like this was very prevalent in that time. People may think watching Game of thrones that they added all that sex and nudity for fun, but really it was in the books and mimics pretty well what the time period around the middles ages/dark ages were.

And I agree. Skyrim was a fun game that I thoroughly enjoyed. However, the story was not great, especially since you lose track of the main story jumping off into side quests. Combat was simple, and there was 0 character development besides "leveling/stats/armor"
 

Jeffg010

Diamond Member
Feb 22, 2008
3,435
1
0
I could not get into Witcher 1. that game just did not feel right had I a hard time adjusting to the controls. I played about an hour and gave up. If a game can't pull me in the first 5 mins then it is not the game for me.

Games like titan's quest and D3 in the first min had me hooked. Also games that I need to RTFM for 3 hours is going to suck for me Shogun 2 comes to mind. I gave that one a real go once I got the battle ground I was like WTF confused and got my ass handed to me and that was last time I played that crap.
 

micrometers

Diamond Member
Nov 14, 2010
3,473
0
0
you should always watch gameplay videos for yourself, and not just go by what the score review sites give.

I felt the same way about dragon age origins. Terrible game, would have given it a 4/10
 

thespyder

Golden Member
Aug 31, 2006
1,979
0
0
2. Acting- worst acting ever.. monotone main character and void of any drama.
Um, try playing the first Two Worlds. You will rapidly revise this stance on what is the worst in this category.
6. quests repetitive pattern- go back and forth places for 2 to 4 subquests which unlocks the final part of the main quest. Many of the quests are go-fetch errand quests.

Um, if you have played any RPG in the past 10 years and not found this exact same pattern, then you haven't been paying attention.
Any suggestions? I have never played Dragon Age or Dark Souls.
are there any others? Anything in particular that is freaking epic... sad...chills down the spine amazing?

Dragon Age: Origins (plus awakenings) is very good. Highly recommend them. Just don't play DA2 under any circumstances.

Dark Souls is not what you would call a traditional RPG. it is an excellent game, but don't expect any story what so ever. And don't expect any kind of interaction with anyone else except what you kill.

Finally, as for your initial premise that game reviews failed you, it is a known phenomenon that game reviews (the absolute number ratings) of games have become significantly watered down in the last 10 years or so. Games that would previously have gotten a 5 or less (out of 10) are now getting 7s and 8s. And games that have no business getting 9.5 or higher are getting exactly that. it is a shame, but there is hope.

When I research a game, I don't look at the overall score until last. I read multiple reviews from multiple trusted sites. I read for content. I read for specific game play experiences and features. And I read what people say about those features. I also look on Utube for videos on game play. You can get a general sense of graphics level between that and screen shots. If you do all of the above, you should be able to make a relatively educated guess as to if you are going to enjoy the game.

You can then see the number rating, if you want. But understand that the numbers are watered down by a combination of Fanbois, haters and promotional attempts to commercialize their games. And while reviews can also be biased, if you read a bunch and they all say things about specific elements, they are less likely to be blowing smoke.
 
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Dumac

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,391
1
0
I have lost my faith in gaming review sites. The Witcher turned out to be, atleast for me, The most disappointing game I have played in a while. Now I am skeptical of gaming reviews so much now that I am unwilling to risk the cash and time trying another recent Rpg title. Rather than get lengthy into why i don't like the Witcher, let me condense my views on a smaller list:

1. Combat- self explanatory

Ill give you this. The combat in W1 wasn't great.

2. Acting- worst acting ever.. monotone main character and void of any drama.

I played the game with polish audio. I'd recommend anyone else do the same. I always play games in their original language.

3. Story- premise was good, but events in the game felt cheesy and gave me no real feel of immersion or drive to play further.

This is just BS. The W1, for all its faults, has a detailed and intricate story thats beats all the 'kiddie' stories of the games you listed below to a pulp. The story is the reason most people like TW1, for all its gameplay faults.

4. Graphics were pretty good especially for the engine and original release date(only plus)

If you want good graphics, look at TW2 not TW1.

5. Romances- Too many sluts which in turn makes the game not as believable.. (whether you like sluts or not..the amount in this game is unrealistic even for a fantasy)probably this aspect appeals to horny teenagers and degenerates.

