{"id":7362,"date":"2015-06-02T16:14:19","date_gmt":"2015-06-02T23:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-does-it-live-up-to-all-the-hype\/"},"modified":"2024-01-24T16:39:36","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T00:39:36","slug":"the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-does-it-live-up-to-all-the-hype","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-does-it-live-up-to-all-the-hype\/","title":{"rendered":"The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Does it Live Up to All the Hype?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"wHeader\"<\/a>
Courtesy – CD Projekt Red<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
\nCD Projekt RED<\/p>\n

So this is what transpired over the last couple of weeks, beginning with just before The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt<\/em> came out\u2026<\/p>\n

Buddy: \u201cHey man, did you get around to playing your copy of The Witcher 3 <\/em>yet? Man, it looks crazy good!\u201d<\/p>\n

Me: \u201cMhm\u2026nope; been kind of busy with some other games that I\u2019m going to review [insert yawn].\u201d<\/p>\n

Buddy: \u201cAre you serious? Man, you are missing out. Let me tell you, I just can’t wait until I get my new 4k gaming mach\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

Me: \u201cYeah, I\u2019ll get around to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Initially, my attitude was as such; I\u2019d been very underwhelmed by the whole Witcher world up to that point. I\u2019d played the previous installment, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings<\/em>, and although I thought that the title was pretty cool, I wasn\u2019t pulled in by the game\u2019s story as were so many throngs of gamers. And<\/em>, that had nothing to do with my gaming setup; I just found it lacking in certain ways.<\/p>\n

\"W1\"<\/a>
Courtesy – CD Projekt Red<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

A week later, after I\u2019d failed to show up for one of our regular weekend gaming sessions (dubbed Geekends<\/em>), my same fellow gaming geek friend called me up again. This time he was even more ecstatic, having just purchased a monstrous new 4k gaming rig:<\/p>\n

Buddy: \u201cWhere you been, dude? You missed our Geekend. We had some crazy-fun games!\u201d<\/p>\n

Me: \u201cI couldn\u2019t make it; I haven\u2019t even gotten around to shaving, in fact I have a mini-epic beard thing going on. There are some pizza and frozen food boxes strewn around my gaming PC\u00a0desk. My eyes are bloodshot and burning from staring at the screen for so long. I need some sleep\u2026damn you Witcher 3<\/em>\u2026damn you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, even though I had been more than a little recalcitrant when it came to the Witcher<\/em> series, once I took a dip into The Witcher 3\u2019s<\/em> waters, I was pulled in like a flailing infant and pleasantly drowned in its immersive gloriousness.<\/p>\n

\"Courtesy<\/a>
Courtesy – CD Projekt Red<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During the initial prelude part of the story, I was pleased to see that The Witcher 3<\/em> continues the recent backlash (or indifference) toward political correctness, just as I mentioned in last week\u2019s review of GTA V<\/a>.<\/em> My eyes were greeted with the nude curvatures of the main character\u2019s love interest, Yennifer. It wasn\u2019t done in a lewd or sleazy way, but as an early indicator that this was a more mature game with adult (and young adult these days) themes.<\/p>\n

The main character in question is Geralt of Rivia, a no-nonsense, monster-hunter extraordinaire, whose gravelly voice makes Clint Eastwood sound like Seinfeld. I usually dread tutorials, as I feel that they usually feel artificial and forced, like \u201cokay, here comes the tutorial part again\u2026\u201d when you first fire up a new game. I\u2019m not going to spoil anything, but The Witcher 3<\/em> has a unique approach which (no pun intended) seamlessly blends its basic game play mechanics into the narrative. This makes it much more organic and believable, especially for newcomers to the series.<\/p>\n

\"Courtesy<\/a>
Courtesy – CD Projekt Red<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I say that because The Witcher 3<\/em> can seem a little intimidating at first; this truly is a massive game, scale-wise. The sheer breadth and depth of The Witcher 3\u2019s<\/em> gaming environs are enviable, even by today\u2019s standards, especially on a decent gaming PC. The open world presented is full of magic and wonder, as well as deadly, dangerous foes and dastardly villains.<\/p>\n

