"It could've been so much better.."

Gothic 3.

The gothic series has earned a small but dedicated fanbase in the states and a huge following in europe and rightfully so. Gothic was the very first rpg to implement a truly living and breathing world. You would see crafstmen and other townsfolk wake up in the morning and go do their daily chores/work and this latest gothic retains and improves upon this feature but something has gone horribly, horribly amiss with the combat system..

Upon starting, were're right where we left off from the last gothic. On the boat from khorinis to the new island. What suprises does our hero and the rest of his friends have coming to them? Well orcs have completely taken control of the island. Humans are now enslaved except for a few under special conditions. Like mercs. After freeing a enslaved village the gang splits up and go on their own journeys. Your're quickly introduced to the factions which are the ruling orcs, mercenaries, and the human rebels. It's up to you who you side with.

Everything is what would you want and loved from the last two gothics but sadly not quiet everything. The developers have decided to change the combat system a little, one of the main things the past gothic's have come under fire for. It was either a love it or you hate part of the game. and this change was for the worse.. It now has much less strategice depth and feels completely broken at times. It's standard hack n slash but not the diablo fun kind. For instance if you keep attacking a humanoid you're pretty much guaranteed to win. Each attack knocks them back giving you enough time to swing another slash without them having time to parry or dodge it. Knocking a enemy down just doesn't feel satisfying like it did in the previous two. This isn't even the worst of it. Fights with "beasts" are an absolute nightmare. Parrying doesn't work and when a beast attacks you, you get knocked back and are temporarily defenseless just like the humanoids you can destroy. I feel luck plays way too much of a role when fighting beasts. And this is what really degrades the whole game =(

It's truly sad the developers didn't get more time with it or this gothic would've been another fantastic entry into the series. but from reading between the lines in several interviews, jowood rushed piranabytes to get this game out. The fantastic and beautiful living and breathing world that gothic created and is known for is here and the next gen graphics are also here but too bad the main part of any rpg is broken. I just cannot enjoy this game as much as the others with this somewhat broken combat. But if your wanting to experience a lush and living world of gothic again and willing to put up with some frustrating combat, give it a shot.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/19/07

Game Release: Gothic 3 (US, 11/14/06)