LOL now people who like the game are degenerates. I wouldn't call the amount of people he sleeps with 'unrealistic' for a man with magical powers. Hell, I bet celebrities in this world sleep with more chicks than Geralt does in TW1.

Just because you are afraid of sex doesn't mean we all have to be.

On another note, TW2 does change this as it focuses more on romance. You can only lay a few people in TW2.

6. quests repetitive pattern- go back and forth places for 2 to 4 subquests which unlocks the final part of the main quest. Many of the quests are go-fetch errand quests.

Sidequests, maybe. But still usually something interesting happens along the way.

Also I love how you list this as a complaint, yet put SKYRIM in the list of your favorite games even though it is infamous for its generic, formulaic fetch quests for every single aspect of the game.

"Oh my husband is kidnapped!"
"Want me to rescue him?"
"No, can you go into this cave of draugr and kill them all."

"Oh no vampies are attacking the town!"
"Want me to kill them?"
"No can you go into this cave of draugr and fetch the magical staff of vampire killing"

"A noble was assassinated!"
"Oh no! What shall we do!"
"Go inside this cave of draugr!"

Now that I have gotten that out of the way. Here are some Rpgs that I love.

1. Terranigma (snes)
2. Secret of Mana (snes)
3. Orcarina of Time (N64)
4. Fallout 3
5. Kotor
6. Mass effect
7. Skyrim
8. Kingdom Hearts (ps2)

First off, 1 and 2 are jrpgs, which is an entirely different subvein of rpgs that can't really be compared with wrpgs.

Secondly, OoT and KH aren't even RPGs, but action/adventure games.

Third, Fallout 3, Kotor, and Mass Effect shows you like light-rpgs by Bioware. Try some more Bioware games? They are all the same so you should like them all (although avoid the newer ones).

Finally, Skyrim can barely even be considered and RPG and I'm surprised you found any of the below in it.

I want a story that puts me to tears
I want a story that opens your mind and resonates with you
I want an epic story with dynamic characters.
I want to be immersed I want the story to suspend disbelief if at all possible.

The Witcher has a lot of the elements listd above.

OoT, Kingdom Hearts, and Skyrim don't. Bioware games don't really either.

Any suggestions? I have never played Dragon Age or Dark Souls.
are there any others? Anything in particular that is freaking epic... sad...chills down the spine amazing?

Maybe Dragon Age will fit the book since its by Bioware. But I don't know. It may be too 'serious' for you.

Don't play Dark Souls. You will cry, for multiple reasons.
 

smackababy

Lifer
Oct 30, 2008
27,024
79
86
Don't play Dark Souls.

While I agree with most of your post, this I take offense to. Dark Souls is meant to be hard, but not because of the standard "Nintendo Hard" of the past where if you haven't played the level 10 times, you have no idea of the hidden walls and crap that kill you. Dark Souls is hard because you suck at it.

*Not you as in Dumac, but you as in the player.
 

r3dsh1ft

Member
Jul 31, 2012
56
0
0
Ill give you this. The combat in W1 wasn't great.



I played the game with polish audio. I'd recommend anyone else do the same. I always play games in their original language.

This is just BS. The W1, for all its faults, has a detailed and intricate story thats beats all the 'kiddie' stories of the games you listed below to a pulp. The story is the reason most people like TW1, for all its gameplay faults.

The back story is interesting but the story that is played out in the actual game is boring. (especially the first half)

"i dont remember much"
"ill go with them"
"you beauty is beyond my comprehension"
fapp fapp fapp
"I still dont remember"
"fine he will stay"
"ok lets go to the party"
Gulp gulp gulp
your beauty sets the very night sky ablaze"
fapp fapp fapp

.... I will give you the thing about playing it in with the original Polish Dialogue. I prefer subs to dubs 90 percent of the time with anime and foreign movies.

Adult themes can be great, this game seems to try too hard to be an adult game. It isnt a fear of sex lol that's causing a rift between me and this game. When game play mechanics are overused it causes problems in the game... and sex is no exception. What are Geralt's redeeming features? What are any of the characters redeeming features?

Btw I like skyrim based on its epic environment and music score not as much on the repetitive quests etc.

Also I never said that those qualities i am looking for in a game were all found in every game i listed. What I listed would be rare, although some have met those requirements but not the entire list.

Those attributes i listed were intended to explain what i was looking for in a game.
 
