Polish game developer, CD Projekt Red, showcased their third entry in The Witcher series, Wild Hunt, at E3 this year. Derek Nolan was on hand to provide his impressions about the new game and give some context to the gameplay vids pouring out of the convention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BivVXw-NLTw[width=650,height=366]
Gerault once again plays protagonist, and makes a living wage in this huge, open world by collecting bounties on dangerous beasties. Every place on the map can be reached, if it can be seen: none of that “turn back, you can go no farther” invisible boundary shit from The Elder Scrolls series. The ambitious scope of the game applies to NPC development, as well. Over 1000 individually crafted NPC characters inhabit the world, each with his/her own personality. I have a note from Derek here that says “OMG graphics are insane!” Let’s hope that they don’t have to downgrade the graphics to maintain gameplay in this giant environment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJlkMAZTEPI[width=650,height=366]
Details on the plot of the third installment are vague, but Gerault is tasked with retrieving a woman, who is trailed by a devastating force, called The Wild Hunt, and bringing her before some sort of autocrat. The story itself is reported to be rich and detailed.
Gerault possesses a “Witcher Sense” which heightens his abilities and allows him to track monsters across great distances. Archery also utilizes a time-slowing mechanic. Potions will bestow the desired effect upon the user, but often have negative side-effects. Dialog trees are utilized a bit differently in this game, as does underwater travel.
Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt drops on February 24, 2015.
