Both myself and Jim [Rossignol] have recently been exploring preview code for upcoming dirty fantasy RPG The Witcher 2, which comprised the first two sections of the game. We both found ourselves simpering away like tabloid newspapers at a royal wedding in response to it; we are cynical men by nature, but so far The Witcher 2 has defeated that. Jimâs preview is here, but itâs well worth distilling our experiences down to some of the gameâs most impressive aspects.
The Witcher 1 may have been a little bit divisive despite the generally fond sentiment towards it, but right now itâs looking as though the second game is exactly what the starving roleplaying hordes have been praying for. Here are just a few good reasons why weâre all a-quiverâand hopefully the full game holds yet more.
1. Geralt = Clint Eastwood (more Unforgiven-era than Rawhide-era). I wasnât sure about him in the first gameâhe seemed a mix of tortured hero stereotype and cocky lech, but heâs had a bit of a character redesign as well as a new face for the second game. Heâs still macho and self-assured, but resigned and battered, not too talkative, even a little bit torn about whatâs the right thing to do, rather than just a surly hard-nut with a mysterious past. He does a wee bit of wise-cracking, and heâs also prone to rolling eyes about other peopleâs fancy talks and stupid ideas. Rather than forever being âI am master of all I surveyâ, heâs got a vague air of âoh for Godâs sakes, not again.â
2. Almost every potion has a negative effect, in addition to the fact that drinking one briefly poisons you. What might add health reduces your magical energy, or vice-versa, while one that lets you see in the dark for a few minutes makes emerging into daylight a painful experience. Itâs chemical gambling, choosing what sacrifices you make in the name of success, rather than the dubiously neatânâperfect potions of fantasy tradition. You also canât down something in the middle of a fight (really, when does that ever happen in reality?), but instead have to prepare beforehand. You plan your fights rather than simply blindly react to adversity â and you may well get your pale arse kicked if you donât.
3. Itâs packed with Welshmen, and assorted other regional British accents. This suits the general low fantasy, colloquial air of the gameâthereâs not too much in the way of prissy, clipped Lord of the Rings tones, which makes it much more convincing. Although it must be said that the occasionally open American accent is a little jarringâGeralt is relatively restrained, but his on-off sex-partner Triss sounds entirely out of place.
4. Brute force will only get you so far. Youâll need specific tools to truly defeat specific monsters and quests. Nekker (tunneling zombie-goblin thingies) can be relatively easily dispatched with a sword, but theyâll keep on spawning from nests unless you find the right ingredients to construct the right bombs to finally close off those âorrible portals to the undergound. Giant spiders, meanwhile, will keep showing up in droves unless you find a way to lure out and murder their queens. Thatâs not an easy fight, but a slew of other traps (explosive, snappy, flamey, stunny) might just keep you alive if you have chance to set âem up before the big brute scuttles your wayâŚ
5. Dragons and krakens oh my⌠The game wastes no time in introducing you to really, really bigânâugly stuff that requires complex tactics to defeat. This isnât beating up kobolds in the woods, but a game of high stakes and high spectacle. And thatâs just the first chapterâthe later game is doubtless laden with new setpiece horrors.
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6. Granted this was introduced in the first game, but the dramatically improved writing and acting means itâs more convincingly explored this time around. Elves and dwarves arenât the charming, friendly chappies of this particular fantasy worldâtheyâre outsiders, looked upon by the governing humans with contempt at best and violent prejudice at worst. Fairly early on in the game, you need to make decisions about whether you sympathise with a group of bitter elves who are essentially terrorists, or side with a human governor whoâs working to protect his people but is openly racist in his attitudes. Itâs not easy. The elves (and to a lesser extent, so far, dwarves) are violently angry about their treatment, and righteously soâbut that means other lives are placed in danger. This is a morally complex world, with no easy answers.
