STEAM - The Witcher = $19.99 until 10/29 or $15.99 on Impulse

Xealot42

Xealot42

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Steam has The Witcher on sale for $19.99.

Great price for a great game. This includes all of the Enhanced and Director's Cut content (e.g. boobs).

While the base version is a little cheaper on Amazon/Newegg. It might be worth a few extra bucks to have on Steam and to not have to worry about keeping up with the disc, patching in all the new content, etc.


EDIT - Impulse has it for $19.99 also. **Use the SURVEY-2009 code to get it for $15.99 (code expires Nov. 1st)
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I've got to bite on this -- I've been waiting for a nice price, and I'll gladly pay a bit extra for Steam-y goodness. Thanks, Xealot42!
 
[quote name='Xiemos']Hmm, any opinions on this game from fellow CAGs? Worth $20?[/QUOTE]

I bought the import of the original vanilla game in 2007 for $50, and then purchased the import of the Enhanced Edition for $50 in 2008. I'm also seriously considering buying this version on Steam for $20 just so I can once again support the awesome developers of this game. I think that should illustrate just how strong my opinion of this game is. ;)

It is, quite literally, one of the best games ever made. The story, the characters, the atmosphere, the music, and even the gameplay all come together to create a truly unique experience.

STORY

This is easily one of the biggest strengths of the game. Your choices in the game have direct and indirect consequences on how the game plays out. No choice is ever about good or evil, but rather the game is entirely made out to be nothing but shades of gray. It's about making the choices you consider to be the lesser of two evils. And your choices will impact the game, believe me. You can make a choice in one chapter, and not see the ramifications of said choice until a chapter or two down the road. So it encourages multiple playthroughs to see different decisions play out.

Here's a good example: in chapter one, you encounter a group of non-humans who needs crates of medical supplies, food and weapons for sick allies. You might think giving them the supplies is the "good" choice. But in chapter 2, you're treated to a cutscene that explains they used the weapons from that stack of supplies to murder a human who would have otherwise given you some quests.

Finally, the game utilizes an active day/night cycle. Certain characters can only be reached during certain hours of the day. On that same note, certain enemies will sometimes not come out until certain times of the day either. So it keeps everything refreshing.

GAMEPLAY

The game utilizes a battle system where you click on enemies to start combo attacks. Rather than clicking once for each strike, each click will initiate a series of blows. As you upgrade the character, you can earn more hits for combos, which are done by timed clicking of the mouse. Not exactly the most active battle system, but I feel it works really well. Geralt utilizes two swords and three fighting styles to fend off enemies (steel sword for humans and non-humans, and silver sword for monsters). Strong style is used for bigger, slower enemies; fast style is used for smaller and quicker enemies; group style is used to fight off larger groups of weak enemies. You also get access to 5 signs you can use. Signs are basically Geralt's version of magic. While you only have 5 signs at your disposal, they can all be radically upgraded to the point where they actually stay useful for almost the entire game.

You upgrade Geralt by spending skill tokens (I don't remember exactly what they're called, so I'm going to call them skill tokens). When you level up, you receive these skill tokens. Here's the catch though. There are three types of skill tokens: bronze, silver and gold. In the earlier levels, you only receive bronze skill tokens. As you get much higher in levels, you will start to receive some silver tokens and, eventually, some gold ones. EVERY skill in the game can be upgraded, but no skill can be upgraded fully until you get gold tokens. In essence, you're restricted from leveling ANY skill to max early on. You won't be maxing anything until late into the game. It helps deter people from making the character uber powerful in certain areas, thereby making the game too easy. It's a really nice system if I do say so myself. ;)

Finally, you use alchemy in the game to create potions. By gathering ingredients from plants and enemies you can create potions that will help you out throughout the game. The catch, though, is that you can only gather alchemic ingredients from sources you've researched. So if you kill a drowner, you can't harvest certain alchemic ingredients from them without either reading a book about them, or learning the knowledge from someone else. Same goes for plant gathering.

