The Witcher Megathread

[ESCUDO]

[img]http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/6403/thewitcherlogo.png[/img]
The world of The Witcher that you’ll traverse as Geralt can hardly be called a pleasant place. On your voyage, expect reality to hit hard through many an example of human nature’s dark side. Forgiveness is entirely lacking from the world and good cannot triumph, as all attempts at defining these have failed. The things that come easy are blood, brutality, and slaps in the face.

Gradually but consistently you’ll forge your place in the surrounding reality. Most importantly, stick to your objectives, don’t get killed and make enough coin to keep your stomach from grumbling when it’s time to rest. Just two problems – the world will surprise you at every step and yank you into new schemes, which hardly means smooth sailing for creatures like the witcher you are.

[img]http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/2521/tw2logoen.png[/img]
The second instalment in the RPG saga about the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, features a thoroughly engrossing, mature storyline defining new standards for thought-provoking, non-linear game narration. In addition to an epic story, the game features an original, brutal combat system that uniquely combines tactical elements with dynamic action.

A new, modern game engine, responsible both for beautiful visuals and sophisticated game mechanics puts players in the most lively and believable world ever created in an RPG game. A captivating story, dynamic combat system, beautiful graphics, and everything else that made the original Witcher such a great game are now executed in a much more advanced and sophisticated way.

[img]http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/4564/witcher21.jpg[/img]
Full res: [url]http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/4564/witcher21.jpg[/url]
[img]http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/3869/witcher24.jpg[/img]
Full res: [url]http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/3869/witcher24.jpg[/url]
[img]http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/2075/witcher23.jpg[/img]
Full res: [url]http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/2075/witcher23.jpg[/url]
[img]http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/1448/witcher25.jpg[/img]
Full res: [url]http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/1448/witcher25.jpg[/url]
[img]http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/6707/witcher22.jpg[/img]
Full res: [url]http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/6707/witcher22.jpg[/url]
[img]http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/8336/witcher26.jpg[/img]
Full res: [url]http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/8336/witcher26.jpg[/url]

[b]HERO[/b]

You are a mutant, my friend, the faster you come to terms with this truth, the better it will be for you. You will quickly learn to take what is offered and disappear when your presence is no longer desired. You are without question, unique. Yet this is exactly the factor that puts you in the same precarious position as non-humans who tend to find themselves impaled or hanging from nearby trees. For it is their simple existence that triggers the resentment, animosity, and hatred from common folk – any pretext is a good pretext to show them their proper place. How is it then that Witchers, while equally non-human and different to common people, do not share the fate of these poor devils? The answer to this is twofold.
First, there are relatively few Witchers that still walk this earth. Statistically speaking, therefore, you are far more likely to encounter an elf than a Witcher, such as yourself. And second, you possess a couple of rather forceful arguments: a solid sword and a simple set of life rules.

The blades you carry are your lifelines. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that your ability to wield them appropriately when dealing damage to your adversaries makes each and every of your challengers re-assess their life-chances twice before engaging in combat with you. However, your superior fighting abilities have not made you arrogant. You do not simply revert to force when no such reversion is needed. When there is still a possibility of conflict resolution – even using extreme measures – you do not tempt fate and wish yourself a shorter life; instead you sheath your sword. Yet make no mistake, you will be unrelenting and without remorse once the decision to engage has come. Ultimately, however, you are no saint and you do not care to save the world – you simply want to survive, whilst remaining true to your profession.

[b]Developer(s)[/b] CD Projekt RED STUDIO
[b]Platform(s)[/b] Microsoft Windows
[b]Release Date:[/b]
- [u]Original[/u]
* RU October 24, 2007
* EU October 26, 2007
* NA October 30, 2007

- [u]Enhanced Edition[/u]
* NA September 16, 2008
* EU September 19, 2008
* AUS October 2, 2008

- [u]Witcher 2:[/u]
* May 17, 2011

[b]Official Website:[/b] [url=http://en.thewitcher.com/the-witcher/1/]Witcher[/url] | [url=http://en.thewitcher.com/the-witcher/2/]Witcher 2[/url]

[url=http://www.facebook.com/thewitcher][img]http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/2373/facebookcfm.png[/img][/url]

[url=http://twitter.com/witchergame][img]http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/3396/twti.png[/img][/url]

[Riutet]

Let's just hope it doesn't turn into a Witcher vs Dragon Age thing, every Witcher thread everywhere eventually does. D:

[markfu]

I don't get why there's animosity between them. Game consoles fanboyism, while still silly, is more valid since some platforms get exclusives, bonus deals, etc. But these are games. And not even multiplayer games at that. Can't they just not buy it instead of ragging on them for no reason? Shit neither of them are even out yet.

