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==Plot==
==Plot==
''The Witcher 2'' has many different paths and storylines, along with multiple different endings. One path begins taking place a short time after the events of The Witcher. As in the first game the player controls Geralt of Rivia, one of the few remaining Witchers. Witchers are a group of people taken in an a very early age to be trained and enhanced with magic to fight monsters, giving them superhuman strength and agility as adults. During the prologue Geralt awakens in a Temerian prison and is interrogated by Roche, an officer of the Temerian Special Forces, about the assassination of King Foltest of Temeria. Geralt recounts the events leading up to Foltest's death, during which Geralt served as the king's bodyguard. During an uprising against Foltest by noble families of Temeria. Foltest personally leads the battle in order to recover his illegitimate children who are being held by the rebels. Once Foltest finds his children he is lulled into a false sense of security by his assassin, disguised as a blind monk, who kills him before Geralt can react. The assassin then escapes, leaving Geralt to be found alone with the body of Foltest by Temerian soldiers. When Geralt finishes the story Roche expresses that while he believes Geralt is innocent nobody else does and he will be put to death the next day for the assassination of Foltest. Roche facilitates Geralt's escape from prison since Geralt is the only one who can identify Foltest's true killer. Following a lead from one of Roche's informants they travel to a trading post named Flotsam.
''The Witcher 2'' has many different paths and storylines, along with multiple different endings. As in the first game the player controls Geralt of Rivia, one of the few remaining Witchers. Witchers are a group of people taken in an a very early age to be trained and enhanced with magic to fight monsters, giving them superhuman strength and agility as adults. During the prologue Geralt awakens in a Temerian prison and is interrogated by Roche, an officer of the Temerian Special Forces, about the assassination of King Foltest of Temeria. Geralt recounts the events leading up to Foltest's death, during which Geralt served as the king's bodyguard. During an uprising against Foltest by noble families of Temeria. Foltest personally leads the battle in order to recover his illegitimate children who are being held by the rebels. Once Foltest finds his children he is lulled into a false sense of security by his assassin, disguised as a blind monk, who kills him before Geralt can react. The assassin then escapes, leaving Geralt to be found alone with the body of Foltest by Temerian soldiers. When Geralt finishes the story Roche expresses that while he believes Geralt is innocent nobody else does and he will be put to death the next day for the assassination of Foltest. Roche facilitates Geralt's escape from prison since Geralt is the only one who can identify Foltest's true killer. Following a lead from one of Roche's informants they travel to a trading post named Flotsam.


Once in Flotsam they find that the assassin, later identified as a witcher named Letho, is in league with Elven rebels who call themselves the Scoia'tael, led by an elf named Iorveth. Soon after they find Roche's informant, a human named Dandelion, and a dwarf named Zoltan, both friends of Geralt, about to be executed for various crimes. Geralt and Roche appeal to the town leader Bernard Loredo to free them, Loredo agrees in exchange for a private meeting with Geralt. It is soon learned that Loredo rules Flotsam with an iron fist, gaining power and wealth by confiscating goods from merchants passing through. However a large monster is blocking the port and Loredo makes a deal with Geralt that if he kills the monster, the charges against his friends' will be dropped. Loredo also wants the monster removed for another reason: his men captured several Scoia'tael elves who are stuck on a prison ship in the harbor. When interrogating the elves Geralt learns that Letho betrayed them, bringing this evidence before Iorveth he agreed to bring Geralt to Letho. Unbeknownst to all Roche and his men were tracking Iorveth and Geralt, ambushing them during the meeting hoping to kill both Iorveth and Letho. Letho separates Geralt and they fight, Letho defeats Geralt but spares him and escapes. After Letho escapes he kidnaps Triss Merigold, Geralt's lover and a sorceress, and forces her to teleport them to another location to escape.
Once in Flotsam they find that the assassin, later identified as a witcher named Letho, is in league with Elven rebels who call themselves the Scoia'tael, led by an elf named Iorveth. Soon after they find Roche's informant, a human named Dandelion, and a dwarf named Zoltan, both friends of Geralt, about to be executed for various crimes. Geralt and Roche appeal to the town leader Bernard Loredo to free them, Loredo agrees in exchange for a private meeting with Geralt. It is soon learned that Loredo rules Flotsam with an iron fist, gaining power and wealth by confiscating goods from merchants passing through. However a large monster is blocking the port and Loredo makes a deal with Geralt that if he kills the monster, the charges against his friends' will be dropped. Loredo also wants the monster removed for another reason: his men captured several Scoia'tael elves who are stuck on a prison ship in the harbor. When interrogating the elves Geralt learns that Letho betrayed them, bringing this evidence before Iorveth he agreed to bring Geralt to Letho. Unbeknownst to all Roche and his men were tracking Iorveth and Geralt, ambushing them during the meeting hoping to kill both Iorveth and Letho. Letho separates Geralt and they fight, Letho defeats Geralt but spares him and escapes. After Letho escapes he kidnaps Triss Merigold, Geralt's lover and a sorceress, and forces her to teleport them to another location to escape both Roche and the Scoia'tael. The player is then presented a choice on who to assist in order to pursue Letho. As Letho betrayed the Scoia'tael and killed many elves Iorveth plans to leave Flotsam to find him. With Geralt's help Iorveth hijacks the prison ship and sails to safety. If the player assists Roche it is learned that Loredo is a traitor to Temeria and is refusing to let them leave the harbor. So they storm Loredo's mansion in order to kill him and escape Flotsam.
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Revision as of 18:40, 28 May 2011

