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Witcher: Enhanced Edition, The

EMAIL PRINT pc

9.4 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 30 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 79 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Atari

Developer: CD Projekt RED

Genre(s): Action, Role-Playing Game

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: September 16, 2008

Summary

Assume the role of The Witcher, Geralt, a legendary monster slayer caught in a web of intrigue as he battles forces vying for control of the world. Make difficult decisions and live with the consequences in a game that will immerse you in an extraordinary tale like no other. The Witcher shatters the line between good and evil in a world where moral ambiguity reigns. The Witcher emphasizes story and character development in a vibrant world while incorporating tactically-deep real-time combat like no game before it. [Atari]

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GAMES: Witcher, The

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

PC PowerPlay

All in all, the Enhanced Edition is a triumph. Projekt Red took a great game and made it better. While the new content won’t take too much time to plough through for a veteran, it’s worth playing the original campaign again just to marvel at how much has been tweaked. [Nov 2008, p.54]

100

Just Adventure

The game as improved by condensing code which reduced inventory and graphic location loading times, reduced crashes (greater stability), and made the combat more fluid and responsive.

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Digital Chumps

The game is really that good and reminds me so much of the great games Black Isle used to produce.

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RPG Fan

The Witcher is in better shape than ever, and gamers that played the original will be jealous of those who can enjoy the game for the first time in its higher form. Don't worry, though, as the Enhanced Edition gives Witcher veterans a perfect excuse to replay a sure-to-be classic.

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GamingTrend

Not only is the Enhanced edition a great value, but it is also one of the best CRPGs to come out in some time.

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Gamers' Temple

Everyone with a PC should play this game; it's worth ten of most games out there today.

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Total PC Gaming

It's bigger and better than the original - a no-brainer on the score. [Issue#13, p.59]

RPGamer

An amazing game. The combat system, while quite solid, may not grab everyone. The plot, characters and ability to affect the story will.

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VideoGamer

If you previously held off from buying The Witcher on the grounds of the English localisation being sub-par, then now be assured that the Enhanced Edition not only restores the game to what it should have been like in the first place, but also makes it even better.

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LEVEL (Czech Republic)

Finally the game in its witchiest form! Batch of small patches and add-ons improves the experience to the sky’s limits. New content comes for a reasonable price or free for owners of the previous version – an unusual but welcome feat. [Nov 2008]

Hardcore Gamer Magazine

The Witcher: Enhanced Edition is a remarkably deep title filled with decision making tasks that actually have an effect on the story itself.

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PC Format

Finally, The Witcher fulfills its potential, and, best of all, it's available as a free update, just in case you bought it anyway. [Nov 2008, p.110]

Computer Games Online RO

The Witcher Enhanced Edition is an excellent purchase for RPG fans that haven't come in contact yet with the universe created by Andrzej Sapkowski. Players that have finished The Witcher won’t have much reason to replay the game.

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Worth Playing

For the price, the TW:EE pack has a tremendous amount of value and the sort of extras usually only found in a Collector's Edition.

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Meristation

Geralt of Rivia is back with the best incarnation of his adventures. CDProjekt kept on working on their successful game in order to improve it, and they sure did. Now, The Witcher is stronger, longer, bigger and greater. All that, in an incredible package with special features: level editor, two new side quests, making of, soundtrack, game guide, the original short story written by Sapkowski, and many more things.

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GameSpot

The Witcher: Enhanced Edition is what this role-playing game should have been when it made its debut a year ago.

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GamerNode

The Enhanced Edition of The Witcher corrects almost everything people complained about with the original release. Bugs have been fixed, loading times reduced, and the audio overhauled. This cements The Witcher's status as the best PC RPG in years.

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GameZone

This is a great game for those who love single-player RPGs, now that the story has been re-dubbed and explained better, the game is everything we had hoped it would be a year ago, only now they got it right.

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Gaming Target

If you are an RPG player then you should not skip out on The Witcher because it has it all, visuals, audio, gameplay, story, and scantly clad women/dryads/hookers/etc.

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GameStar

Worthwhile improvements and additional content - CD Projekt has put great effort into The Witcher: Enhanced Edition. With new animations, new voices, better combat, better controls and two new side quests the game is finally the great adventure the first version should have been. Buyers of the original game can download the additional content free of charge.

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GameFocus

If you are one of the many who already own The Witcher, you can just download the patch and update your game, so you know you will have some great extras for free. But if you no longer own it, or are looking for a RPG to dive into this is one of the better ones to come out in the last year or so. So I am heavily recommending RPG fans to go out and buy this game.

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PC Gamer UK

Flawed RPG fixed. [Nov 2008, p.88]

G4 TV

The most welcome updates are the language options. The game's original English translation was terrible. Much of the dialog has been re-recorded, but let's be honest, voice acting in games is usually barely passable to begin with. That's why the new language options are so welcome.

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Thunderbolt

This game is as good as it gets for most RPG fans on the PC, and The Witcher is sure to give you an enjoyable experience despite the pacing issue.

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Wired

The one major qualm I have with the game is in its voice acting.

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Eurogamer

The new and improved package is increasingly attractive. There are still some rough edges, and moments of genuine drama are still undercut by how they're performed, but this is an agreeably driven RPG in an agreeably ornate package.

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GameDaily

Whether you enjoy role-playing games or simply crave a more mature experience, this patched up $39.99 version of the Witcher is bound to please.

