The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - GOTY Edition

[Zivouhr]

The Witcher 3's giant world will probably win me over to buy the game more than anything else. I do like the fact it's live action combat, and not turn based. So that's a plus too.

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

Gamestop is on life support. As each new generation passes, we get closer and closer to a 100% digital age of gaming. It's practically already there with PC's. There will come a time where console gaming will be 100% digital as well.

Personally I hate Gamestop. It's rare that I walk in that store where I'm not harassed to either sign up for something, join something, pay extra for something (warranties), buy some add on, etc. It's annoying as hell.

I was in there the other day for Game Informer, and surprisingly, the guy didn't ask if I wanted to pre-order a game, or if I even needed anything else from the store.

But yeah, it's a battle of digital versus video/music/video game physical copies. While I prefer a physical disc for back up, ownership and the speed of installation compared to the snail pace of most current PS4 game installations over 20 GBs, I can see how eventually digital might win the war in 10 years time or so, as it saves the companies the costs of production, shipping and stocking items.

I don't mind when they ask about pre-orders since once in awhile they have a good bonus, like the one for Arkham Knight with two playable characters for June 2015.

[detective392]

Meet Ciri, the Second Playable Character in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Having made her debut in the “Elder Blood” trailer that debuted during The Game Awards, CD Projekt Red has confirmed that the character Ciri will be the second playable character in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

“Ciri is playable only during certain moments in the game,” Robert Malinowski told IGN. “We introduce her to give gamers another perspective in the story to make it even more engaging. You won’t play as her for long periods of time, but since she’s crucial to the plot, we thought that additional insight will allow gamers to better bond with this cool character.The Witcher was always about Geralt and that has not changed, but that handful of moments when you play as Ciri provide us with glimpses of how the story feels from the other side.’

“She’s a living weapon… and everyone wants to control her. This, plus she also has her own will and agenda, so it’s not just finding her that counts. I think that is the most important aspect of this character. Geralt knows Ciri since she was a child. She’s Geralt’s apprentice and they have a close emotional bond – he trained her so she could become a witcheress.”

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt features a vast, living, open world full of meticulously-created quests and Points of Interest, 35 times bigger than the one in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Experience a realm where morality is not a simple choice between good and evil and where every decision ripples through the one hundred hours of gameplay CD Projekt RED has hand-crafted to meet the needs of the RPG fan.

Based on the critically-acclaimed novels by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be available for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on May 19, 2015.

[Zivouhr]

I didn't notice at first about the delay of the release date from February 2015 to May 19, 2015 for The Witcher 3 on PS4. They should just say December 2015 and when it's finished, then post the release date instead of getting anticipation up and then having it deflated with less enthusiasm time and time again... This is about the 3rd delay now I'm guessing.

The Witcher 3 still looks promising even so, but they need to stop posting release dates until they're convinced it's ready. Rockstar is notorious for this also.
That's why No Man's Sky's marketing is smart, since they just say TBD 2015... Same with Metal Gear Solid Phantom Pain: TBD 2015.
And same with The Last Guardian. They don't even post a year. Just "TBD"...

[detective392]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

I didn't notice at first about the delay of the release date from February 2015 to May 19, 2015 for The Witcher 3 on PS4. They should just say December 2015 and when it's finished, then post the release date instead of getting anticipation up and then having it deflated with less enthusiasm time and time again... This is about the 3rd delay now I'm guessing.

The Witcher 3 still looks promising even so, but they need to stop posting release dates until they're convinced it's ready. Rockstar is notorious for this also.
That's why No Man's Sky's marketing is smart, since they just say TBD 2015... Same with Metal Gear Solid Phantom Pain: TBD 2015.
And same with The Last Guardian. They don't even post a year. Just "TBD"...

Witcher 3 has only been delayed once and the delay isn't that big of one anyways.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by detective392

Witcher 3 has only been delayed once and the delay isn't that big of one anyways.

I'll admit I probably overreacted a little from the disappointment of seeing it delayed nearly 3 more months. Really wanted to explore this game world in February, oh well.
This would have been great to play early in the year 2015, but now it's in possible competition with other games during that time, like Arkham Knight a month later or so in June 2015.

Thinking about it, delays are better than releasing a buggy, broken game, like Fallout New Vegas for example.

They mentioned when it was first announced, a 2014 release. Then delayed to February 2015, now till May 19, 2015. Hopefully this one sticks.

[Grim Reaper]

Pre-Order from Best Buy & get a free steelbook case.

PS4
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/the-witc...&skuId=8723069

Xbox One
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/the-witc...&skuId=9441119

PC
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/the-witc...&skuId=2680112

[Grim Reaper]

Pre-Order Bonus
Only at Best Buy, pre-order and get a limited edition SteelBook. Plus, My Best Buy™ members receive $10 in reward certificates and Unlocked Gamers Club members get 20% off the game.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/games-pr...=the+witcher+3

[R3P0]

OMG the PC Requirements for this game are brutal

Minimum
Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3 GHz or AMD Phenom II X4 940
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 or AMD Radeon HD 7870
RAM: 6 GB
OS: 64-bit Windows 7, 8 or 8.1
DirectX 11
HDD Space: 40 GB

Recommended
Processor: Intel Core i7-3770 3.4 GHz or AMD FX-8350 4 GHz
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 or AMD Radeon R9 290
RAM: 8 GB
OS: 64-bit Windows 7, 8 or 8.1
DirectX 11
HDD Space: 40 GB

[Untraceable79]

Does anyone know what size the SteelBook will be?

