Witcher set for supernatural enhancement

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpotPosted Feb 18, 2008 12:44 pm PT

CD Projekt working on a new version of PC role-playing game "devoid of all of the major criticisms" of the original.

When Polish developer CD Projekt released its PC role-playing game The Witcher, last fall, the game received generally high marks from reviewers, but with a small host of caveats. The English-language translation was stilted, load times were lengthy, and some players reported serious stability issues with the game.

Now CD Projekt wants a second chance to make that first impression, as the developer today announced that it will address lingering issues in the game with a rerelease titled The Witcher Enhanced.

"The leading idea during the development of The Witcher Enhanced Edition is to create a game that is devoid of all of the major criticisms levied at the original release," CD Projekt CEO Michal Kiciński said in a statement.

The developer said the new version will address a host of issues, starting with an 80 percent reduction in load times and increased stability on certain system configurations. CD Projekt said its work will go beyond the scope of a normal game patch, with the English-language translation being completely redone. The world of the Witcher will also sport a little more variety, as the enhanced game will have more than 50 new non-player character models, ensuring adventurers bump into familiar faces a little less often. Other changes include a revamped inventory system and more than 100 new animations and new lip-synching for more natural dialogue scenes.

All those changes will be made available to customers of the original game, but the Witcher Enhanced package will include a number of enticements above and beyond the gameplay changes. The box will include a "making of" DVD, a soundtrack CD, an 80-page instruction booklet, a 112-page official guide, a 50-page short story, and a DVD with the D'jinii Mod Editor, allowing users to make their own adventures. The developers are even including two new adventures with eight new quests between them to start players off.

CD Projekt has given The Witcher Enhanced a May 16 release date in Eastern Europe. The studio is hoping to make that a worldwide release date and is currently in negotiations with various publishing partners.

138 Comments

  • Lord__Darkstorn

    Posted Oct 30, 2008 6:31 pm PT

    Brilliant game.

  • arual7

    Posted Jul 26, 2008 12:21 pm PT

    The thought of buying the same game twice almost makes me sick... but then I say to myself, "HELLO, it's the Witcher, not the Sims!" ... and its all right.

  • BloodMist

    Posted Jul 12, 2008 1:04 am PT

    *Jaw drops to the floor* WOW!Guess i will just have to wait for this version to come out then.I've been playing the demo lately(which is like, about 8 hours long!) and this game is really fantastic.Release it already!!

  • solidbond1

    Posted Jul 6, 2008 3:25 pm PT

    Best RPG ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The New SW: KOTOR 3 should be like it!

  • jcdbionicman

    Posted Jun 25, 2008 5:54 am PT

    Have a look here: http://pc.ign.com/articles/883/883140p3.html
    IGN's already encouraging people to buy The Witcher Enhanced Version this summer... September 16th I mean

  • tjdeep_2007

    Posted Jun 24, 2008 5:35 pm PT

    the Witcher is the best RPG i have ever played....very deep story....i got my copy from gamestop on day first...i was really excited about this game....and it has one of the best CGI intro ....

  • Lycen

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 12:02 pm PT

    A very good RPG had the pleasure to play it for 2 days at a relative and its worth buying, specialy this new version WOOT!!

  • makeuser

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 11:16 am PT

    Played demo, enjoyed it, only had 1 crash in 10+ hrs of play (played it thru a couple of times). Combat system & skill upgrades are very cool. You gotta come w/a little strategy b/c you're usually out numbered. It's great to hear they're giving it some more polish & gameplay. I would recommend it b/c it looks good, plays well you can find it for cheap right now.

  • XeroComplex

    Posted Jun 17, 2008 9:10 pm PT

    Might get it if it turns out to be a good improvement.

  • viet1125

    Posted Jun 16, 2008 4:14 am PT

    Long live PC role playing games!!! Make it exclusive for PC!!

