Gothic 3 Review
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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.
