Geralt of Rivia does not need introductions. The witch has earned its fame in the world of gaming to force two PC adventure (the first was canceled for the consoles, while the second was also released on Xbox 360) carried by the surprises from Polish studio CD Projekt Red. And Now it’s time to say goodbye to this great man emerged from the pen literary Andrzej Sapkowski. Since CD Projekt presents The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, third and final installment of the trilogy of role-playing games that have a protagonist as Geralt of Rivia.
The road to the launch of The Witcher III was one of the rarest roses. From the start the announcement that the game would not only PC, but also for the next generation consoles made to several of the purists members of the Master Race (PC) will form a lump in my throat. Months later, multiple delays in the release date and an apparent downgrade graphics with respect to the first pictures showed the game looked them right in the most pessimistic.
So before starting the review itself, we will pay attention to the elephant in the room. At this point, and with the product in our hands, we are not doubts that The Witcher 3 suffered one of the most important downgrades in recent years in visuals, but still, the performance differences between graphics and version of PC and consoles are notorious for others, which will detail in the section of the analysis. The blame for this, undoubtedly, is the limitations of consoles “New generation”, since the same CD Projekt representatives said that they could not split the development into three versions of the game due to staff shortages.
But while the people of CD Projekt said that this game, The Witcher 3 as it exists today, was only possible because the market for the witch was noticeably expanded thanks to the large audience of Xbox One and PlayStation 4. In this evidence is just something to say to us: We are delighted that so. The Witcher III will not be the revolutionary game that was promised in terms of graphics, but no doubt is the RPG with better graphics so far. Where if the game marks a revolution is in the construction elements of the world, presenting the history and structure of the game. Where many see a graph Downgrade, we prefer to see an upgrade in gameplay and game structure. And that’s no small thing.
Looking for a woman, ashen-haired with a sword on her back. Just Like me.
The story presents CD Projekt in The Witcher 3 takes just a few months after the end of the previous game. The northern kingdoms weakened by the actions of Letho of Guleta and his comrades are facing a new invasion of the powerful Nilfgaardian Empire. The proud and glorious Temeria, invaded and ruined, has become the base of operations of Emperor Emhyr Emreis var. While Radovid king of Redenia, mounted resistance against the invading territories around the free city of Novigrad.
It is in this scenario, in these lands destroyed and ruined by war, where the central story of The Witcher III develops. A story that feels much more personal and intimate for Geralt of Rivia and their loved ones, but no longer the great conflict in the background, or the direst consequences.
CD Projekt has shown in the past a great mastery in developing interesting narrative and The Witcher III are exceeded at various levels. First, as mentioned, we have the central story that has as protagonist Geralt. In this case, much more than in the previous two games, the central narrative of the game draws heavily on Mr. Sapkowski novels. Key evidence of this last statement is the debut in the saga of two central characters in the literary saga: Cirilla and Vengerberg Yennefer of two important women of the past Geralt who occupy important roles in this new adventure.
It is in fact seeking Cirilla, adoptive daughter and protected warlock, what will motivate most of the action in history that is at the heart of this great game. So we can control even the Lion Cub of Cintra directly in some segments of linear game, which will help us to be witnesses of his side of the story, and incidentally test their amazing fighting skills firsthand.
Bygone area prologue White Orchard with Vesemir, gameplay Witcher 3 is presented as a true open-world experience in every way. Although it is not recommended to avoid the main quest to not ruin the events of history and the sense of discovery of new regions, we can walk the two main areas of the map (Velen / Novigrad and the islands of Skellige) end-to tip, virtually without restriction.
Although a large part of the main quest is limited to tracking and investigate hard on the whereabouts of Ciri along Velen, Novigrad and Skellige, Wild Hunt is a before and after in what regards to secondary quest. The variety, quality and progress of each is simply unprecedented, raising the bar RPG genre, and basically leaving badly a whole set of open-world role of companies versed in the genre, such as Bethesda, Bioware and Obsidian. In just four years, writers have made the CD Projekt is not only praiseworthy, if not it will be very hard to beat for the aforementioned developers, and perhaps even themselves.
