Gothic 3 Reviews

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Written by BuckGB on December 5th, 2006

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All things considered, it's unfortunate that the game shipped with its technical problems, and that it shipped in the same year as The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, since it's almost impossible to avoid comparing the two. Gothic 3 doesn't have Oblivion's huge breadth and might not look quite as impressive just because of that difference in scale, but it does offer a fairly well put-together story in its set of linked quests, as well as plenty of freedom to roam. To enjoy the game, you'll need a high-end computer, time and patience, and tolerance for a brisk challenge--but if you have all these things, Gothic 3 could be what you're looking for.

If you can punch through the game's tough combat, numerous bugs, a lot of searching, characters that sometimes will just disappear (they often get stuck under the game world), and quite a few broken quests, you'll find that Gothic 3 is actually a pretty damn good game. Unfortunately, a large majority of gamers, even RPG fans, won't put up with so many problems and are very likely to give up before completion. It's already been almost two months since the original European release and it will take months of additional work for Piranha Bytes to get it patched to a point where this game is even nearly as accessible or enjoyable as Oblivion, and by then it will probably be a moot point in most gamers' eyes, but the simple truth is that Gothic 3 feels like a missed opportunity. It's the biggest RPG tragedy I've seen in years, honestly, as this game could have been so much more enjoyable without all of these issues constantly plaguing it.

Look, this game is not without its flaws, but it is ambitious and when things are running smoothly, a real treat to play. Players who enjoy RPGs will enjoy the dickens out of this title, but they need to be sure they have a really awesome system to run it on, and all the patches that go with it.

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