Question about witcher 3

You don't need to play the prior games to understand what's going on in The Witcher 3. There are some details, in particular from TW2, and some returning characters, but nothing major.

Also, out of those, I would say TW3. I've not played all of them, but the Sherlock Holmes series is also very nice, but TW3 is amazing. Not flawless, mind you, but still (also, get the DLC, it's well worth it!)

I'd recommend to read the books and then play 1-3 in order. There a few differences between the books and the game and I enjoyed every part.

I would personally recommend the Witcher 3. If you don't have the witcher 1 and 2 you can see some story recaps on youtube (but it would be much more fun to actually play them). You don't need to know the story from witcher 1/2 to enjoy witcher 3, but you'll probably be confused about some things.
Why not suggest that your brother offers you Wicther 1 and witcher 2, and save witcher 3 for the summer sales or next x-mas?
Reading the books might help you understand the characters, but the story from the witcher games is a continuation from the books, so the books don't replace the first 2 games. :3

((If you have a really cool brother, he's asking what game you would prefer so that he doesn't offer you that specific one... that's what i would do to my little brother. ^.^ ))

I have played The Witcher 3 on PS4 and you definitely do not have to play the previous 2 games or read the books. Everything you need to know about the story so far will be explained. However, people who played the first 2 Witcher games will already know almost every character in the game, and the backstory between them and Geralt.
So if you have some spare time you can try out the first 2 games, or just read up on some recaps online.

I really recommend the Witcher 3 though. It's one of those games i wish i could start over like i never played it before.

Be greedy and get The Witcher 3 GOTY, the most expensive game in this list.
And probably the best game too.

If you like story, you'll be very pleased with Witcher 3. I think it's the clear choice for anyone who likes RPGs at all.

You don't have to play Witcher 1 & 2 first, and many people that bounced off those games loved 3, but I still recommend it. They're good games on their own, particularly if you value story. You can pick up both 1 & 2 for $4.50 on GOG right now.

you can play w3 without previous experience, but i assure you it will be x100 times better if you know what happened in witcher 1-2. also, seeing old characters come back with new stories feels amazing, it even gives you a bit of nostalgia ^^
both witcher 1 and 2 won't take you longer than a full playthrough of w3 combined.

Whilst Witcher 1-2 are both trash, Witcher 3 is really worth your while.

The Witcher 3!

Definitely get Witcher 3 with both expansions. You can get Witcher 2 also which is actually a nice game overall, Witcher 3 improves in every way on this one. I couldn't get myself though Witcher 1 even with a shit-load of mods, the combat is just terrible, bear that in mind.
For the other games, I have yet to play SOMA, but they're really nice games, but rather short and I didn't feel them as engaging as Witcher 3. So...you want a game that gets you to play 80+ hours at least? Get Witcher 3 ;D

I'd say out of that list you'll get the most out of The Witcher 3. I'll be devil's advocate here and say I felt incredibly lost playing the main story missions though, especially when I would encounter characters I didn't know but Geralt knew from previous titles. The game has a recap video that plays at the start of a new game, but to me it did not feel like enough. So if you do choose Witcher 3, try to find some sort of speed-through of the events of the first and second game. That or get information on the first game and just play Witcher 2 real quick, it's 3 dollars on steam right now and is 1000% more palatable than Witcher 1 and that hell dog boss.

Here is an idea: After you get TW3 just get The Witcher Trilogy Bundle from winter sale. First and second game have %85 discount plus you will have bundle discount :)

I have the Witcher 3, and never played 1 or 2. I love the Witcher 3, one of my most played games. :)

Nothing on that list even comes close to Witcher 3 so go with it.

Witcher 3 > Sherlock Holmes > L.A. Noire > SOMA

i didn't play soma yet but i would prefer soma over witcher 3.

i'm a sucker for rpg and i played fallout and skyrim for nights with neither break nor sleep.
but i just can't get into witcher 3. every time i fire it up i feel the boredom creeping up on me. i can't tell why but it feels so generic and unengaging. i can't play that for longer than one hour and then i need a break. it's not bad but i think it is getting too much hype. but maybe i'm still suffering from the pretty terrible witcher 2.