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Gothic vs. Risen

kain611

Augur
Joined
Dec 2, 2007
Messages
219
Interested in these series and have never played them. I enjoy story, combat, and freedom in games. Just wondering which ones I should grab, skip, and what mods I should use, skip. Thanks for any and all replies.

ps favorite crpg's of all time are Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale series and Morrowind/skyrim/oblivion
 

NotAGolfer

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You can't go wrong with both Gothic 1 and 2. Risen is the same formula, but with a much derpier story but still fun too if you like the combat system.
No mods whatsoever needed.
Completely different games than any of the ones you mentioned btw, exploration is much much better than in TES games (less open, smaller in scale and therefore more meaningful content), fighting is brutal compared to TES and there are no similarities at all with Baldur's Gate. The story in the Gothics isn't that great, it's very obvious that they didn't build this series upon an existing lore framework like ADnD. But it's not your typical high fantasy (grittier and more down to earth except later in the games, but the endgame plot in Piranha Bytes games tends to always be shit) so it's refreshing. And the atmosphere is really great, greatly helped by the introduction of believable NPC day and night cycles (long before Bethesda had that idea and boasted about it like they invented the wheel).

I don't know anything about Gothic 3 though and there is no fourth part of the series.
 

adddeed

Arcane
Possibly Retarded
Joined
May 27, 2012
Messages
1,473
I love Risen's combat and how it actually requires some thinking and patience if you want win. Love how you gradually get more moves to use rather than just getting higher numbers. I also like how the monsters are not just Skeleton Level 2 or Skeleton Level 20. Each beast is just an animal, and doesnt have levels. (unless im mistaken). A monkey will be always be a monkey, and not monkey level 20. You really feel your character progress.

I also liked Risen 2, a lot of people did not however. I enjoyed it as much as Risen 1.

The setting and world are also not the usual high fantasy fair, feels refreshing.
 

Murk

Arcane
Joined
Jan 17, 2008
Messages
13,459
There are few +1 variants. Wolf, warg. Orc scout, Orc warrior (tho they often have different weapons too).

Gothic 1 and Gothic 2 (with expansion) then Risen 1.

The best of them is Gothic 2 (+xpack). Gothic 3 is fun, but not like the others. It is a flawed gem at best, but I had a great deal of fun with the ridiculously huge world and exploring/getting lost.

The controls in Gothic 1 will take some getting used to, but you WILL get used to them. They are only strange on first glance but work just fine. Gothic 2 makes them a bit more conventional; G3 and Risen 1 make them exactly like you would expect.

The games are fucking GREAT. No comment on Risen 2 as I did not play it. Gothic 4 was never made and any bullshit you hear about there being a 4th is just the jew communists trying to control your brain.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
G1, G2, Risen are must plays. Risen may be a good entry point actually, given how long it takes a newcomer to get used to G1/2's controls. But that depends.

Go to R2 and G3 if you're hunkering for more.

Never go to G4, it's not real.
 

DalekFlay

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Might be best to start with Risen actually, if you are used to modern games and visuals. It's not quite as good as Gothic 2 but it's good enough to see if you like the Piranha Bytes style. Then if you do, go back and play the whole Gothic trilogy. Gothic 3 is a good game at heart, and the fan patch fixes its worst problems.
 

Nuclear Explosion

Guest
Like others have said the best are Gothic 1, 2 (with NoTR) and Risen. The first Gothic has awful controls so don't start with it. Risen is probably the best entry point. These games are pretty much open world RPGs done properly.

Gothic 3 is the closest of the games to TES (I wouldn't recommend it though) and while the fan patches have fixed the bugs the combat and quest design are still awful.

I've only briefly played Risen 2 but I was very disappointed in the way the combat system was changed.
 
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Outlander

Custom Tags Are For Fags.
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Interested in these series and have never played them. I enjoy story, combat, and freedom in games. Just wondering which ones I should grab, skip, and what mods I should use, skip. Thanks for any and all replies.

ps favorite crpg's of all time are Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale series and Morrowind/skyrim/oblivion
 

Sunsetspawn

Arcane
Joined
Feb 10, 2013
Messages
1,039
Location
New York
Gothic 1, Gothic 2, and Risen are the ones you should play. As to which you should play first? Well shit, I don't know. Risen is the prettiest and has the most accessible combat, so that's a good start. Or, you know, Gothic 2 is the best of the three, so I couldn't fault you for going straight to that one. Gothic 1 is the ugliest, but it would give you the proper narrative context for G2.

It probably doesn't matter though, because whatever you play out of these three, if you like it, you will like the others. If you don't like it then you're an asshole and should go sit in the corner.
No disrespect.
 

Doctor Sbaitso

SO, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS.
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Gothic2 > Gothic > Risen >> Gothic3 == Risen2

Personally I suggest you start with 1, then 2 then Risen.
 

