I liked it when it came out, I just though it was a pity that stunlock & DRM-60-second-stutter & loading times made it literally impossible to play. Now those things are solved, it's a pretty good sequel to G1/2.
I think G3 is a good
game (with CP), but the patch cannot address the
core failures such as uninteresting exploration, weak storytelling and monotonous questing. Exploration, storytelling and questing and how these three are woven together as an overall means to progression were the prime reason playing the first two Gothics was meaningful and satisfying. Gothic 3 lacked the core of what makes Gothic great, so IMO utterly failed as a sequel.
I thought the plot was meh in every single PB game, to the point that I can't even remember the details of G1/2/3 plot. Indeed G3's weakness is that it doesn't feature core areas like the Old Camp that really did a great job, but I think its areas and quests are
done in the same style and philosophy, just not as punchy and not as focused (which is a flaw for the game as a whole). Thus I hold it more as a 'lesser sequel' problem and still a decent game.
The thread actually got me to fire up Gothic 3 again, and I've played every other PB title again in the last couple of years, so we'll see whether my mind's been playing revisionist on me.