 "The Witcher: Enhanced Edition")
We PC RPG fans are a hard bunch to please, but last year’s slim pickings in the genre made us drop our standards a notch. Amongst the torrent of half-assed RPGs, one rather unpolished Polish RPG shone brightly like a diamond stuck in dwarf doodoo. The Witcher stood out for many reasons, the least of them being the game’s optimization and presentation. Normally we would have been less forgiving towards a game that looked a generation older than it was, but seeing the quality of content and the expert craftsmanship involved (at least where plot and gameplay are concerned), we couldn’t help enjoying the game despite its rough edges.
Running on a modified version of BioWare’s aged Aurora Engine (that was used for the Neverwinter Nights series, among others), The Witcher looked and felt rather outdated in many ways. In spite of this, CD Projekt managed to deliver the goods, which is impressive considering it’s a relatively new studio; but the end product didn’t live up to its full potential. Owing it to the success the game enjoyed, they decided to re-release an optimized version of it (with some additional content), naming it The Witcher: Enhanced Edition.
My biggest gripe with the original was the extremely rigid character animation. This dropped the immersion level tremendously for me, since it made the game’s characters seem rather fake, which is fatal for RPGs. I remember the first time this really ticked me off: close to the beginning of the game, there was a cut scene of a child and his foster mother running from a bunch of demon dogs. In a desperate attempt to save himself, when the kid lunged into the air and landed just beyond a set of closing gates (for a supposedly nail-biting finish), he looked like a sack of potatoes being tossed around. When I played the Enhanced Edition, however, the animation was far better.
Even when you engaged NPCs in conversation in the original, you’d have them stand rigid and flail their arms randomly so that their body language would never match what they spoke about. That’s been changed considerably in this iteration, making the long-drawn conversations more entertaining.
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Here’s something I didn’t know previously: the dialog in the original was adapted from the Polish version. In doing so, a lot of it was shortened and some of its meaning lost in translation. This time around they rewrote and rerecorded most of the dialog to make it more authentic and in-character, which is truly commendable. It shows that CD Projekt is concerned about the minutest detail when it comes to immersive role-playing.
From a technical standpoint, the game’s been really well-optimized this time. The original was terrible, and frame rates would dip quite often for no apparent reason. Particle systems used by spell effects would make the game stutter like hell too… and considering it’s an RPG, there were a ton of spells involved. These issues have all been sorted out, and the game runs at rock-solid frame rates.
Also, the selective blurring and depth of field have been buffed to a large extent, making the game look much better. This stands out especially when you engage in conversation and the game zooms in on the character, blurring out the surroundings a little. The game’s overall face-lift does well to alleviate the fact that it is using an old engine. In other words, the Enhanced Edition looks and feels much better, and does away with the kinks that annoyed most of us.
Before I forget, let me tell you about the best tweak. I remember waiting for the game to load endlessly in the previous version, but now load times have been halved, which is pretty impressive. This means you’ll spend far less time admiring the game’s load screens and more time slaying a beast or banging a lass.
Once you’ve completed the storyline, you can even engage in the two new adventures the game has to offer: Side Effects and the Price of Neutrality. Apart from this, the Enhanced Edition also includes discs with the game’s music, music inspired by the game, and a commentary disc for those who are into such goodies.
Overall, The Witcher: Enhanced Edition is an awesome deal for anyone who missed this awesome RPG last year. Unfortunately the game won’t be releasing in India, so if you wish to buy a copy you’ll have to order it online. If you own the original, however, you don’t have to buy the Enhanced Edition for the tweaks; you can download the new content/fixes from the official website at no extra charge.
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