The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS4)

An absolutely outstanding game that is so massive I don't think I've even scratched the surface of things to do or things to find. I've played for about a week now, and I'm only at level 15 (out of I think 50 levels?) and haven't even left Velen (one of the first areas) because there's just so many quests, so much to find and do and so much to kill. Like, with the other Witcher games, with your quests you get a few different choices to make and these choices can determine which way the game goes from there on in (such as if you decide to kill a character or let them live, it will effect the dialogue later and possibly open a different quest later). Choices can also determine the loot you get. The storyline focuses on Geralt (as usual), a Witcher (a monster hunter mutated and trained to do such) who is on the hunt for a girl he trained and became rather fond of some eight years before. The hunt for Cirilla (Ciri) will send him on a wild goose chase from one place the next taking on countless quests, contracts and treasure hunts while trying to glean any information he can where and when he can find it. If you've played the previous games, you'll see some familiar friendly faces such as Zoltan Cheevay, Dandylion the Bard and Triss Merrigold. Finally, we also get to meet with the notorious Yennifer who was always a big part of the lore but never really seen in the previous games. You also see the occasional familiar face from the last games (like Vivaldi the banker and Vernon Roche). Having played the previous games, I have to say the interface is slightly different from how I remember it, and things like detecting monsters and the potion taking is slightly different to how it used to be. You have "quickslots" now but only so many, and you can only make three of each potion and two of each bomb in total and have those in your inventory (so say for instance you have the ingredients for an endless supply of "Tawny Owl" for example, you can't make them all in advance). You also cannot sell ANY of your options or bombs either. Because of things like this, you end up with a huge cache of flowers and ingredients you can't use all at once and for most of the game are constantly searching for merchants to sell the items to (which is difficult when Merchants only have so much gold to sell). What I like about the game is there is a gorgeous day and night cycle with realistic weather system, and the weather is brought to your attention by Geralt who even mentions when the weather is changing (he'll occasionally say to himself "Wind is howling" or "It's raining" just in case you tend to take such things for granted and don't notice, lol). The weather even effects things like the grass, the bushes and trees as you see the wind dragging the foliage about nicely to make it feel more like an environment than a static graphic surface. It's not quite as pretty as Skyrim in realism, but there's a lot of deeper colour, richer sunsets and nicer water effects. The character design is absolutely fantastic, even NPCs all look different with unique features such as different shaped noses and yes, scars, expressions that make the wrinkles in their faces show exceptionally well, bringing a little touch of realism. When Triss smiles for example, you see smile lines that you don't see otherwise, and when Geralt grimaces you see the wrinkles in his nose and at the sides of his eyes move. Some of the voice acting is very exceptional (some may get annoyed with Geralt's rather monotone voice - it's supposed to be that way, Witcher's mutation means he lacks expression or emotion in his face and voice) while some of it is a bit horrendous, but that's all part of the charm. There is a lot of foul language in the game, I won't lie. The F word is used more than a hundred times (rough guess) and there's occasional female nudity (which, if you've played these games, yes, it's always been part of the franchise, so don't be shocked). This game isn't meant for young kids and under eighteens for a reason so do take note. There's a lot of easter eggs and references to modern films and such (such as Zoltan Cheevay talking about Dandylion having a strange relationship with a woman in the bedroom who would call him "Christian" and insist he call her "Anastacia" - clear reference to Fifty Shades of Grey). It's always amusing to catch these things from time to time. There are so many different locations and things to find, and a lot of them are best found when off the beaten track. Most quests you come across are not ones found on the contract boards, they're found walking around streets and the fields and running into NPCs, etc. While I'm on the subject, I should warn you CAN occasionally fail a quest if you don't act fast enough. There's also sometimes a timer when an NPC asks you to make a decision on something and if you don't act fast enough this too can result in a fail at times. Be warned if you're a trophy perfectionist, I'm not sure but I reckon this could hurt your trophy collection. Also take note, save option. If you don't save frequently, dying sends you back to the instance you last saved, which for all I know could be three hours before which is a bit of a downer. You don't retain ANY of your experience or items if you die and have to return to an earlier save game so do be warned. I learned the hard way. Do take heed though, save before handing in a quest in case you risk failing, this way you can try to get things right. I learned this the hard way too. There's more I'll add eventually but this is just my initial review. I'm so engrossed in this game I can't leave it alone. Every day, every night, I'm addicted more than I was with Skyrim (which it is somewhat similar to). I really do recommend buying, you won't be disappointed.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a serious contender for the throne of open world role-playing games on the Next-Gen consoles for so many reasons. Firstly, the story is beautifully written, the characters feel genuine and it is an honestly emotional journey following their adventures. The protagonist Geralt of Rivia is an iconic Witcher by trade and therefore (due to his training) lacks strong displays of emotion, instead relying on a deadpan, almost monotonic manner of speaking. That is not to say that he does not feel, indeed his journey to find his adopted daughter Ciri is a heartfelt and engaging tale that makes the player want to continue into the world of Geralt and his companions. While there is an engaging main story, it is often commonplace within such RPG titles that side missions often have much less to offer in terms of story, instead they tend to manifest as emotionless methods of experience points to level and upgrade the player's character. While it cannot be said that The Witcher 3 is not entirely innocent of this, many of the side quests of the game are actually lore-bound, meaningful endeavours that do in some small way affect the ultimate ending of the game. In terms of graphics this game stands at the peak of Next-Gen beauty. Facial animations are complex and truly affect a wide array of emotions, and body movements are both fluid and natural. In terms of scenery and the huge world of the game, the quality of the graphics are clear in every aspect, from the sparkling of the water of the sea, to the innumerable blades of grass beneath the player's feet. Day and night cycles follow the player throughout the game as well as dynamic weather cycles from raging storms to light rain, to blazing sunshine. In terms of combat Geralt offers both the classic mixture of swordplay and spellcrafting, as well as the addition of a crossbow. Geralt carries both silver and steel swords for mythical and human enemies respectively which is a nice touch and helps to further immerse the player in the lore of the game. Spellcrafting is simple but effective, meaning that certain spells, such as fire, mind control and shielding work better against some enemies than others. There are also creatable oils that can augment damage against specific enemies, meaning that combat is not necessarily running in swords flailing there is also a degree of planning that is required before committing to certain missions or contracts. Ultimately The Witcher 3 has many aspects that appeal to many players, to list them all cannot be done in a single review and can only be truly experienced first-hand. Whether you want to hear the superb voice acting of Charles Dance as the Emperor of Nilfgaard, or the experience of a dynamic story that is affected by your choices; or the chance to slay mythical creatures with stylish flourishes and aesthetically pleasing spell casting, or perhaps just to sit in a local inn and play the fictional card game of Gwent. The Witcher 3 literally has it all.

