Gothic

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 :)

Audio: 4 Design: 3 Gameplay: 4 Graphics: 3 Lasting Appeal: 4 ------------------------- Overall rating: 4

I simply don't understand the love this game gets. It's not even dated, it's just bad. A combination of unconventional controls, a very unresponsive and clunky combat system, mediocre voice acting, ugly visuals (even for its time; DX looked better in 2000 and it certainly was not renowned for its graphical fidelity), and an incredibly bland plot that squanders the game's otherwise unique setting make the game a downright chore to play through. It does some things right - the NPC scripting is phenomenal and there are a bunch of little ways to interact with the world. There's a lot to do at first and the setting, a rogue penal colony still trapped beneath an impenetrable magic barrier, is full of potential. But you quickly find that the developers simply couldn't follow through with the vision they presented in Chapter 1. Your choice of camp proves absolutely meaningless beyond who you talk to and what color armor you wear, as you wind up completing the same quests regardless of who you sided with. As you progress further in the game, the events that transpire make you wonder why they even bothered with the choice to begin with. The interesting details quickly fade into the background as a cliche ancient evil awakens, and much of the rest of the game is padded out with banal fetch quests. Character building is practically nonexistent, both from a mechanical and narrative perspective. You get a whopping three attributes that only determine whether you hit things, shoot things, or magic things. There are very few alternative solutions to questlines and very few sidequests in general after the first chapter. The combat itself is plainly awful, at least for melee. Enemies can dodge attacks for zero damage regardless if the attack connects; you do not receive that luxury. When fighting multiple foes, you can only damage the one you're targeting even if your attack connects with another enemy. I'd say more, but the character limit's coming up. Watch an LP for Gothic 2.

I played Gothic for the first time this month and I ought to say I am impressed. Yes, I almost gave up after I got angry with the controls and the brutal difficulty at the beginning, but in the end it was all worth it. Few games that I played matched the sheer quality of Gothic's atmosphere, but none of them were fantasy rpgs, staged in a penal colony locked from the outside world by the virtue of a magical barrier. As I played, the game got progressively darker and I got more and more immersed. Also one of the great joys of the game for me was how strong your character actually gets by the end of the game, while at the beginning you can't kill even a chicken, by the end of it you are taking on entire armies alone.