The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings – VGBlogger.com

Screenshot Saturday: Captivated By Capcom (Plus Dark Souls PC, Witcher 2 Xbox 360, MGS Vita & More!)

Matt Litten — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 23:00:06 +0000

Capcom’s Captivate showcase event headlines this weekend’s edition of Screenshot Saturday, hot new galleries now available for Resident Evil 6, DmC – Devil May Cry, Lost Planet 3, Dragon’s Dogma, Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Collection, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor and the Vita version of Street Fighter X Tekken. Capcom sure is rockin’ one helluva game lineup this year!

Other showstoppers this week include the newly announced PC version of Dark Souls, the Xbox 360 version of The Witcher 2 (it rocks, by the way), Metal Gear Solid HD Collection on the Vita, and PS3 free-to-play MMO FPS DUST 514.

Rounding things out are screenshots from the latest wave of Final Fantasy XIII-2 DLC, Ghost Recon Future Soldier’s multiplayer mode, Aksys Games’ black-and-white Nintendo 3DS puzzler Shifting World, PSP tactical RPG Gungnir (yes, there still are new PSP games coming!), the PC version of CryENGINE 3 arena FPS Nexuiz (which just entered public beta), and Xbox 360 music game BandFuse: Rock Legends.

Time to work out that mouse clicker of yours!

Resident Evil 6 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
[nggallery id=2303]

DmC – Devil May Cry (PS3, Xbox 360):
[nggallery id=2304]

Lost Planet 3 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
[nggallery id=2305]

Dragon’s Dogma (PS3, Xbox 360):
[nggallery id=2306]

Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Collection (PS3):
[nggallery id=2307]

Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor (Xbox 360 Kinect):
[nggallery id=2308]

Street Fighter X Tekken (PS Vita):
[nggallery id=2309]

Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition (PC):
[nggallery id=2310]

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition (Xbox 360):
[nggallery id=2311]

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (PS Vita):
[nggallery id=2312]

DUST 514 (PS3):
[nggallery id=2313]

Final Fantasy XIII-2 DLC (PS3, Xbox 360):
[nggallery id=2314]

Ghost Recon Future Soldier (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
[nggallery id=2315]

Shifting World (Nintendo 3DS):
[nggallery id=2316]

Gungnir (PSP):
[nggallery id=2317]

Nexuiz (PC):
[nggallery id=2318]

BandFuse: Rock Legends (Xbox 360):
[nggallery id=2319]

The Witcher 2 Xbox 360 – To Install or Not To Install?

Matt Litten — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:59:18 +0000

The Witcher 2 makes its Enhanced Edition Xbox 360 debut next week. An early copy has already landed here, and so far the game is showing itself to be a fine console adaptation indeed. I’m only just beginning what has been heralded as a huge and massively replayable RPG so a full review is still to come. But I would like to take a minute to first talk about the optional HDD install and whether or not it’s worth the large space requirement.

The Witcher 2 comes on two discs, each one eating up 7.7GB on an install. I only have a tiny 20GB hard drive on my Xbox 360 so installing both would occupy virtually my entire system capacity. I didn’t have that kind of space to work with when I first booted the game so I skipped the install, despite a prompt recommending that I do so. I played through the prologue and an early portion of the first chapter from the disc alone, but today I decided to clear out my HDD to make room to at least install the first disc to see if it would result in a performance boost. I had to delete around 15-20 old XBLA games to make it happen, but eventually I freed up 8GB to squeeze the game into. 10-15 minutes later, the game was installed.

It’s important to note that without an install, the game’s performance is solid to begin with. Load times haven’t been an issue, the frame rate, as far as I’ve been able to tell, maintains a steady clip and graphically the game is absolutely gorgeous. CD Projekt RED’s ability to squeeze this level of scale and detail out of the aging Xbox 360 hardware without compromising quality is highly impressive, no doubt.

One blemish I was noticing with alarmingly high frequency, however, was texture pop-in (and maybe a little screen tearing). I’m not talking about minor stuff like tufts of grass and tree foliage–all games of this size have things like that load in as the player moves through the world. No, I’m talking about textures on characters and level geometry, mostly when seen up close and personal during dialogue sequences.

Throughout the entire prologue, it seemed like at every scene change I was seeing the texture of a background or a character’s face or outfit load into focus after a split second of fuzziness. I’ve certainly seen far worse in the Halo series and basically all games powered by Unreal Engine 3, but it was a minor detail that was becoming more of a distraction the longer I played, especially since everything else around it looked so fantastic. So I decided to give the HDD install a shot.

