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New agreement locks in Polish version of AoC
No, not a polished version, although we hope for that too. Poland will be getting a fully localized version of Age of Conan under a new agreement with developer and distributor CD Projekt. The game's text and voice, website, in-game support and communities will be looked after by CD Projekt, with Funcom still overseeing the other parts of the game. Funcom's baby will be in safe hands with CD Projekt, as they have localized countless hit games over the last decade or so, and are also the developer behind the recent critically acclaimed PC RPG The Witcher. The Polish AoC is expected to be released in the second half of this year.
The Witcher gets 'completely finished' version in May
The Witcher, Atari and CD Projekt's love letter to traditional (read: click happy) PC role-playing, is getting an upgrade this May in the form of The Witcher Enhanced Edition, which project manager Maciej Szcze?nik thankfully describes as "a completely finished project." Szcze?nik openly admits that while it would have been great if the original game was not riddled with issues, the team has apparently subscribed to the old adage of the second time's the charm. The tune-up will include a number of enhancements over the original release, from load times that are 80% faster to fixes to other stability and gamplay issues. The game's English version is also getting a major overhaul, with text that is said to have been "completely re-done," while all versions will get an additional 50 new supporting character models -- no doubt helpful in keeping the game world from feeling like it's populated by Sludge Vohaul's community of clones. No price has been announced for the new version, though the developer has said that it's packing in content such as the D'jinii Mod Editor, soundtrack, 112-page guide, two new adventures and more to help make being asked to buy the game a second time around easier to swallow. [Update: The publisher has confirmed that those who have purchased The Witcher will get access to the new content and improvements via a downloadable update.]
Zero Punctuation not bewitched by The Witcher
In the latest installment of Zero Punctuation, Yahtzee (or rather Retard McSpacky Pants) has set his foul-mouthed sights on The Witcher, a computer RPG in the truest of forms (i.e. a really big manual and familiar medieval fantasy setting) also dubbed a "MUMORPUGER." If you're wondering what a MUMORPUGER is, McSpacky Pants defines it as follows: "One click combat, endless drudging from place to place, quests involving killing X amount of monster Y for lazy stationary ... NPC 'Z.'" The NSFW video is embedded after the break. Stay tuned for after the credits roll for an adjustment of sorts to the Painkiller intro cinematic. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
PAX 07: The Witcher hands-on impressions
At PAX 07, we got a chance to try out Atari's upcoming action RPG, The Witcher and came away impressed. The title has been under development by the Polish game development company CD Projekt for quite a few years now. Originally announced in early 2004, The Witcher has evolved quite a bit from what they originally showed. For example, check out this early screenshot showing the game as basically a reskinned Neverwinter Nights and then look at the screenshots throughout this article. Big difference, no? While the game still uses the Aurora Engine from the first NWN, according to Larry Liberty, the Atari producer that was showing off the game at PAX, 80% of the engine has been replaced with massive overhauls to the lighting, texture, and animation systems -- and it definitely shows. Textures on the monsters and Geralt (main character) looked fantastic, there was tons of foliage in the level we played, and the water looked good enough to make us thirsty. It definitely doesn't look like a modded NWN anymore.
Atari to publish The Witcher
Atari has extended its deal with CD Projekt, agreeing to publish the Polish developer's action-RPG The Witcher in North America; in addition to Europe and Asia. Based on Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski's Blood of the Elves book series, The Witcher (originally, Wied?min) was first unveiled in June 2003 and made subsequent appearances at E3 each of the following years. The game utilizes a modified version of BioWare's Aurora Engine and is said to blend fast-paced combat with a twisting storyline driven by players' decisions. The Witcher's relevance in North America is crippled by a lack of English-translated Sapkowski work (only one short story collection has been translated; to be published in April). Even the awkward name witcher is lost on English-speaking audiences (Sapkowski actually prefers his word to be translated as hexer). Wied?min is derived from the polish word for "witch" (wied?ma), and, as Sapkowski imagined, was invented by magicians as a derogatory term used to describe sterile mutants with (supposedly limited) supernatural abilities. In the game, players are Geralt, Sapkowski's legendary monster slayer, who is a witcher -- "The Witcher." The Witcher is scheduled for release in North America this fall under the Games for Windows brand, and will be compatible with Windows XP and Vista. %Gallery-1467%
The Witcher E3 review
If this E3 update on The Witcher feels like deja vu, it's probably because the action role-playing title has made an appearance at the Expo for three straight years now. And it still isn't due until Q2 '07.GameSpy has summarized CDProjekt's latest presentation of the Andrzej Sapkowski-based fantasy adventure, and if you like a deep storyline, The Witcher could be for you. Boasting over 300 cut scenes, the game is highly plot-driven and involves extensive decision making to complement its fast-paced combat.It looks like the Polish developer has been busy modifying BioWare's Aurora Engine, but have they done as good of a job as Obsidian has for Neverwinter Nights 2? You be the judge.
