If you played Gothic 2, please answer the following:

1) I disliked Gothic 3. Is this any better?

2) Can it be downloaded for free? (I doubt it, but it's worth asking)

Gothic 2 rocked...I loved it. I beat it three times...

I played Gothic 3 for 15 minutes and deleted it.

Gothic 2 is a much better game than Gothic 3. The world of Gothic 2 is smaller, but much better designed and the game's pacing and progression was better thought out than Gothic 3's. Combat is much more involved in Gothic 2 as you really have to watch and react to your opponent's moves. Also, increasing in a certain weapons skill in Gothic 2 really felt like an achievement as it granted you access to new, more sophisticated manoeuvres which gave you more options when fighting. It also rewarded exploration as there were lots of goodies to be found in the depths of the deadliest dungeons or in remote, hard to reach spots.