The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition Key Features:
•Immersive, mature, non-linear story
•Spectacular, dynamic and tactical combat system
•Realistic, vast game world
•Ultra-modern, cutting-edge REDengine technology
The Witcher 2 experience is now enhanced thanks to:
• 4 hours of never seen before quests, locations and characters – all these features are added in the final chapter of the game and help the player unveil some secretes of the deep intrigue. The 2 new quest introduce 3 new major characters and are set in new locations: an underground system of chambers beneath Loc Muine and a temperate coniferous forest in the Loc Muine mountains and a secret cave passage,
• A new 3,5 minute CG intro - a jaw-dropping animation created by BAFTA winner and Acadamy- award nominee Tomasz Bagiński. It will make you tremble when you see what forces Geralt is up against in this spectacular animation,
• Two 3 minute recap movies – short 2D animations which present The Witcher profession to Xbox 360 players and give an overview of the events in The Witcher 1,
• An extended outro – thanks to the 12 outro final boards the player will know how the path he has chosen for Geralt changed the history of the people he met and the history of the whole realm. These short cutscenes will create a 2,5 minute summary of the most important decisions the player made
• New cut scenes – these in game cinematics provide deeper insight into the complex history
• New transitional cinematics – short films that summarize each chapter of the game and showing the player the world location he’s traveling to
Players assume the role of Geralt of Rivia, who has been trained to be the ultimate killing machine, a witcher. The story begins with Geralt playing bodyguard to king Foltest, the current ruler of the Kingdom of Temerian. During the final assault against Baroness La Valette, king Foltest is assassinated and Geralt is accused of the murder and arrested. This is when the game truly begins.
One of the greatest things about The Witcher 2, is just how well the story and characters are written. This isn't your typical fantasy story. There are of course elves and dwarves, but the way the backgrounds of these races are written is very refreshing. It is obvious from the start that this is a very mature game and it's not because of violence, blood, and nudity,(though it does have plenty of that), it's because it takes its story and characters serious which is a breath of fresh air in the proposed mature titles that are out there now.
The quests in The Witcher 2 are also extremely well written. The side quests never make the player feel that they are being set out to be someone's errand boy unlike most rpgs. During these quests there are no clear black and white, good or evil choices, it is all presented in a very complex shades of grey approch which can have unexpected consequences.If you get tired of questing there are other distractions to be found, usually in an inn or tavern. Geralt can earn some extra spending money by playing a game of dice poker or by doing some arm wrestling and can even get into fist fights that are played out through quick-time events.
The PC version of The Witcher 2 is one of the most impressive looking titles out there. Thankfully, CD Projekt was able the beauty of the PC to the XBox 360 while only having to sacrafice very little detail. The game runs on what would be considered medium graphics setting on the PC which you can tell in the lighting and colors of the XBox 360 version. The fog also can cover wide open outdoor views, limiting the distance you can view. There can also be very minor texture pop-in as well as some very small screan tearing but all of this is almost completely removed if you install the game to the hard drive, which is highly recommended. With all of those things The Witcher 2 is still one of the most beautiful games available on the Xbox 360, which is impressive considering the console is almost 7 years old.
The controls for the most part feel natural and a very responsive on an Xbox controller. The only problem with the controls is that the button placement for heavy and light attacks are in different positions than in most action games, which really isn't a problem with the controls it just takes some getting used to.
The inventory screen is another thing that will take some getting used to. Scrolling through a bunch of inventory, journal, and stat pages would be a lot easier if you were able to use the control sticks instead of the LB an RB buttons, but after an hour or two with it, it becomes easier to navigate.
How is the audio in The Witcher 2? One word. Amazing. Just like the story and graphics, the soundtrack and voice acting are top notch. The sweeping score from attacking a castle to the ambient sounds of a swamp are all crystal clear and sound phenomenal. The voice acting never sounds out of place and keeps you immersed in the world that CD Projekt has created.
PROS
+Amazing Graphics
+Excellent soundtrack and voice acting
+A world that feels alive
+A very mature story
CONS
-Minor screen tearing
-Inventory sreen
-Learning curve
OVERALL
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition is easily one of the best PC games to date and now it can add best Xbox 360 game to that list of accomplishments. The Witcher 2 is what all other RPGs strive to be. If you own an Xbox 360 then you owe it to yourself to play this game.
Review copy provided by the Publisher.
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