The video game awards kicked off at
9 pm ET on December 03, 2015 and ended with the Witcher 3 taking home the big
prize of the night, the much sought after Game of the Year award. Many were
upset with the fact that the Witcher 3 beat Fallout 4 for game of the year, and
therefore ruining Bethesda’s long running Game of the year award winning streak,
spanning to 2002 that started with the Elder scrolls 3: Morrowind.
However, this year there were some
key elements that allowed the Witcher to topple the big giant and win game of
the year. In previous years, Bethesda was ahead of the race by releasing their
biggest titles in key stages of the previous generation of gaming. By doing so,
Bethesda set the bar for what a true next generation game should be like.
Bethesda started in 2002 with Elder Scrolls 3 at the dawn of generation 6, and
again with the Elder Scrolls 4 at the dawn of generation 7. Releasing titles
early allowed them to gain grown on the competition, and put them years ahead
in terms of visuals and graphics. Finally, the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was
released 2011, around the end of the previous generation. This gave Bethesda
the closing statement of the argument and as previously mentioned, set the bar
for the current generation of gaming. All of these games won Game of the Year
by setting the bar exceptionally high as to how a real open world RPG should
play.
This was not the case this year
when CD Projekt RED released the Witcher 3 at the dawn of generation 8, months
before Fallout 4, and therefore setting the bar for the next generation of open
world RPG’s. For the first time in a very long time, Bethesda saw themselves
competing, instead of leading the way. Also, Fallout 4 released only a few
weeks before the awards took place, giving gamers and critics alike little time
to play the game, while most people waited until Christmas day to even play the
game itself.
This is not to say that the Witcher
did not deserve the win. The Witcher 3 was a beautifully done and well
organized. It boasted one of the most powerful visual generators of the current
generation of gaming. When visually necessary, the Witcher 3 is capable of
reaching up to 1080P resolution and 60 FPS for the Xbox One, PS4, and PC. CD Projekt RED outdid their previous work
with the Witcher 3, making the game over 30 times larger than any of the
previous Witcher titles, and according to GameSpot, the Witcher 3 is 20% larger
than the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The Witcher 3 also features dynamic
weathering and lighting, as well as advanced artificial intelligence.
From the very beginning the game
was engaging, and soon the player found themselves with an entire continent to
explore. CD Projekt RED aimed to include roughly 100 hours of total gameplay,
being divided evenly between side quests/ Witcher contracts, and main quest
story line. The game also maintains the player informed as to what’s going on
in a particular instance in the story line, and at no point does the player
find themselves with not knowing where they left off once they pick the game
back up. The quests are well organized in order to maintain a sense of
structure in gameplay. As mentioned, the game included the main quest, which
guided the player through the storyline, the side quests that helped advance
the main quest and helped get allies, Witcher contracts that earned money, rare
items, and experience points, and finally the treasure hunts, which gave access
to Witcher gear, considered to be the best gear in the game.
The Witcher 3 did a tremendous job
at storytelling and finishing the story of The Witcher Geralt of Rivia. Its
landscapes are mesmerizing, and the monsters are fearsome. If you have yet to
play the Witcher, NerdSplash highly recommends you to grab yourself a copy, you
will not be disappointed.
