RPG Vault

Alan Miranda з Ossian дала інтерв`ю сайту GameShark. Говорили про один з найвідоміших модулів до NWN2 - Mysteries of Westgate, а також назвали дату релізу - січень.
Частина:
“Back to the game itself. Since the players will need to choose between allegiances, how drastically will their choices affect the outcome of the game?
Alan Miranda: Some choices will be very drastic indeed (saying more would spoil the story). Just know that our goal was to provide an adventure where players were offered a lot of choices, so based on how they choose their allegiances, it will change both how the game plays out at the start, as well as towards the end. In terms of gameplay time alone, different choices will alter half of the core storyline for the player.”

The Witcher переможною ходою йде по планеті. Рецензіями на нього вже відмітились:

RPG Codex як звичайно не поставила оцінку, але загальна тональність рецензії позитивна:
“You know by now that you can't choose your character's class, race, or even gender: you are Geralt of Rivia. Frankly, I don't have a lot of sympathy for people who can't get past that; if you think a game can't be a great RPG without letting you choose such details, then I implore you to try such masterpieces as Planescape: Torment and Ultima VII. What might be more of a problem, though, is that there's a level at which you can't choose your character's personality, and that might legitimately bother people. Often your character will speak to people without your guidance, and many of the more inconsequential dialogue choices from a Bioware (or even a Troika) RPG have been stripped out. Dialogues very rarely have two functionally equivalent ways of saying the same thing, so you're limited to dialogue responses that fit Geralt's hard-boiled, somewhat sarcastic, occasionally suave badass persona. You will, from time to time, insult people without having any choice in the matter, for example. Basically, you're taking on the role of an established character and are constrained to work within that role. You can make real, meaningful choices in the game, and you can decide Geralt's deepest values, allegiances, and even lovers; but you can't deviate too far from the character as established in the books, and you can't make him talk like either a Nancy-boy diplomat or a dumb brute.”

GameShark назвала The Witcher буквально “кращою CRPG з часів Baldur's Gate II” і поставила “A-”:
“This is hardly the first game that asks you to make choices. Bioware and others have been doing that for eons. But even games that did very well at it, most choices you make are obvious in terms of their good or evilness. The Witcher gives you far more to think about when answering most questions. Will you risk condemning an innocent man in a plot against you if you’re not completely positive of his guilt? Will you bargain with a cannibal because he has information that’s of use to you? One quest, early in the game, forces you to decide the fate of a witch. Both choices have consequences and it’s not entirely clear, even after the choice is made, which was about the greater good. One certainly feels like the right thing to do, but the body count that ensues… well, even that choice doesn’t feel good when all the ramifications of it are made clear. Not since Fallout has a game so skillfully made the choices a player makes both vague and important.”

DLA був більш стриманим, але всеж таки поставив 4.5/5:
“Well I have finished the game now. There are some issues which surface as the game moves on I would like to draw attention to.

This is compounded by a sub quest design in Act II that is so large that the main plotline is lost for a lot of players for a looooong time. Not a big deal - but worth mentioning.”

Michal Madej з CD Projekt дав інтерв΄ю сайту GameShark.

Частина:

Secondly, a large proportion of games tend to – simply through their construction – severely restrict their own ability to create the build-up before dramatic decisions are to be made. Moreover, and probably more significantly, players can save their progress before making the choice, verify whether its outcome is beneficial enough to pursue, and only then make the actual decision, depending on what proves most advantageous. Now tell me, where is the fun in that? We addressed the problem by introducing a certain time delay before the consequences of any decision become apparent. Only after a couple of hours of gameplay will the player have to confront the outcomes of his choices. As a result, the gamer will truly have to follow his own consciousness, as he increasingly empathizes with Geralt and his predicaments. Even more significantly, however, whatever choices are made, all are equally valid, as all make the plot progress. Moral dilemmas, therefore, need to be treated as a price to be paid for the attainment of results. The consequences of these choices will steadily keep building up throughout the plot. A point I would like to add is that players will always be made fully aware why they are where they are in the story, as special cut-scene “flashbacks” will be employed.