The Witcher
Preview
An adult storyline, beautiful graphics, astounding action
by Marko Susimetsä
previewed on PC
Graphics and action
The action sequences in the game - the duels and battles - are all choreographed by live actors through a motion capture technique and this guarantees the realistic movement and actions of the hero as well as his victims as they die at his feet. Naturally, or rather unnaturally, being genetically mutated, the Witcher himself is able to perform physical feats that would require normal humans to use ropes and pulleys to achieve. The combat system allows the player to perform attacks in real time, creating his own combinations when not facing enemies and then trying them out in real situations. The Witcher can use different kinds of weapons, but is most skilled with a sword, having been trained at swordsplay from a very early age.
In addition to the graphical splendour and realistic movement of the characters, the game includes some fancy special effects to show the effects of various magic spells and potions that the main hero is able to use, as well as the more commonplace effects of the overuse of an intoxicating substance known as alcohol. When the hero has consumed enough alcohol, the whole screen will start tilting back and forth randomly, representing the degrading coordination and eyesight of someone getting drunk. Likewise the nightvision spell turns a more or less dark screen into bright, but mystical grey lustre where living bodies show up as colourful heat signatures.
The Witcher's task
The plot of The Witcher is promised to be non-linear. Although there are missions and quests in the game that have to be accomplished, the player can choose when and in what order to perform them. Likewise, the gameworld is housed by realistic non-player characters who may lead the player to various subplots of the storyline. As the Witcher performs the quests and gains experience, he will grow stronger and more skillful in killing, as in any RPG. But, in The Witcher, the player will not have to study charts and sheets to find out how skillful the hero is and who he can beat at which level. The developers promise that such details will be readily observable in the gameplay itself.
The ominous storyline, still the biggest unknown in the game, consists of five acts, and each act allows the player to visit several locations in the gameworld, familiar from the original stories, such as Kaer Morhen, which is the Witcher's stronghold, and the cities of Vyzime and Mayena, the Old Castle of Temerian Kings, all of them filled with believable NPCs and fantastic monsters. Luckily for us English-speaking players the novels by Andrzej Sapkowski, telling us more about the world of The Witcher, will also be released in English starting next year. That way, we too can familiarize ourselves with the NPCs and monsters in the game.
Something to look forward to?
Definitely. From all that we've seen and read thus far, The Witcher is could well be one of the best action RPGs coming out in a long time. Moreover, it is a very easy to learn single-player RPG, the kind of which are becoming a rarity in today's market. The only downside may be that this will probably suck the players in for days if not weeks and not release them until the game is over. But if that is the only complaint we'll have about this game when it comes out, we're in for a treat.
