Dumbed down for consoles?

Dec 3, 2008 11:11 GMT  ·  By

Ever since CD Projekt RED unveiled The Witcher: Enhanced Edition, a re-imagining of the title released last year, there have been rumors that the developer was getting ready to also take its role playing game to the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Now, the company and Atari are officially announcing that they plan to launch The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf in autumn 2009 for the platforms mentioned above.

The idea is to take the story which powered the original game, complete with the side quests and additions that came in the Enhanced Edition, and deliver it to the consoles. Be warned that we're not looking at a simple port. CD Projekt says that, alongside Widescreen Games, they have developed a new game engine designed to use all the performance of the hardware packed inside the gaming consoles. The control scheme and the combat system have also been completely reworked in order to allow those using a console peripheral to get the full experience of The Witcher.

Phil Harrison, the president of Infogrames Entertainment, the owner of the Atari brand, stated that “The creative vision and dedication to the quality of the player experience that CD Projekt RED bring to the Witcher games is extraordinary, and it’s great to be working with them to bring the Witcher universe to console gamers. Taking this brilliantly realised world to PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360 gamers for the first time is a breakthrough in the development of this important franchise”.

The protagonist of the game will be Geralt, the guy who kills monsters for a living while being shunned by society for his threatening demeanor and fighting abilities. CD Projekt says that they do not plan to dumb down the game for console players and that all the features of the PC release will be used.

Here's a trailer of Rise of the White Wolf.