The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf

Developer(s)	CD Projekt RED STUDIO
Publisher(s)	Atari, Inc (World), CD Projekt (Poland)
Platform(s)	Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Release	Fall 2009
Genre(s)	Role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player

The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf (Polish: Wiedźmin: Powrót Białego Wilka) is an upcoming console role-playing game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms by CD Projekt RED, to be released in Fall 2009. While it will feature the same story as the 2007 The Witcher PC game, based on the book series of the same name by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, it has been built from the ground up for Widescreen Games' DaVinci Engine and features a host of differences.

On the 29th of April 2009 the production of the game announced to have been halted due to late payments from CDproject to the French developers of the console version, Widescreen games. A release from CDproject's CEO Michal Kicinski stated that payments were delayed due to Widescreen games not meeting development deadlines, additionally stating that "technical incapability created a risk of missing planned quality" and that they (CDproject) had ended their association with widescreen games.

Design

Like the PC original, The Witcher takes place in a medieval fantasy world and follows the story of Geralt, one of a few remaining "witchers"—traveling monster hunters for hire, gifted with supernatural powers. The game's system of "moral choices" as part of the storyline was noted for its time-delayed consequences and lack of black-and-white morality.

According to CD Projekt RED senior designer Jakub Styliński, the game will feature a new interface, redesigned boss battles, new music, "a smattering of new models," and a redesigned character development system -- in addition to an entirely new action-oriented combat system with enhanced AI, additional motion-capture animations and the ability to directly control Geralt's defensive maneuvers.

CD Projekt has also confirmed that Rise of the White Wolf will feature downloadable content.

Plot

The game tells the story of Geralt of Rivia, who at the opening of the game is tasked to cure the daughter of King Foltest of a curse which causes her to transform into a feral monster. Geralt successfully cures her, introducing the player to the nature of witcher-work. A period of years mysteriously pass ending with Geralt being transported to the witcher stronghold of Kaer Morhen by fellow witchers who had discovered him unconscious in a field. Geralt remembers almost nothing of his life before returning to Kaer Morhen.

The game's story is separated into five acts, each representing a different area and distinct set of quests. Geralt meets many former friends and foes throughout the plot who help him to recover information about his mysterious past. Through the storyline, Geralt discovers that he had died five years earlier while attempting to defend an oppressed group of non-humans from a racist mob. He also learns that he is actually a renowned witcher referred to in prose as "The White Wolf."

Through the player's choices and actions, Geralt redefines character relationships and navigates political intrigue in the changing landscape of Temeria. This allows the player to make decisions that affect the plot progression, and ultimately the game's ending. The concept of the freedom of player choice was intended to be showcased by the developers.

External links

• Official Site
• The Witcher Wiki at Wikia