The Witcher

E3 2006 First Look Preview

If the E3 demonstration of The Witcher is any indication, then most of what you may know about role-playing games is on the verge of changing.

Developed by CD Projekt and powered by the BioWare Aurora Engine, The Witcher is drawn from the literary works of Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher (a PC title) tells the tale of Geralt, a renowned slayer of monsters who, while trying to regain his lost memory, becomes involved in intrigues with world-shaking consequences.

Ok, that may be a “been there done that” overview, but where this game deviates is in the fact that every action will have consequences – perhaps not immediate, but down the road. One example was a man captured by other witchers, and condemned to death. If Geralt lets him go, the man will tell Geralt’s enemies where to find him and an ambush will be set up. If Geralt kills the man, the consequences will be that the witcher’s teacher is captured by Geralt’s enemies and torturous experiments are performed until he dies in a gruesome way.

The game was being demonstrated as part of E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

A real-time point-and-click title, The Witcher sports 60 detailed, varied and handcrafted locations with realistic weather and day-and-night cycles. Advanced physics also add to the immersion within the real world and character behaviors. The story is multilayered with a non-linear path, and three possible endings. There are more than 200 motion-captured animations and more than 250 skills in the game.

The combat is more of a timed affair, with players striking at the right time to do bigger damage. If an archer targets Geralt, if he is not moving he will be able to deflect away the attacks. There are three combat styles – swift (for charging enemies), strong (the planted melee) and group (for, what else, fighting a group of enemies). As Geralt has been changed somewhat and is no longer considered human, he also has some magic skills he can use.

The dev team has taken every effort to make certain that the game, while it does have many typical RPG elements, it features them in a fresh, exciting and entertaining manner.

The game is also very strong graphically. The dev team did mention that it paid great attention to details and it shows. Water ripples as Geralt walks through it, or splatters with raindrops; spectacular effects and dynamic lighting adds to bringing this world to life.

The demonstration of the game revealed a rich world and immersive game that will definitely challenge and definitely pull gamers into the game’s deep story.

Look for this game to release in Spring 2007.

For All E3 2006 Previews