MUSIC

The music in this game is just absolutely fantastic. It's one of the best soundtracks ever made, not only for a fantasy title, but for any game period. Here's a few samples:

PEACEFUL MOMENTS
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCk7wpk5Fys

THE DIKE
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4ZyNoHwC1k

THE PRINCESS STRIGA
​
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6antggGlH8

So yeah, all in all, The Witcher is one of the greatest games ever made as far as I'm concerned. $20 is a steal for the game really. If you're still not 100% sure, there IS a demo of it out there. Download it, give it a try and see if you like it. While it requires a good rig to run at playable settings and nice graphics, it's worth it if you can run it. ;)
 
[quote name='daminion']Don't forget to properly patch it to enjoy the game as it was intended before it came to conservative america.[/QUOTE]

I already have the game on Steam and I'm pretty sure it does that automatically. It has the uncensored sex cards for sure.
 
[quote name='Xealot42']I already have the game on Steam and I'm pretty sure it does that automatically. It has the uncensored sex cards for sure.[/QUOTE]

Steam'd Directors Cut is the proper verson... full of boobs so you guys can choke your chicken over.

Honestly it was still an awesome game... even before boobs.

Anyone who doesn't buy it, doesn't know what a good game is.
 
I've passed on so many deals for this... Still waiting for cheaper, I'd bite at $10. When your backlog is as massive as mine, $20 for any game seems expensive.
 
CD Projekt Red is easily one of the best developers around; they went above and beyond post-release to make this game even better, not that it needed it. FYI, in case you missed the leaked video for the sequel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JciyoGmnGyo&fmt=18

Also, a Q&A for Assassins of Kings:
There's been a huge interest over our promotional Witcher 2 video that leaked last week. I think it's best if we straighten few things out.
1. Does the leaked video show final or close to final product quality?
As Adam (CD Projekt RED CEO) noted in our response to the leak, the video was created using a very early alpha version of The Witcher 2 and therefore does not represent the final quality of the game in any way. Basically, the video was created six months ago to show the game to the potential publishers, and a lot has changed since that time. Moreover, the movie does not even touch the main aspect of the game, which is it's story. We put all our efforts into making the story even more exciting and captivating, giving our fans exactly what they expect.

2. I don't like Geralt's voice. Are those final voiceovers for the game?
After seeing the video many of you worried about the quality of voiceovers and the different voices used by lead characters. We're proud that our team members can imitate native English actors so well that some people would even consider these VOs being part of the final product :). However, we are not planning to change RED into the world's first non-native recording studio for English movies and games by using non-native non-actors. Don't worry, we'll stay in our day jobs. The voices in the video are not in any way final, and were only created for the purposes of the video. By the way - personally, I don't like Geralt's voice in this movie either ;).

3. Will the developers of The Witcher be involved in The Witcher 2?
The Witcher 2 is being developed by the same team which was responsible for the first one with some minor changes (50+ people remain from The Witcher's development). It is true that there were some cuts in the development department at CD Projekt, but those were mostly connected with freezing development of The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf.

4. What is the release date?
We haven't established a release date yet. It will be announced together with our future publisher. However, please do not expect the game too soon. The Witcher 2 is still deeply in the development stage and as it is huge and complex, there is still many, many hours of work in front of us.

5. When we will see more materials from the game?
Except for this FAQ we do not plan any materials to be released soon. An official trailer and other stuff will be done with our publisher, and it won't be very soon. Sorry.

6. What engine will be used in The Witcher 2?
The game does not use the Aurora Engine anymore. We developed a brand new engine dedicated to creating games with the design and features we love (basically the same concept as in the first Witcher but everything done much better, smoother and with some significant improvements). The new engine is fully scalable and, well... kicks ass;). We believe it will let us avoid all bottlenecks we came across during development of the first Witcher. Exact engine specifications, features and name will be revealed after the official announcement.

7. What platform will the game be released on?
Although PC is certain choice we made regarding platforms for The Witcher 2, we also want to release the console version. More information will come after official announcement of the game.
Final Word. Despite the fact that we did not want to publish this video, we're happy with the huge interest it gained. As always, please let us do everything we can not to disappoint you. Thanks a lot.
Stay tuned!

Tom Gop
Senior Producer
CD Projekt RED​
Click to expand...
 
Had to partake in this deal. I've been wanting this game for a while.

