Alas I didn't really get involved with the story.Ausdoerrt said:
I tend to evaluate a game primarily, sometimes exclusively, on the gameplay. As you yourself stated, the battles weren't amazing.
To me the game mechanics are everything, and the story is the icing on the cake. That's not to say I don't enjoy a great story. I'm forcing myself to replay PST, ignoring the combat, to see how the story ends.
But give me great, absorbing gameplay any day.
Although I am a bit of a strategy nerd, it has to be said
My fave games include: XCom 1 & 2, Battle Isle 2 & 3, Front Mission 3, C&C 1.But I also loved Quake, HL 1 & 2, even enjoyed Quake 4!! Of course Deus Ex and System Shock 2. Quality games, with decent stories too!
On the RPG side, I've enjoyed BG1 and later BG2 (tho I think 1 was the more focused game). Naturally FO1 & 2, tho I won't say they're my favourites. And of course FF8, 9, 10 (8 being my favourite - again, for depth of gameplay options, but also the characters were good and the story was zany and fun).
But I really don't like any game with mediocre gameplay. Any game which doesn't really make me appreciate the depth of its game mechanics is never going to impress me.
So Witcher might have a great story, but I couldn't drag myself through what I considered to be fairly bland game mechanics. I remember alchemy being OK, not brilliant. It was similar to Oblivion. I found it no more engaging than pressing buttons in a spreadsheet, truth be told.
Oh, and Portal was great too.
/end ramble.