Forget together for five legs bears the blacksmith on duty, or errands from point A to B for some capricious herbalist. Either side quests themselves, contracts to hunt monsters, or the myriad of activities or random events at all times we will witness a great display of characters and stories with a level of development and unique and original subsequent stages. In addition, all have elements of gameplay that immerse us as never before in the extrasensory sense of sorcerers, many of them involve research in the style of Batman Arkham series, and as always, having to proceed correctly before hunting strange abominations either own potions taking a good hunter of monsters, or oiling our special concoctions sword to defeat more easily.
Secondary activities surprise us so that we will be impossible to leave without making one, to the point of making them for fun and not simply because of clean map without completing missions. Each adventure will accept the sorcerer will be complemented with hundreds of lines of dialogue, and with results that alter the development of both of these quests, like the main mission, giving us a really high replay value and incomparable.
Among the core activities we can find such varied things like scavenger hunts, destroying hideouts of monsters, horse racing, some boxing and various other things. But the most prominent among these activities are secondary missions narrative contracts and Gwent sorcerers (card game detailed below). In the case of secondary missions, they come in many shapes and size, usually are mini-arcs optional of argument in which Geralt will be forced to help another person either by money, by necessity or simple friendship. Many of these missions involve old friends of Geralt as the beautiful sorceress Triss Merigold, and the dwarf Zoltan Chivay folksy.
The contracts on the other hand, are a visit to a day at the office for the Witcher Geralt of Rivia. In all small towns and big cities we visit Geralt can find authentic work sorcerer hunt monsters, curses disperse, solve mysteries. In these activities we will suit detective and action hero and see Geralt faced with the most dangerous of the native fauna: Cocatricez, Ladies of Death, taps or Demons, the brave wizard does not say no to any work, provided the pay is acceptable.
Finally, another extra level where the narrative works, and is in the micro-stories that we will unveil and finding to explore the fantastic world that CD Projekt gives us this adventure. Every nook, every ruined tower, each abandoned village hides some kind of history for those who know where to look. Each inhabitant of Novigrad, Skelliga Velen or region has its own past, and many of them carry over the marks and wounds of a terrible and brutal war. To appreciate the wealth of this world, just simply stop to contemplate the daily life in the villages, listen to a conversation in the tavern, or watch a widow crying inconsolably at the feet of her husband’s body hanging from a tree.
Perhaps a small but striking element in the authenticity of this world is the presence of children. Children everywhere: playing in the mud in a village of Velen, running between the crowds of Novigrad or breastfeeding young infants in their mothers’ breasts. Many games usually even avoid presenting children in their world, and we have become so accustomed to his absence to see them so active in the world of The Witcher III adds something special to the experience.
Perhaps the most interesting, playable level is the way in which all the elements of this game, sometimes as different from one another, are related. This is due to a real mastery in the design of the Polish studio. The side quests in The Witcher III often unfold, branch, re-meet and mingle with each other. Secondary activities, such as Gwent, can lead even to discovering secrets and new missions. And our detective when analyzing sites or crime scenes attacks may have resulted in some missions end up in a very different way if we happen to lose some detail skills. Framing arguments, assignment and present activities in The Witcher III is so complex that even harder to find a suitable word to describe it. We are facing a real revolution in design in terms of what an open-world RPG has to offer.
An important aspect to mention is the excellent system of checkpoints and autosave points that will be of great help in case you are not satisfied with the results of any decisions made, you can go back a few hours of play to reverse them. It can also happen that we fail some quests to have progressed too far in history without taking into account the relationship with certain secondary objectives, or vice versa.
On the other hand, either on foot or horseback, all quests will indicate the exact location and the way forward, as if we were equipped with GPS. Being a game that will last us between 150 and 200 hours in absolutely complete all, many gamers receive these comfortable points with great relief, especially compared to other RPGs that make us lose valuable time meaningless. Those who are not satisfied with the latter, may disable the mini-map on the HUD options menu, where we can also disable any element of the user interface to achieve a deeper dive, or hardcore.
