"The Witcher 2" Miraculously Makes the Jump to 360 Unscathed
"The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings" is known as one of the greatest RPGs to come out in the past decade, if not one of the best PC games period. Now it aims to take that title on the Xbox 360, and for many it will have hit it's mark.
For those who aren't familiar with the franchise, The Witcher games are action RPGs set in medieval times where you assume the role of Geralt of Rivia, also known as the White Wolf. He is one of the titular witchers, humans who have been mutated and trained specifically to hunt and destroy monsters, demons, the undead, and any other unsavory creatures who cause problems...if the coin is good enough. The most striking things about the Witcher series are it's attention to detail, mature story, multi-dimensional characters, and demanding real-time combat that is as rewarding as it is difficult. For more information, read a review more focused on the original PC version.
When news that The Witcher 2 would be ported to the Xbox 360, there's a good chance most everyone who played the original game immediately wrote it off, and for good reason. The Witcher 2 wasn't just one of the most beautiful games on PC, but also one with a ton of mature content. There was no way Microsoft wouldn't make some cuts, and even less chance that the port would look anywhere near as good on the 360's now relatively ancient hardware.
Reasonable assumptions, but ones that were ultimately proven almost completely wrong. It is with great pleasure I can write that very single cutscene, line of dialog, and quest line go untouched in this port of the Witcher 2.* Yes, to be blunt, even the sex scenes. For most console titles this would equate to an instant AO rating, but the Witcher 2 somehow pulls it off with only an M.
The graphics, on the other hand, are going to be the point of contention for most buyers. If you are coming to the Witcher 2 with fresh eyes, and have never played the PC version, the 360 version will look amazing and you should skip the rest of this paragraph. If you are a Witcher veteran and played at higher than medium settings however, the differences will be apparent. It's mainly the little things, like more load screens between doors, animations of Geralt meditating and drinking potions are all gone, less dynamic lighting, overall it's just like playing the PC version on medium settings.
The 360 version is also the "Enhanced Edition", meaning they went back and added even more content than the PC version had (although the PC version will be getting this content in a free DLC patch). The main addition being more quests for the rather lacking last section of the game, which is greatly appreciated.* Other, smaller changes include UI tweaks to make the game a bit more controller friendly and the extended tutorial that was added in the PC version's 2.0 patch. The 360 achievements that were added also seem to be top quality, properly rewarding players for going out of their way to find every little thing in the Witcher's universe.
At the end of the day, which version of "The Witcher 2" you should buy is simple. If you have a PC that can play the game at higher settings, you'll honestly be getting the optimal experience with the PC version. However, if you like achievements and you already spend most of your time on an Xbox, the 360 version is still worth every penny and is probably the better option rather than going out to buy a PC just for The Witcher 2.
*I have only played around the first 2/3s of the 360 version at the time of this writing, and therefore have not seen the new content added to the last section, and also cannot verify nothing was changed after that point. However, everything so far has been exactly the same, so it's safe to say the rest of the game is as well.
