New to Gothic 3 are handy skills such as 'Murder' (stab enemies from behind to kill them instantly) and 'Fighting with Two Swords' (yeah, you can probably work this one out yourself), which basically give you even more freedom in the way you develop your character. You'll still be a funny-looking bloke with a goatee, mind.

There's no level cap, so you can keep developing skills and abilities all the way through the game, and, unlike in Oblivion, enemies and other characters don't level-up with you, meaning you're not going to slay a dragon and then get iced by one of the aforementioned oversized chickens on your way home. Instead, each type of enemy has been given a minimum and maximum level, and where they are when you meet them depends on whereabouts in this range they are.

This means that certain foes are going to be impossible to beat till you get further in the game, while others will soon become mere fodder for your sword edge. A wise decision by the developers, in our opinion: it ensures there's a reason for you to level-up (so you can get to certain places and complete certain missions) and makes the world more believable. In Oblivion, bandits end up toting equipment worth many thousands of gold coins, which doesn't make sense - that doesn't happen here.​