Cadmus

Arcane
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Messages
4,264
I'm just replaying Gothic 2 with NotR and I would say the game is a bit too long for its own good. It's incredibly packed with quests and stuff to do and totally shits on Skyrim's cities for example with the amount of quests.
I remember Gothic 1 being a little more straight-forward and I kinda have this comparison that G1 is to Gothic what F1 is to Fallouts but I gotta replay it to see if it's true because I liked F1 the most of all Fallouts.
So if I'm right, I'd just play them chronologically. I've played G3 and I got bored because it's pretty but too much of the same with much less tight world.
 

kain611

Augur
Joined
Dec 2, 2007
Messages
219
Thanks for the responses. Graphics don't bother me. I like the classics. Picked up that new indie game Malevolence Sword of something because it harkens back to the classic Wizardry/might and magic style games I grew up with. Will pick up Risen probably on a steam or GOG sale soon. Again thanks for the input.
 

tumbleweed

Novice
Joined
May 14, 2014
Messages
2
Thanks for the responses. Graphics don't bother me. I like the classics. Picked up that new indie game Malevolence Sword of something because it harkens back to the classic Wizardry/might and magic style games I grew up with. Will pick up Risen probably on a steam or GOG sale soon. Again thanks for the input.

if you can only get one game then i suggest getting gothic 2 with the expansion but you should really get them all as for me personally i feel like they are a must play for an rpg fan
 

A user named cat

Guest
Gothic 3 is a good game at heart, and the fan patch fixes its worst problems.
It's a bad game at soul. Its worst problem is the brainless, mashy combat where there isn't any type of impact and no fan patches fixes this. It's like you're cutting through paper when you slice enemies.
 

Murk

Arcane
Joined
Jan 17, 2008
Messages
13,459
I'm just replaying Gothic 2 with NotR and I would say the game is a bit too long for its own good.


You shut your whore mouth. I've played that game more times than I've (lying) said "I love you" to any women I've dated. I would fucking KILL for more quality content to that game.
 

Azurllan

Barely Literate
Joined
May 27, 2014
Messages
1
Gothic 2 NOTR is my all time favourite game started replaying it right now,risen is awesome also btw.My favourite list would be gothic 2 notr>risen>gothic 1>gothic 3 and Arcania is crap and risen 2 is crap :D.
I replayed gothic 2 NOTR more then 13 times and its amazing still this time replaying with overhaul mod.Gothic 2 has amazing gameplay start of the game is hard ,combat to me is awesome story is copy paste orc dragons and lizardmen decided to take over the island :D.Risen game is good but some characters dont have depth some stupid tasks take too long.Gameplay of Risen is also awesome combat is easier(not worser) graphics are better then gothic 2 but atmosphere overall to me still isnt close to 1st time entering City of Khorinis(Gothic 2).

Both games are old style RPGs with awesome characters good combat and crappy endings both have PB trademark Jack the lighthouse keeper and u have to eat apples :D.I would say Risen is spiritual remake of Gothic 2.

Hmm Gothic 3 i disagree with people i apply only community patch up to 1.6 since trying to turn gothic 3 to gothic 2 fails to me at least.Gothic 3 offers giant world amazing soundtrack which kills it,alot of leveling you can be master of know it all you can tank whole city attacking you.But that world is closer to Morrowind world rinse and repeat there is plenty of quests like "bring me 10 bear asses" "kill annoying boars" "kill annoying wolves" "kill shy deer" and so on but after completing all quests(95%) u wind up with godly strength and you are on rapefest :D.Armor has much smaller impact then in any of other games combat is what it is RPG combat not action like in gothic 1,2 and risen its uber simplified its filled with wrong things wild boars have bigger potential killing you then 10 people with bows and swords.

Gothic 1 cool story cool characters much more choices for classes its easier then gothic 2 harder then gothic 3 better written dialogs commands are a bit messy at 1st but you will get used to them.U can be good at many things and ending is little less crappy then gothic 2 :D Gives you more reason to play Gothic 2 since u are somehow involved in story world.
Gothic 1 looks outdated and its not as challenging as gothic 2 notr but its great game if it wasnt outdated it would still be cool for me i think it isnt outdated since i still play Fallout 1 if u ignore graphic part its really really fun game !

None of these games is like diablo2(master grinder) or diablo 1(atmospheric pure grinder) they get u to know more characters then in lets say simplified rpgs !
 
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Mraston

Learned
Joined
Jan 23, 2013
Messages
254
I'm don't know why but I always avoided the Gothic and Risen games. On the behest of the Codex top 70 Rpg's I started playing Gothic 1 with the plan to move onto Gothic 2 asap.

Gothic 1 was clunky to begin with but once I got into the swing of things I found myself in one of the most interesting and cleverly handcrafted single player open world RPGs I had ever played. There's not enough mention made of the fact one of the three factions you can join is a weed smoking commune of cultists who seem to be trying to awaken some kind of Cthulhu type figure. The feeling of isolation from the rest of the world, and the corrupt, anarchistic power struggles that erupt in the dome are very well done and a very refreshing setting. The world is well designed and feels alive, much more so than the boring randomly generated land masses of other games.

