Things are looking a bit grim at the moment up in the Northern Kingdoms - ravaged by the fearsome Nilfgaardian Empire, with many villages burnt to the ground, there's something much more sinister brewing under the surface - something which lusts after the one thing that matters most to the protagonist Geralt. The Witcher 3 is the final instalment in the trilogy that follows the legend of Geralt of Rivia, a rather important dude who's overthrown monarchs, slain legendary monsters and saved the lives of many - and now he needs to save the lives of his loved, who's been threatened by an ancient power.
Also, horses.
A vast, open world role playing game, the Witcher 3 promises a spectacular, branching storyline, which will let you go anywhere, and do anything whenever you choose. With a branching storyline in place, every decision you make in the world will affect not only how the characters view you, but will change the monsters you encounter, how the world evolves over time, and the overall outcome of the game itself, with three different endings on offer, each over an hour long. With a world that's 30x bigger than the Witcher 2 to explore, it'd almost be an understatement to say that the game's utterly huge - from the wind-swept islands of Skellige, to the port city of Noigrad to the war-torn No Man's Land - there are hundreds of areas to discover, each one chock-a-block with unique characters with their own personalities and, this being a role-playing game and all, plenty of menial quests they're too lazy to do themselves.
As you play through the game, your character Geralt will gain a whole load of abilities to use both in and out of battle - along with swinging your sword around, you can also make use of alchemical items, such as oils, bombs and traps, and a range of magic spells to help defeat your enemies. Perhaps even more useful are your Witcher Senses, which give you an insight into each enemies' weak points in battle, but also let you track down beasts by finding clues hidden in the surroundings, or luring them out with bait - talents which can also come in handy when you're hot on the trail of a murderer in town.
With the main storyline weighing in at a hefty fifty hours and additional stories adding another fifty on top, even taking into account any PR spin, it seems The Witcher 3 is set to be a huge game that'll eat up a fair chunk of your time if you want to see everything it has to offer. Intriguingly, the game is slated for release in 2014 for "all high-end platforms", naming only the Playstation 4 by name - which perhaps suggests it'll be an early title for the Xbox 360's successor too. Details may be a bit hazy at the moment, but with at least a year until The Witcher 3 lands, we're imagining things will get a lot clearer in the coming months - although from what we've heard so far, it certainly sounds like a game we don't want to miss.