Since Geralt is in the business of monster hunting, mainly via picking up contracts in cities in towns along his travels, knowing the games controls can stand one in good stead, in terms of survival. Move, dodge, or parry at the wrong time, and you may just end up being ripped to shreds by a rabid pack of wolves, or mangled by a cranky (and horny) griffin. Sometimes the jerky camera angles swivel around a little too much, but it\u2019s something that you can adjust to.<\/p>\n

Earlier, pre-release issues, such as draw distance pop ups, seem to have been dealt with. However, there are still some nagging rough patches, such as when body parts, hair, and\/or equipment, disappear into other parts of one\u2019s body or into objects within the environment. There are also some scenes where a character\u2019s dialogue comes after the movement of his or her lips, and sometimes bodies suddenly pop up onscreen, even on more powerful machines.<\/p>\n

Gameplay-wise, there were very few issues; one I recall was when I was engaged in a particularly bloody melee with a group of wraiths and called to my trusty steed, Roach, to come and bail me out. He merely stood off a ways, casually grass grazing. These are all minor gripes, and don\u2019t detract or take away from the overall enjoyment and immersion, however.<\/p>\n

\"Courtesy<\/a>
Courtesy – CD Projekt Red<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The graphics are simply stunning, and show off how far PC gaming technology has come. Seeing sunlight rays streak through a forest\u2019s canopy, or beholding a distant town or city has never been this breathtaking, and sometimes I found myself just marveling at the splendor of this carefully crafted world. One time I was even caught off-guard while looking into the beautifully rendered waters of a trickling stream. I was promptly pounced upon by a pack of ravenous monsters and done away with. The graphics are so good that they can be distracting\u2014but that\u2019s a good thing!<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re like me and you\u2019ve already squeezed every last drop of entertainment out of Skyrim<\/em>, and have been hankering for something that can not only fill its shoes, but bust out of them (I know\u2014strange metaphor), then this could be the fantasyfix you\u2019ve been fiending for. I\u2019ve been tweaking out on it for a solid week now, and even though I\u2019m only 50 or so hours in, my phone messages are piling up, and bags are beginning to appear under my eyes. Oh Witcher, please release me from your sublimely opulent grasps\u2026no wait\u2026don\u2019t\u2026I mean, please\u2026<\/p>\n

In all seriousness, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt<\/em> is a new age gaming experience for adventurous, mature-minded individuals, who want to delve into an immensely rich and mesmerizing world. Take the plunge; you won\u2019t soon forget it (but you may forget what day of the week it is).<\/p>\n

Score: 96%<\/p>\n

Kane\u2019s Suggestion:<\/p>\n

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a modern marvel of a game that requires a beefy rig to fully enjoy. Cyberpower PC\u2019s Syber Vapor Xtreme supplies more than enough power for your needs in this regard. Check it out\u00a0here,<\/a>or click on the image below. Cyberpower PC has much more than just desktops, they also have laptop gaming PC’s as well.<\/p>\n

\"blk_400<\/a>
Cyberpower PC\u2019s Syber Vapor Xtreme<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt CD Projekt RED So this is what transpired over the last couple of weeks, beginning with just before The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt came out\u2026 Buddy: \u201cHey man, did you get around to playing your copy of The Witcher 3 yet? Man, it looks crazy good!\u201d Me: \u201cMhm\u2026nope; been kind… Read More »The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Does it Live Up to All the Hype?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":7356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2732,2741,2742],"tags":[2520,741,67,2486,2842,2843],"class_list":["post-7362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-games","category-gaming-reviews-news","category-product-reviews","tag-4k-gaming","tag-cyberpower-pc","tag-gaming-pc","tag-ian-kane","tag-new-video-games","tag-syber-vapor-xtreme"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7362"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15445,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7362\/revisions\/15445"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}