Anyways in relation to the Witcher. Although the Witcher 1 doesn't run on my computer (stupid thing only reads my integrated card rather than my 330m and says I don't reach the minimum requirements) I am interested in the Witcher 2. Looks pretty spiffy from what I can tell and these types of rpgs are usually fun. As long as they don't have the same system req. check that they had in the first one I'm probably going to pick it up.

Also their digital premium bonus is insane. Wish more companies did that.

[digitalforce]

I will never understand the appeal to the Dragon Age series instead of the Witcher series. Dragon Age was like a mix of diamonds and shards of glass. There were some amazing voices and scenarios but a lot of areas and levels looked like something out of a 8 year old game. Witcher, was top notch in all respect but didn't get a lot of love.

Either way, looking at the screenshots of Dragon Age 2, it looks like more of the same where Witcher is crafted by a European company that puts a lot of love, detail and attention into their games.

Regardless, if you enjoyed Dragon Age, GREAT, but I would definitely recommend Witcher 2. I can't wait for a polished RPG on my PC to play.. they are so rare nowadays.

[antary]

[QUOTE=digitalforce;28071561]I will never understand the appeal to the Dragon Age series instead of the Witcher series. Dragon Age was like a mix of diamonds and shards of glass. There were some amazing voices and scenarios but a lot of areas and levels looked like something out of a 8 year old game. Witcher, was top notch in all respect but didn't get a lot of love.

Either way, looking at the screenshots of Dragon Age 2, it looks like more of the same where Witcher is crafted by a European company that puts a lot of love, detail and attention into their games.

Regardless, if you enjoyed Dragon Age, GREAT, but I would definitely recommend Witcher 2. I can't wait for a polished RPG on my PC to play.. they are so rare nowadays.[/QUOTE]

You`re itching to start something aren`t you.

[digitalforce]

No, sorry I didn't word it better but I guess I just don't understand the comparison to Dragon Age. They really are two totally different games created by completely different mindsets.

[Dudder]

I really like how there's no real completely black-and-white good or bad choices in the game. Not enough games do this.

[digitalforce]

I agree with this 100% -- There were moments in Witcher that I just had no clue what to do. The witch in the first village? Classic.

[ESCUDO]

Everytime i see new screens of this game, it makes me sure that this is the next gen RPG. However that's my opinion, anyway here are the new full 1080p screens.

[img_thumb]http://static.videogame.it/img/t/the-witcher-2/the-witcher-2_rdgxe.jpg[/img_thumb]
[img_thumb]http://static.videogame.it/img/t/the-witcher-2/the-witcher-2_smhft.jpg[/img_thumb]
[img_thumb]http://static.videogame.it/img/t/the-witcher-2/the-witcher-2_7baps.jpg[/img_thumb]
[img_thumb]http://static.videogame.it/img/t/the-witcher-2/the-witcher-2_heub1.jpg[/img_thumb]
[img_thumb]http://static.videogame.it/img/t/the-witcher-2/the-witcher-2_8qfu4.jpg[/img_thumb]

[junker|154]

I hope this one is better, I always were interested in the first Witcher. I had some real fun but after a while it gets terribly boring. I reached those swamps and after that I had no interest as I had no clue what to do. Besides that the cards from the women are so damn cheesy, it lowers the level of the game.

[cjone2]

New graphics card for this game I think really looking forwards to this

[Killuah]

I am looking forward to the second.

I hope the story-telling gets a bit better and sometimes I didn't know when a quest couldn't be solved until you did all the others, that was annoying.

But I love it.

[Pinut]

I just hope the 2nd doesn't take an awful lot of time to get going, I really felt like the first didn't pick up till Act 3.

[ESCUDO]

[QUOTE=Pinut;28128976]I just hope the 2nd doesn't take an awful lot of time to get going, I really felt like the first didn't pick up till Act 3.[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately i didn't even had that chance lol, i got bored soon after that awful green dog at the start, the part i got bored was where there's a small village with church and a priest, if i remember correctly. I have a lot of games i don't finish and some i didn't even tried. I blame Steam sales. :p

[OutOfExile2]

You owe it to yourself to get past that part, the quality just keeps going up as you progress. I watched all the Witcher 2 dev diaries recently, it's great how much thought and time they're putting into this. It really deserves more attention than it's getting.

