The Gothic games are some of my favourite RPGs of the last couple of years. I think they are excellent.
However I think they are flawed. I, as what I consider to be a hardcore RPG gamer, can overlook these flaws, struggle through an obtuse control scheme and delight in an unforgiving combat system. Most other people simply will not. I think their rating reflects the games problems well. It will mercilessly punish new players. In fact, I will go so far as to say it actively attempts to chase them off (Except the third one, which you and I both agree is the weakest so far). Those games require a commitment and a little blindness in one eye to overlook their problems. For me, thats no problem. For people I know who are committed to the fundimentals of good RPG design, also not a problem. To most other people though, its a big problem. Gamespot has to take all potential players into account, not just the ones who will like it no matter what their review says.
As for success in Europe over the US. Well, games designed in Europe have almost always sold better there then in the US.
In conclusion, I personally would rate the Gothic games higher, but I think the Gamespot scores are easily justified, even if there are some errors in the reviews themselves.
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