Forget this rubbish! I shall forge you a sword fit for killing gods.
Contrary to the initial version of Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (Enhanced Edition not), CD Projekt Red did an excellent job in presenting the necessary tutorials to learn all combat elements, inventory and other unique features of Witchers so simple and a quick learning curve rapidly prepare us to face many of the enemies and monsters, whether we play or not previous installments.
Some gamers who never played with Geralt of Rivia may be afraid to see the menus of alchemy, creating items and potions through dozens of recipes and diagrams, added to mutagens and skill trees, but again, the Polish company we give an intuitive tour through all these features as they arise.
While retaining the Wild Hunt based combat mechanics Assassins of Kings, which for the first few hours of play was uncomfortably movements to dodge and roll have been enhanced significantly, causing fights faster, successful and dynamic. Now the fighting is somewhat similar to those of a third-person arcade, but why lose weight in our decision to choose the equipment, weapons and skills. The combat system the possibility of connecting counters or Parrys added, having to be alert to flash to counter enemy attacks.Tal once the most striking new feature is the introduction of a hand crossbow in the arsenal of Geralt, a tool which it becomes especially useful in fighting against flying or underwater creatures. Yes. Geralt can now dive under the water too, and explore underwater ruins or discover hidden treasures.
Alchemy systems and crafts for example, are so full and interesting as ever. Admittedly, the handling of powders has been simplified compared to the previous game, which anyway, seems a success because the system in The Witcher 2 was not so good. But beyond that, the progression in terms of potions, bombs and equipment forced us to pay attention, get reagents and rare materials and find the best herbalists and artisans of the kingdoms to teach their art. Get the best potions and better weapons is an adventure in itself, which just adds more depth to a game that already overflows with it.
The dreaded “witch senses” mentioned above, prove to be a smart addition and not just a crude form of Hand-Holding. While the vision of Geralt warlock simplifies us quite work when looking for clues on stage, the fact is that CD Projekt Red has found interesting ways to make use of this system. For example, you may detect odors Geralt with increased smell as we travel the world and keep track of the essences can lead to finding side quests and hidden secrets. His hearing, on the other hand, can detect the presence of enemies at a distance and can learn the characteristic sounds of each type of monster to know beforehand that we will face (and brew potions, oils and bombs the fight).
As for character progression, the three classical branches return. Geralt can invest skill points you earn by leveling or discover places of power in swordsmanship, alchemy or magic signs. Each of these strands is fully functional to advance in the game and be equally valid improve all alike or specialize in one of the three branches investing more skill points in it. In addition Geralt also has a fourth set of unique abilities that allow you to enhance certain aspects of the character or level areas where we have fallen behind. Mutagens finally return with its unique bonuses according to the components that go getting the monsters and decide to improve skills.
I sure would not mind a few rounds of Gwent
All RPG, either single player or online, is unique in presenting a component or mini-games that make us deviate from the main quest, or in the case of MMORPG, invest-or lose-hours of our time reselling items. In the case of the Wild Hunt, and contrary to the ambiguous poker dice the first two titles in the series, Gwent is a robust and addictive card game covering all factions (Temeria, Nilfgaard and Scoia’tael) and even the monsters in the game. It is so well done that even makes it to Hearthstone Blizzard competition despite having fewer cards.
Commenting on a game, we will split 10 random letters of our favorite masochism. Gwent has a board with three slots on each side to play close combat units, range and siege. On the side, we may use cards that fall weather attack power of the letters 1 (except Elite cards that are not affected by the same) but may remove such effects if a menu available to do so. Knowing how the latter is, in many cases the key to victory.
Each faction has its leaders and its variants, together with the pros and inherent disadvantages of each, although they are too numerous to list, it is better to discover them for yourself and so better enjoy our -not wins without some unintended losses and many cases, irritants.
We can buy cards in some taverns and NPCs, but more importantly, we have to win them Gwent recognized players in major cities, and even until we can play a tournament to prove our experience after hundreds of games.
Some of us have never played a TCG and yet generated a bewildering Gwent addiction, often defying impossible opponents again and again until we touch a decent hand, or at least to counteract their cards and to have a chance to win and get a special letter.
