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The Witcher 3 - Wild Hunt review

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    The Witcher 3 - Wild Hunt review

    Got this on PS4 this weekend- day one patch is already up and is around 450mb.

    Graphics- lots of talk about a downgrade from the original viewing, but I couldn't care less- this is the best looking next generation game I've seen. Incredible lighting and models. Riding on your horse over the top of a hill looking down on a stunning vista, sun setting in the sky, beautiful. Frame rate has a few hiccups here and there- nothing drastic, can't say much more about it.

    Gameplay - combat is very similar to the second game, but has a bit more flow. A sidestep and a dodge means I'm playing it more like Bloodborne than I should, but it's worked well enough so far. Not got anymore spells that what I started off with yet, but they all seem to have a use- and each is helpful. With the review mentioning difficulty being easy later on, I started on the one above normal. This is very hard so far, enemies taking a lot of health off me, and meditation(passing time) doesn't heal you like it does in normal - so you're constantly relying on healing items which only heal you over time.

    Money is tight in this so far, meaning it's hard to be "good" and not take money for your good deeds- but that's the point I guess. There's quests everywhere, and come in different flavours- main, secondary and Witcher contracts which specify in hunting monsters, or other general Witcher stuff like escorting, brewing and sorting out situations. These have been brilliant so far, although a word of warning that I picked up a level 33 quest at level 3

    A recent quest involving a ghost living by a well was extremely good, showing off many of the mechanics well. Investigating the area with Witcher sense, learning a history of the monster (you work this out for yourself in diaries and notes- you're never explicitly told), tracking the monster, waiting until certain times of the day, looking at the beastiary for info on the type of monster, brewing specific potions to help you with that fight, and then fighting and beating it. All this is one quest, and how in depth you take it is really up to you.

    You only seem to level up from quest completion, and don't think you get exp from enemies- only drops. I've struggled a bit up until now because of the difficulty, but as I level up a bit I've been told it evens itself out even on the harder modes. We shall see, but you can increase and decrease the difficulty after you start.

    About 7-8 hours in, and I've barely touched the main story, and I can tell you there's a lot to do. The map is split up into areas, but the areas are huge- Skyrims whole map kinda huge. I've been sidetracked a lot!! I'm eager to jump back in, I feel like I'm getting to grips with it more now- that's a good sign. I knew this would be good, but didn't realise the world would be so well realised, and that the game would be so captivating so early on!

    A word of warning though, the ingame text can be TINY. Not all of it, some of perfectly fine, but stuff like drop pickups and alchemy screens are so small they're really hard to read- a further patch to adjust these would be great. Loading is odd, sometimes a death takes Pre-patched Bloodborne levels of time, and others it can be super quick. There seems to be no loading once an area is loaded though- and as I said, that's an acheievment in itself considering the size. A minor thing though, other that that my time has been overwhelmingly positive.
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    #2
    Sounds great! I've just got a DPD text saying mine will arrive tomorrow morning. Looking forwards to it, in anticipation started the second one a few days ago an just got a few more hours to go.

    I really can't wait.

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      #3
      what i am hoping for is the combat being more satisfying that was my gripe with the second game was just not visceral enough or felt like blows were making contact

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        #4
        It's still a bit like that now- sometimes im not sure if I've hit the enemy to be honest.

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          #5
          Sounds just ace. Im pre-loading the PC version now, cannot wait until midnight. How are you finding the sound effects, do the weapons feel/sound good? Also what is the music like?

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            #6
            Music is pretty epic so far- although sometimes this battle music plays and it sounds like Shakira is wailing away in the background. Doesn't help that when you finish a quest the same woman yells. My missus said it sounded like Shakira and now I can't unhear it haha!

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              #7
              Also, I made the mistake of googling geralts voice actor. My advice is don't- it really ruins the illusion hah

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                #8
                Ahhh the wait is killing me. Its downloaded and now have sit waiting painterly until midnight. Oh well at least i can revise for tomorrows exam to pass the time.

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                  #9
                  anyone playing the PC version already? there seem to arrive a bunch of graphical improvements with the day1 patch so this is finally a bit of good news for gamers like me who invested in new graphics card to get the Witcher 3 looking the way it was originally intended.

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                    #10
                    Yeah I'm waiting for PC release, it's not too far at least.

                    Glad to hear about the graphics updates!

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                      #11
                      How does it "feel" to play on ps4? i was dead set on a pc purchase for higher frame rates, but the pc version seems all over the damn place, 30fps doesnt really bother me either, but i was just curious to your impressions ah sod it ill just get it on ps4
                      Last edited by Largo; 18-05-2015, 18:28.

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                        #12
                        Played this on PC for about 45 minutes. Runs around 40fps average on a GTX 970 with every setting at max. Looks astounding. I was really worried about graphical downgrade which is definitely apparent compared to old images but this still looks sublime in motion.

                        I've never played a Witcher game before but I think I may enjoy this based on my short first impressions so far. Story seems like it could be interesting. Characters were very human and believable which goes a long way. And the combat was exciting too. Oh did I mention how good this games looks!? haha

                        Oh and also, hi! I haven't posted here for God knows how long.

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                          #13
                          and i have just been playing it aswell had it set to ultra with my 970 and 4690k only 4gb of ram though and it runs pretty well but i set it to high as much rather have the smoother frame rate.

                          Got to say feels a lot more polished then 2 was ...if anyone remembers the launch of the witcher 2 the game was not that beginner friendly though with updates they did improve that

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                            #14
                            Hello again, Rossco (P Coltrane)!

                            What the hell is this game about? Every one is talking about graphics and the advert just shows a medieval wench running away from a giant turkey with "NOT IN GAME GRAPHICS" splashed across it.

                            Is it just an Elder Scrolls wannabe to fill the gap?

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                              #15
                              The Witcher 2 was better than Skyrim tbfh.

                              Think if it as a cross between mass effect and game of thrones, with a very large open world, lots of quests and choices with genuinely effect character growth and story. It's an action RPG with a focus on hunting monsters by learning about your prey, and using the right tools based on your learned knowledge of them.

                              A big main story involved too, which seems to be quite in depth and involving, placing you in the middle of a war of nations, while you're searching for a loved one.

                              Great game so far- and its fookin massive! Apparently the combined map size is 3.5 bigger than Skyrim haha

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