In the world of Geralt the Witcher, there are no princesses to fight for the honor of saving. There are no groups of heroes roaming the countryside to right wrongs and put things the way they should be, there are no blacks and whites. There are just those who would get in your way, and those smart enough not to do so.
This is the world that gamers are once again thrust into in The Witcher 2, the highly-anticipated sequel to the original game, one built on a heavily-modified version of the engine that once run Neverwinter Nights. In The Witcher 2, however, CDProjekt has built the engine from the ground up, giving gamers one hell of a visual trip as well as a entirely new way to play the game, even if they've played the first title.
Now, the more astute of you may have realized that The Witcher 2 came out...oh, some years ago. However, for the first time the title has been put onto the Xbox 360 in what is released as an 'Enhanced Edition'. In addition to, you know, the ability to play this game on a console, it comes a host of new content, cinematics, fixes, and enhancements to the formula. PC users have no reason to be grumpy about this though, they get the extra content 100% free, adhering to CDProjekt RED's commitment to not charging for any DLC, one that I can certainly get behind.
Running the game on the Xbox 360 is certainly an impressive feat; it looked gorgeous on the PC, and it still looks great on the console. Of course, the more perceptive of gamers will be able to see a natural decrease in grapical quality, but for those coming straight to the console version, what they'll get is a high-quality title that brings a fantasy world to life.
The Witcher 2 is certainly one of the best RPG titles to come out in a while. As Geralt, the potion-augmented mutant, you'll fight monsters, solve quests, fight some more monsters, have sex with a few ladies, and in general mess things up for anyone in your way. The combat system alone is more fluid than most titles combined, as the one thing you'll quickly find out is that witchers do not fight fair.
Dodging around the battlefield, laying traps, flinging spells and your enemies, tossing bombs and daggers, and generally making yourself a whirling dervish of pain for anyone involved is standard faire, and in fact is required for some of the harder difficulties (or you will get your face kicked in). As you level up, you can place talent points a variety of locations, depending on what kind of a fighter you want Geralt to be. Throw points into his magic tree to send spells whizzing across the field, place points in the alchemy area to be buffed by potions nonstop, or if you just want to cut a path through your enemies, a few talent points in the swordsman tree couldn't hurt. How Geralt fights is really up to you, though you'll still need to change up your patterns if you want to make it through some of the tougher fights in the game.
The story is not one of good-vs-evil. There are no morality bars, and the choices you make throughout the game may come back to haunt you later in ways you couldn't predict. In fact, there is a choice you can make at one point which will change the entirety of the second chapter (and the largest) of the game, showing you a different perspective to the conflict that embroils the land you're in.
It's a new take on a choice-based RPG that doesn't have you watching a morality bar go up and down, but you'll still have to think about what choice you're making. And with combat that actually challenges you and makes you think about the moves you're making, there's no shortage of fierce fighting to be had, whether you're up against a gaggle of drowners or a massive troll that can take your head off. Witcher 2 is a great game to play, and with the ability to now play it on the 360, there's very little reason as to why any fans of the genre shouldn't play through it.