I decided to post my oppinion on this title just as many others have already.
I must say i never played Gothic 1.
A bit of discussion on controls. I got used to them in about 5 minutes. I absolutely loved the way they work mostly because they allow you to fight in your own style based on the skills you have. There are many ways in which you can kill anything : face to face stand, sneak around, hit and run, use obstacles to get the mobs stuck etc.
The story is linear however you can advance it in so many ways and you can have many variations which make up for a great replayability. I finished it 4 times so far 1 as palladin, 2 as mercenary and 1 as mage and i still find things i never knew or another way of solving a certain quest etc etc.
The graphics is ok , let's not forget the game is a few years old. However, when it comes to rpg's graphics is secondary. First is the feeling you get when playing such a game and in all honesty gothic 2 really gives a great feeling. Indeed it may not be easy as other games, but who really cares about that ? So it's not the usual point and click and kill a monster from a safe distance. Yes you need to learn strategy and to find ways to kill monsters that are way tougher than yourself. You get to use your head a bit. It is my oppinion that ppl who cannot kill more than 1 wolf at lvl 1 even after 20 tries really should go back to solitaire. I mean once u see a certain way does not work then maybe you should use the thing above your shoulders a bit and find another way of doing it.
The first episode is the most important in the char's developent as you can reach an impressive lvl relatively quickly. Last time i think it was 16 mage for me. Lvl 16 means a lot of LP's, loads of skills and quite frankly impressive fighting attributes. I also killed the black troll as a lvl 5 i think it was , using alrik's sword and 20% 1h weapon. a bit later, as soon as i learnt fireball i went and tried a troll. Yes it took me 3 full mana refills but i did it and that kinda proves that almost anything can be killed one way or another. Although I do have to admit that while i had nothing against trying the troll i stayed away from shadowbeasts
.I can continue like this for ages but the point i want to make should be clear by now. The game is indeed impressive. It's definitely not simply point and click and fights challenge the player a lot. That is a whole idea of the game ... to be a challenge, right ? Just one small comparison. I also played and finished Morrowind with all expansions. However I would never consider playing it again. Gothic 2 definitely, i can't wait to finish again so i can play a palladin all over again
. I cannot say that Gothic 2 is the best RPG ever. No. but the feeling it creates and the replayability make it a great game for it's genre and it still buries many modern games with amazing graphics but no feeling or not enough anyway.
This is my oppinion. Gothic 2 is not a game for those used to play with infinite ammo and god mode. It takes a bit longer than Solitaire to master the controls system granted, but once you do it's so rewarding. And even if you don't master it, nothing stops anyone from binding first attack key to the left mouse button and the second to the wheel or second mouse button. There, this will be enough so anyone could fight. Oh and if you even learn to move backwards sometimes then woah ... thy IQ must be 190. Personally i dont need to slide sideways when fighting, i either charge or retreat when needed. As simple as that. Does it sound like something so hard to learn ? If it is then remember my earlier suggestion .... Solitaire and stick with it
. Perhaps if all ppl who can't kill a wolf would sell their game maybe the real rpg fans could get their hands on this masterpiece . Anyway have fun. I know i will hehe.