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cl-scott

ASUS Support
Jul 5, 2012
457
0
0
While some will knock it for being pretty linear, Final Fantasy X might be worth checking out if you like JRPGs. The reason I never minded it being so linear is that it is very story driven, and so the progression from one area to the next is all driven by the plot of the game. The plot itself is something of an opus if you ask me. It has a little bit of everything. Love, loss, religious intolerance, big all powerful monster, political intrigue... They constructed a world with about 1,000 years worth of history that they drip feed to you as you move along. And the ending is probably one of the greatest tearjerkers of video games anywhere, you just have to overlook a few cheap boss fights late in the game. Just do yourself a favor, and no matter how tempted you are, skip Final Fantasy X-2. There's barely a plot, it's just a bunch of mini-games, and the US version for some reason lacked the little 5 minute movie that sort of bridged the gap between the first game and the start of the sequel. Just hit YouTube to find the special ending if you get 100% completion on all the mini-games and what not.

Final Fantasy XIII was also very story driven and had a pretty powerful story, if you don't mind the fact that you're basically thrown down a hallway for virtually the entire main story. There are also a couple of cheap boss fights with Barthandelus, and once you see the ending there's kind of an obvious flaw in the plot of the game, though maybe they'll resolve that in FFXIII-3. FFXIII does a pretty good job of keeping the tension ratcheted up for most of the game, with only a quick breather pretty late in the game.

I know a lot of people panned it as well, but I even liked Final Fantasy 8, which I liked better than 7 and 9 myself. The main plot was a bit of a stretch, and it can kind of drag really late in the game where you're running around trying to pick up all the GFs, but there was a pretty decent side story going along to the main plot about two characters slowly falling in love, and the emotional awakening of the main character. I won't knock Final Fantasy 7, since Sephiroth is easily one of the best bad guys of all time, but I just don't consider it one of the greatest JRPGs of all time. Final Fantasy 9 was kind of so-so IMO. It got better as it went along, but until Garland shows up, it was kind of a chore for me.

The Uncharted series of games is also definitely worth checking out. They're not technically RPGs or even Action RPGs like Zelda, but they are so well executed that it creates a near lucid experience where you forget you're playing a game and can feel like you were watching a movie. Voice acting is great, the banter is excellent, combat can be a little repetitive but the AI is actually pretty intelligent so it keeps things a bit interesting, and the visuals can be quite impressive. You do have to overlook a few annoying areas in each of the games, always pretty late in the game, but the rest of the game easily makes up for it if you ask me. Just think of it like the water temple in OoT. It's annoying as all get out, and you just have to press on because the rest of the game is worth it.

And yes, I know those are all console games, but there were console games listed in the OP, and frankly there don't seem to be as many RPGs on the PC anyway.
 
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Dankk

Diamond Member
Jul 7, 2008
5,558
25
91
IMO, The Witcher is one of the best RPGs ever made.

Not everyone agrees. And that's OK.
 

QuantumPion

Diamond Member
Jun 27, 2005
6,010
1
76
"Oh my husband is kidnapped!"
"Want me to rescue him?"
"No, can you go into this cave of draugr and kill them all."

"Oh no vampies are attacking the town!"
"Want me to kill them?"
"No can you go into this cave of draugr and fetch the magical staff of vampire killing"

"A noble was assassinated!"
"Oh no! What shall we do!"
"Go inside this cave of draugr!"

Rofl! :awe:
 

Dumac

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,391
1
0
The back story is interesting but the story that is played out in the actual game is boring. (especially the first half)

"i dont remember much"
"ill go with them"
"you beauty is beyond my comprehension"
fapp fapp fapp
"I still dont remember"
"fine he will stay"
"ok lets go to the party"
Gulp gulp gulp
your beauty sets the very night sky ablaze"
fapp fapp fapp

.... I will give you the thing about playing it in with the original Polish Dialogue. I prefer subs to dubs 90 percent of the time with anime and foreign movies.

Adult themes can be great, this game seems to try too hard to be an adult game. It isnt a fear of sex lol that's causing a rift between me and this game. When game play mechanics are overused it causes problems in the game... and sex is no exception. What are Geralt's redeeming features? What are any of the characters redeeming features?

Btw I like skyrim based on its epic environment and music score not as much on the repetitive quests etc.

