E3 Eyes-On Preview: The Witcher 2 (360) - Preview
by Nick Pantazis , posted on 08 June 2011 / 4,777 Views
The Witcher 2 has been un undeniable success for CD Projekt, with 400K units sold through in the first week alone. Now out for more than 3 weeks, the game continues to sell well and prove that PC gamers support the developers who support them. CD Projekt isn't done yet, though. They've decided to expand the incredible experience to the home consoles on Xbox 360. Understand that everything I saw is pre-alpha, so graphical issues and errors may be fixed by release, but I will describe the game as I experienced it and from the perspective of someone who's familiar with the PC version on all settings.
CD Projekt chose the dungeon escape scene near the beginning of the game to demonstrate their new Xbox 360 version. It's a short section of the game, maybe 10 minutes long in total, but it's a good section to demonstrate multiple aspects of the game, including the effects of dialog choices, branching paths, combat, and stealth. The demo was played through by two people, each using a different strategy to escape the dungeon. The demo wasn't the most action-packed part of the game, but it did show a good amount of how well the game played and looked.
Obviously the gameplay is the most important aspect of the game, and The Witcher 2 on 360 seems to play great. All the features you remember from the PC version are present. The combat is identical to the PC version, minus hotkeys for signs. The sign selection wheel returns, and slows time down while you use it so that you can pick your signs without being killed (especially important on the 360 version without hotkeys). Combat still uses strong and fast sword slashes, and requires careful planning to avoid being slaughtered by the intelligent and dangerous AI. Dodging and blocking are important, and getting surrounded is a death sentence.
The other aspects of the game are also present in all their glory. Dialog is handled through the same choices, and stealth and the same branching paths PC players already experienced are present. As many PC players already noticed, The Witcher 2 can play just fine with a 360 controller already, so I'm sure it didn't take a lot of optimization to make it work well on the 360.
There is one area where the game takes a noticeable hit, and that's in visuals. While the art direction of The Witcher 2 is great, there are times when the differences between the 360 version and the PC version's better settings were a little jarring. In particular, I noticed that Geralt's hair doesn't flow, and is a solid object, and the facial expressions seemed a little off, and less-detailed. Again, I reiterate that this is a pre-alpha build, and not necessarily representative of the final product, but at the current level it's more like the PC version on low or medium-low. It's still a great looking game though, and 360-only players should have few complaints.
All DLC released for PC before the 360 version is launched will be included on-disc (and all that DLC will be free on PC). CD Projekt did note, however, that while they'll do everything in their power to provide future DLC for free on 360, it becomes more complicated because of Microsoft's Xbox Live policies, and they were not able to promise it will always be free on the platform. This clearly will not be a truncated or half-assed port. CD Projekt says they are putting a lot of emphasis in providing the best experience possible on Xbox 360, and they are focusing on adapting the game, rather than just simply porting it. Even at this early stage, the game looks great, and as an owner and fan of the PC version of the game I'm happy to report at the moment that there's no shame in picking up the Xbox 360 verison of the game if you don't have a high-end PC. The Witcher 2 will be available on Xbox 360 before the end of the year.