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Developer(s)CD Projekt RED
Publisher(s)
EngineRED Engine
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
  • INT: May 17, 2011
Xbox 360
  • INT: TBD
[1]
Genre(s)RPG
Mode(s)Single-player

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is a role-playing video game and a sequel to The Witcher, developed by Polish studio CD Projekt RED for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. While the game is being published by CD Projekt itself in Central Europe and Digital Distribution sites, distribution in North America will be handled by Atari. Publisher for Western Europe is Namco Bandai.[3]

Plot

The Witcher 2 has many different paths and storylines, along with multiple different endings. As in the first game the player controls Geralt of Rivia, one of the few remaining Witchers. Witchers are a group of people taken in an a very early age to be trained and enhanced with magic to fight monsters, giving them superhuman strength and agility as adults. During the prologue Geralt awakens in a Temerian prison and is interrogated by Roche, an officer of the Temerian Special Forces, about the assassination of King Foltest of Temeria. Geralt recounts the events leading up to Foltest's death, during which Geralt served as the king's bodyguard. During an uprising against Foltest by noble families of Temeria. Foltest personally leads the battle in order to recover his illegitimate children who are being held by the rebels. Once Foltest finds his children he is lulled into a false sense of security by his assassin, disguised as a blind monk, who kills him before Geralt can react. The assassin then escapes, leaving Geralt to be found alone with the body of Foltest by Temerian soldiers. When Geralt finishes the story Roche expresses that while he believes Geralt is innocent nobody else does and he will be put to death the next day for the assassination of Foltest. Roche facilitates Geralt's escape from prison since Geralt is the only one who can identify Foltest's true killer. Following a lead from one of Roche's informants they travel to a trading post named Flotsam.

Once in Flotsam they find that the assassin, later identified as a witcher named Letho, is in league with Elven rebels who call themselves the Scoia'tael, led by an elf named Iorveth. Soon after they find Roche's informant, a human named Dandelion, and a dwarf named Zoltan, both friends of Geralt, about to be executed for various crimes. Geralt and Roche appeal to the town leader Bernard Loredo to free them, Loredo agrees in exchange for a private meeting with Geralt. It is soon learned that Loredo rules Flotsam with an iron fist, gaining power and wealth by confiscating goods from merchants passing through. However a large monster is blocking the port and Loredo makes a deal with Geralt that if he kills the monster, the charges against his friends' will be dropped. Loredo also wants the monster removed for another reason: his men captured several Scoia'tael elves who are stuck on a prison ship in the harbor. When interrogating the elves Geralt learns that Letho betrayed them, bringing this evidence before Iorveth he agreed to bring Geralt to Letho. Unbeknownst to all Roche and his men were tracking Iorveth and Geralt, ambushing them during the meeting hoping to kill both Iorveth and Letho. Letho separates Geralt and they fight, Letho defeats Geralt but spares him and escapes. After Letho escapes he kidnaps Triss Merigold, Geralt's lover and a sorceress, and forces her to teleport them to another location to escape both Roche and the Scoia'tael. The player is then presented a choice on who to assist in order to pursue Letho. As Letho betrayed the Scoia'tael and killed many elves Iorveth plans to leave Flotsam to find him. With Geralt's help Iorveth hijacks the prison ship and sails to safety. If the player assists Roche it is learned that Loredo is a traitor to Temeria and is refusing to let them leave the harbor. So they storm Loredo's mansion in order to kill him and escape Flotsam.

