There s a lot for role-playing fans to be excited about. Gamespot.com

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "There s a lot for role-playing fans to be excited about. Gamespot.com"

Catherine Wilkerson
5 years ago
Views:

1 There s a lot for role-playing fans to be excited about. Gamespot.com

IN BRIEF THE WICHER 2: ASSASSINS OF KINGS The second instalment in the RPG saga about the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, features a thoroughly engrossing, mature storyline defining new standards for

2 IN BRIEF THE WICHER 2: ASSASSINS OF KINGS The second instalment in the RPG saga about the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, features a thoroughly engrossing, mature storyline defining new standards for thought-provoking, non-linear game narration. In addition to an epic story, the game features an original, brutal combat system that uniquely combines tactical elements with dynamic action. A new, modern game engine, responsible both for beautiful visuals and sophisticated game mechanics puts players in the most lively and believable world ever created in an RPG game. A captivating story, dynamic combat system, beautiful graphics, and everything else that made the original Witcher such a great game are now executed in a much more advanced and sophisticated way. The player takes the role of Geralt, a professional monster slayer who became embroiled inthe political turmoil in the Kingdom of Temeria by helping to squash the rebellion undertaken by The Order of the Flaming Rose, and who saved the King s life by protecting him from a witcherlike assassin. In the second part of the saga, Geralt remains at the center of political events. He begins his quest to reveal the identity of a group of assassins responsible for the slaying of rulers across the Northern Kingdoms, to find their connection to witchers, and to discover their motives.his investigation will lead him up the river Pontar into the turbulent borderland between Temeria, Kaedwen and Aedrin, where he will be entangled in a conflict between the most powerful forces of this world. PLATFORM PC GENRE Single Player crpg AGE RATINGS ESRB: M, PEGI: 18+ RELEASE DATE Q PUBLISHER Atari Inc. - Northern America 1C/SNOWBALL - Eastern Europe and Russia CD PROJEKT - Central Europe Namco Bandai Games - Rest of the world 2

STORY After helping to stop the rebellion undertaken by the Order of the Flaming Rose and saving King Foltest s life, Geralt became one of the central figures of political turmoil in the Kingdom of

3 STORY After helping to stop the rebellion undertaken by the Order of the Flaming Rose and saving King Foltest s life, Geralt became one of the central figures of political turmoil in the Kingdom of Temeria. Geralt continues to protect the King in the monarch s mission to bring peace to his state. The last bastions of the Order yielded to the royal army. The only remaining task is to pacify the rebellious castle of Baroness La Valette, who announced separation from the Kingdom. It s been a month since the attempted assassination of the king, when his army arrives at the gates of Baroness La Valette s fortress in preparation for the final battle. In the meantime, Geralt, stuck with Foltest, cannot begin his personal quest - to discover the origin and identity of the mysterious witcher-like assassin responsible for the attempt on the king s life - a quest that would answer many questions... IN DETAILS A truly epic, intense, emotionally charged adventure with non-linear game narration. Three independent plot lines with several alternative events are dependent on the player s choices and lead to multiple different game endings and several additional plot forks. This time gameplay time will be shorter than The Witcher 1, but more intense and packed with events. A complex, realistic and mature story touching upon subject matter seldom seen in other RPGs, told in a manner that is understandable and attractive to contemporary gamers. We investigate the assassinations of the rulers of the Northern Kingdoms and follow Geralt s personal theme, in which he s looking for his own identity. Gradually we learn how powerful forces influence our situation and what role they order us to play. Rich, mature dialogue as found in Andrzej Sapkowski s book series and The Witcher 1, presented in highly filmic cutscenes and dialogues sequences, thanks to a new game engine. New, improved system of flashbacks. Now the reminiscences of Geralt, in which we observe the link between our past choices with current actions, are realistically and smoothly woven into the gameplay. Sex and eroticism will be introduced in a much more realistic, involving and mature way, thanks to which sexual relationships are presented more credibly than in TW1. Unique, deep, consistent and rich game world established in a series of best-selling books by A. Sapkowski and recreated in the game to provide an incredible, believable story-driven experience. Believable, true-to-life characters with their own motivations and goals. During our journey we meet ordinary men, soldiers, rebels, powerful mages, rulers and their assassins. Depending on our decisions we meet different game characters, and our relationships shape further actions in the game. Highly varied, breathtaking locations, which thanks to the new engine create a cohesive, fully accessible world! Rich, living world in which every character has their own way of life and unique occupations. Our actions modify the relationship with the game-world population and, in the case of the main plot line, open or close the possibilities of interaction with the game world. Greater freedom of exploration to provide increased game realism and a wider range of new tactical options. Geralt will surmount barriers, jump over fences, scale walls and ascend rock formations. 3