  • viet1125

    Posted Jun 10, 2008 12:17 am PT

    That's good! But can they make a game that my PC can run more smooth?

  • FallenAngelXBL

    Posted May 18, 2008 8:41 am PT

    Also 1 more thing, people should stop complaining about being 'beta testers'. Consoles in theroy are WAY easier to make games on. Mainly because theres only ONE PS3 and ONE Xbox360. Whilst there are THOUSANDS of different PC builds. What works on one might not work on another, you cant expect them to get a game perfect on every system first time can you??? Exactly stfu

    Also, have you ever Beta Tested a game?? No? well i have and they are truly one giant pile of bugs and glitches.

  • FallenAngelXBL

    Posted May 18, 2008 8:36 am PT

    I loved the witcher, i thought it was a great game and surprisingly indepth and unique especially for a companies first game. I think its great how they are redoing the entire game to fix the problems in the original unlike other companies that just say "hey we made a bit of money, screw them". Might buy the redone version just to add to there number of sales, to help encourage these guys to make Witcher 2 or whatever from the lessons they've learned from there first installments.

  • Keivz_basic

    Posted May 9, 2008 3:56 pm PT

    May 16th now = sometime in September. Bummer.

  • Daelock

    Posted May 6, 2008 1:54 pm PT

    PC developers just can't win. If they take plenty of time to really polish a game, the fanboys hit the forums whining about how long a game is taking. If they rush it out the gate with a little spitshine and then give you a FREE PATCH that fixes almost everything wrong with it, the fanboys hit the forums and whine they're using us as BETA testers. You know who says that? People who've never even KNOWN a BETA tester. And sometimes these smaller companies (You know, ones that don't have EA, Blizzard, Take-Two or somesuch in their names?) need to put the game out to make money fast so they can keep the studio going. So I'm thrilled that they're doing this, especially since it isn't costing people who bought the game early any extra (another benefit to them not being EA). Deal.

  • Novapete

    Posted Apr 24, 2008 6:50 am PT

    'Enhanced' sounds rather over the top to me, especially since what's been described in the article is, in essence, a patch (since it'll be downloadable), albeit on a larger scale than usual. I think The Witcher 'Finished Edition' would be more appropiate but then, a name's a name. There's only 2 real issues that stand out about the original in my mind. 1st and foremost: there are no scabbards! I don't understand why some devs decide that it would be better to sheath ours swords in...thin air. It's like the swords are magnetically attached to Geralts back, except they're hovering just a few cm's away. Plus - for example - in the final cutscene of the game, Geralt has the steel sword (with scabbard) but not the silver one. Where/when did he lose that? And not once did I see it mentioned that they we're going to add scabbards, though they did say 'among many other changes', so here's hoping that's included.

    Also, there's that little clipping issue; raindrops falling though roofs, Geralt's hair going straight through his swords, etc. Apart from that, CD-Project have done a pretty damn good job with this game already and they're the 1st company I've heard of who actually seem to care about the critisisms enough to iron the issues out in this way. I only wish Obsidian had done the same with KoTOR 2.

  • Lotus69

    Posted Apr 11, 2008 10:24 pm PT

    Half the people on here don't have a clue. The added content is free, console games don't guarantee that they are finished and this is a very cool move from the Developer for their game that played fine on my computer and will play even better with the new enhanced version! Thank you.

  • abw1977

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 12:54 am PT

    Cool news. You all can hate on me but I wish it was for a console version of the game... My PC is crap. (Actually, it hit crap status a few years ago…)

  • everson_rm

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 11:08 am PT

    It's a shame that I've already played this... for me is difficulty to go back to the same game. BTW, I've realy liked the witcher, and with more models and animations will be even greater... probably one of the bests RPG ever!!!

  • BearishSun

    Posted Mar 11, 2008 6:12 am PT

    I loved witcher and I really appreciate the great patch, but it is true we were just beta testers on the PC. Now they're gonna patch it up and release it on the consoles.

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