My Game Rating: 10/10
...
Collector's Edition Rating: 10/10
The collector's edition for The Witcher 3 was by far in my opinion, one of the best presented collector's editions of 2015. In honesty 2015 has seen better days; a year of broken games released too early on the basis of keeping up with competition release dates. One of the things I have noticed about CD Projekt Red's games is that there is much depth and attention to detail. Companies such as Naughty Dog, do well in the industry for they recognise the importance of finishing their games to an impeccable standard, full of content while ensuring their games work.
On the whole the collector's edition was beautifully made, sturdy and certainly well worth the price depending on your country's currency. The amount of protection used for this edition will put your fears to rest if your concerned about conservation and protection. After removing the outer packaging, you'll find:
To cut a long story short, this is to me is one of the finest
made games out there! The characters, environments, the rustic music, cutscenes, costume design, voice acting and everything between is so rich and intricate. The Witcher 3 is the sort of game that caters to a wide variety of gamers - some may like character building, some may prefer the combat elements, others the travelling aspects, quest structure, experience and storyline. And if your fortunate, you may come across gamers such as myself who love every detail and aspect of it.
In many ways the characters have become more and more human - allowing us to see times where they feel strained, how they deal with potentially lethal situations and with one another. My favourite character has always been Triss Merigold but it's very difficult to not like Geralt, Yeneffer, Ceri etc. I believe the reason for this lies in the variety of likes and personalities these characters have. Take Triss and Yen for example. Though they differ in the types of magics used, they have profound abilities in their owns crafts, relish in courtly politics, have great diplomacy skills and are trusted as royal sorceress advisors. Whereas Geralt is more the loner character that's comfortable in his own skin, see things as they are, acts swiftly and has no interest in courtly life.
One of the things that makes The Witcher 3 a pleasure to play is the amount of choice you can make and the fact that each choice will have its pros and consequences. Being able to play Gwent, collect rare cards from defeated opponents, acquire normal decks for your card collection, challenge other NPC's characters was an added bonus to an already realistic feeling atmosphere. Combat was brutal, fast and strategic. The crossbow I felt was somewhat of a letdown due to the very little damage it dealt to my target. Looking back now, I believe the crossbow was a tool to perhaps disorientate and disrupt enemy attacks rather than dealing sufficient damage.
Another aspect I liked was the variety of voice acting i.e. young & old voices recorded in a range of different accents. Welsh for one! With the possible exception of other Witcher titles, I don't recall these sorts of accents featuring in other games which is a great disappointment given how much richer it made the gameplay experience. Ideally, I would like to disclose favourite scenes from the game. However, I wouldn't wish to spoil it for my viewers. Instead, I will share my favourite city... Novigrad.
Noviagrad is the sort of city where we as the players, could ever hope to get close to imagine of what it was like in medieval times - brothels, docks, rich and poor districts, large markets, beautiful architecture, quirky characters, a congregation of different races, huge crowds, the occasional burning at the stake, relaxing indoor baths, coloured glass, street and interiors full of colour and character. If you want more information please see the link below this image from the Witcher wiki.
http://witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Novigrad
Thats my review on the game and the collector's edition! It may seem short. If that's the case, my reason for this is simply the following; I want you to play the game and experience what it has to offer. I cannot disclose spoilers for those reasons. As I said earlier, the amount of content for the price you pay is so worth it. And I simply can't condense all that it has to offer in one review. Therefore I would heavily recommend this game. If you guys have any further questions on the game or the review, please don't hesitate to ask!
Here are some links for more information about The Witcher Franchise. Please check out the official website for CD Projekt Red and the toy fair 2016 video from IGN. Enjoy!
- A hefty black box with the Witcher symbol display from one end to the other. To open, simply pull sideways gently.
- Underneath this smaller box, is a second black box, significantly larger containing the statue. Made from polystone, the quality is second to none. The skill shown is impressive. You certainly feel Geralt's presence during this captured moment. Making the Griffin's tail detachable was a wise choice as this makes it much easier to protect and package it when needed. Let's not forget that these are hand painted pieces which adds to the appreciative value.
- The first thing you will see is the hardback art book. Excellent quality paper, brilliant finish, beautiful artwork and it smells great! If you are an artist or illustrator, you can learn a great deal from this book. Although it's not exactly a tutorial guide, it combines a mixture of painting styles with themes of mythology, cultures and history.
- Next up is the Witcher wolf school necklace, game with compendium and soundtrack. The necklace itself is well made, has a good weight to it and comes in a secured, small black and red box with a plastic cover. The necklace is perfect to wear for cosplay conventions, everyday or if you daring - weddings!
- If you open the game disk, you will find stickers, a paper coloured map of the Witcher world (would have preferred a cloth option,) codes, the compendium and a little card from the developers themselves thanking you for your time, money and faith in the Witcher series. I don't know about you guys but I haven't seen this touch before. It was a pleasant surprise making me feel more appreciative as a fellow artist and gamer. Simple, small touches such as this go a very long way.
- Last in the box is the steel book casing. I'm not a huge collector of these but the cover art soon won me over, with Geralt and Ceri taking pride of place in an art nouveau sort of style.
The game...
made games out there! The characters, environments, the rustic music, cutscenes, costume design, voice acting and everything between is so rich and intricate. The Witcher 3 is the sort of game that caters to a wide variety of gamers - some may like character building, some may prefer the combat elements, others the travelling aspects, quest structure, experience and storyline. And if your fortunate, you may come across gamers such as myself who love every detail and aspect of it.
In many ways the characters have become more and more human - allowing us to see times where they feel strained, how they deal with potentially lethal situations and with one another. My favourite character has always been Triss Merigold but it's very difficult to not like Geralt, Yeneffer, Ceri etc. I believe the reason for this lies in the variety of likes and personalities these characters have. Take Triss and Yen for example. Though they differ in the types of magics used, they have profound abilities in their owns crafts, relish in courtly politics, have great diplomacy skills and are trusted as royal sorceress advisors. Whereas Geralt is more the loner character that's comfortable in his own skin, see things as they are, acts swiftly and has no interest in courtly life.
One of the things that makes The Witcher 3 a pleasure to play is the amount of choice you can make and the fact that each choice will have its pros and consequences. Being able to play Gwent, collect rare cards from defeated opponents, acquire normal decks for your card collection, challenge other NPC's characters was an added bonus to an already realistic feeling atmosphere. Combat was brutal, fast and strategic. The crossbow I felt was somewhat of a letdown due to the very little damage it dealt to my target. Looking back now, I believe the crossbow was a tool to perhaps disorientate and disrupt enemy attacks rather than dealing sufficient damage.
Another aspect I liked was the variety of voice acting i.e. young & old voices recorded in a range of different accents. Welsh for one! With the possible exception of other Witcher titles, I don't recall these sorts of accents featuring in other games which is a great disappointment given how much richer it made the gameplay experience. Ideally, I would like to disclose favourite scenes from the game. However, I wouldn't wish to spoil it for my viewers. Instead, I will share my favourite city... Novigrad.
http://witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Novigrad
Thats my review on the game and the collector's edition! It may seem short. If that's the case, my reason for this is simply the following; I want you to play the game and experience what it has to offer. I cannot disclose spoilers for those reasons. As I said earlier, the amount of content for the price you pay is so worth it. And I simply can't condense all that it has to offer in one review. Therefore I would heavily recommend this game. If you guys have any further questions on the game or the review, please don't hesitate to ask!
Here are some links for more information about The Witcher Franchise. Please check out the official website for CD Projekt Red and the toy fair 2016 video from IGN. Enjoy!