[R3P0]

Originally Posted by Untraceable79

Does anyone know what size the SteelBook will be?

From the picture its a standard steelbook

[UniBlu]

The steelbook is most likely g2 since that's the standard for Xbox one now too. Do you guys know if the steelbook is a My Best Buy members only bonus or if it's for online only? This last weekend, I travelled to Best Buy to preorder the game as I rather not do it online, I want to see the steelbook for myself. After being disappointed of not finding it on the preorder screen for the ps4 version, an employee checked it on their comp and came to the same page as above and what I already knew that says "Pre-Order Bonus
Only at Best Buy, pre-order and get a limited edition SteelBook. Plus, My Best Buy™ members receive $10 in reward certificates and Unlocked Gamers Club members get 20% off the game." He told me that I had to be a member to get the steelbook but that's not what I'm reading. Members get that $10 reward and UGC members get the 20% off the game thing and the steelbook is for everyone or anyone who preorders the game otherwise they would have said the part about the steelbook after saying the bit about the rewards, that's why there's the Plus. The guy gave me a preorder ticket instead and I rather not make a members account. Am I wrong or do I have to go back and cancel the deposit and just preorder online to get the steelbook?

[Harlock415]

Originally Posted by R3P0

OMG the PC Requirements for this game are brutal

Which is why I prefer consoles. Not all PC's are the same, but at least consoles by brand should be. It's why my brother stopped playing Dragon Age inquisition on PC and bought it for his new PS4(he just bought it around the same time he got DA:I). It was slow and kept freezing on him. I could have told him he'd probably have issues, since his PC was over 5 years old, it was gonna get killed by these new games.

Speaking of PC's, I went and ordered the first game to play on mine since I never really played the first game and I don't have an Xbox. I'll probably do the same with the second game.

[Suntory_Times]

Originally Posted by Harlock415

Which is why I prefer consoles. Not all PC's are the same, but at least consoles by brand should be. It's why my brother stopped playing Dragon Age inquisition on PC and bought it for his new PS4(he just bought it around the same time he got DA:I). It was slow and kept freezing on him. I could have told him he'd probably have issues, since his PC was over 5 years old, it was gonna get killed by these new games.

Speaking of PC's, I went and ordered the first game to play on mine since I never really played the first game and I don't have an Xbox. I'll probably do the same with the second game.

Well he essentially tried running a ps4 game on a ps3 then. The requirements for this game are not all that high anyway, especially when compared to what a lot of people where expecting.

[Steelmaker]

Originally Posted by Suntory_Times

Well he essentially tried running a ps4 game on a ps3 then. The requirements for this game are not all that high anyway, especially when compared to what a lot of people where expecting.

Yeah but you and I both know that system REQUIREMENTS only mean the absolute minimum you have to have to even get the game up and running. The system recommendations are what you have to go by in order to get the game to run the way it's really intended and even then, sometimes you have to exceed the recommended specs to get a game to run well.

[Suntory_Times]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

Yeah but you and I both know that system REQUIREMENTS only mean the absolute minimum you have to have to even get the game up and running. The system recommendations are what you have to go by in order to get the game to run the way it's really intended and even then, sometimes you have to exceed the recommended specs to get a game to run well.

Well usually recommended will result in better results then on consoles but pc just like console, ice cream and everything else that exists isn't for everyone.

Also sequel to my favourite game. Very excited.

[Steelmaker]

Originally Posted by Suntory_Times

Well usually recommended will result in better results then on consoles but pc just like console, ice cream and everything else that exists isn't for everyone.

Also sequel to my favourite game. Very excited.

It's why I will always prefer consoles to PC's. I like the peace of mind in knowing that every game I purchase for a console will run optimally without needing to worry about whether or not I meet certain system requirements. I'll gladly trade any advantage PC's have in performance for that.

[dyne]

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

It's why I will always prefer consoles to PC's. I like the peace of mind in knowing that every game I purchase for a console will run optimally without needing to worry about whether or not I meet certain system requirements. I'll gladly trade any advantage PC's have in performance for that.

Optimally like 90% of the games that have fluctuating framerates?

[Harlock415]

The caveat being that if it runs well on one PS4 it should run well on all of them. Then you have buggy messes like Assassin's Creed Unity which was just plain buggy on release, not just for PS4 but X1 too.

Back to Witcher though. I have several of the ebooks on my reader but have not read them yet. Should I in order to familiarize myself with the game. I'm on vacation next week anyway and won't be playing games or watching blu-rays.

Although if I bring my laptop I could play the first Witcher. That or Bard's Tale on my tablet to get my dose of fantasy gaming.

[Steelmaker]

Originally Posted by dyne

Optimally like 90% of the games that have fluctuating framerates?

None of the PS4 games that I personally own have framerate issues. If the framerates fluctuate, I'm certainly not noticing it.

[Elandyll]

New Video following the global hands on event (3hrs play on PC/ XB1 and PS4 stations)

YouTube

There will also be new gameplay footage posted on Monday.