During this spring's CD-Projekt Conference we were able to sit down with Tomasz Gop, senior producer for The Witcher 2 at CDPR, to talk in detail about some of the intricacies of the Witcher 2. There's just a few weeks left till release, made all the (bitter-)sweeter owing to our exclusive Pre-release Interview!
Two new previews today, starting with Kotaku's brief summary of the title for those perhaps just learning about the Witcher franchise. They also give a few important reasons for which you shouldn't miss out on the experience:
Geralt is a grade-A bada**. He’s an action movie hero for the fantasy set, utilising magic, swordsmanship, and a little alchemical know-how to battle the evils that plague the land. It’s a combination that’s worked well for Geralt, known far and wide as someone you probably shouldn’t f*** with. (...) when you get right down to it, the excellent voice acting, witty writing, and all of the bells and whistles packed into CD Projekt’s custom-built game engine are simply filler, things to admire when you aren’t busy diving headfirst into the game’s deep, satisfying combat system.
Another, longer and more detailed preview comes from Eurogamer, who analyze the game in terms of what they've seen in their preview build (Prologue + Chapter 1):
Characters are robust and distinctive, high-tech and careful design working in harmony. If you've thought, even for a second, that 'Polish' must mean 'cheap', you've got it all wrong. This looks nothing short of spectacular, whether it's facing off against vast monsters such as dragons and kraken or simply wandering a forest at sunset and cooing at the pretty lighting.
Then they note the complex issues dealt with in a maturer way than most games:
Back in town, matters are perhaps a little less traditional. The Witcher is not a family-friendly game, to say the least. It is proud of its maturity, and that means its characters sport thoroughly uncensored language, a prevalence for sex, violence and ugly prejudice and the active encouragement of such things in Geralt.
And yeah, that includes the sexuality of the game too:
The softcore humping shown is fully animated and lavishly 'shot', perhaps a little more convincing and lot more naked than the Dragon Age efforts, but we're not entirely out of Team America's woods yet. A little schlong might go a long way to offsetting the game's fondness for lingering looks at gravity-defying breasts, but the game's clear interest is in being taken seriously as a smart game for smart adults, not in crudely yelling "get 'em out for the lads".
Today, CD-Projekt RED have announced that the Witcher 2 has entered production and gone gold. Here's the press release they sent over earlier today:
CD Projekt Red is pleased and proud to announce that The Witcher 2 has gone gold. Both the Premium Edition and the prized Collector’s Edition are now in production. In collaboration with our publishing and distribution partners, the game will be available for purchase on May 17.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is the eagerly awaited sequel to the award-winning, million-selling RPG that captured the imaginations of discerning players everywhere. It introduced a truly unique protagonist, the professional slayer of monsters, Geralt of Rivia, and defined a new standard for thought-provoking, non-linear game narration, with mature themes, significant choices that weren’t automatically good or bad, and true decisions that led to meaningfully different consequences.
While discussing the latest Strategy Informer's preview of the Witcher 2, GameBanshee's own BuckGB provided his own private mini-preview (with a fuller one on the way), detailing his opinion of game's combat, environments and level of detail. He says,
With Dragon Age II's recycled environs fresh in my mind, I've simply been blown away by the diversity in The Witcher 2's locations. There is nothing being reused, here - every single building and residence that you enter has a unique layout, every single tree, vine, and blade of grass in the wilderness looks different, and every single landmark you come across is hand-crafted and placed there for a reason.
The combat system, according to BuckGB, is still a bit time-based. This is both good and bad - good when facing a single opponent (who can then be crushed by the relentless onslaught of hits), bad when facing multiple opponents (who can interrupt any type of sequence and try flanking):
Getting your fast (generally light damage) and slow (generally heavy damage) attacks chained together is all about timing, and it looks very cool when you manage to pull off a streak of attacks properly because Geralt carries them out with style (spinning, rolling, and maneuvering between monsters along the way). If you misclick once, though, Geralt completely stops moving and will likely be hit in the second or two delay before you can start a new combo. (...) However, if you fight a couple of opponents at once, your attacks will constantly get interrupted when you get hit by the opponent you're not focusing on at the moment. And fighting three or more opponents in the same vicinity just leads to a quick death - you will likely never get an attack off and your vitality will drop to zero in about three seconds (on normal difficulty, anyway).
