Gothic 3 (2006) (VG)

Writers:

Mattias Filler (writer)
Michael Hoge (writer)

Release Date:

20 November 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy

Cast

Crispin Freeman	...	Hero (voice: English version)
Jim Tasker	...	Beliar (voice: English version)
Keith Szarabajka	...	Xardas (voice: English version)
Clive Revill	...	Rhobar (voice: English version)
Greg Baldwin	...	Zuben (voice: English version) (as Gregory S. Baldwin)
Ron Canada	...	Gorn (voice: English version)
Malachi Throne	...	Innos (voice: English version)
Lloyd Sherr	...	Diego (voice: English version)
Robin Atkin Downes	...	Milten (voice: English version)
Dave Bitran	...	Lester (voice: English version)
Brad Abrell	...	Human Warrior (voice: English version)
Joe Alaskey	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Jack Angel	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Gregg Berger	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Steve Blum	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Steven Jay Blum)

Country:

Germany

Language:

English | German | French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Germany:12

Company:

Pluto 13

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods (2008) (VG)

Interesting RPG set in a huge and believable world

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Since I was not familiar with the first two episodes of the Gothic series, I did not know what to expect when I installed this game.

The story starts with the hero returning to his country only to find out it has been conquered by an immense army of Orcs. He will have to face many quests, searching for the mysterious wizard Xardas and choosing whether to side with the Orcs or with the rebels.

The greatest achievement of Gothic 3 is the world in which the adventure takes place. It's huge, with three main countries (Myrtana, Nordmar and Varrant ), believable and never repetitive: each location has a wonderfully distinctive look, from the strongholds of the clans in the North to the deserts in the South, from crocodile-infested swamps to a monastery in the mountains… There are some interesting details which I loved. For example, I entered a cave in which a couple of miners had disappeared, but it was too late, a monster had killed them. I loaded a saved game and tried again: they resisted longer and I saved one of them - and a third time they defeated the monster with no help from me! This kind of unpredictability runs through the game, and it's a good thing.

One thing which I regarded with suspicion at the beginning was the way the main character learns his skills. I was wrong: it works. Each time you pass a level you get some "learning points", but you can't automatically acquire new skills (there are many, from more conventional like fighting and magic to others like alchemy and blacksmithing): first you have to find someone who teaches you these skills, then to pay him or to complete some minor quests. This makes for a more complex but ultimately more realistic gaming experience.

Not that Gothic 3 is perfect. The characters you meet are often rather nondescript. The dialogues have a good sense of humour but they totally lack the depth of, say, the Baldur's Gate series: you can't choose between many lines and often you can't even decide whether you want to be friendly or arrogant, solemn or ironic. I do like, however, that people from different regions talk in different ways - the inhabitants of Varrant are more ceremonious: that was a nice touch. An odd detail is the fact that the people living in Gothic's world are mostly male - the women are *very* few. Weird.

The A.I. is OK - many enemies pursue you with a surprising insistence. Incidentally, wild animals should have been faster - it doesn't make sense that you can outrun a tiger ! But this is a nitpick. A much bigger problem is the fact that enemies can't jump: you can easily slaughter a huge group of enemies if they don't have long-range weapons or a wizard among them; you just have to be a good archer and to stand on a much higher ground (like the roof of a house), and you can shoot them full of arrows without getting a scratch on yourself, as they will be unable to reach you.

The world, the creatures and the "special effects" when you cast a spell look good. The soundtrack is an epic music with some great vocal work and different themes depending on the location you are visiting.

8/10