The sequel will feature as many as 16 different endings (most likely several major ones, with some smaller differences). As mentioned in the intro of this article, it will be even less linear than the first Witcher, meaning your choices will have immense and far-reaching consequences.
The camera will be more dynamic, the dialogue options will show a general idea of what Geralt is going to say instead of the full phrase, and you’ll only have limited time to make certain choices (such as ordering your friends to attack, similarly to interrupts in Mass Effect).ĭevelopers say that despite all these changes, TW2 will remain an epic story-driven RPG, just like the hugely successful first game.
The Witcher 2 will also have a new dialogue system, apparently inspired by games like Mass Effect. Thankfully, it looks like the combat in Assassins of Kings will be more engaging than simply timing your mouse clicks. While the original game had excellent animations and an interesting leveling system, I’ve found the actual gameplay somewhat lacking.
Tomek Gop, the Senior Producer at CD Projekt RED, says a console port of The Witcher 2 is not out of the question, although they want to finish the PC version first ( source).Īnother improvement that I’m really looking forward to is the more advanced combat. This new engine can also run on consoles. It didn’t bother me all that much since the load times were acceptable in the Enhanced Edition – but of course, it’s better to not have any interruptions at all. If you’ve played the original, you know that it had loading screens when moving between areas, entering houses and so on. Not only will the sequel look better, it will also have only 4 loading screens in total (presumably, between the different Acts of the game). According to the devs, it will help them avoid bottlenecks that caused various problems during the development of The Witcher. Unlike the first game which ran on a modified Aurora Engine from Bioware, TW2 will use CD Projekt’s own RED Engine, something they proudly call “the best RPG engine in the world”. Some of the stores that offer Witcher 2 CE pre-orders are Amazon, Newegg, and Gamestop. In addition to all the physical bonuses, it also includes an exclusive DLC: the Vernon Roche Commando Jacket that provides a boost to Geralt’s sword skills. This truly massive Collector’s Edition of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings comes with a price tag of $130.
You can buy it at digital video game distributors like GamersGate (10% discount), GOG.com (no DRM, a classic RPG title for free), and Steam (achievements, Steam Cloud support).Ĭollector’s Edition contains everything listed in the Premium Edition, plus: a ~200 page glossy artbook, a computer-generated sculpture of Geralt’s head (marble imitation), a set of dice like those you’ve played with in The Witcher, a deck of playing cards with Dandelion’s guide to winning at them, three stickers, additional papercraft dolls, and a Temerian Oren coin (different from the one that comes with the Premium Edition).
The retailers offering the Premium Edition are Amazon (Ultimate Swordman Suit DLC), GameStop (Mysterious Merchant) and others.ĭigital Premium Edition includes digital versions of nearly everything offered by the regular Premium Edition: the making-of videos, MP3 soundtracks, downloadable PDF world map, game manual, guide, pamphlet and even the papercrafts (for you to print and assemble) are all there.
The pre-order bonus is a DLC which varies by vendor. It comes with a lot of extra content: a making-of DVD, an original soundtrack CD, a world map, a 16-page game manual, a 96-page game guide, a pamphlet about an in-game character, a “cursed coin”, and 2 papercraft figures (one of Geralt, and the other random). Premium Edition is actually the standard version of TW2. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is available for preorder in three different editions: I can’t remember any other recent video game that offered so many bonus goodies for the standard price of $50. CD Projekt seems to be going all out with their upcoming Witcher 2 release.