Dead is Dead Forever in The Witcher 2

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
45,698
1
0
Dead is Dead Forever in The Witcher 2


CD Projekt Red has something special in store for seriously hardcore RPG fans: an "insane" difficulty level in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings [http://www.amazon.com/Witcher-2-Assassins-Kings-Collectors-Pc/dp/B004CQRCF4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292607644&sr=8-1] that will destroy your saved games if you die.

So you think you're bad. You're a tough guy. You're hardcore. Let's see you try this, then: play a sprawling, unforgiving, combat-heavy RPG at the hardest difficulty level possible, and if you die, you die - permanently. No reloads, no do-overs; if you die in the final battle, you start over again from square one. That, in a nutshell, is the "insane" mode of The Witcher 2.

"You can save the game, but when you die the saves are disabled," Witcher 2 Lead Gameplay Designer Mateusz Kanik told Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-12-17-witcher-2s-insane-difficulty-revealed]. "Of course we plan to have a resurrection scroll, maybe DLC or something. You'll see."

The insane setting was apparently inspired by the notoriously difficult Demon's Souls [http://www.amazon.com/Demons-Souls-Greatest-Hits-Playstation-3/dp/B002AB7TX8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292607693&sr=8-1], which the studio reportedly "admires greatly," and along with permanent death it will also feature a few changes to enemy behavior that will make an untimely demise much more difficult to avoid.

"It won't be easy to not fight the monsters. We fixed that by giving all opponents special abilities which allow them to catch the Witcher," Kanik said. "Undead can dig into the ground and get up near the player. So when you run he will dig up in front of you and grab you. It will be harder to just run and avoid the fight."

And what's the big payoff for struggling through an ultra-hard, no-death Witcher 2? "There will be an achievement for that, for sure," Kanik added.

Likely to be of greater interest to the not-quite-so-self-flagellating Witcher fan demographic will be the ability to import saves from the original game, which will have an impact on certain story details and allow Geralt to bring along some of his equipment as well.

"We want to import information about your decisions in The Witcher 1, and to make consequences of those decisions in The Witcher 2 so it will impact the storyline. Of course, not a new story, totally. Only little differences," Kanik explained. "We want to give the possibility to import some items from your inventory. Of course, not all because it impacts the game balance. Money, for example, we can't give, because the game economy will be ruined. But for sure there will be an option to import some weapons and armor."

For players who don't have a copy of their Witcher saved games lying around (come on, it's only three years old), the studio is also considering a "PS3 Mass Effect 2 [http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-2-Playstation-3/dp/B002I0J5YW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1292607853&sr=8-3-spell]-style story generator" which will allow them to shape the game world in a similar fashion.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings comes out on May 17, 2011, only for the PC.


Permalink
 

Onyx Oblivion

Borderlands Addict. Again.
Sep 9, 2008
17,032
0
0
Some people really get into their "role playing". And this mode really is Insane.

I would take the sane route, myself. Assuming I had a PC that could run the damn thing.
 

LTK_70

New member
Aug 28, 2009
598
0
0
Eh, I don't see it working. What keeps you from reloading a save the moment you are down to 1 hp? Difficulty settings like these are only possible if the player enforces them for himself.
 

TriggerHappyAngel

Self-Important Angler Fish
Feb 17, 2010
2,141
0
0
Hard difficulty: awesome, i like a little bit of challenge
Losing everything when you die: no way D:
 

Onyx Oblivion

Borderlands Addict. Again.
Sep 9, 2008
17,032
0
0
LTK_70 said:
Eh, I don't see it working. What keeps you from reloading a save the moment you are down to 1 hp? Difficulty settings like these are only possible if the player enforces them for himself.
Dead on.

But there could be one powerful blow that knocks you dead. And then you are SoL.

What's stopping you from backing up the saves on a flash drive or something, though?
 

Master Kuja

New member
May 28, 2008
802
0
0
So basically what Egosoft did with their Dead is Dead mode in X3 Terran Conflict? And that game actually made you pay for it, a month's work building up a galactic empire and universe conquering fleet, only to make one bad tactical choice and oops, you just lost everything.

Would definitely make things interesting, but it'll be a fine line between hard and absolute dick move.
 

Asehujiko

New member
Feb 25, 2008
2,119
0
0
I hope there's an option for the tactical combat without the stupid "hardcore ppl don't reload" meme bullshit.
 

Crimsane

New member
Apr 11, 2009
914
0
0
If that's Trish, she looks horrible in that image.

Anyway, I'll be giving this difficulty a go.
 

sunburst

Media Snob
Mar 19, 2010
666
0
0
This will only work if the game has intense challenges and absolutely no instant death scenarios dropped on the player without any warning. I'm not entirely confident The Witcher can deliver on that front so colour me pessimistic. I do hope they pull it off though.
 

SharedProphet

New member
Oct 9, 2008
181
0
0
At least it doesn't have Super Insane Mode, where if your character dies in the game it formats your hard drive, insults all your friends on Facebook, signs you up for extra junk mail, and maxes out your credit cards to post a hit on you in the secret forums of the Russian mafia.
 

Celtic_Kerr

New member
May 21, 2010
2,166
0
0
Dorian6 said:
What sort of masochist would actually do that?
Just think. One fuck up. One mistake. You're low on health with few potions so you run.... Only to have the fucker pop up in front of you... You'er about to kill the last boss and he scores a cheap shot on you...

Fucked up for sure
 

w-Jinksy

New member
May 30, 2009
961
0
0
i foresee smashed keyboards, mass nerd rage an entire army of the angry german kid.

but yeah i suppose that's kinda cool but i would just see myself running like a ***** and leaving the peeps to die at any sign of real danger, which when your playing an rpg you shouldn't do.

unless your a rogue (oh yeah i went there people, i fucking went there.)
 

dsmops2003

New member
Sep 23, 2009
563
0
0
Man Diablo 2 has this, and that was 10 years ago. Hardcore mode online. You die you loose your char and all your loot. At least witcher wont have TPPK and other triggers.