The Witcher Pre-E3 Previews

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Written by BuckGB on July 6th, 2007

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Slicing away at foes can be done from three different perspectives. There's an off-center over-the-shoulder view, similar to what you'd find in Gears of War, a pulled back and more centered view, and a near overhead view. Since this game was built using a heavily modified Aurora engine (used in the original Neverwinter Nights), you'll even find that in the overhead view you can click around on the ground to issue movement commands instead of clicking around in the WASD control scheme. Considering the focus here is more on action, we wanted to be closer up and preferred playing from the Gears-style view. It had a feel that we'd definitely need to get used to, as initially it felt rather awkward. Geralt can't jump, for example, which we found odd while playing from so close in. It makes sense when you're clicking around the screen Neverwinter-style, but when in so close and considering you can jump in Gothic and Oblivion, it just felt a little odd. There's also no swimming, according to CD Projekt's Chief Designer, Michal Madej.

We were shown an example of how one simple decision early on in the game can have a long-lasting impact on the world of The Witcher. It started with a simple quest to protect a pile of goods along a riverbank from ravenous monsters. Once you've warded off the beasts, a band of travelers arrive and lay claim to the goods.

You could let them take what they came for. After all, you were hired to fight were monsters, not men. On the other hand, you could also defend the goods and slay the strangers.

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