The Witcher 2 Xbox 360 Previews

Another pair of hands-on previews for the upcoming Xbox 360 version of CD Projekt RED’s The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings have graced the Internet this evening, starting with Joystiq:

I played a bit of the new on-disc content — a mission called “For Temeria!” in which I and a man named Roche sought to get to the bottom of a plot of a would-be assassin looking to kill the Temerian king. This conveyed how the game has been streamlined for the Xbox 360. While it’s possible to play the game on PC with an Xbox 360 controller, the experience is changed for the better on Xbox by a cleaner, more navigable inventory system, a new targeting system and an adrenaline meter that allows players to stylishly insta-kill multiple enemies at the tap of a button.

Understandably, the one shortcoming the Xbox 360 version has against the PC original is how it looks. Szczesnik told me that the Xbox 360 version’s graphics are most comparable to The Witcher 2 running on medium settings on the PC. During my time with this build, the frame rate was consistent throughout, but I noticed it took a while to load the higher-resolution textures during cutscenes at times.

And then we take in a bit more from Shacknews:

“We believe we have quite a different approach to RPG design compared to our competitors. We’re not afraid of gore, nudity, or discrimination and racism,” lead combat designer Maciej Szczesnik told me. “These are just the elements of our work. Sure they aren’t the core elements, but we’re trying to reproduce the problems from real life in this RPG.”

He continued, “So it’s not high fantasy, it’s not about saving the world. Sometimes it’s about saving a person because someone wants to kill her because she’s an elf. It’s a simple problem, but it can be extremely emotional as well.”

This approach is nicely illustrated in one of the quest lines in Act 3, which is exclusive to the Xbox 360 version. King Foltest’s children are ambushed and kidnapped, and the evidence points to the Baron. Upon the testimony of a mercenary that I ended up saving, I eventually implicated the Baron, but I didn’t feel particularly good about my decision. For one thing, the rival Count who directed me to the mercs was far too gleeful after the arrest. For another, some of the evidence was forged. I kind of wish I had investigated further.