Check the comments page at GameBanshee for more direct impressions on the Witcher 2, or drop by StrategyInformer for a full hands-on preview!
We've had a bit of a back-log during the Easter holidays, with a few previews cropping up in the meantime, and a few going unnoticed even before that. One pretty informative preview comes from RPGSite. Here's what they're saying about the game overall:
The Witcher 2 certainly looks to be hitting all the right notes and settings itself up to exceed fans' expectations of what a fantasy game is capable of delivering in terms of production value and sheer spectacle of gameplay when it comes out next month. I implore anyone who is even remotely interested in the genre to give it a try, because for all intents and purposes, this looks to be an early contender for our Game of the Year.
GameTrailers have a brand-new video showing combat in the Witcher 2, narrated by Tomasz Gop. Some interesting scenes are shown there, and Tomek reveals a few interesting tidbits about the game's strategies and tactics. Watch the video below or back at GT!
IGN have posted a video preview of the Witcher 2, having played a bit of its preview copy. If you can forgive the previewer such lapses as calling the White Wolf "Jeralt" instead of Geralt and claiming that the game plays like a hack-and-slash, watch the video below!
Dev diary no.5 has been released today, this time it's all about character development and items. In particular, different paths to creating your own Witcher are discussed. Mutagens' role is finally spelled out clearly, devs also highlight different item types (for instance, bombs) and how they function in the game. Watch the video below or download it here
Italian gaming portal SpazioGames have posted a brand-new video preview (in Italian) using a mixture of old and new footage, some of which they have captured directly from their preview copy of the game. There're some interesting sights to behold -- you can watch the video at SpazioGames or download it directly here.
RipTen have recenty posted a mega gallery containing 150 screenshots made throughout the part of the game available in the press preview copy. What sets it apart from the other recently posted galleries is that all screens were made at Ultra quality settings (the highest) at Full-HD resolution. The game looks breathtaking, to say the least!
Check out the full ultra-quality HD gallery at RipTen!
Last week we were at the CD-Projekt Spring Conference in Warsaw and we can start showing you some of the materials we got there. First up: a few general combat/exploration videos covering the previously not seen places and enemies. Check out a short video (first of several to come) that shows Drowners, Drowned Dead and Scoia'tael fighters (including a very unlucky Vivaldi family member). You can watch it below or download it here!
Swedish gaming portal Skillpoint.se have gotten a preview copy of the game a while ago and captured quite a few screenshots while playing. Check some of the selected images below!
Dev diary no.4 has been released quite a while ago, but we seemed to have overlooked it. Well, here it is - it's all about locations. You can see how Vergen architecture reflects the original dwarven sensibilities and learn some interesting exploration tips that may come in handy when the game is released. Watch the vid below (this time in English)!
CD-Projekt Spring Conference is over, and we were there to ask devs a few questions. While we wait for our exclusive interviews to arrive, take a look at the presentation that took place during the conference below!
CDPR have just sent over a batch of 10 new HD-rez screenshots featuring various in-game scenes taken straight from the game (with HUD turned off during gameplay and from cutscenes). Check them out below!
Fresh off the back of Witcher2Game.com (a Witcher-2-related blog that recently published skill tree screenshots they received from CDPR), PCGames.de went all out and published the whole list of all skills in the Witcher 2, along with their basic effects and some other infos. Skills are divided into four categories and (like in W1) they can be upgraded via Talents in linked fashion depending on previous investments and Talent quality (probably, not certain yet). Since the level cap is now known (level 35), investing into several trees at once is not recommended - as mentioned many times before, you'll be able to become a master swordsman, alchemist or magic-intensive witcher, but you likely won't be able to excel at all those paths at once.