7. Itâs astonishing to look atâdoubly so if your graphics card is up to Ultra settings, but even medium and high looks pretty spectacular. This is one of those all-too-rare games where the PCâs technological superiority over its console fun-box cousins simply canât be denied. Itâs designed to be a PC game, to make the very best of the PC, and it showsâfrom the remarkable amounts of detail on the characters (youâll wince at the scars and wounds on Geraltâs torso) to the rays of orange-yellow light through the dense forest at sunset and sunrise. The Witcher 2 may well be one of the best-looking games in history, and not purely on a technical level. In addition, the vast bulk of the world streams quietly in the background, mean you can wander across huge areas of beautiful landscape without encountering any loading screens. On that level, itâs been very strange to have played Witcher 2 preview code in the same week as I played Portal 2âŚ
8. The collection and construction of mega-loot is a proper and satisfying quest in itself. For instance, collecting a certain amount of Endraga jaws to build a powerful sword, or scouring local traders for rare materials to create a new set of armour. Itâs all done off your own back, in your own interest, not just because some near-motionless goon with a quest arrow has inexplicably demanded you collect 12 pig testicles for him. Itâs meaningful to you, not to a silent NPC.
9. Magic is woven into the fabric of this world, but again itâs not the noble, omnipotent, convenient splendour of other fantasies. Itâs small, simple, tactical, dirty and weird. A powerful mage casting a protection spell (which prettily transforms incoming arrows into butterflies) swiftly results in her collapsing seconds laterâhumans were not meant to wield such power. Geralt, meanwhile, has immediate access to around a half dozen spells which only ever enhance rather than replace his swordplay. A small gust of force might keep enemies at bay, a burst of flame could soften up a shielded guy enough to find an opening, or the mind-control spell might bewilder one of several attackers for long enough that you can get out of a pinch. Visually and effectively, these are small, simple tools to even the odds, not to dominate them. Itâs unusual to even see full-on magic in this world, let alone to wield itâand while Geralt can upgrade his powers significantly, heâs not going to be raining fire and summoning demons. This isnât the X-Men, this is a guy who clobbers stuff with a sword but has a few parlour tricks to help out.
10. Thereâs not too much signposting of sidequests. This isnât an artificial place waiting for you to turn up and fix all its problemsâitâs there anyway, doing its own thing, and you have to make it work for you. Get out there and explore, chat to people, nose at billboards, create your own story through the game. No big yellow arrows to denote quests here, just a big, subtle world to figure you way through.
11. Itâs a morally and politically complicated place, on a micro to a macro level. Is slaying a murderous troll under a bridge necessarily a good idea, given he could legitimately keep bad sorts from entering town if only you can talk him out of whatever blood-crazed doldrums heâs in? Is a king whoâs sired bastard children and embarked on arguably unnecessary wars a bad king, or does his general conviction and generosity make him a better ruler than most? Or is he just a man, and should be thought of as such? Thereâs an awful lot of politics in The Witcher 2; unfortunately some of it is near nonsensical to newcomers (a serious worry about the game is it presumes everyone has played and finished the original Witcher) but many fascinating bigger pictures emerge once you dig in. Its interest in dark politicking, wrestling with prejudice and grand conspiracy means itâs immediately a whole lot more interesting than the usual âwalk over there to save the worldâ claptrap.
12. Sword fighting is visceral and tactical. Itâs a mix of player skill and quick thinking and character skill (for instance, unlocking parrying skills and various extra attacks) rather than invisible dice rolls or the unusual timing mini-game of the first Witcher. Itâs genuinely an action game within an RPG, and doesnât seem to have compromised either aspect. Fighting is meaty and satisfying, and a good battle feels like a workout.
The Witcher 2 is released on May 17, and if we donât get review code soon weâll explode. [Note from Kotaku: Thatâs the same release date as L.A. Noire in America; our British friends at Rock Paper Shotgun will get L.A. Noire three days later, on May 20. Plus, L.A. Noire isnât on PC so they wouldnât even know what to do with it or be able to find the X button.]
Alec Meer is a writer for Rock Paper Shotgun, one of the worldâs best sites for PC gaming news. He enjoys robots, ladies and vegetables. Follow him on Twitter
Republished with permission.