$25 total for this and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. :)
 
[quote name='gamer5389']The only thing making me hesitate is the large amount of swag you get if you buy the Enhanced Edition at retail.[/QUOTE]

agreed, also, the witcher retails for $15 at newegg, and since the 1.5 patch removed drm the content is identical to the enhanced
 
Almost certainly will buy this on Steam for $20. Thanks for the heads up.

Actually, does anybody remember what the price was the last time this was on sale? Was it $27.99?
 
Hell yes. The Witcher is totally worth 20 bucks. I highly suggest making a purchase if you're a fan of PC RPGS (ie: Western-style RPGs).
 
[quote name='daminion']Don't forget to properly patch it to enjoy the game as it was intended before it came to conservative america.[/QUOTE]
In Soviet Russia, game patches you! :)
 
[quote name='Obiwan-Shenobi']It's $20 on Impulse as well. I grabbed it from there.

http://www.impulsedriven.com/twee[/QUOTE]
Actually, it's $15.99 using the SURVEY-2009 coupon. I believe that expires fairly soon (maybe end of October?) so anyone that doesn't mind using Impulse over Steam can save out on $4 for seemingly the same product (Director's Cut).
 
[quote name='Commander0Zero']Ok the newegg version looks to be the one to get to me. So just to get this straight the 1.5 patch adds everything the enhanced version has?[/QUOTE]


Im curious as well, if I buy from newegg if I will get everything the enhanced directors cut adds with the patch? I would rather have the physical media here.

Edit: Also I know with steam you have to have like a steam app running right? Is it the same with impulse?
 
[quote name='Vegan']I've passed on so many deals for this... Still waiting for cheaper, I'd bite at $10. When your backlog is as massive as mine, $20 for any game seems expensive.[/QUOTE]

God, this exactly for me. If it goes cheaper I will jump on it for sure, but right now I have WAY too much stuff to play :(
 
So is impulse pretty good company? I like that you wont have to have an app running to play the game like steam, thats the reason I have never bought a steam game.
 
Wow, thanks for that awesome mini-review, BMXJouster. I had a hard time understanding what the game was about from reading reviews from game sites, but you distilled it well. I'm totally biting on this come payday.

Either last year or early this year NewEgg was selling the Enhanced version for $15-20 new, but I was too lazy/cheap to buy it. Stupid me! Though I won't get the physical goods this time, at least everything is in digital format and free via the upgrade patch. $15 is a great deal for what seems to be my kind of game (action RPG with lots of quests and stuff to earn and obtain).

Now, to actually get a computer that will run this properly... Ah, being a CAG often means putting the cart before the horse ;)
 
[quote name='NeoGutsman']Wow, thanks for that awesome mini-review, BMXJouster. I had a hard time understanding what the game was about from reading reviews from game sites, but you distilled it well. I'm totally biting on this come payday.

Either last year or early this year NewEgg was selling the Enhanced version for $15-20 new, but I was too lazy/cheap to buy it. Stupid me! Though I won't get the physical goods this time, at least everything is in digital format and free via the upgrade patch. $15 is a great deal for what seems to be my kind of game (action RPG with lots of quests and stuff to earn and obtain).

Now, to actually get a computer that will run this properly... Ah, being a CAG often means putting the cart before the horse ;)[/QUOTE]

No problem. Glad I could help out. ;)

There are a few things I forgot to mention in my initial review that MAY turn some people off though. The game is somewhat linear and can drag at times. In each chapter you're confined to specific areas for the entire chapter, although the overall room of exploration is still quite large. Also, there are a number of fetch quests in the game (gather 10 wolf skins, 5 vials of Bruxa blood, etc). A lot of people like to bash the game for having these MMO-style quests I guess, but most of them are entirely voluntary so you're never FORCED to do these types of missions if you hate them. Also, there is lack of a quick travel option, so if you need to get from one area to another you're stuck running it the whole way. This usually isn't a problem for me, though, as I think the environments are gorgeous and I like exploring them.

I should also make mention that the Witcher fan community have been making quite a few of their own adventures that you can download and play. Also, it comes with the tools necessary for you to do the same. I know that's a staple with a lot of great RPGs, but figured I'd mention it anyways.
 