Training is the universal skill tree whereby at least 6 talents need to be spent before you can move on to specialized development. Abilities such as in/out of combat energy/vigor regeneration, throwing daggers, deflecting arrows and parrying attacks from behind or around Geralt are found in the tree. You can also increase Vitality.
Sword Mastery is the first specialization available, the one that should be invested if you want to become a superhuman swordsman. It includes such combat-context abilities as backstabbing, counterattack, whirlwind, or enhanced dodge. In addition, with adrenaline bar (which like in other games fills while fighting) full Geralt will be able to unleash furious group finishers, killing many opponents at once, or become a tank-like warrior resistant to hits, able to dish out a lot more damage to opponents in melee.
Alchemy is another specialization, which allows focusing on brewing herbal and monster-part-based potions to a much greater effect. Not only do you have special passive skills that increase the amount of ingredients you harvest in terrain, but it allows to reduce potion poisoning (thus making it possible to fight while having more buffs running at once) or even use extensive poisoning to Geralt's advantage, channeling poison into hits. Adrenaline-related abilities allow to become much more resilient to enemy hits and also dish out more poisonous (?) damage to foes.
Signs is the final specialization path, the one that deals with innate Witcher magic of Signs. In it, Geralt will learn to deal more damage with all signs, subdue more foes at once with Axii, or create terrain-interactive magic traps by linking multiple Yrden traps into trapping fields, or even increase physical impact of Aard and area of effect of Igni. There's more to the path than that though, as Heliotrope (the elusive sixth sign) is mentioned as an adrenaline-activated passive bonus that increases (magical?) resistance. Final talents allow each Sign to also generate adrenaline, meaning Geralt can basically rely on Signs alone to fuel his anger and hence overall combat ability.
Read more about the skill trees back at PCGames.de!
Eurogamer.cz have just posted a fine collection of in-game screens from the preview version of the Witcher 2. A few intriguing spoilers have been revealed, and even more questions raised in turn. Check the gallery back at Eurogamer.cz or see some of the screens below!
Gamereport.de have recently posted an off-screen press gameplay session lasting well over 10 minutes. It features the very beginning of the game, starting with Geralt running away from a pursuit and being captured - not by baroness La Vallette, as we've previously seen, but by Temerian forces (!). This is how the framed narrative of the Witcher 2 is being set up, with Geralt being interrogated by Vernon Roche (of all people) as to the events that led to some event (disaster, perhaps?). In the video (watch it below), Geralt then reminisces about what he did; he led the charge with King Foltest and his men on rebellious La Vallette's castle. During the battle, besieged enemies bar themselves in a heavily fortified spot. Geralt has to defeat a few grunts then use the field ballista conveniently located nearby, in order to fire it away at the fortification, thus clearing the route for the Temerians. (You can also see some of the Prologue gameplay in Polish at Tvgry.pl).
Today, CD-Projekt RED have officially announced this year's Spring Conference. Just like the last year's event, in a week the journalists and fans from around the globe will meet in Warsaw to hear the latest regarding CDP, but also, more to the point, in regard to the Witcher 2. Tomasz Gop will be the keynote speaker this time, and the topics covered will include performance issues, RED engine details, importing savegames from W1 and much more. Here's what's on the docket, according to the press release:
The event will cover following topics:
Minimum and recommended system requirements, as well as their effect on the game’s performance,
Differences in specific language versions and censorship,
Copy protection will be talked about in greater detail,
Importing save-game data from the first part of The Witcher,
REDengine details,
And many more.
Since not all of you might possibly be able to actually travel to Warsaw to be there, CDPR also promise to broadcast the English-speaking part of the conference live via their Facebook page and the official site. The event will take place on April 14, 2011, in Warsaw.
Fresh from CDPR, here's the latest batch of 10 in-game screens in HD quality, showing some previously unseen locations and fights. Enjoy!
Note the presence of Sheldon Skaggs, Mahakam Volunteer Army officer, in one of the pictures above... also check out Dethmold's presence in Kaedwenian king's field war council, and how Geralt is restrained by Nilfgaardian soldiers in presence of Nilfgaard's ambassador in Redania (Shilard).
The Witcher Vault