Also I never said that those qualities i am looking for in a game were all found in every game i listed. What I listed would be rare, although some have met those requirements but not the entire list.

Those attributes i listed were intended to explain what i was looking for in a game.

You say the story is boring, yet your complaints are about optional sex scenes? That isn't part of the main story, bud. You can skip it if you don't want to explore that aspect of the game.

The main story lives beyond Geralt's side flings.

The game explores a world where a man (Geralt) who has been raised to kill monsters is starting to realize that men can be bigger monsters than any beast he has been trained to slay. He is experiencing a change in the world to a more 'civilized' nature, where the monsters have been pushed to the boundaries of society and new monsters grow inside men's hearts. The player gets to decide how Geralt deals with these changes; retirement as a farmer, fighting as an activist, or hanging on to the way things were.

Geralt is sterile, and his main romances plus the orphan boy give Geralt the brief chance to have a family like he never thought he would (if the player leans that way). Yet this only ends in tragedy, as geralt
ends up killing the boy who he envisioned as his son, oblivious to the warnings set before him

Geralt has lost everything, from his memory to his standing in the world. He must cope with the changing times or be lost forever. Over the game you can see and personally develop the change in character of Geralt from a stoic monster slayer to all sorts of different characters.

The game also explores moral grey areas of human rights where terrorism and freedom fighting are two sides of the same coin, depending on how you look at it. Moral relativity is the true name of the game.

Unlike Bioware (and other games) where you simply make binary choices and immediately see the consequences so you can reload and choose the other option, the choices in the Witcher are deeply integrated into the story. Choices in Act 1 have reverberations in Act 4. Everything is connected.

You dismiss the Witcher as a game for 'horny teenagers', yet you keep rambling about 'epic environment' and 'epic story' and anything 'freaking epic'. This just reminds me of the teenagers you seem to despise.

TW1 has one of the best stories I've seen recently in a video game, so it just puzzles me that you bash it because you want games with a better story (even though the stories in the games you listed are - for the most part - subpar)
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
Waaaait a second...you say you love stories, and that TW1 disappoints, yet you list Skyrim as a game you love?

lol...i didn't notice that.

Yeah Skyrim story sucks if you follow the main quest line but the depth when you dig into the books, journals, history of various locations and factions. It's pretty good there anyway.
 

Dumac

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,391
1
0
lol...i didn't notice that.

Yeah Skyrim story sucks if you follow the main quest line but the depth when you dig into the books, journals, history of various locations and factions. It's pretty good there anyway.

Most of the lore is predefined and not anything special to Skyrim.

A lot of the books are just books from Morrowind and Oblivion either alone or combined.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
Most of the lore is predefined and not anything special to Skyrim.

A lot of the books are just books from Morrowind and Oblivion either alone or combined.

it is a lot to absorb in a play through though. That's the point.
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
13
81
The back story is interesting but the story that is played out in the actual game is boring. (especially the first half)

"i dont remember much"
"ill go with them"
"you beauty is beyond my comprehension"
fapp fapp fapp
"I still dont remember"
"fine he will stay"
"ok lets go to the party"
Gulp gulp gulp
your beauty sets the very night sky ablaze"
fapp fapp fapp

.... I will give you the thing about playing it in with the original Polish Dialogue. I prefer subs to dubs 90 percent of the time with anime and foreign movies.

Adult themes can be great, this game seems to try too hard to be an adult game. It isnt a fear of sex lol that's causing a rift between me and this game. When game play mechanics are overused it causes problems in the game... and sex is no exception. What are Geralt's redeeming features? What are any of the characters redeeming features?

Btw I like skyrim based on its epic environment and music score not as much on the repetitive quests etc.

Also I never said that those qualities i am looking for in a game were all found in every game i listed. What I listed would be rare, although some have met those requirements but not the entire list.

Those attributes i listed were intended to explain what i was looking for in a game.

Witcher in many ways is better then Skyrim,for example your friends in The Witcher are far more interesting and more life like then any of the npcs in Skyrim,companions were about as interesting as watching paint dry with no depth in any of the NPCs,the dragons were far more interesting in Skyrim then any of the NPCs.

Problem with Skyrim its a rehash of Oblivion in many ways and Morrowind by far was the best of the three IMHO,due to having to find your quests etc no sat nav to tell you where to go and the storyline was superior to both Oblivion and Skyrim.

