Gothic 3 Review
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Gothic 3 is an action RPG that continues the adventures of the nameless hero whom we first met back in 2001's Gothic. It begins where Gothic 2 ended by relocating a number of familiar characters from the island of Khorinis and the original Gothic onto the mainland of Myrtana. The mechanics of the game and its interface have been streamlined allowing for more straightforward combat, hunting and spell casting techniques. However familiarity with the Gothic series is an advantage in the areas of alchemy and cooking. For the newcomer, Gothic 3 uses a familiar RPG formula and the user friendly interface is easy to grasp. The graphics are stunningly detailed which, when combined with seamless play (there are no loading screens), helps to immerse the player in the game world. Yet this is offset by technical problems caused by demands the game places on even a high specification machine.
Technical Issues
Gothic 3 was released in Europe on the October 13, 2006. Before the month was out, several reviewers had come to the conclusion that the game was unfinished and required patching. Problems reported included bodies floating above the ground, enemies running into walls, and impossible to win skirmishes, but these were small fry compared to the games tendency to crash repeatedly. In total, these difficulties rendered the game almost unplayable. Despite claims by Piranha Bytes that the game will run with a lesser specification than the recommended GeForce 6800, 1.5 GB RAM, and Intel/AMD 2 GHz processor, any amount of RAM below 2 GB struggles with the game's Genome graphics engine and a GeForce 7-series card or better comes highly recommended in order to play the game at a decent framerate. Two patches were released before the end of October 2006 to address crash-related bugs and other issues, improve performance, and simplify combat. The latest (official) patch is number four, which in April 2007 was aimed at fixing, amongst others, an ambient sound bug and several small quest bugs. Luckily, to fix many of the game's remaining problems and to take care of Vista-related woes, the community stepped up and has released five separate fan-made patches to date. The latest community patch (version 1.6), released just before Christmas 2007, features a changelog that spans a total of eight pages. Included on the long list are a multitude of gameplay fixes, crash-related fixes, and, courtesy of JoWooD and Spellbound Entertainment, the removal of the game's unfriendly copy protection.
The machine I used to play Gothic 3 is well beyond the specifications recommended. It uses dual SLi nVidia 9800GTX graphics cards, 2 GB RAM, and a quad-core 2.66GHz processor. Yet, despite downloading all necessary patches and updating to the latest graphics driver, lag on mouse movement, momentary freezing whilst the nameless hero is running, speech cutting in and out, and crashes to the desktop are all still commonplace. Bodies also continue to float above the ground and run through walls, making it clear that the community patches have yet to address certain issues that have been present in the game since release. These hitches are regrettable in a game which encompasses a diverse and enthralling universe, fast and furious battles, and a storyline where the player's freedom of choice actually impacts how other characters interact with the nameless hero. However, if you're able to get past them, there's truly an epic role-playing game to be found here.
Story, Character Development and Gameplay
The opening sequence informs the player that King Rohbar has been defeated by the Orcs who now rule an unstable Myrtana. The Fire mages and Paladins, supporters of Innos the god of light, have lost their magical powers due to the actions of the necromancer Xardas, who has become a human conduit for the dark god Beliar's power. In earlier Gothic games, Xardas is crucial to the survival and advancement of the nameless hero. In Gothic 3, you must determine which side Xardas is truly supporting - the Orc's or Rohbar's. In a number of respects, this is a game of political intrigue.
Myrtana is divided into 3 regions: Mountainous forest, Southern desert, a Northern snow and ice scape. The initial slog of traversing this vast area by foot is alleviated by the use of teleporter stones. Some of these are easy to find others not, but they are certainly worth collecting, especially as monsters do not re-spawn. The inhabitants of this land are divided into factions; 3 main: Orcs, Rebels and Hashishin and 3 minor: Nordmar barbarians, Rangers, who include Druids amongst their numbers and Nomads who include Water mages. The nameless hero must join one of the main factions in order to complete the game and this choice will trigger different responses and quests from each independent faction.
Each main faction has opposing objectives and goals. Orcs enslave humans and are using them to achieve what may be described as a higher aim, but they also seek out and crush Rebel opposition. Unlike Gothic II where they could be identified as monstrous, in Gothic 3 the Orcs operate as an intelligent and organized race, even employing human Mercenaries. It is within the ranks of these very Mercenaries that the nameless hero joins if he sides with the Orcs. The Rebels support King Rohbar and aim to re-capture those cities taken by the Orcs, therefore freeing the slaves. This is achieved by instigating uprisings. Yet the Rebels are prone to infighting and steal from the farmers. The Hashishin are desert traders who enslave Nomads, providing the Orcs with human fodder for their mining works and excavations. For this faction, skill in trading, gold, and artifacts are the ultimate goals and Nomads a commercial commodity.
