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Was The Witcher last year's best PC RPG because it was a surprisingly deep, graphically gorgeous and morally ambiguous sword-swinging adventure? Or did it merely win the prize by default because there was hardly a lick of competition? We can bemoan the state of PC gaming until the secret cow levels come home, but that doesn't change the fact that Polish developer CD Projekt made a damn good game. The game was so great, in fact, that they've dusted off their code, gussied it up with new animations and stuffed it into a new box with a buttload of extras. That's what The Witcher: Enhanced Edition is – a second chance to play one of the better big-ticket role-playing games catered towards the keyboard/mouse set in ages. And here's the kicker. If you already bought The Witcher all the stuff we're about to talk about comes free as a massive patch. Is that classy or what?

Have Chest Hair, Will Travel

The Witcher: Enhanced Edition follows the adventures of a bad-ass monster hunter named Geralt. With long white hair and leather duds he looks like the world's greatest Dethklok fan, but there's way more to the guy than metal threads and a Pantene Pro-V hairdo. Geralt of Rivia is like a medieval Clint Eastwood. He waltzes into town, worms his way into the local scene and plays warring factions against each other, milking as much profit and loot as he can from ever scenario. The game's main plot spans five chapters, providing hours upon hours of play. There's always a ton to do. Geralt can chase quests, crawl dungeons, gamble, fistfight, craft potions and butter up the local womenfolk with hopes of bedding them. Eventually every chapter culminates in a sort of moral decision. Geralt has to pick between one of two opposing sides – neither clearly in the right. Geralt's hair may be white, but his moral code is colored in shades of gray.

Sexy Ladies With Sexy Problems

Two brief new chapters in Geralt's story come bundled with The Witcher: Enhanced Edition. They're both framed as stories told by the wandering minstrel Dandelion. "The Price of Neutrality" takes place before the events in The Witcher's main story. Geralt and his fellow witchers at Kaer Morhen find themselves in the middle of a dispute between a violent princess and the vengeance-driven sorceress who wants her dead. Neither dames are all that likable. But, as usual, Geralt has to suss out which party he's going to back. In "Side Effects" Geralt returns to the gritty gated city of Vizima, where he has to game the local underworld's economy and raise dough before local loan sharks feed Dandelion to their hungry wyverns. "The Price of Neutrality" starts Geralt off with a handful of levels and talent points to distribute. But "Side Effects" forces the player to make a couple of early decisions that'll determine the way they play the rest rest of their adventure – it's a clever trick that quickly steers Geralt towards diverse money-making approaches. Choose wisely.

What You Say?

There are tons of tweaks in The Witcher: Enhanced Edition, including some subtle graphical flourishes and much needed reduction of load times. The most welcome updates are the language options. The game's original English translation was terrible. Much of the dialog has been re-recorded, but let's be honest, voice acting in games is usually barely passable to begin with. That's why the new language options are so welcome. The Witcher: Enhanced Edition is best played in its original Polish with English subtitles. There's nothing like a language barrier to hide stiff acting. Otherwise the game remains unchanged. It's a sprawling fifty-hour adventure, rife with monster slaying, bawdy language and tons of loot to scrounge. Some may bristle at the game's limited camera options – rather than allow the player full control of placement the game limits them to a handful of views. Perhaps the biggest disappointment is that the game is still censored in the U.S. -- those sexy cards that Geralt gains every time he woos a wench are altered to hide naughty bits. Maybe someday the boobs at the ESRB will get over their Puritanical fears and allow M-rated games to flaunt some boobs of their own. Until then we'll have to settle for a white-washed version of The Witcher: Enhanced Edition – a fairly awesome game, with our without bare breasts. Man, life is tough.

Review by: Gus Mastrapa