After a couple hours playing from the HDD install, it appears that, so far, this little immersion-breaker has cleared up. (Update: I’ve played over three more hours since initial publish time and saw only one minor instance of cutscene texture pop-in. Installing the game has made a noticeable difference.) I don’t really detect monumental performance improvement anywhere else, but it has certainly cut down on the texture pop and screen tearing. If that’s all the install does, I’ll gladly dedicate nearly half of my HDD to this game, seeing as texture pop-in is one of my biggest gamer pet peeves. Now I just have to figure out where I’m going to install the second disc when the time comes.

So, if you have a larger HDD to work with, I definitely recommend installing The Witcher 2 first before diving in, that way you can enjoy the journey as blemish free as possible from the very beginning. But if texture pop-in doesn’t bother you much and HDD space is precious, you can easily skip the install without losing out on anything else. The game runs just fine as is.

[nggallery id=2311]

The Witcher 2 Animated Short Recaps the Events of The Witcher 1

Matt Litten — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:02:41 +0000

Playing the original The Witcher is not a prerequisite for playing and enjoying The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, which is key for console-only gamers who will soon be getting the sequel on Xbox 360 for the first time without having prior access to the PC-exclusive first game. That being said, knowing the events of the original certainly helps build a respect for, understanding of, and continuity with the world and its characters, so to bring newcomers (and returning witchers looking for a narrative refresh) up to speed CD Projekt RED recaps the key plot points of Geralt’s previous adventure in this second part of the ‘Flashback’ animated series. Just be warned that the short contains spoilers, so if you hope to some day have a good gaming PC to play The Witcher on, you may want to skip the video. Otherwise, click play and enjoy!

The Witcher 2 Flashback Animation Stylishly Introduces Xbox 360 Players to Geralt of Rivia

Matt Litten — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 18:23:40 +0000

CD Projekt RED details the history of the legendary monster slayers known as the witchers–namely protagonist Geralt of Rivia– in this awesome ‘Flashback’ animation designed to bring new players up to speed for the upcoming Xbox 360 launch of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition. The Witcher 2‘s Xbox 360 adaptation officially went gold this week as well, locking the game into its April 17th North American street date.

Watch The Witcher 2’s Xbox 360 “New Elements”

Matt Litten — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 21:16:46 +0000

New cinematic intro. New cutscenes. New characters. New locations. New adventures. New controls and interface. Over four hours of new content all around.

All that new stuff is being crammed into the forthcoming Xbox 360 version of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, on top of all previous game updates/DLC, with no quality compromises. That’s what makes it an ‘Enhanced Edition’ and what CD Projekt RED is pushing hard as the “most mature and complex game on consoles.” I think that’s being overly dismissive of console gaming, but The Witcher 2 is without a doubt an epic, deep, and truly memorable role-playing experience Xbox 360 owners won’t want to miss. (Don’t worry, PC Witchers. You’re getting this enhanced content, too.)

So, don’t forget the date: April 17th, on store shelves, in North America. Be there.

Choices Have Meaningful Consequences in The Witcher 2 Xbox 360

Matt Litten — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:39:18 +0000

CD Projekt RED’s second developer diary for the upcoming Xbox 360 (and PC) ‘Enhanced Edition’ of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is in, and in this installment the writers behind the role-playing masterpiece talk about the deep system of choice and consequence that powers the game’s complex, nonlinear storyline. In many RPGs, choices are superficial — you’re generally rated on a morality scale as good or evil. In The Witcher 2, your decisions mean something greater. Not only does the story change, but so does the actual progression of the game. Areas you visit and characters you meet are different depending on how you choose to play, making for unbelievably high replay value as you return to discover the four different openings and 16 possible endings. Watch the video diary to learn more.

The Witcher 2 Xbox 360 Developer Diary – The Beginning

Matt Litten — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:43:03 +0000

In this first video developer diary for the Xbox 360 version of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, the team at CD Projekt RED spends five minutes detailing the extensive work that’s gone into adapting the role-playing epic from PC to console. They are adamant about not calling it a port, and rightfully so considering how much the engine and gameplay systems have been retooled around the Xbox 360 hardware. The camera system and controls have been rewritten from scratch, the targeting system and user interface have been optimized for console controller play, and new events and sub-quests have been added to beef up the game’s final chapter. And that’s only the beginning, folks. Even more enhancements are still to be announced!

The Witcher 2 Xbox 360 Pre-order, Enhanced Edition and Dark Edition Details

Matt Litten — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:28:16 +0000

Stalking in the footsteps of last week’s launch date confirmation, CD Projekt RED and Warner Bros. have announced additional details regarding the Xbox 360 version of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, including retailer specific pre-order incentives and a breakdown of the bonus content offered in the game’s two editions.

