The Witcher is an RPG about the adventures of Geralt, a professional monster slayer, and was developed by Warsaw, Poland-based CD Projekt RED. The game is based on a new version of the BioWare Aurora Engine, titled Aurora 2007. The story is set in a world created in the books of Andrzej Sapkowski and sold all over the world.
The Witcher Enhanced Edition not only means changes in the game's mechanics or better graphics, however. There's also an included mod editor called D'jinni that allows players to create or modify their own adventures in the world of The Witcher, as well as two completely new adventures created by CD Projekt RED. The first adventure, entitled “The Price of Neutrality,” tells the story of Geralt coming back to Kaer Morhen and finding a mysterious camp near the stronghold (3 new quests), while the second one focuses on Geralt’s close friend, Dandelion, and his troubles in Vizima City (5 quests).
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition 1.5 is the newest version of the game, including all bonus content from The Witcher: Enhanced Edition and five additional fan-made adventures. Most importantly, The Witcher: Enhanced Edition 1.5 is completely DRM-free! Playing The Witcher will be even more fun without any form of annoying copy protection. Moreover, the 1.5 version of The Witcher will remove the disc check, allowing you to play the game without the DVD in the drive.
All available versions of the game will be upgraded to 1.5, including the forthcoming The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director’s Cut for North American gamers.
CD Projekt RED decided to edit some language versions to meet the highest standards. Work continues on the English version, in which a significant amount of dialogue is being re-recorded and over 5000 lines of the script were rewritten, as well as the German version, in which the translation is being improved and many characters are receiving new voice-overs.
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition will be free of the majority of criticisms noted by fans and media in the original version of the game. The enhancements cover two major areas: removing technical issues (loading times will be reduced by 80%, stability of the game on various operating systems will be improved, and numerous improvements will be made to enhance fighting precision) and the aforementioned changes in language versions. Additionally, the product will ship to retail in a value-packed bundle that includes all language versions on a single master disc, the D’jinni Adventure Editor and two official adventures, the official soundtrack, an album of music inspired by The Witcher, a game guide, a map of The Witcher’s world and more. All of the enhancements will be available as a free download to existing game owners.
The Witcher Enhanced Edition is currently scheduled for Sept. 16, 2008 in North America, and Sept. 19 in the rest of the world.