My history with The Witcher was the video games first (1,2,3 right in order), then the show on Netflix, and now finally the first book. Here are some thoughts on the experience.
When I first watched the show version of The Witcher on Netflix the first season was difficult to follow as far as a storyline. Still it was an amazing show with near perfect casting, great acting, and the gritty feel of the video games. I can imagine no other actor than Henry Cavill as Geralt to which the author, Andrzej Sapkowski, agrees.
“I was more than happy with Henry Cavill’s appearance as The Witcher.” The novelist added, “He’s a real professional. Just as Viggo Mortensen gave his face to Aragorn [in The Lord of the Rings], so Henry gave his to Geralt — and it shall be forever so.”
Having read the first book, The Last Wish, I realized how faithful the show's first season was. Reading the book helped me better understand the narrative arc and what it was trying to convey. Which then helps set up the story in season 2 and now I'm hooked even more into the world. I am not sure I will read much more of the series, but man I can't wait for season 3 of the show and hopeful for many seasons beyond.
This has also brought me back to remember my times in the video games. I will admit the story lines of the games is not fresh in my mind, but I feel like parts of the games fit together better. It's actually surprising how the games, show, and books really fit together. Again, Henry Cavill just nails it as Geralt and when I drop back into any of The Witcher games he is who I see in Geralt. Visually as well the world has consistency across mediums. Specifically the Nilfgaardians are spot on from book to game to show. Amazing work by all the teams involved.
It's fun getting to see properties like this take off and have success in the main entertainment areas I have interest in. I hope The Witcher sets a blue print for others to follow.
I am going to be doing some housekeeping on the blog. As I strive to hit my goal of "a post a day" I want to get the blog looking a little better for all one of the readers out there.
Call of the Wild: The Angler launched last week and I've gotten a few hours to put into it. I shared my pre-launch thoughts here so I wanted to follow up on how the game shaped up.
The first item I was interested in was the open world aspect of the game. I've enjoyed my time exploring the world and finding different fishing spots. The driving and boats are a bit like driving a hammer in a swimming pool, but they are better than hoofing it out on foot. There is a good bit to do beyond fishing and for anyone looking to get a pot of money to start out with doing the "Golden Tour" quests around the map is a great way to get starting cash.
I mentioned a "proven track record" for the developer in my first post and I feel the game has launched in a good state. There are no major bugs and stability + performance has been good for me. Scanning the forums, discord, and Reddit there has not been an uproar of issue reports so I take that as a good sign.
Now, there is the other side of the track record, which is "is the game fun/challenging?". That is a little more of a "jury is still out" situation. There are some things that were done in theHunter Call of the Wild (Expansive Worlds last major game) that would be perfect fits for Angler, but for some reason were not part of the base game.
The first major gap is the lack of a skill/perk progression system. The only progression, and I hesitate to call it progression, is earning cash and buying heavier gear. Once you have that heavier gear you can catch anything with it which means you plateau pretty quickly. A skill/perk system that unlocks better rods/reels/fishing methods along with "knowledge" type skills would go a longs way to improving the game.
The second major gap, which dove tails with my comments about heavier gear being a plateau, is the lack of a "harvest check" equivalent system. For anyone that played theHunter the harvest check system served as a way to ensure you used the proper equipment when hunting different animals. You could not earn a diamond trophy rating by blowing away a turkey with an elephant gun. Oddly there is no such check in the Angler; if you catch a blue gill on 50lb braid and a heavy rod/reel and its a diamond ... it's a diamond rating. Since you can see the fish in the water this makes catching the diamonds trivial.
For comparison; after casually playing theHunter for close to a year I've yet to bag a diamond kill. I came close a couple times with diamond-eligible targets but missed my shots or in one sad case used the wrong caliber weapon. In the first hour of Angler I caught multiple diamond fish and to be honest they felt no different than any other fish.
I still have confidence in Expansive Worlds to improve this game but there are some head scratchers on design decisions for the game thus far.