Development

Before Assassins of Kings was officially announced, a video showing the game was leaked on 16 September 2009.[4] On September 18, 2009, CD Projekt RED officially confirmed that the game is in development for PC and will be named The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.[5]

For the sequel, CD Projekt had developed their own engine this time,[6] unlike the first installment, which used a modified version of Bioware's Aurora Engine. Until now, only select areas of the game have been shown using the engine with the developers highlighting the various improvements they have made. Along with the engine, the developers have changed the combat system. Although these changes have not yet been publicly displayed, various gaming sites like IGN [7] have reported that the combat is no longer like it was in the first game, which used a timed mouse-based system. It's also been said that the game will use Havok physics engine.[8]

On March 25, 2010, the first gameplay video was shown to audiences. This gameplay footage showed the various methods that a player could use to complete the level. The demo at GamesCom 2010 also showed many different levels and characters for the first time. It has been told that the game has 16 different endings.[9] The game features a branching dialogue system with full voice acting which was cast, directed and recorded in London.[1]

On April 14, 2011, at the CD Projekt Red 2011 Spring Conference it was announced that retail copies of the game will feature SecuRom DRM. However, the protection will still allow for unlimited installations on an unlimited number of computers, with ability to play on up to five computers at once.[10] It was also announced that the game will feature no censorship or gameplay differences across the global regions.

On May 3, 2011, Namco Bandai confirmed that the Australian release of the game would contain a minor edit to meet the MA15+ rating. This edit specifically involves a side quest in which the player gets to choose to have sex as a reward. This version will already have the decision made up for the player in which Geralt declines the offer.[11] Additionally three weeks prior to the announcement, the game had been removed from the Australian Steam site causing concern amongst the Australian gaming community.[12] On May 6, 2011, Good Old Games (which is owned by CD Projekt) announced via their official Facebook page that the price of the game via their site for Australian customers would be changed from AU$42.27 to AU$62.99 due to licensing issues. However anyone who wished to preorder it for the original price could do so within 17 hours before the change.[13]

Promotion

To promote the game, on the May 2011 issue of the Polish version of Playboy Magazine, the character Triss was featured on the cover half-naked.[14]

To market the game in Russia, 1C will be releasing a Witcher 2 real-life nude calendar with copies of the game. The calendar features Ukranian model Klodi Monsoon as Triss.[15]

The new game allows users to import their save files from the first game. GOG offered the original Witcher title to be purchased and downloaded for a reduced price, starting 10 May 2011, until the second game was released. Players can then use their save files from the first game in the second game.

To promote the game on Steam, three promotional items were offered for Valve's multiplayer FPS Team Fortress 2. This content included a "hat" of hair, a sword, and a necklace in the style of that which the Witcher possesses. These items were solely available for the Scout class. [16]

Release

The game was released on May 17, 2011, PC exclusive.[17] The developers have hinted that there could be some possibility of a console release after the game is released first for the PC, but for now the game is a PC title.[18] The game was released through several digital distribution platforms (such as Steam) as well as Retail. The only version that is completely free of DRM is the one sold through GOG.com. 27 May 2011 CD Projekt announced release of patch removing DRM in all versions of Witcher 2[citation needed]. In some countries in Eastern Europe (like Bulgaria) the Collector's Edition of the game hasn't been delivered to the local retailers as of May 27[19]. There is no reliable information when CD Projekt will deliver the pre-ordered copies.

