Every weekend, Windows Central streams an Xbox One game or two on Twitch for 1-2 hours and gives out free games to the cool people who join us during the stream. It's like a live podcast, only you also get to watch a game while chatting with our awesome readers and viewers!
In addition to our new regular Wednesday streams, we're kicking off an exciting new stream tonight. Every Tuesday night at 8pm Central (9pm Eastern, 6pm Pacific) from now until The Witcher 3 launches in May, we'll be playing The Witcher 2. Not only can you tune in to get acquainted with the story and world of the Witcher games, I'll also be writing a full column about the events of the previous week's stream. Even if you miss a stream, you can still catch up and follow along on the next one!
Update: The stream has ended! We finished the first chapter of the game. Come back next week for a recap, or continue reading to view the full replay video.
Watch live video from EastXTwitch on Twitch
Setting the stage for The Witcher 2
The Witcher started life as a series of novels and short stories written by Polish fantasy author Andrzej Sapkowski. Four of those books have been released in English at present (plus an excellent original comic miniseries from Dark Horse).
The characters and the universe rose to international fame with Polish developer CD Projekt RED's first PC game, The Witcher. When the Witcher 2 arrived on consoles shortly after PC, a whole new group of gamers was introduced to the adventures of Geralt of Rivia.
Who is Geralt? As a child, Geralt's mother left him at castle Kaer Morhen, the home of the Witchers. There he was subjected to mutations that increased his physical strength and senses. They also gave him yellow cat-like eyes and white hair. Now, Geralt works as a Witcher, a travelling monster hunter for hire.
The first Witcher game takes place some years after the final Witcher novel, with Geralt recovered by his fellow Witchers in a field after being presumed dead. Geralt soon becomes embroiled in a conflict between two groups: the Scoia'tel (persecuted elves and dwarves) and the Order (human knights). The player actually decides which group Geralt sides with, greatly affecting the outcome of the story.
Geralt eventually defeats a powerful villain known as the Grand Master, whose soul is taken by the ghostly Wild Hunt. The game ends as Geralt saves King Foltest from an assassin who appears to be a fellow Witcher.
Now you're ready for our playthrough of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings!
- The Witcher – Windows – $9.99 – Steam Link– GOG Link
- The Witcher 2 – Xbox 360 – $29.99 – Xbox.com Link
- The Witcher 2 – Windows – $19.99 – Steam Link– GOG Link
The Contest
We'll be streaming The Witcher 2 for at least 2 hours tonight, starting at 8pm Central (9pm Eastern, 6pm Pacific). During that time, we'll be giving out a total of 4 game codes:
- 4 copies of The Witcher: Enhanced Edition for Windows and Mac via GOG.com
To enter, just follow me at Twitch.tv/Eastxtwitch and tune in during the stream. You can watch the stream right here in this post, but you need to actually participate in the stream chat to have a chance at winning. We'll deliver codes to the winners via Twitch message (PM) during the stream. No code begging!
What's the best way to experience Twitch? If you don't have a PC, you can get the Xbox One or Xbox 360 Twitch app and watch from the comfort of your couch. Or grab the unofficial app Livegaming for Windows Phone. It has plenty of great features, including the ability to chat along with your fellow viewers. Unfortunately you'll have to add our channel to your favorites from the Twitch website, outside of the app.
I'll be available for a few minutes before and after the stream if you have any questions or just want to say hi. If you enjoy the stream, I'd love for you to tune in to future streams. For now, we'll do one every weekend, with a few non-contest streams throughout the week.
Streaming schedule
Want to know what's next for Windows Central's weekly Twitch streaming contests? Here's our upcoming schedule:
- Saturday, February 7 : Fibbage from Jackbox Games - Play along with us during the stream!
- Saturday, February 14 : Guacamelee from Drinkbox Studios
- Saturday, February 21 : Chariot from Frima Studio
In addition to our Saturday contest streams, we also livestream a variety of different games throughout the week. These streams don't have contests, but they still offer a great chance to see more exciting games while enjoying our live commentary and stream chat.
- Mondays: Playstation Vita games! See what the other side gets to play.
- Tuesdays: The Witcher 2 for Xbox 360. Catch up on The Witcher saga before The Witcher 3 launches in May!
- Wednesdays: Xbox One games. This week we're playing #IDARB!
- Thursdays: Dragon Age: Inquisition! Game selected and funded by our excellent stream viewers.
We hope you'll tune in as often as you can! Set a recurring alarm on your phone so you'll always know when it's time for the stream to start.
Winners
- Ashalinia
- paprtigrs
- socalledgamer
- electric_jack
Thanks to CD Projekt RED for providing tonight's prizes. Thanks also to tonight's cohost Xero and our Twitch stream moderators for keeping the stream friendly and giving away the prizes!