The Gothic series has always been an aquired taste among rpg fans, and Gothic 3 is no exception. If your looking for an on-the-rails action/rpg, hack n slash romp, Gothic 3 may not be for you. While other games stick to the genre hallmarks, (bright fantasy enviroments, easily accessible hack n slash combat, and cookie cutter npcs), Gothic 3 shines in other categories, (sheer ambience, open-ended exploration, and a complex, yet rewarding combat system) Back when GTA was first taking it's open-ended world baby steps, Gothic 1 was pioneering the genre on pc. Not much has changed in Gothic 3. Right from the beginning, you can pretty much do whatever you want... but just like in real life though, the choices you make will reveberate throughout the rest of the game. In G3, the kingdom of Myrtana is overrun by Orcs. Your moral choice from the beggining is pretty obvious: either aid the rebels in overthrowing the orchish hordes, or serve the orcs, and hunt your own kind in the name of self-preservation. Another thing that grabs you right from the start is the sheer ambience of this game. When you draw your sword in town, everyone around you will draw their weapons and tell you to lower your blade. If you decide to liberate everyone in town of their gold & trinkets, guards will question & accuse you of being a theif, even though no one witnessed you stealing! You can learn how to craft weapons at a blacksmith's, learn recipes & cook meals, hunt game & cook meat, gather herbs & brew potions out of them.... I could go on for hours. It's the little attention to detail that grounds this fantasy world in real world logic. Gothic 3 also sports a classless, skill-based leveling system for your character. This is both a blessing and a curse, in that the system allows for great depth & customization for your character, but if you spread your learning pts. into too many skills, your character can end up weak in the later half of the game. The combat in the Gothic series has always been a heated topic in rpg forums, and not much of that has changed in this installment. The new point and click combat system is a refreshing change for the series. Also, the use of shields, charged attacks, and manual bow aiming, infuse the combat system with new life & depth. Changes aside, the combat still resembles classic Gothic melee to me: attacking, parrying, evading, and creating your own combos by mixing up all the moves. It may not be the best combat system, but it's more than sufficient, and it rewards the player with depth if their willing to spend the learning points to improve their combat skills. In closing, I think Gothic 3 is definitely caters to a more mature audience that is seeking depth and detail over shine and accessibility.
In a word: brilliant. I would highly recommend this to anybody who's a fan of "The Elder Scrolls", especially the older ones such as Daggerfall and especially Morrowind. In my opinion its like playing Morrow... Read Full Review
Gothic III is like a woman who irritates you until the point you want to break up, but who in the last minute knows how to coax you into staying with her. I LOVE YOU when swarming orcs fall around me in an epic comba... Read Full Review