[Nelth]

I wish you could be a pimp and have hookers working for you, and if somebody harasses your girls you go and beat them up.

[OutOfExile2]

You practically are a pimp, there's a whole quest where you save hookers in distress and get rewarded with sex

[Riutet]

Bunch of new images here.

[url]http://www.gameblog.fr/images/actu/news/20853/95843/TheWitcher2-AssassinsofKings_Multi_Editeur_040.html[/url]

[The_Marine]

TW1 was a truly amazing game that never really get the recognition that it deserved.
I can't wait for TW2, it looks incredible and it'll definitely help put the series on the radar for a lot of people.

[GetBent]

Most important question.

Will there be more sex cards? :pervert:

[Yarglae]

It'll be shit just like the boring taking forever too long learning curve original.

Plus no DRM=tons of illegal downloads.

[OutOfExile2]

lol you rate yourself agree

[Rautapalli]

[QUOTE=Yarglae;28171584]It'll be shit just like the boring taking forever too long learning curve original.

Plus no DRM=tons of illegal downloads.[/QUOTE]

The original had a long learning curve? :v:

And I doubt that it having no DRM will increase the illegal downloads, it would have been cracked in a day or two eitherway. It'll probably be the other way around, since the paying customers won't be annoyed with shitty DRM schemes.

[cjone2]

Heads up on a cheap price £22.98 [url]http://savygamer.co.uk/2011/03/11/the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings-premium-edition-pc-22-98/[/url] does involve buying one other thing so I guess that means you are stuck with this one if it gets reduced elseware

[Riutet]

Recent update:

New Geralt Look:
[img]http://i.cubeupload.com/IMHHyy.png[/img]

March 18th CDPR Witcher 2 Stream (6 parts):

Part 1:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sOhH5zsaII[/media]

Part 2:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONR3lRQeYgc[/media]

Part 3:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UavPAnTLAT4[/media]

Part 4:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQAGcCfdVhs[/media]

Part 5:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T06iuhKt1VY[/media]

Part 6:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl4uPGVHUS0[/media]

[editline]19th March 2011[/editline]

Oh, and may as well post these two, the pre-order bonus soundtrack songs:

Track 1:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgV9U7JhZOE[/media]

Track 2:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPJL0i1e39g[/media]

Track 3:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyP87YyFpTc[/media]

Track 4:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37XWKOcyoEk[/media]

Release is nearing Brotatos.

[Banned?]

I still need to beat the first one. I always got lost in side quests in the city.

[Riutet]

I actually kind of miss the old Geralt now.

[media]http://i.imgur.com/oRnur.jpg[/media]

Looked fine in my opinion.

[cjone2]

[QUOTE=Riutet;28704677]I actually kind of miss the old Geralt now.

[media]http://i.imgur.com/oRnur.jpg[/media]

Looked fine in my opinion.[/QUOTE]

Pretty much agree have to see the new one ingame though

[Xion21]

Just recently picked up the North American Enhanced Edition, I seriously love this game! So far, I'm in chapter III, nearly through it, level 22, with a focus on Silver styles, Aard, Igni, Axii, and Strength and Intelligence. The combat is so fun, and the animations are just beautiful, even the running looks natural and smooth, let alone the fighting stances and such. More developers need to put time into animations for characters, I'm looking at you Bethesda.

[KorJax]

[QUOTE=Xion21;28718375]Just recently picked up the North American Enhanced Edition, I seriously love this game! So far, I'm in chapter III, nearly through it, level 22, with a focus on Silver styles, Aard, Igni, Axii, and Strength and Intelligence. The combat is so fun, and the animations are just beautiful, even the running looks natural and smooth, let alone the fighting stances and such. More developers need to put time into animations for characters, I'm looking at you Bethesda.[/QUOTE]

But to be fair (from what I've played, which is up to exactly where you are at late Act 3) the pacing is extremely slow, the environment design is mostly uninspired and not very atmospheric/detailed, the non story-critical NPC's all look the same, and the entire game up to that point takes place in one of the ugliest, most visually repetitive RPG cities I've played in.

The combat system could really use work too. Creatures deal damage before their animations for example, and the fact that combat consists of you simply clicking once to initiate a combo that Geralt automatically does is rather uninteresting.

But it does have really nice animations, good character design (so far), excellent use of moral choice, etc. The story is also not generic which I really appreciate (even if it is extremely slow paced at the point of the game I am at).