The base version of the game is the Enhanced Edition, and it will come with the official soundtrack on CD, a world map insert, and a quest handbook, all for the standard $59.99. PC gamers will also get a crack at the Enhanced Edition re-release for $49.99.

Stepping up from the Enhanced Edition is the Dark Edition, a collectible set containing all Enhanced Edition extras plus a Making-of DVD, a metal wolf head medallion on a chain, a 232-page hardcover art book, a pack of three stickers, and a heavy-stock cardboard collector’s box to store everything in. Dark Edition pricing has not yet been officially confirmed, however GameStop is currently listing it for $99.99.

As for the pre-order incentives, Amazon, Best Buy and GameStop each have a unique goodie up for grabs. Amazon is offering a digital comic book, Best Buy is handing out t-shirts, and GameStop has a wolf head keychain for early adopters. Which one are you going for?

Oh, and if you missed it from late last week, here’s the spectacular CG intro trailer unveiling the Xbox 360 version’s April 17th ship date.

The Witcher 2 Slays Xbox 360 in April

Matt Litten — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:47:01 +0000

Last time there was major news about the Xbox 360 adaptation of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, it wasn’t particularly good. The hit role-playing sequel, formerly exclusive to PC, was originally supposed to make its console debut by the end of 2011, but before the busy holiday season push even began CD Projekt RED delayed the port to put in additional polish time and deal with a legal battle over the game’s European publishing rights.

Here in the good ol’ U.S. of A., Warner Bros. is the publisher, and today the purveyor of Batman, Lord of the Rings, Mortal Kombat and other notable video game properties has announced that The Witcher 2 will ship for Xbox 360 on April 17th.

During last year’s E3, information was released stating that the Xbox 360 version would feature a new chapter bridging the gap between the first game’s events and the sequel with 8-10 hours of gameplay. However, today’s updated press release only mentions “3+ hours of new content and new gameplay and story elements.” Plus, all post-release updates that have been added to the PC version will be included in the Xbox 360’s Enhanced Edition right out of the box.

CD Projekt’s pre-launch conference is currently re-airing on Facebook — I got to see the first eight minutes but now I’m having trouble getting the stream to work. Once it stops buffering it looks like there’s 30 minutes of Xbox 360 info dropping and gameplay demonstrating. Below you can also catch a new trailer along with three screenshots.

The Witcher 2 Xbox 360 to Feature Exclusive 8-10 Hour Interquel Chapter

Matt Litten — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:17:46 +0000

CD Projekt’s original The Witcher never made it to the Xbox 360 (or any other platform), so now that the sequel, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, is getting a console port Xbox 360 newcomers to Geralt’s epic RPG saga may need help catching up on the storyline. Don’t worry, CD Projekt’s got it covered.

To bridge the gap and fill in some of the blanks, The Witcher 2 on Xbox 360 will contain an exclusive interquel chapter consisting of up to 10 hours of additional gameplay and story taking place between the two games. Quoting a fact sheet provided with Atari’s E3 press materials:

“Only in the XBOX 360 version will gamers receive an entirely new Chapter featuring approximately 8-10 hours of never-before-seen gameplay. The Expansion will feature a new story bridging The Witcher 1 and The Witcher 2, guaranteeing an even smoother introduction to the franchise for all the gamers who have not yet experienced The Witcher 1.”

Grumpy PC and console gamers angry at the increasing trend of ‘streamlining’ in many recent RPGs should also get a kick out of CD Projekt’s snipes at games like Dragon Age 2 and recent Elder Scrolls titles. From the same fact sheet:

“Realistic, vast game world which, in contrast to many other console games, is not just a static set of props in the background but a living, breathing environment. It is also a world that allows players a much greater freedom of exploration, set in locations with greater variety than most other titles developed for console (including Dragon Age 2).”

That one is obviously a jab at Dragon Age 2‘s abundant use of recycled maps and narrow dungeon designs. And here’s another blurb ripping on console RPGs in general from a section about the game’s target audience:

“Male 16+ console gamers looking for something more than simplified (in terms of mechanics) and shallow (in terms of storyline) console games. For those interested in RPGs, story–driven games, and fantasy themes, and for those looking for games designed to suit their more demanding tastes. Another core target group are fans of games like Dragon Age and the Elder Scroll series, which in comparison to the Witcher, are much less developed in terms of mature storytelling and exhibit a more generic fantasy look–and–feel.”

Clearly CD Projekt isn’t too fond of modern console game design. I guess they felt like they had to set other developers straight by bringing The Witcher 2 to Xbox 360. As predominantly a console gamer, I don’t know whether to be offended or grateful!