I bought this not really knowing if it was going to be any good, and kind of reckoned if it was anything near as much fun as SKyrim was then I'd love it. Having played it to the extent of losing any kind of life i had before, and religiously since it's release I think it just blows SKyrim away, and is the most immersed I have been in a game for a long long long time. As other reviews have stated, the world is massive, and there is so much to find and do in it, it can really just eat up time without you realising. I've lost count of the amount of times I've suddenly realised it's 3/4 am and I've been on it for 8-9 hours straight. In terms of character progression, it is well balanced, and you do find that you need to be high enough level to complete quests. There is plenty out there that if you're not levelled up enough will just decimate you with the strike of one blow. This is cool, as it just adds to tension and means you can't just hack around and expect to live. Fighting monsters on the witcher quests and main story line bosses is sufficiently challenging as well, you do have to do your research and prepare before facing some foes. Graphics are awesome, and really help with the immersion. If you liked the elder scrolls, skyrim and like RPGs and want a well scripted story line, then pick this up. Despite just having finished it, I am not trading this in, but am going to keep it and replay it on the hardest difficulty once I've had a break from it for a while (or when more DLC appears). Brilliant game, love the amount of extras in the packaging, and extremely good value for money. If only all AAA game developers put this much effort into content and extras!

First impressions: The box/package is full of stuff, including a note from the makers... feels like a lot of care has been put into the game AND it's packaging. Whilst you cannot control the gender/appearance of the hero, there is a reason: Geralt is a character from a series of books (which I now also recommend). You also get to play a female character from time to time (Ciri) as the story unfolds. And it is an epic story! The map of the game is huge. The free range is wonderful, like an updated and beautiful Skyrim (also enjoyed). Main quests, secondary quests, Witcher contracts and '?' areas on the map to indicate an event of some sort. The scenery is beautiful and detailing exquisite... down to the careful and realistic distribution of moss on a statue in the middle of nowhere! I wish I had 3D glasses or total immersion for a game like this! I loved the fact that there are creatures around that you need to come back to later... they are far too powerful for the low level character. This put me in mind of Dragon's Dogma. It was fun going back later for a good hard battle! There are certain things I like in the build of a game: Controllable saving (ie you decide when to save the game), Difficulty level (you decide how hard/easy you want the game) and Free range to go round something and come back later. Witcher has all of these. My favourite games to date have been Dragonage1, Kingdoms of Amalur, Skyrim (and eventually Dragon's Dogma which I hated at first and then become strangely addicted to!). Witcher seems to have the best of all of these and more. Is it my favourite game to date? Perhaps it is!

