Hmm. My safe word was, "cranberry sauce". No idea why.
I like the detail, the visceral feel to the W3 imagery. Also notice how the textures on the gatehouse roof just pop out, as opposed to the somewhat...blurred examples in your top shot.
Now, Witcher 2 had some great armour, but honestly, I felt that the lighting of it left a little to be desired and it didn't feel as full as it should on first glance. I don't feel that way with this W3 Geralt, even with his weird torso-squeezing armour. His hair on the other hand, could use some work.
Notice the detail on the railing he is unwisely perched on? How the different material of his clothes reflects the light so nicely?
These shots hold their detail close up too, which is nice.
It's not that W2 isn't gorgeous, it's more that W3 is just as gorgeous and has more detail, little touches and fulsomeness. It looks great regardless of whether you are showing a pretty sunset scene or an ugly fight in a forest with wolves.
Also notice the sophistication of the shadows in W3, too. W2 had some great shadow uses but W3 looks crazy-comprehensive. So crazy in fact, it's probably not very fair to compare the playable W2 with the not-yet-played W3. we should -really- be making these comparisons about three months after W3 comes out, when it has been performance and bug fixed.
Is it a date?
Edit: GODDAMNIT, I can feel the hype building! I was going to avoid W3 stuff for a year!
