Ben-DutkaThe Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt could be so big, so dynamic, and so addictive, it’ll be downright frightening. Developer CD Projekt Red intends to deliver an unparalleled experience that should satisfy even the most die-hard role-playing enthusiast. The final installment in the esteemed Geralt trilogy is dark, brutal and massively expansive in scope. Those who enjoy a great narrative will get what they desire and those who love epic, lively worlds will appreciate the freedom and attention to detail. In short, this game could be evolutionary.
Firstly, the writers have made it clear that you don’t need to have played the first two titles to understand the plot. That’s because this new adventure focuses more on Geralt’s personal journey, who is in search of The Wild Hunt, a band of shadowy assailants that attack villages and kidnap young human children. The Wild Hunt is led by a band of ruthless Wraith Commanders who pull no punches. Geralt himself has survived such an attack in his past, and he has vowed to track down the monsters who perpetrate such abominable crimes. There's also a lost love involved…
The game will feature the brand new RED Engine 3, which allows for a fantastic branching storyline where choice is a major element. Obviously, freedom is a big part of any large, sweeping virtual world, and exploration is a primary focus. That exploration will involve a gargantuan landscape with a huge amount of variety, and you will be sucked into every facet of fantasy life. Huge vistas, medieval-type constructs such as castles and forts, dense forests, dank caves; it’s all here. And in fact, it has been reported that this world is 35 times bigger than the one in The Witcher 2 .
The team is also instituting a new economy system that makes the commerce between villages and cities more realistic. For instance, if an item is easily produced in one area, it will be relatively cheap, as opposed to a place where it’s difficult to find such an item. The harder it is to find, the more it will cost you. To enhance the realism even further, CD Projekt Red is implementing a fresh dynamic weather system, which can bring brilliant sunlight and vicious storms. Might the designers take even another step, and have the weather impact the gameplay? In other words, will visibility and movement be hampered during a storm?
Everything you see, from far-off mountains to lush forests to gorgeous coastlines, can be reached and explored. There’s even a place called “No Man’s Land,” which sounds appropriately foreboding. As you progress, you will interact with all sorts of characters and various NPCs, watch their lives unfold around you, and of course, go toe-to-toe with all sorts of nasty creatures. There will be over 80 different types of monsters to face down, and special hunts will allow you to become more popular with citizens. You’ll have to track down clues to identify a monster’s type, and you may also have to learn how to defeat it.
Even the freakin’ monsters have individual back stories! You may come across a few faceless goons here and there, but many enemies are extremely well defined, complete with unique attack style and personal history. Although I remain skeptical that they can produce a gripping, cohesive narrative in the midst of such a humongous world, the team’s ambition is worthy of praise. The sheer amount of graphical and story detail, seemingly unparalleled landscapes, and engaging, interesting combat makes this a hugely promising title. For RPG aficionados, this could be a defining experience. Next generation immersion, here we come!
sounds gud i think i'll pick this one up sometime.
this is my 1st time putting a comment up 1st never wud have guessed haha.
happy gaming =)
One of the most interesting news (to me at least) is in fact something as "dull" as the new economy system. It's always annoyed me when stuff cost the exact same wherever I go, it's so illogical.
This will further encourage exploration too. This game screams EPIC all the way.
interested to see what there going to do with the combat, i hope they mix up the weapons and add a little bit of variety.
still waiting for my skyrim meets kingdoms here…….
sigh.
Their ambition is worthy of praise, but Dark Souls 2 remains at the top of my RPG list. I have not played an RPG that has been better than Demon/Dark Souls this entire generation. I mean… it's so addictive and challenging. I love it!
Last edited by MRSUCCESS on 8/1/2013 8:40:19 AM
Looks very promising, very engaging with all the charms games like this could have.
What bothers me just a little bit, is the fact that I could miss several things in the story. Of course they will say you will understand everything if you haven´t played the other 2, but imagine playing MGS3 without playing the first 2…You understand everything or almost everything, but you miss a lot of other things like facts, reasons, origins, evolutions, encounters, treacheries, unanswered deaths, comebacks from supposed deaths, family, and so many other things.
Of course all of the above is all supposition and I wouldn't mind at all playing it and loving it. Also great to see evolving things about in-game macroeconomics and weather.
Just hope they don't abuse for example, that it would rain a lot, or have a massive amount of storms just because it looks beautiful, or to emphasize that visibility changes during storms or other things.
I so totally agree with your last paragraph there.
Let's sincerely hope they don't overdo it just cause they can.
My anticipation for this game keeps growing with every little detail I find out about it. If it weren't for mgs this would be my most anticipated lol
I hope I can get a new hardware on which I can play this. This game should be amazing. I wonder how the encounters with the wild hunt will be like. I think that is the aspect that will really make or break this game.