"essentially an X-rated Zelda"
Despite the huge attention Witcher 3 has received
online in recent months, the previous two games were all too easy to
overlook. For those who may have snubbed the game in the past, the
Witcher series is essentially an X-rated Zelda based on the novels of
Andrzej Sapkowski.
As an action role-playing game the emphasis is on
combat and levelling-up, rather than Zelda’s puzzle solving or Final
Fantasy’s turn-based battling.
The Witcher’s most potent ingredients are of course
the amazingly detailed animations, and if you can fathom it – the story.
A Game of Thrones-style tale of warring factions - at times Witcher 3 is
more interactive movie than game.
Being an 18-rated title, The Witcher 3 is suitably
hard. If you haven’t the time to spare you won’t get far here. Even the
easiest difficulty setting poses a significant challenge.
In the West RPGs are gaming Marmite. If you aren’t
already an admirer of the format you won’t find anything here to change
your mind. But to fans it’s a fairly solid, good-looking adventure.
