The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Previews

The last previews for the Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings are coming in, as various sites had a chance for extensive hands-on time with CD Projekt’s upcoming title. Destructoid, after 7 hours hands-on time. Spoiler warning.

You quickly find yourself in a miniature world of humans, non-humans, and all kinds of social and political themes reflecting both interracial relations and internal divisions within a race. A public hanging, for instance, can be resolved by pointing out that one man is being hanged for debauchery, to which a previously cheering townsman reacts: “Debauchery is one of my favorite pastimes, and I wouldn’t want a noose around my neck for it!”

It’s great stuff, and if you’re a fan of potty-mouthed NPCs who scream random obscenities at you, or at seemingly no-one in particular, you can eat your heart out. Peeking inside a prison cell rewards you with someone shouting a continuous stream of obscenities for almost a minute on end. Elsewhere you can find an NPC named Fliparse. And later on, some shady sidequest NPCs may offer you to participate in an experiment that could perhaps make you stronger. But to finish that quest, you’ll have to meet them again in some town two years from now. Two years!

That’s the kind of scope you’re going to have to expect from this game with regard to choice and consequence. Some consequences may be easy to anticipate when you are given a choice. Other choices may affects things you weren’t even aware of. It appears that The Witcher 2 attempts to weave a magical tapestry of non-linear interactive storytelling throughout the entire game. And from the looks of it, it does so without making it as obvious as in other games.

Game Dynamo has a short preview summing up known facts.

The story for this new RPG will pickup right after the ending of the first, issuing from a cut-scene about the attempt on King Foltest’s life. Geralt, the protagonist, will again face-off against witcher-like assassins. These assassins appear to be connected to a character only known as Kingslayer. Apparently, Kingslayer wishes to kill more sovereigns than just King Demawend, whose head already rolls at his hand. It is up to the player to stop Kingslayer and a human-hating elf named Lorveth. While this is a strong narrative base, unlike The Witcher, The Witcher 2 is to be less linear than the original. In fact, it is designed to recount three independent plot lines, which will give gamers multiple endings.