Back to playing Witcher 1

I've been listening to Polish audiobook versions of the Witcher saga while painting lately, courtesy of MiSiO from the By Fire & Sword forum. Of course the stories made me want to replay the first two games while I eagerly await the third installment (to be released in 2014).

I had forgotten just how good Witcher 1 is, it does have a very dull prologue chapter, but once the adventure begins for real it is a blast. It's also interesting to see the many differences between Witcher 1 and Witcher 2. The combat was remade in the sequel in a way that makes it more fluid and without restrictions, while the first game had fixed combat styles and skills tied to the steel and silver swords used in battle.

Personally I like the distinction between the combat styles in Witcher 1. Another thing that is a lot better in the first game are the mini-games and the dice Poker in particular. The mini games were too streamlined and easy in the sequel whereas you can actually enjoy them in the first game.

Of course the graphics aren't as fantastic as they were in Witcher 2, given the game is a couple of years older, but it still looks good and is totally playable. The only shame is that they had so few character models, meaning that many people look the same.

Well worth mentioning is that I now play the "Enhanced edition", which is either sold or if you like me bought the game on release - then there is a patch (actually 3) to be downloaded to get the improved content and additional adventures which I have yet to try.

If you haven't played the Witcher and like mature RPG's with a more shades of grey than focus on the classic "good and evil", then the Witcher is a solid candidate to spend some time on. It also has a lot of witty and funny dialogue which comes from the books themselves.