The loop of the fabulous 15 minutes of tunes that are played throughout the games (which is the same as we heard in Novigrad) does not help to break away from this fabulous “mini-game” on more than one occasion we will pause a quest to relax and enjoy a few hands of Gwent.
I see new places, speak With folk I’ve never known. It’s what I like, and that’s worth the risk.
While it is true that the Polish company lied about the downgrade and ended shortly after admitting it surely can say that The Witcher 3 is the RPG with better graphics to date, well above Inquisition Dragon Age, Skyrim and virtually any game role that comes to my mind, even taking into account the true meaning of the word “open-world” that has managed to implement CD Projekt at the end of this trilogy.
Each region has its own ambiance and personality, whether Velen swamps and lush with an ominous atmosphere, cheerful and colorful hues of Novigrad, and great views of the enigmatic and beautiful Skellige. In any of the above regions, many of its areas provide the feeling that the first capture Witcher knew better than Assassins of Kings, feeling the strain of dark woods, sewers and caves, and fear the shores of some lakes. The cycles of day and night are perhaps more realistic than ever seen in a game so far, where the night is really night (sometimes literally not seen absolutely), which complemented the effects of rain, hail and fog, create an atmosphere with an absolute level of immersion. As it is so often the moonlight is not enough, having to equip the torch repeatedly-even within the houses-or just meditate for no more than deny the need.
Witcher 3 may not present the interior Assassin’s Creed Unity or models or textures Ryse: Son of Rome, but given the huge scale of the map (which together exceed GTA V and Skyrim combined) no load times, plus the compelling atmosphere and excellent visuals, you really have to take your hat before the artists of the Polish company, and of course the changes implemented in the graphics engine REDEngine three-despite the downgrade. All this added to the aforementioned PC graphical improvements implemented in recent patches PC, plus the suite and SweetFX Reshade Shaders 2.0, it goes without saying that the final version and vastly superior to the PC.
We must also applaud the excellent optimization they have achieved and can achieve a visual and FPS Playstation 4 only with a Core i3 and GTX 750Ti, similar to what PC gamers experience with Grand Theft Auto V. Contrary users with 900 Series GPUs it is true that those Kepler GPUs were not so lucky with the performance, but Nvidia 353.06 drivers released substantially improved performance Witcher 3 in some cases a difference of 6-8FPS regarding previous 352.86 WHQL.
Although Marcin Momot of CD Projekt confirmed that differences in PC and PS4 are drawn distance, FPS, resolution, the number of NPCs displayed (which breaks somehow immersion in certain areas) and unique features as Hairworks, several comparative claim PS4 version has shadows on low details, textures upper-middle (not ultra) quality, and suffers severely from lows of FPS, averaging 20-25fps during much of the game. With the passage of time lying consoles “next-gen” is getting more evidence.
You need only trust on stage, great sword in hand, furl your brow, make some threatening faces, then deliver a few lines in a gravelly voice.
For the third time, efficient Doug Cockle returns to voice the Witcher Geralt of Rivia. His gritty and gravely helped from the beginning to give the character of a great personality, and in this third installment is exceeded actor in many ways. Not only we will listen to Geralt in all its glorious attitude of authentic “Bad-ass”, but history and most emotional moments of passion for the character is allowed. And I admit that it has also been pleased with the work done Geralt attempts to put humor in some situations. Usually attempts usually fail miserably, it is clear that Geralt doesn’t have the artistic tone of his good friend Dandelion.
Kilometer cast of voice that accompanies the main character does not disappoint. Besides the characters of importance, such as Yennefer, Triss or Dandelion (who once again serves as narrator), it has been used to a lot of voice actors to give life to all the inhabitants of the Northern Kingdoms, from the king to the beggar.
Among the newcomers in this new game it is necessary to highlight two. On the one hand Emma Hiddleston (sister of actor Tom Hiddleston), who gives her voice and singing the character of Priscilla, one of the most captivating additions to this new release. On the other hand the ineffable Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones) who with his regal and authoritative tone laden manages to give life to the Emperor Emhyr Emreis Nilfgaard Var.