Each of the 3 minor factions opposes the Orcs and plays a role in moving the story forward. Resultantly, the nameless hero has to interact with all factions. Reputation is crucial here as it is how access to important areas, information, and artifacts needed for the main quests are gained. In addition, armor can only be purchased once a certain level of reputation has been achieved. It is worth noting that even the choice of armor appears to affect how NPC's speak and interact with the nameless hero. When in the desert cities, dressed in plain leather armor the nameless hero is the (stranger), in armor from Nordmar he is the (warrior from the North).
Both reputation and character development are gained by completing quests. As with many RPGs, a number of the game's side quests are mundane - even simplistic - such as hunting and trading, fetching and carrying. Those which are more challenging involve the recruitment of other characters, sometimes to form a group. Here the trick is to survive and keep your partner(s) alive whilst they charge into the fray. The best approach to quests of this nature is arguably to clear the way first, allowing for the safe passage of group members to the point where their skills are needed for completion of the quest. It is not necessary to complete all of the side quests, so the player can select those which appeal. Furthermore, the epic nature of the game is reflected in how long it takes to build reputation.
Still, there appears to be a problem regarding how the acquisition of side quests is influenced by faction choice. It is possible to complete a quest which has not yet been given, then find that, due to belonging to no faction or the wrong faction, it is impossible to track down the NPC who would have given the quest to you. The manner in which interaction can change, due to choices made, means that speech options which would engage the nameless hero in the completed quest are simply not available. This in turn means the full range of experience points for some side quests cannot be gained. Although the game world has been perceived as open-ended in respect of choice, this factor suggests otherwise as choices made can limit fulfillment of the quests available. However, there is a nagging suspicion in my mind that this may just be another bug that has yet to be adequately fixed.
As the nameless hero gains experience and levels, he is awarded skill points which can be allocated over various skill sets. Some skills can be advanced by other means; lecterns improve alchemy or ancient history, stone tablets also advance ancient history and fighting opponents in each city's arena increases strength as well as reputation. Apart from these, as with earlier Gothic games, trainers must be found for advancement through skill sets to be possible. In Gothic 3, these are readily available with some cities specializing in certain skills. Three of the skill sets relate to combat which, when sword or axe wielding, have been described as a (button mashing fest). Yet this is not a true reflection of how fights are conducted. The game uses a combat system where the player is required to react and respond to the monster/enemies body language. If the player gets this wrong, the monster/enemy will pound the nameless hero into an early grave. Naturally, get this right and it is the monster/enemy that's pulped. On the easy setting, there's a time delay which assists this process, whereas on the normal or hard settings correct timing is crucial. Timing is also relevant to spell casting techniques as the monster/enemy can interrupt the spell caster, but hunting skills differ as accuracy in how you position the shot is the key to a successful kill. It can be argued the game favors distance attacks with arrows and spells rather than melee skirmishes, as a hit and run technique is very effective and easier to master. In practice though, all of these skills are required as different tactics are needed for the variety of monsters and enemies the nameless hero encounters.
Music and Sound
Gothic 3's musical score seeks to be evocative of the game's various regions and is very expressive in this respect. When the nameless hero dies, it is reflective and emotive. The downside is that it works like a soundtrack to an action movie. Every time a monster or enemy decides to attack the nameless hero, the loud swell of (duh-dah-duh) and accompanying drum roll functions as an early warning system. If left on the initial setting after loading the game, the music tends to overpower the ambient sound effects which are fantastic and generate far more atmosphere than the music ever could. If you turn the music off, you can enjoy such sounds as the wind blowing up a sand storm in the desert, rain falling, leaves rustling, and wolves howling. These all add to the sense of immersion in the game world generated by the graphics and their seamless flow.
Conclusion
Gothic 3 engages the player on a vast, epic journey through stunning terrain which has enough variety to avoid any sense of repetition. Which faction the nameless hero joins naturally influences how the main quest sequence is resolved and which of the three endings is appropriate. Although none of the factions can be identified as specifically good or evil - they all contain a mix of both - the central storyline in Gothic 3 is described by one of the NPCs as a (war between the gods). Therefore, the alignment of the Orcs and Hashishin with the dark god Beliar, the Rebels with the god of light, Innos does indicate how the cookie crumbles in the arena of good verses evil. Nonetheless, when developing the nameless hero's skills, spells from both gods are available, which perhaps reinforces the combination of good and evil that resonates throughout the game. The responsiveness of all the factions to choices made by the player adds a welcome dimension despite the hinderences this can cause in respect of side quests, as does the gameplay required to survive skirmishes and battles. Over all, there is a good combination of quests and skill sets to choose from. A further welcome dimension is the underlying current instilled by the political intrigue the nameless hero encounters. The technical issues of the game will present problems for many but, despite the frustration of these, Gothic 3 is hugely enjoyable, challenging and rewarding to play.
