I was an insanely big fan of the Witcher 2 which I played a number of times on my XBOX 360. As soon as an announcement was made for the third instalment in the series I waited for this one with great anticipation.

 

Witcher 3 has taken what was good about the second instalment and tweaked it ever so slightly. The combat system is more interactive, allowing you to block and parry every move, but it also adds a slight element of strategy as well. Your silver sword is NOT going to harm a human but if you choose the steel sword against one of the main beasts that roam the game world then the chances are you’re going to be in for a world of pain. For those players that like to use magic to torment their foes, they have introduced this option into the game at last!

 

The main plot of the game isn’t as good as the previous instalments. I found it a bit disjointed somehow. At various stages in the main story it felt like they were dragging it out just for the sake of it. But, once you get past the opening sequence, the map really opens and lets you take on the huge amount of side quests the game offers from hunting beasts or taking part in an underground war. There is an INSANE amount of side quests to get your teeth into, which gives you hours of additional game time.

 

One of the things that let the game down badly is the many glitches that the game suffers from. Although the graphics are smooth and detailed, the game has some horrible glitches that often made me cringe or laugh out loud (check out the one where Geralt arm is broken on Youtube!). However, this seems to be an issue with many of the newer releases as the producers can just release a patch for it at a later date.

 

Although this is subjective, one of the main things that I felt let this down game on a personal level is just how rock hard the game is. It takes forever to level up and even when you try, the skirmishes on the world map tend usually involve being surrounded and hacked to bits. I eventually got so frustrated with this that I turned it off and sulked. It also hinges heavily on the morale and choice system previously seen in games such as Mass Effect and the Tell-Tale games, and a wrong choice early on in the game where you aren’t sure what you’re doing, can be disastrous later on.

 

One of the key reasons to buy this game though falls on the fact that all the DLC that will be released in the future will be FREE! This is something that does not happen enough in my opinion, and needs to be seen more often. You will eventually end up with a lot of game for a reasonable amount of money. Another great plus is this game does not rely heavily on the online side of gaming either, which in my opinion, is another cracking plus.

 

The only other game on the market that you can pick up in the same genre is Dragon age inquisition, and in all honesty, the Witcher smashed that hands down. I highly recommend picking this game up and giving it a shot.