I just bought it through Steam. Along with Stalker, just seemed easier /shrug

I am really siked about finally being able to play this game. Now what else will steam take my money with.
 
[quote name='ParkCarsHere']Actually, it's $15.99 using the SURVEY-2009 coupon. I believe that expires fairly soon (maybe end of October?) so anyone that doesn't mind using Impulse over Steam can save out on $4 for seemingly the same product (Director's Cut).[/QUOTE]


Good call. Forgot to mention that in the OP. The coupon code for Impulse is good until November 1st I think.
 
Where's the Director's cut patch and/or retail rerelease? I was looking for either yesterday, and can't find any sign of them.
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']Where's the Director's cut patch and/or retail rerelease? I was looking for either yesterday, and can't find any sign of them.[/QUOTE]

You can download the patches here:
http://www.thewitcher.com/registration/en/www/patch.html

The Director's Cut only applies to the North American version since the version released in other countries are already uncensored. In retail, it's just called The Witcher Enhanced Edition and you download the latest 1.5 patch to make it the Director's Cut. I think you'll only find the Director's Cut edition on the digitally distributed versions that include the latest patch.
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']Where's the Director's cut patch and/or retail rerelease? I was looking for either yesterday, and can't find any sign of them.[/QUOTE]

I don't think there were that many...

with the patch release and having every bit of the goods in digital form, map, book, songs... I don't think there was great motivation to make several hundreds of thousands...

Maybe walmart might still have copies... but I think that's it. Maybe one will pop into a 2nd hand store.
 
Thanks for posting the Amazon link. At $14, I might have to bite, since I have more free time than I have had the past few months. How does the free upgrade to Enhanced Edition work? You can only download it once or something? Does that mean I just need to back it up or something?
 
The Enhanced Edition patch can be downloaded as many times as you want. It's a pretty big file so you may want to back it up anyway. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe it was about 1.5GB for the full EE patch package. If you download all the extras like the community created quests, then it comes in at almost 2GB.
 
[quote name='palejackal']Thanks for posting the Amazon link. At $14, I might have to bite, since I have more free time than I have had the past few months. How does the free upgrade to Enhanced Edition work? You can only download it once or something? Does that mean I just need to back it up or something?[/QUOTE]

I think you have to type in your CD key for the original to download the EE or the Director's... can't remember.... but there is some registration...

unless I'm totally wrong.... which I could be. Someone verify this please!
 
IIRC, you just go and download the patch. You have to have the correct version installed, but it's pretty seamless.

[quote name='xycury']I think you have to type in your CD key for the original to download the EE or the Director's... can't remember.... but there is some registration...

unless I'm totally wrong.... which I could be. Someone verify this please![/QUOTE]
 
[quote name='kbomb84']IIRC, you just go and download the patch. You have to have the correct version installed, but it's pretty seamless.[/QUOTE]

I wonder what game I'm thinking of... I had to type in my key to get the latest update.... but what game... grr
 
So, there isn't any reason not to buy the copy from Amazon if I have Prime? You can put all of the appropriate patches on it at that point and it'll be the same as the Steam or Impulse versions? (Since the last patches removed the DRM and need for a DVD in the drive.)
 
Just bought it from Steam. I was sad to ahve missed the last sale a few months ago so its nice to be able to get it for even cheaper. Now if I can only find the time to PLAY it, lol.

BTW, just my personal opinion, but is saving $5-$10 by buying it retail really worth the hasle of dealing with having to download and redownload all the patches everytime you want to reinstall the game? Not to mention the chance of the DVD getting lost, broken or scratched. Just my 0.02.
 
[quote name='ass-assassin']... but is saving $5-$10 by buying it retail really worth the hasle of dealing with having to download and redownload all the patches everytime you want to reinstall the game? Not to mention the chance of the DVD getting lost, broken or scratched. Just my 0.02.[/QUOTE]

No, you raise a valid point there.

I just like to have the actual media for games, whenever possible. The media just goes into a gaming closet once it's installed. I know you can download the game via steam, and it is handy to just be able to download it via the client... but still.
 
You don't have to redownload the patches, you back them up, just like you can with Steam. The difference is you're not relying on a third party to give you permission to play your game with the retail release like you do with Steam.
 
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