I was also excited to give multiplayer a go, but its implementation is buggy and also in the "head scratchers" category of design choices. Multiplayer is on by default so you are always put into a multiplayer match unless you turn the setting off (which you have to do every session). Joining a friend is difficult because they are always getting set to a full map with everyone being defaulted to multiplayer. This system makes no sense and a game like this should NEVER default to multiplayer = on. I should be able to create lobbies that are public, private, or friends only. The developers have acknowledged the issues so I am hopeful for quick resolution to the issues.
Over all I am having fun with the game. It is a relax and chill style game. The fishing doesn't require a ton of skill, which I assume they will address longer term, but its enough fun for me to log on and catch some fish every day. With the lack of a progression system it's hard to see a long term investment so I'd weight that as a key priority for them. Anyone looking for an arcade like fishing experience with a side of open world exploration this a game worth giving a try. If you are looking for a full fledged fishing game then I'd hold off until they make some improvements.
I miss blogging. Kids arrived and blogging was kicked to the curb. But I can do this. I can do a post a day. Time to get some thoughts out; whether just something I experienced in a game or a quick reference guide to something.
We are on the precipice of Call of the Wild: The Angler launching tomorrow (8/31). I've been waiting a long time for a solid fishing game on PC and I am excited for this launch. Here is what has me excited (and a couple things I am hoping will be adjusted in future patches based on community feedback). I'd recommend watching the game play reveal trailer first.
What has me excited?
Open world fishing game. Instead of being plopped on a shoreline or in a boat somewhere the game will place the player in an open world full of not only places to fish but also other areas to explore and side quests to go on. While I am here for the fishing it is good to know there is a world to go along with it. Bonus: the map looks amazing and much larger than I anticipated; areas like an abandoned mining town look amazing to fish in and around!
Proven track record. The developer, Expansive Worlds, has a solid track record with theHunter: Call of the Wild. If Angler follows along the lines of theHunter then I expect a solid stream of content coming to the game. Yes, that means I expect to pay for additions but in today's market it is something to be expected. I never felt theHunter's model of add on content was predatory and I've been happy to pay for the content that interested me (and in some cases paying for convenience).
The fish exist in the world. Many fishing games don't have any actual fish in them; the fish *poof* into existence when they are caught. In Angler the fish spawn and are visible in the world allowing for players to target them and see them interact with lures and bait. This is powered by a complex spawning system that takes several factors into account on determining what fish is where. Once there you can see and target the fish (of course in deeper water you won't see the fish).
Multiplayer. Up to 12 fisherplayers can be in a single map. Assuming it works like theHunter it will be simple to host other players or join other players sessions. I look forward to playing with my oldest son.
What needs to improve?
Admittedly I haven't played the game so I am basing this off live streams and early access content creators, but there are a couple big items I am hoping will change early in the games life cycle.
Strike indicator. When a fish strikes your lure there is a large yellow "STRIKE" banner on the screen. This is fine for the tutorial and for those that want it, but I'd prefer the ability to turn it off. I want to key off rod, line, or other feedback from the game to know there is a strike.
Clunky cut scene when catching a fish. When a fish is caught, instead of the fisherman bending over or netting the fish, instead the game cuts to a scene of them holding the fish. I'd much prefer to see the fisherman get the fish out of the water and have a screen more like theHunter's harvest screen with details about the catch.
What should they add?
I can't leave the post without a small wish list of content I'd like to see them add. For anyone that has played theHunter you know that the community's feedback will be key to what gets added.
Fish finder... of course! There are already boats so this is a no-brainer to add. Also would like to see versions added that can be used from the shore.
Fishing kayaks. The hot trend in real life fishing are 'yaks (aka fishing kayaks). Fishing kayaks are the ultimate customizable fishing apparatus (way more so than bass boats in my opinion) so are a perfect opportunity to enhance the game and offer an array of customization for players to add and show off in multiplayer.
Tournaments. Not sure if this was already a thing or not, but if its not... I want to be able to host a tournament that is enforced by the game.