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Play (Poland)

New, enhanced, stronger, able to jump the tallest building... or at least smash through two long, juicy adventures. This is how The Witcher should look like from the beginning. The loading times are entirely acceptable, the graphic has a new look and we get the editor on top of the deal. What's not to like? [Oct 2008]

1UP

The main adventure still has serious pacing problems, combat's still too easy for the most part, and load times -- though reduced -- continue to get in the way of the action.

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Armchair Empire

Overall, The Witcher was a game which strived for the peaks of the highest mountains, but only reached the base camp.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 9.4 (out of 10) based on 79 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Echolocating gave it a4:
I picked up The Witcher recently and was pleasantly surprised to find the Enhanced Edition was a free upgrade (not bad for $10 bargain bin purchase). The setting, based on Polish fantasy books, is very dark and intriguing. I’ve only played up until the part where you break out of prison and enter the city in chapter 2, but that’s where I had to stop. I’ve heard that the game really gets good from that moment on, but I just couldn’t bring myself to play it any more. The game is quite boring, actually. The combat consists of clicking the mouse button at the right time to continue the combo and switching between combat modes and weapons depending on the type of enemy you’re facing. It sounds arcade-like, but it’s just silly and that feeling is compounded when you can’t traverse over a pile of rubble on the ground. There’s no climbing or jumping mechanics so you move like a tank, glued to the ground. Also, the game is very linear and the maps are restrictive; you don’t get to explore beyond the artificial barriers. The gravely voiced anti-hero does nothing for me and I didn’t understand the value of having women throw themselves at him at the drop of a hat. It felt shallow and needless. The story might be very good, but I couldn’t get past the actual game to enjoy the story.

Pedro S. gave it a4:
Not worth the price. this game is almost identical to Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring as far as gameplay/graphics goes, but i enjoyed LOTR better, and didn't require as much hardware. it's a decent game, but it's definately not epic. it almost reminds me of how every single MMO now-a-days is nearly identical to WoW, making them garbage.

rawer gave it a10:
Hands on. One of the best games in the genre ever. Moral choices and atmosphere will kick u out of your schoes. A must have.

K. W. gave it a10:
This is simply an amazing game. If you love an epic dark fantasy single player RPG, this game is for you. I am stunned that this is such an underrated title. Get the word out about how good this RPG is! It is up there with Oblivion, Mass Effect, World of Warcraft, etc.

J. P. gave it a10:
I love this game, really one of the best games I've played in a very long time. This is what an RPG should be, excellent story, excellent gameplay, stunning visuals, reaslitic dialogue, and a unique alchemy system. I really can't think of the last single player RPG I've enjoyed this much. Kudos CDProject for delivering an amazing gaming experience.

Skarp H gave it an8:
Pretty engrossing game. I didn't buy the original because I was on the fence about it. But now, after quitting WoW, and having a week of free time to kill, I decided to give it a shot. Plus, you can, in fact, buy the original game and upgrade it to enhanced version for free (this saves you about 25 bucks), This is the RPG that really aged with the audience. I'm not as old as some of these guys, but I grew up with FF6-7, Chrono Trigger, etc and as those types of RPGs progressed, they really didn't change much as my tastes mutated in leaps and bounds. I mean, you look at final fantasy and it's basically the same melodrama infested RPG it used to be, just now they take more cues from JPOP and anime (which in my mind is a severe detriment). The Witcher, on the other hand, is far more gritty and real. It's a step above the Oblivions and the Fallouts in its story and setting. The game play and graphics still need some work, and the camera takes some getting used to, but this game is just really engrossing, and it pushes the boundaries of the RPG genre to a more adult oriented ground. The main problem I had with games like Oblivion/Fallout and other types of open world games was the lack of a significantly well made plot. The Witcher has a great plot that really keeps it in the focus instead of throwing it to the backburner. In Oblivion, I really never bothered about the plot, preferring to simply do the Assassin's Guild quests and leaving it at that. In The Witcher, there's no such problem. The Witcher does have a myriad of issues though. I don't really care about loading times on my computer, they're not such a big deal. However, there are issues with the graphics/models; they're not very polished. Reviewers say this is the best the engine can do though, so whatever. Another HUGE problem is the map. It blows really bad. Another issue is the camera. Unlike WoW, where right-clicking and holding will allow you to turn the camera, the mouse in The Witcher simply turns whenever you move the mouse. This is really annoying and causes the user to pause a LOT to mess with inventory instead of doing it on the move. I also didn't find any key for auto run. In short, The Witcher is the next step in the RPG genre as it ages with its player base, and a game no RPG fan should miss out on.

Holly C gave it a9:
I'm sort of glad I only caught on to this phenomenal game with the Enhanced Version--after hearing about the uproar regarding crashes, bugs-etc in the original (esp given how desperately people wanted to play this game) because this game is so masterful I would have put up with it then (but ugh). However, Witcher Enhanced--was fairly solid for me. A few crashes here and there after long hours of gameplay--but not at all bothersome. As for the game-- I haven't loved an RPG like this since the Baldur's Gate series (tho I really liked Oblivion & Bioshock). This is definitely a game for mature teens & up (i'm sure some adults aren't even mature enough to handle it). Marvelous gameplay/moral relativity and just a solid storyline even among a genre that's chalk full of cliches (this has them, but done well, you don't care). Great job and I hope they continue with a second Witcher.

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Witcher: Enhanced Edition, The

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