The Witcher - Preview @ 1Up
 

1Up has kicked up a preview of The Witcher from a trip to Warsaw - possibly a late entrant to the press feature from several weeks back:
More information.

This reviewer strikes me as being a monumental prude.

He experiences awkward moments numerous times while being given a wonderful opportunity to experience the gameplay of The Witcher.

This is the sort of person who probably gazes up at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and blushes.

Please give us more mature, experienced game reviewers who don't exclusively play *Nintendo games.

*Just alluding to the fact that Nintendo games are mostly family-friendly games, which is not a bad thing. No offence to Miyamato worshippers :p

I dont trust that site after what they did with review of NWN2.

Yes indeed, as Dr.A says, a golden opportunity missed, such a shame considering this game's great potential. The previewer could have done so much more but barely touched on the pointers that mattered. This self-imagery that contemporary previewers have of themselves comes across with more emphasis than of the game itself. It's almost as if the 'previewer' is portraying a figmental imagination of himself as some kind of stylist.

Can anyone be a previewer? - are more mature previewers more expensive to hire? - - is there 'cost-cutting' involved in using immature prevewers? - would not a well known, fully respected mature oriented previewer be worth the investment that pays off in the long run?

Is Robert Ashly doing no more than promoting himself and his blogs?

Quite right, my dear fellows. This publication wants sorely for a previewer with the maturity and good breeding needed to appreciate a copy of Juggs magazine The Witcher. Rather, what. Oh I say! :monocle:
The Sistine Chapel indeed.

I have to admit it's one of the few previews that I actually enjoyed. Let's face it - most previews are just one big praise anyway; the information that you'll get is not very reliable, so why care…

I found this preview to be rather on the funny side. Admittedly you get to know next to nothing about the game, but the author also does not say anything bad about the game. Instead he tells you a funny anecdote. I guess after the episode with the milkmaid I would have reacted very similar. When I read it I really had to smile - sometimes it's hard to understand why developers implement certain features.

I don't think that this has anything with prudery. I'm certainly not prude, but I also certainly don't care to indulge into the sexual fantasies of 12-year-olds when I'm playing a rpg. I guess that it was this obvious contradiction that the author felt - one the one hand you got a game that is supposed to be "mature," but on the other hand the game features a very immature vision of sexuality and erotic…

Art - It's subjective *shrugs*

As for the seemingly wanton debauchery some see in the game, isn't the novel it's based upon have similar content? In a textual sense, that is. Unless it had illustrations? Hmmm…

Now I'm not the sort of person whose blood supply immediately rushes to the groin at the slightest sign of sexuality. I just prefer to play a game that has a consistent potrayal of humanity's deviancies. Promiscuous sex and violence (amongst many other things) - sad but true. I do not condone these qualities but if I'm playing a game like The Witcher, I would much prefer to see it simulated accurately.

Ionstormsucks:
I don't really see how the eroticism in the game is immature. Also, the few examples we've seen may not be indicative of the content of the overall game.

Are sexual fantasies are inherently immature? I'd be interested in hearing what separates those of the teens which are worthy of mockery from those of us more mature types which are worthy of a certain respect born of our quiet, horny dignity.

Tangentially, is it immature to like big boobs, or is that merely cliched? Those things seem enduringly popular…

If you can believe the previewer then it's a fairly male immature eroticism that is portrayed in the game… you know, the sexual fantasies that you would usually attribute to teenagers rather than adults.

You know, virtual worlds can do a lot, but there are things that you should have in real life and not in a video game…

Perhaps they should offer to pay some of us here at the Watch to write their reviews!! :)

I can understand how some see the descriptions of the erotic pictures. They're basically thinly veiled puns - crotch, pussy / breasts, milk (Apologies in advance if I offend anybody).

In that sense, I guess it does seem immature. Although to me, it's just amusing :p

Corwin:
You speak for pretty much all of us. Hell, we would do it for free. Although having the trip paid for would be nice since I'm basically on the other side of the world :)

This game sounds like a Gothic3 wanabe…maybe they would out do PB. Combat system seems interesting just like old Gothic. Atari? God no!!
Yeah, you can slice em, dice em, blow em up, tear em down….but please don't #%@# with em. OK?

Dr. A, you're not that far from me and Dhruin!! This is the better half of the world after all!! :)

mudsling:
Actually, it reminds me more of the older (and better) Gothic games. Primarily because timing is crucial for the combat moves. I'm also concerned with Atari being the publisher - We'll just have to hope for the best.

Corwin:
Better half of the world? Maybe to you :) I'm pretty happy to migrate over to your side if your government is not a total arse like mine. Then again, which government isn't, in one way or another…

They should have got the guy that previewed Hellgate:London for them--he would have been downing a pint of lager and bedding the ladies in a heartbeat. :)

Nonetheless, getting a naughty picture for each conquest does not rate high on my list of "10 Greatest RPG Features," though it might add some interest to the otherwise dull adventurer's Journal.

