Gothic

I used to just play adventure games like Myst & Syberia, then I saw Gothic 2 on sale back in the early 2000's and it looked interesting. But it had combat!! I was afraid!! ha, ha. (I'm in my 50's, folks, and no die-hard adventure fan likes fighting!) but I took the plunge and I'm so glad I did. I was hooked. Did someone say Adventure game?? Boring!!! (except for Longest Journey!) I think I played Gothic 2 steadily for almost 6 months, then bought Gothic 1 and then Gothic 3. Gothic 2 introduced me to combat RPG games and I've never looked back. Now, it's like the benchmark of what a great RPG should be (I was heartbroken when Jowood screwed up the franchise with Arcania). Gothic 2 has everything - great story & quests, fighting, magic, stealing, alchemy, lots of loot, different factions to join, open-world roaming, great scenery, great characters, great monsters ( I was so proud when I killed my first Shadowbeast!!) I've played all the big RPG's now - Elder Scrolls, Fallout 3, Mass Effect games, etc.- but Gothic 2 remains one of my all-time favorites.

For me this game is the best RPG around. You start out as a defined undefined nobody, and the game is generally very hard the first few hours of gameplay. The world is very rough, and little pink and purple fairylike can be found in this "medievel europe simulator". The gameplay and story holds up today still, even though graphics are heavily outdated. Everything in the game is handplaced and designed with passion, which results in truly beautiful and exciting environments to explore and enjoy. If you havent played this gem before, you should give it a try.

I've finished this 20 times maybe and its still not boring. I love this game.

This was my first RPG in complete 3D (other RPGs were The Dark Eye and Fallout) all the way back. And it was great and it is still great. But compared to the five-star Gothic 2 (Night of the Raven) it has some flaws and some gameplay features I miss. The AI tend to stuck on small objects, items should be given to me were not in my inventory (works only after reload a savegame). At some point I was wandering with Gorn to the Free Mine, after arriving the dialog camera was triggered, but Gorn stucked again on rock on the way to me unable to speak (and trigger the dialog). The game doesn't react to any input, I just heard Gorns footsteps. I had to close and reload and wander all the way back to the Free Mine. Such incidents happen more often in Gothic 1 then in its sequel. The combat systems has some flaws, too. Monsters not beeing hurt beside the hit-sound is one of them (even mit maxed out strenght and a good weapon). Nevertheless it is a great RPG with cool quests, an awesome convict colony atmosphere and even a story with a twist and which is not being told at the very beginning like in Gothic 2. So if you haven't got retro the last couple of weeks it is time to do so. And Gothic 1 is a very appropriate game for that!

Oh my god, Gothic and it's sequel Gothic 2 are in my opinion one of the greatest RPG's yet. The story is awesome, and the character development is incredibly well done. From not being able to wield a sword and running away from all the enemies you'll turn into a fierce warrior that isn't afraid of anything the hostile world throws at him. The combat in the game is a bit odd to get used to, it's not your typical "Press left click and win" combat... It's tough to describe. I've had moments when I'm standing on the training polygons in the swamp and just practicing the moves for over half an hour! The music and atmosphere are just... Extraordinary. The lore, the characters. It's a gem, but a flawed one I must add. It's littered with little pesky bugs, the learning curve is extremely steep and the voice acting isn't anything special. Overall amazing game, worth every penny :)