Countdown to The Witcher, Nights One and Two

IGN has launched a feature called Countdown to The Witcher, which offers a closer look at facets of the game running up to its release. Night One explores some of the game's locations:
One can also find tower ruins in the swamps, erected centuries ago by some deranged mage. After all, who else would come up with the idea to build such structures in the middle of nowhere? Legend has it that he came to know the secret of life and death, and by bringing nearby boulders and stones to life the towers built themselves. Playing god, however, brought down on him the wrath of deities who punished him by sending down a matchlessly massive storm to destroy his creation. Today, those who dare enter the swamps surrounding the towers and come back alive speak of colossal giants wandering somewhere in the mists, suffering for the mage's pride and arrogance in forced silence.

Moreover, the swamps hide from the world yet another little-frequented spot. The Druids' Grove, untouched by human expansion and greed, is the last natural haven of potent magical power in the region. Those lucky individuals who have stumbled onto the druids' sanctuary describe it as peaceful and serene, where spring blooms all year round, and where even the most deadly of beasts stop and quiet down. Conversely, the local lumberjacks have a different take on the grove, looking greedily on the hundred-year-old oaks and other trees that, cut down, would yield wood of the highest quality and help them pocket significant wealth.
While Night Two discusses combat:
Neither the strong nor fast style will do you any good if you're attacked by a horde of monsters. Even if, individually, each of the monsters is laughably slow and weak, together they may just be able to wipe that smirk off your face. As good defense is often good offense, the Witcher in the group style focuses his efforts on wide and broad circles and strikes with the sword to interrupt any attacks being prepared against him. These strikes may be shallow and not overly precise but they definitely fulfill their role - to keep the horde of adversaries occupied while you slowly dispatch one monster after the next.