The overall sound design is coupled so magnificent work of voices. Night walking the fields will not be rare to hear howls and cries for help in the distance, which often can lead us to discover new quests and secrets. In large cities such as Oxenfurt Novigrad and the voices of the people are merged into an incomprehensible bustle in the streets and squares packed with traders, providing a great realism to the game atmosphere.
Other elements of sound design are vital for adventure show, especially the care and work that has been put in the way each creature sounds. Not only the visual design gruesome Witcher III wildlife is incredibly inspiring, but each face monsters Geralt will have its own distinctive sounds. As we mentioned, when crossing the thick sense of Geralt allow us to identify the enemies first by the sound, and the detail put into each performance memory allows us to learn as the distinctive growl of each beast. This is a great design work in the service of the gameplay.
It is also necessary to emphasize the great work position to ensure authenticity of sound in other elements of the game. From the sound “clanks” the clash of swords during combat to the powerful bomb blasts Geralt or the rustle of tree branches in the wind, everything is very well done and feels real.
Finally, and not least important, we must highlight the superlative musical work that accompanies the game. The soundtrack for The Witcher III is simply magical. Has so captivated us this great musical work it takes us to point out an issue as our favorite. The beautiful melody that sounds when you tour the beautiful islands of Skellige, addictive rhythm and pace that bombards our ears in each game of Gwent, or Priscilla exciting song that marks one of the moments more “fan-service” for readers are just a few of our favorites.
Each of the three main regions has its own representative melodies of its inhabitants and dangers, both for exploration and for combat. As for the latter, different tracks are reproducing depending if the enemies are human or monsters. The emblems, such as the main menu and some female posing battle cries are segments that have already been heard in the trailer Sword of Destiny tracks. More ominous and dark have their way in moments of despair, suspense and terror, as in the quest Crookback Witch Bog, or when the Wild Hunt is present in some of the cinematic.
We are sure that every player will find their favorite in the original game OST accompanying issues. Again, we stress the generosity of CD Projekt to include such valuable extras even with the basic versions of the product, both in MP3 and FLAC format.
“They shall come whose stench is rape and death, but the wolf shall disperse them. The White Wolf.”
The end of the trilogy of the White Wolf is not only the best work of CD Projekt, a safe and best Game of the candidate and also the best open-world RPG of the past 10 years, surpassing way significant and superb games like Skyrim, Fallout: New Vegas and even Dragon Age: Origins and Inquisition. The quality and variety of objectives and secondary quests are simply impeccable, from the first to the last, each with its robust dialogue and implications that are present throughout the course of history. The Witcher III achieves an almost magical synthesis of breadth of content and narrative, and in the process put the stick in a new level of altitude for the genre in general. Rarely does a virtual world felt as real as the Northern Kingdoms, and embark on the adventure of exploring every nook and cranny of this great game is a compelling proposition.
We will not deny that the downgrade is something that hurts us all, PC gamers, but those who have played with ultra details and with some of the aforementioned filters, are well aware that no RPG that is as detailed or look as good as The Witcher 3. Who says otherwise, it is because he definitely has not played.
The Witcher III: Wild Hunt is a unique, memorable experience and deserves to be played by any gamer or RPG fan. The Polish company has set a new standard of quality so high that Bioware and Bethesda will have to work much harder than they ever imagined if they are to achieve even what CD Projekt achieved with this gem of the genre of RPGs that will to speak for many years, and we can continue to enjoy during the course of 2015 and 2016 with its future expansion.
The Witcher III: Wild Hunt has been analyzed with a retail copy provided by CD Projekt.
THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT – REVIEW
STORY100%
GAMEPLAY95%
GRAPHICS95%
MUSIC AND SOUND100%
THE GOOD
The best open-world RPG to date.
Unsurpassed quality and content of secondary quests.
The soundtrack, the funny dialogues and Gwent game cards.
TH BAD
Downgrade Graphics
The combat can become repetitive.
Some Bugs
98%Overall Score
Reader Rating: (0 Votes)
0%
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