The Witcher - Previews @ GameSpy, 1up

CD Projekt's pre-E3 presentation of The Witcher has generated two new previews - GameSpy and 1Up.  Let's take a bit from GameSpy:

To avoid combat degenerating into a mere button-masher, Geralt's fighting skills are based on combos triggered by pressing the button at the proper time. Depending on the difficulty the player selects, this timing can be indicated by the cursor flashing, an audio cue or nothing at all. Improper timing will break the combo and afford the enemy a chance to strike at Geralt. The right mouse button will trigger a magic spell. This also breaks a combo chain but will often be necessary to stun opponents or maneuver into a better fighting position.

In playing around with the combat system, I found myself impressed at the level of skill that will be required to master it. CD Projekt could easily have changed a button-mashing system to one that merely required decent timing. As it turns out, each segment of a combo sequence is actually a different length. That means that even at lower difficulty levels, players will need to pay attention to the flashing cursor and at higher levels they'll actually need to have mastered each and every combo sequence.

1Up's article is short and generic but I like this intro:

The Witcher's lead designer Michal Madej has a theory regarding RPG development from around the world -- he feels that Japanese RPGs tend to be about bright-eyed fantasy, while American RPGs are partially inspired by historical myths, and European RPGs stick closer to history and are more realistic. In other words, Japanese RPGs have flying castles, American RPGs have gleaming castles, and European RPGs have muddy castles crammed with peasants.