Annoyingly Gothic 1 had a habit of crashing and wiping my save games. I had to restart the game after about 5 hours of gameplay and my save was wiped another 10 hours or so in. I decided to come back later after a breather and moved on to Gothic 2.

About 15 hours into Gothic 2 something clicked and I thought to myself "Jesus fucking christ this game is brilliant". It was the pacing and the general building up of player power that did it. At the beginning of the game you're terrified by a wolf, and find yourself lost and scared on a huge island. Gradually you find yourself able to take on more and more of the monsters, and through natural investigation of the world (not through artificial fanfare or marker) your able to teleport and magically move faster over an island you now know like the back of your hand. Gothic 2 does a great job of keeping the pressure on you, you may feel bad ass because you can take on the bandits, but run into an Orc and you will be taken down a couple of pegs. It also gives you plenty of tools to overcome obstacles, if you can't defeat a foe with straight up combat, there's always scrolls and potions to help you. The game makes potions and scrolls rare and valuable, not just inventory stuffing. Just like the original Gothic, Gothic 2 has fantastic handcrafted world, that's much more of a pleasure to explore than other, more bland, open world games. Going out in to the forest is always a dangerous, exciting adventure, not just a quick grind for XP or a trudge from one quest giver to the next.

I was devastated when as I begun exploring Jharkendar (The Night of The Raven's landmass) ALL FOUR of my saved games (I had learned to have backups) become corrupted and I had to start again. It's a testament to Gothic 2 that I was willing to just boot up for the start and it all over again. I played for a good couple of hours, but decided again to give it a break for a month, so everything was fresher when I came back to it.

I wanted to try some of Piranha Bytes's newer stuff, so I got hold of Risen.

I had tried Risen when it first came out, but stopped playing when I got trapped in the Port City. The game just didn't click for me. Now, after playing G1 and G2, I "get" it. Its got a lot of the same charm as the original Gothics with an updated UI and graphics. It seems a little simplified, or it could just be things are presented clearer and it's easier to work out how things work. The world SEEMS smaller than Gothic 2, but I'm not that far in.

What I do like in Risen is the return of the ambivalent NPC groups. No one is cut and dry "good" or "evil", everyone seem to just trying to survive and thrive in their own little way. The isolation and corrupt group dynamics are present, but isn't as pronounced as the original Gothic.

I've come to really enjoy the hamminess of Piranha Byte games. Something weird happens between the german to english translation and voice acting which really gives the Gothic and Risen games their own little charm and kind of add to the "aliveness" of the world in a subtle way. They have an interesting tone that isn't present in any other game, a mix of grimey, gritty, humorous, up beat, weird and dangerous all at the same time.

I caught myself laughing every time I dug a buried treasure up in Gothic 2 and the protagonist weirdly proclaims "Ummmmm I THINK I found something", like a catchphrase from a sit com.

I feel like if From Software and Piranha Bytes got together they could possibly make the best video game of all eternity.
 
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Self-Ejected

Excidium

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Third World
I'm just replaying Gothic 2 with NotR and I would say the game is a bit too long for its own good. It's incredibly packed with quests and stuff to do and totally shits on Skyrim's cities for example with the amount of quests.
I remember Gothic 1 being a little more straight-forward and I kinda have this comparison that G1 is to Gothic what F1 is to Fallouts but I gotta replay it to see if it's true because I liked F1 the most of all Fallouts.
So if I'm right, I'd just play them chronologically. I've played G3 and I got bored because it's pretty but too much of the same with much less tight world.
Play without NOTR if you haven't
 

Mraston

Learned
Joined
Jan 23, 2013
Messages
254
I'm just replaying Gothic 2 with NotR and I would say the game is a bit too long for its own good. It's incredibly packed with quests and stuff to do and totally shits on Skyrim's cities for example with the amount of quests.
I remember Gothic 1 being a little more straight-forward and I kinda have this comparison that G1 is to Gothic what F1 is to Fallouts but I gotta replay it to see if it's true because I liked F1 the most of all Fallouts.
So if I'm right, I'd just play them chronologically. I've played G3 and I got bored because it's pretty but too much of the same with much less tight world.
Play without NOTR if you haven't

Does this basically just cut out Jharkendar? So you return from The Valley of the Mines with the letter than just go straight back to The Valley of the Mines?
 

Doctor Sbaitso

SO, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS.
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Codex 2013 Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Grab the Codex by the pussy Serpent in the Staglands
I actually never played NOTR. I played vanilla twice and haven't played again since, but it is on my list to play again. These are fucking great games.
 

Murk

Arcane
Joined
Jan 17, 2008
Messages
13,459
Vanilla G2 is like... an 8/10. Easily. NotR makes me want to murder babies and sacrifice them to the pagan German gods in hopes PB gets off their asses and redoes its glory once more. So, basically, I think it's a great game.
 

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