Never wrote a review before, but just wanted to write my appreciation of the developers and amazement of the game. First of all this game is one of the longest games I've ever played, and I've played the likes of skyrim, oblivion and fallout games, i got this game in may, the day of release and am still playing it now, still with the same feeling as when i first played it. The developers are an example to what most developers should be, by giving away 16 free pieces of dlc for everyone, when they could've just charged people and made quite a bit of money from it, and now that the first of two expansions is out there's been 10 to 15 hours of extra gameplay, with the last expansion out in early 2016, nearly forgot to mention how they've supported this game from day one with their constant patches to fix bugs and to improve the game, the latest patch which was a couple of days ago, was number 11 Now about the actual game, the gameplay is brilliant if you like your games with swords and magic, i can only describe it as a faster pace than skyrim, you have a dodge button where you can sway out the way of attacks and you also have a dodge roll for bigger enemy attacks, you have a fast attack button to give quick slashes and a heavy attack button to give slower but more powerful blows, it all makes for a tactical battle for harder enemies, because you are a witcher, you can drink potions which further enhance your abilities for a limited time, to prepare yourself before battle or during battle, for your swords you can drench your sword with oil depending on which type of enemy/monster you're fighting, which gives you an increase in damage The world is massive, its not a true open world like skyrim, where you can go anywhere at anytime, instead its split into 5 sections which are huge, when you want to go to another section you have to sit through a loading screen I don't really know what else to say, other than this is one of the beat rpgs i have played never mind one of the best games, and would like to say a big thankyou to cd project red for making such a brilliant game and actually caring about is customers who bought the game.

Hopefully I can increase this review to 4 or 5 stars in the very near future. I have been looking forward to this game for some months and everything I've seen online from the beta testing looks amazing. However - So far, I have watched the opening cut scenes (you can't skip them) and now the game has decided to load what I can assume is the beginning of the game.. Some 25 minutes later, and I'm still watching the symbol of Ouroboros (meaning 'never ending cycle' - of which the irony is not lost on me) spinning round on the load screen. So, I either have a defective disc, or the long load times people referred to are in fact REALLY long. I've read 2 chapters of Game of Thrones whilst waiting, and can't help but feel I'll be reviewing that before this game starts. It really is not acceptable for a next gen game and this attitude of rushing through to meet a release date, and then 'ironing out the bugs later' is a disgrace, I wouldn't buy a new car and expect to have to go back a week later to pop some windscreen wipers on and this is the same principal. Very disappointing. **UPDATE** So anyone else who has trouble loading the game, can I suggest you DON'T install the 1.02 patch 1st as this seemed to keep causing the game to freeze before even starting. Anyway, having now sorted the issue, on with a proper review. 1st off, the graphics are delightful, though some frame rate/lag issues in cut scenes do spoil a little. It's not terrible, but 'off' enough to be annoying. Also, in play, the camera movement can be a little too swift for the background to keep up with and you get an ever so slight, but noticeable blur. Gameplay is responsive and smooth and the combat system is nice, fluid and quick (reminds me a little of the system used in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning). Other 1st impressions are that the storyline is going to be interesting and not just a means to get you from one battle to the next. The voice acting is convincing and for once, lip-syncing is realistic! I was a little concerned how small the map was at first - until I realised you zoom out again, and it turns out your were only in a regional map. Once you've seen the world map and the areas within, do you understand how staggeringly huge this game is going to be (and how little I'll be seeing my wife for the coming months..) In terms of difficulty, there are a few settings so I'm not sure anyone can complain about it being too difficult from the off. The mission menu also gives you suggestions on what level your character would ideally be at before undertaking it, giving you more meaning to finding side quests to level up. All in all this looks good so far. It will face the inevitable comparisons to Skyrim (it's not as good - yet), and also to Dragons Age Origins. This game takes aspects of both of these games in both a graphical and game play sense but certainly takes more time to get into than DAO which might put some people off. Personally, I believe the more you give a game, the more you get out, and the Witcher will certainly be getting a lot from me in the near future based on gameplay so far...

