If you have heard my ramblings on the EvilCast every week, you’ll know that I am a big of a fan of the Witcher series. The PC versions of the games have pushed the limits of what we expect from a hardcore RPG. Luckily, console gamers will soon be able to experience CD Projekt RED’s latest game, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings as it will soon be making its way to an Xbox 360 near you.
Our E3 demo on the 360 focused on a jail break scene early in the game. Geralt of Rivia was hanging from chains in his cell, accused of killing the king. After breaking out from his chains and taunting the guards so that when they open his cell, Geralt quickly racks up some murders that he could rightfully be accused of. After grabbing a sword, he begins his escape from the dungeon.
In an effort to show off how non-linear the game is, CD Projekt RED had two people playing through simultaneously. One played it sneaky, quietly incapacitating guards and snuffing out torches. The other ran in sword first and used magic to set enemies on fire. Based on the paths they took and the way they had previous interacted with characters, they each ran into someone else in the dungeon.
One was a young man who had himself escaped while being tortured. The other was a woman about to be burned by a prison guard with a hot iron and a grumpy disposition. After some quick conversation, Geralt went on and escaped with the other prisoner, either by stealth or by sword. We were assured that these were not the only two ways to escape the prison, and indeed on my playthrough on the PC, I had met someone completely different.
While the 360 version obviously won’t be matching with the visuals when running on a high end PC, it still looks damn good. It is a little rough around the edges and the draw distance didn’t seem quite far enough in the open environment at the end of the demo, but CD Projekt RED is working hard to make The Witcher 2 fit on the console and not just be a port. The combat system is no exception, and CD Projekt RED is working to make The Witcher 2 feel great with a controller as the main input device.
The 360 version will also be getting all of the free DLC and patches that the PC version will get, so don’t feel left out if you prefer gaming from your couch. It’s good to see this game coming to more players, so RPG fans should keep a close eye on this one. As a teaser CD Projekt Red mentioned that they would love to bring it to the PS3 as well, but they just didn’t have the resources to do it right now. Start sending some letters, Sony fans, because The Witcher 2 is not a game to miss.
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