4 UNIQUE DEEP GAME WORLD A unique, deep, consistent and expansive game world based on that described by A. Sapkowski in his seven book series and recreated in the game to provide the ultimate, story-driven experience. IN DETAILS: Believable, true-to-life characters with their own motivations and goals. During our journey we meet ordinary men, soldiers, rebels, powerful mages, rulers and their assassins. Depending on our decisions we meet different game characters, and our relationships shape further actions in the game. Highly varied, breathtaking locations. Highly varied, breathtaking locations, which thanks to the new engine create a cohesive, fully accessible world! Travelling up the Pontar River, through the world known from Andrzej Sapkowski s books, we traverse varied regions of the Northern Kingdoms, including the primeval forest of the Pontar Valley, the endless plains of Lormark (TBC), the high passages and snow-capped peaks of the Blue Mountains, as well as deserted mines, ancient fortresses and bustling military camps. A robust living world in which characters pursue their own, singular lives. Player actions affect the hero s relations with in-game communities and, as with the core story paths, channel the possibilities for game world interaction. Greater freedom of exploration to provide increased game realism and a wider range of new tactical options. Geralt will surmount barriers, jump over fences, scale walls and ascend rock formations. Increased game world interaction. Geralt s actions produce reactions in the surrounding world, be it from other characters or inanimate objects. Each time the hero acts upon the game environment, other characters react. For example, destroying a pile of goods on a pier might draw the interest of town guards and pull them away from their stations, allowing players to pass through a blockade undetected. Likewise, when sneaking about a stranger s home, Geralt does not go unnoticed (TBC) 4

THE WITCHER 2 FAQ Q: Will the game be available for consoles, and if so, which ones and when? A: At this moment we can only confirm the PC version, and it is the leading platform for us.

5 THE WITCHER 2 FAQ Q: Will the game be available for consoles, and if so, which ones and when? A: At this moment we can only confirm the PC version, and it is the leading platform for us. Nevertheless, our engine has also been developed for console games and TW2 will surely be out on console at some point; however, it s too early to talk about the details of console versions. More details to come second half of this year. Q: Are we planning to cut down the mature/hardcore content be it less sex, clearer choices, or more political correctness? A: Definitely not we are not making the game easier, more casual, or cross-genre (for example action-rpg, or slasher-rpg, etc.). The Witcher 2 is going to be a pure blooded RPG and it will still depict the dirty, morally questionable and mature world in a way that is suitable for mature audience. Q: The combat - did you change it towards the console players? Did you make it action rpg style? A: Nope. Most of the changes we ve done in the combat system were aimed towards making it quicker, smoother, but most important to get closer to the way the Witcher moves. Combining many different elements of combat and moving faster and more agile that s how we imagine the real Witcher would fight. ;) MORE E EXCLUSIVE MATERIALS SERVER: ftp.thewitcher.com LOGIN: e3exclusive PASS: e3exclusive 5

Artificial Intelligence Paper Presentation

Artificial Intelligence Paper Presentation Human-Level AI s Killer Application Interactive Computer Games By John E.Lairdand Michael van Lent ( 2001 ) Fion Ching Fung Li ( 2010-81329) Content Introduction