Gothic 3 doesn't do anything cool with its story, characters, or combat. and obviously there was a time(before the community patches) when G3 was barely playable, indeed unfinished. however... there is no RPG in history(probably not in the future either) which grants the player more freedom and meaningful choice than this. suffice it to say that in Gothic 3 you can randomly murder even the most important quest-givers in the entire game as soon as you are powerful enough. and you can go anywhere in the world as soon or as late as you want. certain very rare RPGs such as the first Fallouts give you an equal amount of freedom and choice, but nothing tops Gothic 3. although G3 lacks certain elements which some fans consider essential to the Gothic series, there are many really good things which are still intact: the realistic skill system with teachers, the organic, truly hand-crafted world design, awesome magic spells which put The Elder Scrolls to shame, a completely interactive, reactive world with advanced AI(better have a reason if you draw a weapon or cast magic in town!) dinosaurs, unlimited inventory space, and of course the charming personality of Nameless. I have to mention the graphics. Gothic 3, when patched and tweaked, at high settings on a good computer, is absolutely one of the most beautiful video games ever, and not just among RPGs. any type of game. G3 was one of the last AAA PC RPGs made specifically for PCs and not the Xbox 360. for example, Gothic 3's graphics are significantly better than Skyrim. and then there's the music. its done by the same(brilliant) composer as the first two Gothics, but G3's music is in a different style. its more dramatic, operatic, less subtle. it tends to hit you like a ton of lead, but if you're a fan of metal music(or opera music) you'll love it like I do. its the sort of soundtrack I'd actually listen to outside of the game. bottom line is: if I want good combat, I'll go play an Action game, or a full-blooded RPG where I control a party and make strategic decisions. not an Action-RPG like a Gothic. if I want a good storyline with characters I care about, I'll go play a JRPG. JRPGs are entirely focused on characters and story. above all else the reason PC-style WRPGs interest me is choice and freedom, and no game ever made me feel like my choices mattered, or made me feel as free as Gothic 3 does. I've put multiple 100s of hours into it, and I'll put 100s more too, because there's nothing else like it at all. in conclusion, I'll say Gothic 3 is not a masterpiece, but it is timeless, it is still relevant and always will be, because no developer has the guts to give the player any more freedom than G3 does. most of them give us much, much less. although many fans of the first two Gothics have little respect for G3, none can deny that Gothic 3 has never, will never be outdone in what it set out to do.