Btw Witcher 1 sets the storyline for Witcher 2 in some ways so its not finished ie you only get part of the storyline in Witcher 1.

Story wise Skyrim does not hold a candle to Witcher,plus Skyrim is too damn easy even on higher difficulty levels,Witcher wins hands down in my books between the two , I also had more bugs in Skyrim then I ever did in Witcher so thats another knockout blow ;) .
 
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Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
13
81
you should always watch gameplay videos for yourself, and not just go by what the score review sites give.

I felt the same way about dragon age origins. Terrible game, would have given it a 4/10

Really?..... I think you mean Dragon Age 2,DAO is 100x better then DA2.

In general more people liked DAO better then DA2.
 

NoSoup4You

Golden Member
Feb 12, 2007
1,253
6
81
The Witcher 2 is absolutely phenomenal, don't make the mistake of assuming it's more of the same garbage that was The Witcher 1. Combat has been completely overhauled, it's completely action oriented now a la a game like "Zelda"...etc. It's not Zelda, but the combat's great and satisfying. Witcher 1's combat was laugh-out-loud awful.
 

Rifter

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,522
751
126
Problem is for every person that hated Witcher you can find a person that liked it like me,oh I hated Fallout 3 ,New Vegas was a lot better IMHO.


Quests in RPGs are quite normal btw.

I would have had no issue with the fetch quests if you could have fast travel, i just dont like running around the same part of the map 3 times to do a bunch of boring fetch quests, even if the graphics are great. I agree NV was better than FO3.

And for those of you complaining about ME1 shepard voice acting i found the female voice acting alot better and always play ME1 as a female because of it.
 

shurato

Platinum Member
Sep 24, 2000
2,398
0
76
The first parts of the Witcher is a bit of a drag but the story really kicks it up a notch around the end of the 2nd act. I was honestly struggling to keep interest in the beginning but man I was really glad I did.

I personally thought DA:O was a real bore and gave up rather early. Just seemed like I was playing a generic character in a generic story. Maybe I'll give it another shot some day but doubt it.
 

Arglebargle

Senior member
Dec 2, 2006
892
1
81
A few issues: There's loads of info on The Witcher available, especially now. No one really has the excuse of 'I didn't know' (That means you spaceman spiff!) about the game. Not doing the research means you don't have nearly as much latitude to bitch.

Different tastes lead to all these divergent reviews.

The first english dubbing was pretty pathetic. Definitely better played in Polish with subtitles. And that may be a reason I liked the game where some didn't. Didn't mind the combat too much. All combat systems are abstractions. I'm always amused when folks think their particular favorite is somehow the golden paradigm.

The world had depth to the background unlike many fantasy games, as it had numerous novels to draw upon for its nuts and bolts. Very much Grimm's Fairytales, and not so much High Fantasy or D&D rehash. It certainly had it's issues as a game, but it really does have a lot going for it.

I'd say just do more detailed research next time. And accept that people will like things that just leave you puzzled.
 

magomago

Lifer
Sep 28, 2002
10,973
14
76
Meh didn't like Witcher 1. I gave it a good shot and the story was interesting for the maybe 7 hours I played, I loved the side games....

BUT

(A) The combat was boring a hell. I guess timing the rate you click in a precise sequence isn't as satisfying as simply clicking as fast/hard as possible (ie diablo 3).

(B) Running around was boring. Really really boring.
 

thejunglegod

Golden Member
Feb 12, 2012
1,358
36
91
Hmm i really cannot believe that you mentioned Skyrim as having an immersive story and good character development. That is just utter rubbish. And the game has a very adult theme, hence te nudity. By your saying, Game of Thrones should also appeal to horny teenagers and degenerates eh?

I totally agree that the first Witcher had the worst combat. SO bad in fact that i could not even clear the first fight scene. I remember restarting the game over and over again only to clear the first fight, and got so frustrated that i quit. But then, i restarted the game and went through with it somehow and thank God I did. The story is amongst the best in games of all time.

And btw, please don't rant about the first Witcher cos it is very very old.There is a much much improved sequel out there.
 

Pr0d1gy

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2005
7,774
0
76
Gaming reviews, like politicians and the news media, are bought and paid for. Now you know OP and can make better choices for yourself.