Not that we in N.A. will have to worry about it. We'll be lucky if they even mention 'milk' in the dialogue. :)

Wow, censorship in the US is pretty strict huh? But Vampire: The Masquerade had tons of mature content (especially dialogue) and it turned out well, didn't it?

I strongly disagree after reading the preview. VtM: Bloodlines was mentioned in this thread, and I think it is a very good reference. Bloodlines was full of sexuality and mature content … MATURE content, not something to make 12 year old boys giggle.

There is a distinct difference between the use of sexuality and nudity in context to add to a game and what is done in a game like the recent PSP 'Pocket Pool' where you unlock naked pictures by winning lousy pool games. It is gratuitous. It is the difference between saying 'Geralt is not pure good or pure evil, and as such the player can choose to seduce women in their travels' and 'hehe … we gots boobies'!

So the previewer looking around and seeing posters dominated by gratuitous sexual imagery that seems to have little real purpose *should* give him pause - what are they selling here - a solid RPG or a teenage boy wank-fest?d

I see your point.

But the way I see it, the posters aren't pinups of Jenna Jameson or winners of wet T-Shirt contests. They're hand crafted illustrations based on a , from what I hear, superb novel. Forgive me if it sounds trite but i find it "artsy". Or maybe the adolescent in me is rebelling against all this conservatism :p

Ultimately though, I believe the posters should become available so we can *examine* the posters in question. Purely scientific scrutiny, of course :D

That is why we need to see more - most of the preview was ripped from another one in GfW mag (the part with the 'awkward silence) clued me in, but I already recycled my issue so I can't check anymore. I really can't gauge at this point whether it is art and the previewer is being judgmental or if it is reasonable awkwardness over 'boobies for boobies sake'.

Agreed.

Hey Dhruin, try to get an exclusive preview! And get tons of pics for us :)

First of all:

That review was completely useless, and a waste of internet space. No, wait, it was beyond useless. I actually got to the bottom of the page looking for the 'next' button, and was dumbfounded at the thought that the review was actually considered finished!

Secondly: I have to say that as excited as I was about this title, I'm starting to be put off by the, IMHO, excessive emphasis on the 'adult' features of the game. I agree with the points Txa made. In their attempt to make the game realistic, they may have overreached and ended making it gratuitous. I personally find it a little disturbing to be hacking away at a grossly disfigured naked woman with a broadsword, and I feel that sort of entertainment is bound to have negative consequences on our sensitivity.

Despite it's obvious superiority (IMHO) in the graphics dept., I'm afraid The Witcher has lost out to Two Worlds in my RPG wish list.

As it ends up, this *is* the one from GfW … so this might be a tempest in a teapot.

I'd be very surprised if the "adult content" amounts to any significant impact on the game and I wouldn't draw any conclusion from it whatsoever.

Two Worlds may indeed be a better a game - who can tell? What I do know, is that CD Projekt has shown multiple videos and given very specific examples of multiple solutions to quests and different consequences. Can anyone show me one such video or concrete example from Two Worlds?

The Witcher looks pretty much more interesting than Two Worlds for me. Actually it's right now the most promising title coming out this year for me. I absolutely hate the art direction of Two Worlds, also it seems to be a bit of a TES or (hopefuly) Gothic clone, at the same time I find The Witcher's art to be really great and games looks pretty original in gameplay, of course it also offers the most important thing for me : the choices and consequences, aswell as good writing.

I'll second everything you said. Especially when it comes to the art direction in Two Worlds… Totally makes all those "cool gfx engine features" promised obsolete.

I can gladly take outdated gfx for the sake of a good game (still enjoying
Gothic 1) but bad art direction really puts me off.

I am a bit wary of this game… Seems to me like an Oblivion clone at this point
(I hope I am wrong, really since its just this and the witcher for the foreseable
future). I think I 'll wait for the opinions on this forum first for this one…

Oblivion clone? When development on The Witcher started nobody even associated the word "oblivion" with a game from Bethesda. ;)

All the talk of The Witcher being a clone of any other game is nonsense. It´s based on novels by a Polish author whose name I´ve forgotten. CD Projekt certainly analyzed just about every other successful RPG on the market, especially because their mother company publishes most of them in half of Eastern Europe. Apart from that it´s completely independent.
What I can say for sure after a visit at their GC booth is that they´re 100% behind their game. They´re very enthusiastic about it (*) and take clear positions on certain aspects important for roleplayers. In this respect you could compare it to the first Gothic, which is a typical love-or-hate-game.


(*) Most other games you see at a show like the GC are treated as "one among many" by their publisher. Competent but without much emotion.

