The Witcher Enhanced Edition

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

The Witcher: Enhanced Edition is a great role-playing game. Developer CD Projekt has corrected almost all of the problems that made the original something of a flawed gem. Butchered English dialogue has been rewritten and expanded upon, removing the nonsensical lines that made the plot something of a guessing game last year. Engine performance has been dramatically improved across the board, so the game runs smoother on moderate systems, and you no longer have time to read a magazine while waiting for levels to load. Character models have been dramatically enhanced, removing a fair number of the unrealistic features that made the original game come off as somewhat cartoonish in spots. A pair of new stand-alone adventures has been added to bulk up gameplay outside of the main storyline. Just about everything seems more solid and stable, from the smooth-as-glass combat mechanics to the speedier interface. And, best of all, these gameplay enhancements are freely available to download for those who purchased the original game last year.

The Witcher: Enhanced Edition is a great role-playing game. Developer CD Projekt has corrected almost all of the problems that made the original something of a flawed gem. Butchered English dialogue has been rewritten and expanded upon, removing the nonsensical lines that made the plot something of a guessing game last year. Engine performance has been dramatically improved across the board, so the game runs smoother on moderate systems, and you no longer have time to read a magazine while waiting for levels to load. Character models have been dramatically enhanced, removing a fair number of the unrealistic features that made the original game come off as somewhat cartoonish in spots. A pair of new stand-alone adventures has been added to bulk up gameplay outside of the main storyline. Just about everything seems more solid and stable, from the smooth-as-glass combat mechanics to the speedier interface. And, best of all, these gameplay enhancements are freely available to download for those who purchased the original game last year.

Visuals have also been renovated, albeit not as dramatically as the script. The original Witcher looked pretty good in the first place, so there wasn't as much room for improvement here. The big changes come with the color palette, which has been made more vibrant while keeping the game's overall grim and gray atmosphere. Spell effects--particularly the fire-based Igni sign ones--practically flow right off the screen now. Basic background colors for such things as foliage and clothing have also been given more pop. Character art has been given an overhaul, while facial and body features that didn't pass muster last year have been given a once-over with additional details. Although some non-player character faces still appear almost mannequin-like, particularly common village peasants and streetwalkers, major characters now have a more realistic range of expressions. There are also more facial types, so you're not running into the same people over and over again. Geralt was pretty nimble last year, but now he twirls his swords and jumps around like an acrobat. Best of all, these improvements have no effect on game performance. This new Witcher actually runs a lot faster than the old one. Loading times have been slashed, and there are no more combat slowdowns, frame-rate hitches, or pauses to bring up the interface.
That said, the new visuals are not perfect. Clipping is still a minor issue at times. Background scenery, such as shrubs and trees, still acts too much like walls. The game still pauses for a couple of seconds after enemies are killed, making you wait a moment before being able to loot a corpse. The camera now also tends to cut characters out of the frame during conversations, an unintended side effect of having characters move around more while talking to liven up dialogue scenes that were awfully static last year. So you're treated to gabfests where the speaker's head is cut off, completely out of the picture off to the left, blocked by a door, or constantly moving in and out of sight. Thankfully, these camera quirks aren't too common and are limited to talking scenes where you don't need to see everyone's faces.
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition also doesn't get off to a very good start. A common problem with Windows XP systems causes the game to crash on start-up due to conflicts with audio drivers. This issue can generally be fixed in short order by turning down or shutting off sound acceleration or by downloading new audio files to swap out the troublesome ones that came on the game disc. But still, this is no way for a game to reintroduce itself. Technical issues with the initial release of The Witcher led to this redone version being made in the first place, so it's more than a bit disappointing to hit major crashes before you can even get the game up and running.

Much of the brand new content also leaves a bit to be desired. The two new stand-alone Geralt adventures purport to give a better look into the witcher's earlier career, but they're too inconsequential to be all that engrossing and too reliant on familiar locations from the main storyline. Even rooms are reused here. The Price of Neutrality gets off to a great start with a story about a princess who may or may not be cursed, but then, it peters out and ends abruptly after about two hours. Side Effects is merely a collection of mundane quests where Geralt has to run all over Vizima doing odd jobs to raise 2,000 orens to pay off a debt owed to his bard pal Dandelion. There are enough choices in the latter adventure to give it some moderate replay value, although you do little aside from play errand boy. Other extra goodies are more worthwhile. The box includes a number of collectible items, such as a game guide; a CD soundtrack of the game's fantastically atmospheric background tunes, plus some "inspired by" tracks; a behind-the-scenes DVD; and a paper map, along with the Djinni game editor for modders. Many of these extras are also available to download from the game's official Website if you choose to get the Enhanced Edition digitally.
Barring the initial installation bugs, this is what The Witcher should have been last year. While the original game was an undeniably very good RPG epic with one of the most authentically adult storylines to ever grace the genre, this overhauled edition has turned that near-classic into a near-masterpiece.