If you're looking for a game to drag you kicking and screaming away from Skyrim, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings may be up to the task. It's a completely different kind of RPG, but it scratches much the same colossal pence-per-hour itch. Speaking to OXM in our new issue, on shelves next week, CD Projekt's Konrad Tomaszkiewicz and Jakub Stylinski explained how the PC epic found its way to Xbox 360... but not to PS3.
"It's our first experience with consoles - we've only worked on the PC until now, and we wanted to make a really good adaptation of our game," Tomaszkiewicz began. We've used the same team who worked on the PC version to make a really good adaptation.
"Our team isn't that large - we can't focus on three platforms at once," Stylinski put in. "What we're doing now is making the same additional content for PC and Xbox, and if we were working on PS3 too we just wouldn't be able to get it all done."
Porting the further adventures of Geralt (the Witcher of the title) to Xbox had its share of challenges. "I think the memory limits were the biggest problem," Stylinski mused. "You know we wanted to make the game look as good as the PC version.
"So the majority of work was done by the programmers who had to create a new kind of streaming to feed the console. The art assets are one thing, but we also had to figure out a way of streaming all the quests in too. We had to cut each of the main quests into many smaller parts and that means - because you have more quest parts on Xbox - there are more gameplay sections to debug and polish."
Worried by all this talk of cutting back? Fear not - the core game hasn't been altered. "We didn't have to alter the content of the quests at all, but we just split them into smaller chunks."
The Witcher 2 is out on 17th April in the UK and Europe. Read all about it and other candidates for Skyrim's throne in OXM 83, landing 22nd February. You'd be reading the issue now if you'd set up a subscription. Just thought we'd point that out.
5 comments so far...
Clanger67 on 17 Feb '12 said:
I have pre ordered this i have so much missed playing the first one.If it is anything like the first that is my year made already with this and skyrim,ME3 and some others not long after.I am glad they managed to get a 360 version out and judging by most of what i have read is shouldn't disappoint.
bamozzy on 17 Feb '12 said:
I am quite looking forward to this. From what I have seen of it, it certainly looks good!
I never played the original as I don't use my PC for gaming - thats what my xbox and PS3 is for!!!
SidTheSloth on 17 Feb '12 said:
Something strangely refreshing hearing about a game being made with pride being taken and for the love of the game and the experience and not just for the money. With the Schafer/Knotch story earlier in the week i'd say at least a little bit of my cynicism has been washed away!
msbhvn on 17 Feb '12 said:
Everything I hear about this release makes me want it a little bit more. I hope they can use what they've learned to do a quick Games on Demand conversion of the first game, so we can have both.
MaelstromB on 17 Feb '12 said:
As a very big Witcher fan, I've played and beaten both games now, but I'm telling you -- this game is worth every penny. And I will also say this: NO other developer in the games industry deserves your support and money more than CD Projekt. These guys have a long track record of reaching above and beyond when it comes to supporting and improving the quality of their games long after release. But bottom line, they are also constantly growing the overall experience, content and the world of which they have so carefully crafted. As an example, CDP dumped the pesky DRM for the PC version in the very first patch (just as they did with the first Witcher title), despite Atari's (the PC version's publisher) pleas. That singular move made A LOT of people very happy and solidified a very loyal fanbase immediately because it proved that they are one of the very few publishers out there more concerned about their fans, than simply pleasing some executive shareholders, like most developers tend to be these days.
But another major point: Every single time they made improvements or added DLC, it was released at NO additional cost to the people that chose to support their game. Now what other developer is so eager to do those sorts of things for their fanbase these days? None that I can think of off the top of my head, and that is also what you're supporting - so be sure to keep that in mind when making your decision.
I'm also hoping that at some point the original Witcher game sees an updated release for the consoles in some form or another, especially for your guys' sake, because it IS such an important part of the Witcher universe. Put it this way -- not playing the original Witcher game is the equivalent of jumping into The Two Towers without ever having watched The Fellowship. The experience can still be enjoyable, but you're going to miss out on a lot of significant details. Now granted, CDP manages to do an excellent job of creating an all-inclusive experience with Witcher 2 for those that did not get the chance to play the first game, but you will most certainly benefit and pick up on a lot more details and story elements in W2 after playing the first game. CDP also gave the player on the PC side, just like Bioware did with the Mass Effect series, the option to import their save game from the previous title to create continuity in the story -- so that right there is another huge reason to cover ground, in some way, from the original release.