Along with Bloodborne, TW3 has also been boosted up there with my favourite games ever... Not just of this year. This game has it all. For example, it has a compelling, rich and detailed storyline that dwindles in politics, romance and brilliant fantasy - so well executed keeping you entertained the whole way. Also, a deep combat system that tests your skills of the game especially on higher difficulties. Utilising all the different techniques (your magic, swords, bombs and dodging) to best your way through every encounter. It's engaging and fun, I love it regardless of what some say is a little clumsy at times. And the art direction and graphics... Just leave me jaw dropped. They're beautiful, along with the soundtrack and audio. The attention to detail in this massive world is incredible, full with some quite horrific stuff that really intrigues. I felt constantly wanting to uncover the whole area, oozing all the lore and content I could as I couldn't get enough! And that boils down to it. Have you ever had a great RPG in front of you, which you've heard is worth your time and investment, but never quite got sucked in? Well, here this is not the case. One thing most RPGs never do to me is get me addicted, even if I really enjoy it. I don't want to stop playing, the game is that enjoyable! I could spend hours in every quest and area, or even going through my items and all that crafting! This game demands you play it, and absorb all the epic fantasy it has to offer. This is worth all your money and time, I love The Witcher 3!

I've never really played any of the other Witcher games (tried 2, but wasn't a fan of the training and didn't play any further - I think it tried to teach too much too quickly which put me off). The 3rd game though was amazing, and I never got overwhelmed with any part of the combat or crafting etc (also helps to play it on console rather than PC). The world you play in is so beautiful and there were so many places I just wondered around in and explored (and sometimes had to run away due to the high level enemies there!). But I think for a game world to be somewhere I want to explore is a great achievement. The missions were always fun, and there was plenty of side stuff to do. It's certainly not a game you'll be able to keep playing, because you will run out of missions eventually and have nothing left aside from exploring, but it still kept me occupied for a very long time. Has several points where you can affect the ending based on your actions, and they're not always black and white choices which is great. Even choices which seem right could lead to bad outcomes, but it all adds to the fun of it. The combat was great, although depending what skills you invest in can also become fairly easy, but that's up to you really. I did think that the choice in armour wasn't great, and there wasn't much I could find that I thought just looked amazing, but it wasn't a big deal for me. The developers are really great as well, providing loads of updates to add in much requested features and improve that game. And the first expansion was great fun to play as well (and I'm sure I'll be getting the second one when it's released). Overall an amazing game, and one you should get if you're into this type.

It's The Witcher 3 no words could describe it.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt para PS4 es simplemente asombroso. Como fanático de los juegos de rol y de la saga de The Witcher, esta entrega ha superado todas mis expectativas y me ha brindado una experiencia de juego inolvidable. Gráficamente, el juego es impresionante. Los paisajes y escenarios detallados hacen que te sumerjas por completo en el vasto mundo abierto de The Witcher 3. Los personajes están increíblemente bien diseñados, y cada uno tiene su propia personalidad y trasfondo que enriquecen la trama de manera significativa. La historia es profunda y cautivadora. A medida que avanzas en la trama principal y en las misiones secundarias, te encuentras con giros inesperados, decisiones morales difíciles y personajes memorables que te mantienen enganchado en cada momento. Cada elección que haces tiene consecuencias, lo que le da un toque realista y emocionante a la narrativa. El combate es fluido y desafiante. Geralt de Rivia, el protagonista, se siente poderoso y ágil en cada enfrentamiento, y el sistema de combate permite un gran abanico de estrategias y habilidades para enfrentar a los diversos enemigos y monstruos que te encuentras en el camino. Uno de los aspectos más destacados del juego es la libertad que tienes para explorar el mundo de The Witcher 3. Desde las ciudades bulliciosas hasta los rincones más remotos y misteriosos, siempre hay algo nuevo por descubrir. Las misiones secundarias son igual de interesantes y gratificantes que la trama principal, lo que te da una sensación de inmersión total en el universo de The Witcher. Además, las expansiones y DLCs agregan aún más contenido y horas de juego, lo que hace que valga la pena cada centavo invertido en este título. Es un juego que te mantendrá entretenido durante horas y horas sin perder su encanto. En resumen, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt para PS4 es un imprescindible para cualquier amante de los juegos de rol y de las historias épicas. Con su impresionante mundo abierto, su narrativa cautivadora y su jugabilidad desafiante, este juego ofrece una experiencia única y satisfactoria. Si todavía no lo has jugado, ¡no esperes más para embarcarte en esta increíble aventura como el legendario brujo Geralt de Rivia!

Arrivato nei tempi previsti in perfette condizioni , divorato in pochi giorni nonostante sia un gioco immenso

I did not like that I have to wait not once but twice to get my game I love the game normally with my packages and deliveries it's either a few days before or right on time and I know that maybe circumstances wasn't on my favor but it was really making me mad having to wait like that

Es una delicia jugar a este juego. A pesar de que no tiene las voces en español sí que tiene los subtítulos en nuestro idioma y los gráficos, buf, los gráficos son impresionantes. Además la historia te engancha desde el primer momento. No obstante no es recomendable para los niños porque la sangre y las decapitaciones aparecen desde la primera escena (aunque sea un caballo). Con todo no le quito ni un ápice a la máxima puntuación.