I obviously meant Two Worlds… and btw a game can change direction to
become a clone even in the final stages of development…

There is ofcourse no such indication (quite the contrary from what we saw in the
vids discussing choises and consequences) for the Witcher, for which I have high
hopes still…

Now if only PB could get that patch out so I can have something to while away the months till september… ;)

*waves hand* I did :p

But then again, we also got the timing wrong - we suspected the third TES game was going to be called 'Oblivion' ;)

I hope that they won't screw up the Witcher - the game looks fantastic (whatever that means in the great scale of things). But I have to admit that I always slightly shiver if I have to read about "mature" content. You hear that a lot nowadays, and it usually means lots of blood, gore, brutality, and, on rare occasions, sex. I'd really like to see a developer coming foward saying that their game will feature "mature" content in the sense of complex storylines or a believable game world.
Instead we're constantly getting stories like, "there is something bad going on in the south - go there and kill the evil god that just awoke from it's long slumber… bla bla bla…" Somehow I doubt that such stories become more believable or mature by implementing the ability to have sex with women on your way south… or because of the ten different death animations that are possible if you're dispatching an enemy.

Witcher does at least seem to have a somewhat original setting - it would be a shame if they gave away this opportunity.

Yup..

No wonder games are still considered lesser entertaiment if the most important thing a reviewer mentions is nude woman. But enough of that.. I'm personally thrilled.. Witcher really feels from the screenshots and infos i've read a truly orginal game, and the roleplaying side is said to be quite strong. Its first on my waiting list :)

Today Ive stumbled upon new screenshots of The Witcher:
http://www.cdaction.pl/?strona=wyswietl&id=881

Also there is a some sort of cinematics for download, but seriously i didnt have enough self-denial to download it( 222Mb with speed about 6 kb/s! - tragic…)

Yep. These screenshots just further emphasize how amazing the art direction is for this game. I share most of the concerns that others have expressed regarding TWO WORLDS on this thread. But something that bothers me concerning THE WITCHER is that I've never seen the hero dressed out with any different equipment….. ever. While I'm sure it is a genuine role-playing game with significant quest choices, it seems to offer precious little in character development. - No armor, no axes, no ranged attack (sans magic).

I make that observation because it seems there is an unspoken wish among all of us that the next RPG released will be the "perfect" RPG. Some are hoping Two Worlds will be it, others say The Witcher. The problem is, there will never be such a thing as the "perfect" RPG.

And before I get jumped on, let me just say that I know no one would realistically expect perfection, but like I said, it's sort of an unspoken feeling… I will probably end up playing both, and my bottom line is: Give me a game with half of the fun/engaging factor of the first GOTHIC and I will be ecstatic!!

No, that's a valid concern. There is different equipment but the source material means it's hard to provide the usual diversity. I've asked CD Projekt about this in past interviews but I haven't been satisfied with the answers…we'll give it another go down the track.

As a person who read the books about Geralt(your game protagonist) I must say that on paper Geralt rarely changed his equipment. Ofcourse he had such moments (like obtaining dvarven sihil - according to book truly wonderfull piece of metal). So if they want to stick with the original ideas there will be little space for dressing our character, but afterall if we want to dress our heroes we can always pick Sims or Diablo or that kind of crap :) .

My hopes for The Witcher are: strong main plot, sticking with sarcastick type of character that Geralt had, atmosphere from the books ( author doesnt like happy endings :) )…so concluding I dont need new shinny clothes, I need shinny old style( without map markers :P and journal as solution what to do next, yeap I'm talking about big O ) RPG gameplay.

I like the idea that Geralt is who he is, that he is kind of a pariah dog in a society that makes use of his abilities without providing much reward. Perhaps every quest won't be about helping the baker recover his daughter's dowry or killing the bandits in the camp just outside town.Almost certainly, he is not the Chosen spawn of any God or scion of an ancient doomed bloodline. I have hopes that things will be gritty, ugly, seamy and perhaps even lewd.
Equipment and levels, powerful abilities and so forth are important, I'm not discounting them, but I have no problem with them not being the main focus of the game.
After finishing a long messy relationship with Titan Quest, I don't care if I never upgrade a piece of equipment or have the L337est armor evah. I would like a story, please. Please???

If you want a story, read a book!! :biggrin: While I agree, I've found that even though most games claim to have a rich and epic story, they wouldn't know one if they tripped over it!!

And speaking of books:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Wish-Go…8691905&sr=8-1

Still waiting for my copy atm…

Anyway, as mentioned above I would expect minimal options for character customization as far as equipment and looks go. Personally that is not a very
great concern. I would like some diversity on the skill tree though, but as G1
showed us, it is quite possible to get a very enjoyable game despite a
minimalistic approach in those aspects if the rest of the "recipe" is right…

Thanks for the link, nessosin! Great screenshots!

I actually enjoyed the preview, gave me a bit of history on CD Project. So far the hype about it hasn't really affected me; click moving, no loot and the Aurora engine killed my interest. However, if they've worked with titles like BG.. well, that certainly changes things now doesn't it? Hopefully they've learned from its depth and story, and implemented something similar in The Witcher.. that would definetly make it one of the big titles of 2007.

Gosh…Ive mentioned cinematics but didnt provide a link….poor me :S
http://gry.onet.pl/pliki/Witcher_Trailer_1280X720.mov