An ESRB listing later revealed an Xbox 360 version.[20]

Reception

The Witcher 2 has received generally favorable reviews from critics, with a metascore of 89/100 based on 33 critic reviews.[26]

Critics generally praised combat mechanics, customization, graphics, environments, immersiveness and storytelling.[25][28][29][30][31] PC Gamer felt that combat mechanics and the game's ending were the weaker point of the game.[28]

By far the main source of contention about the game is the difficulty of the combat, especially during the game's first few hours. Some critics have praised the difficulty of the prologue, the game's consistent refusal to hold the player's hand, and the necessity of using all of Geralt's abilities simultaneously in order to survive; for instance, Eurogamer wrote "there's simply no competitor that can touch it in terms of poise, characterisation and storytelling, or the way in which it treats you not as a player - someone to be pandered to and pleased - but as an adult, free to make your own mistakes and suffer a plot in which not everyone gets what they deserve."[22] Others feel that the game is simply too hard in the beginning and presupposes an unfair level of clairvoyance on the part of the player.

The game has notably received a cumulative user rating of 9.0, signaling "universal acclaim," at Metacritic based on over 1100 user ratings.[32]

At launch, many critics and gamers complained about activation problems, registration issues, and performance on high-end systems with both nVidia and ATI cards. CD Project will be releasing a patch in the near-future which is supposed to resolve most of these issues. nVidia has issued a hotfix in the meantime, and ATI will supposedly issue one as well.

References

  1. ^ "Witcher 2 for Xbox 360 Rated by ESRB". IGN. 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  2. ^ Steam store
  3. ^ http://tw2.thewitcher.com/forum/index.php?topic=29080.msg5418119;boardseen#new
  4. ^ http://kotaku.com/5362182/the-witcher-2-debut-trailer
  5. ^ http://plej.tv/wiedzmin2
  6. ^ http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,745642/The-Witcher-2-New-engine-and-console-version-for-Assassins-of-Kings/News/
  7. ^ http://witcher2game.com/the-game/combat/
  8. ^ http://tw2.thewitcher.com/forum/index.php?topic=30192.0
  9. ^ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-09-01-the-witcher-2-will-have-16-endings
  10. ^ "Witcher 2 to include SecuRom DRM". New Game Network. 14 April 2011.
  11. ^ "The Witcher 2 Modified For Australian MA15+ Release". Kotaku. 2011-05-03.
  12. ^ "What Is Happening With The Witcher 2 In Australia?". Kotaku. 2011-05-03.
  13. ^ "Australian Gamers: You Have 17 Hours To Pre-Order The Witcher 2…". Kotaku. 2011-05-06.
  14. ^ "The Witcher 2 Casts A Sexy Spell On Polish Playboy". Kotaku. 2011-04-19.
  15. ^ "Russian Witcher 2 Calendar Bares All in the Name of Marketing". Kotaku. 2011-05-05.
  16. ^ "Teamfortress 2 Witcher 2 items".
  17. ^ http://www.strategyinformer.com/news/9880/the-witcher-2-release-date-announced
  18. ^ http://www.thewitcher.com/community/en/news/933.html
  19. ^ http://forum.ozone.bg/index.php?showtopic=1945
  20. ^ http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110360-ESRB-Outs-Witcher-2-for-Xbox-360
  21. ^ http://pc.ign.com/articles/116/1168535p1.html
  22. ^ a b http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-05-20-the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings-review
  23. ^ http://www.gametrailers.com/gamereview.php?id=12906
  24. ^ "The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Review". Retrieved May 28, 2011.
  25. ^ a b http://www.gamesradar.com/pc/the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings/review/the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings-review/a-201105171466879070/g-20100323131251436086
  26. ^ a b "The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for PC Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  27. ^ "The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for PC - GameRankings". Retrieved May 25, 2011.
  28. ^ a b http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/05/19/the-witcher-2-review/
  29. ^ http://www.gamereactor.eu/reviews/7420/The+Witcher+2%3A+Assassins+of+Kings/?sid=f00a29322e9acbadbf6f3cd4b50d65a9
  30. ^ http://www.gameinformer.com/games/the_witcher_2_assassins_of_kings/b/pc/archive/2011/05/19/putting-the-rp-back-in-rpg-with-style.aspx
  31. ^ http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-05-20-the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings-review?page=2
  32. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings/user-reviews
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