Review Gothic 3 gets the treatment at GameBanshee

[DarkUnderlord]

Tags: Gothic III

<a href="http://www.gamebanshee.com/reviews/software/gothic3-1.php">GameBanshee has a review of Gothic 3 up</a>:
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<blockquote>Still, there appears to be a problem regarding how the acquisition of side quests is influenced by faction choice. It is possible to complete a quest which has not yet been given, then find that, due to belonging to no faction or the wrong faction, it is impossible to track down the NPC who would have given the quest to you. The manner in which interaction can change, due to choices made, means that speech options which would engage the nameless hero in the completed quest are simply not available. This in turn means the full range of experience points for some side quests cannot be gained. Although the game world has been perceived as open-ended in respect of choice, this factor suggests otherwise as choices made can limit fulfillment of the quests available. However, there is a nagging suspicion in my mind that this may just be another bug that has yet to be adequately fixed.</blockquote>
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As opposed to say, the guy's not wanting to give you XP for the quest or officially giving you the quest at all because, you know, <i>you're not working for them</i>, are you? Not if you're part of another faction. Anyway, if you really don't know what Gothic 3 is yet, <a href="http://www.gamebanshee.com/reviews/software/gothic3-1.php">this review will fill you in</a>.

 

[Fez]

Many times in G3 I completed a quest and was still able to get a reward for it in the form of EXP or items by speaking to someone relevant to it. Usually it was pretty sensible. Like wiping out all the monsters on or near a farmer's field would net a reward if I spoke to him afterwards, even if I didn't get the official quest first. Seems sensible that some people you are friendly with would be grateful and at other times if you make a choice to slaughter some beasts or bandits without getting a quest related reason for it that it would play out like this.

Could be a case of munchkin-itis in the reviewer.

 

[GeneralSamov]

Well it was a bit awkward, but nothing major. Personally, I would have liked it more if, assuming you didn't get the quest yet, you'd just get a part of the XP (and maybe a hint in the journal, e.g. "someone is bound to like the fact I wiped the orcs out on the farm") upon performing the quest requirements, and then the full award after having spoken with the quest giver. But that's just me.

Anyway, WTF? What kind of reviewing style is this, first pointing out he techical issues (just to scare off people in advance?), and then actually addressing what matters? Well at least it makes the game justice later on.

 

[Claw]

Well, I kinda disliked the "in your face" information policy in G3. If the reviewer hadn't known she completed a quest she never got, she probably wouldn't have complained.

Also, Sue York? What kind of humour is that?

 

[bat_boro]

GeneralSamov, your signature rocks!

 

[Brother None]

Man those GB guys suck they should just give up and stop reviewing games they suck.

 

[Lumpy]

Man those GB guys suck they should just give up and stop reviewing games they suck.

Yeah, that's exactly what everyone said.

 

[Brother None]

Anyway, WTF? What kind of reviewing style is this, first pointing out he techical issues (just to scare off people in advance?), and then actually addressing what matters? Well at least it makes the game justice later on.

I haven't finished Gothic 3, but the technical issues were certainly the most prominent feature of the game in as far as I've played it.

A review is not a promotional piece. You don't start with the best to roll into the the worst in a corner. You start with what you feel is most pertinent, and that's pretty personal, but you're not going to tell me: WARNING, DOES NOT FUNCTION, isn't the most prominent feature of Gothic 3, community patch or no.

 

[Claw]

you're not going to tell me: WARNING, DOES NOT FUNCTION, isn't the most prominent feature of Gothic 3, community patch or no.

Well, it is.. or so I'm told. Other than the long loading times and some ingame stutters that may or may not be a result of my lowly 1 Gig of RAM, I can't say I had lots of technical problems.

I'm sure that the reports of heavy problems with various system configurations are accurate, though. I can't say I know how much the patch does for everyone else, I haven't noticed any big difference in terms of performance.

 

[elander_]

"the full range of experience points for some side quests cannot be gained bla bla bla"

People who complain about crap like this should not be allowed to review games. This is only a valid complain when quests are scarce and there is not enough of them to raise skills to a critical level and progress in guilds or main quests. This can be a problem with badly implemented use based skill systems but not with Gothic 3 which works with distributing experience points. So you cannot do every quest and win everything, go play Zelda or one of those rpgs for children, moron.

 

[Fenril]

Im pretty sure a great deal of people finished Gothic 3 with only minor problems..and that was a few patches back. When I get my new rig I will definately give it a go.

Gothic 3 with bugs or not seems to be pretty controversial though. Cant imagine why...

 

[bat_boro]

I'm playing it right now, something like 50 hours or so (maybe more, I'm playing it for the second month now, I think, but I can't be sure how much time I've spent with it) and the only bug I remember is an NPC companion who just disappeared into thin air. Well, the concearns about the loading time are valid, though, as it is really annoying, but not as much as before the last community patch.
That and the regular sluttering, which again is not much of a problem with the latest patch.

 

[Brother None]

Im pretty sure a great deal of people finished Gothic 3 with only minor problems..and that was a few patches back. When I get my new rig I will definately give it a go.

Gothic 3 with bugs or not seems to be pretty controversial though. Cant imagine why...

I should note I did not encounter that many bugs in my limited playtime.

It was actually the combat system that turned me off very, very quickly. In combat-centric action RPGs, as Gothic I and II were, I expect decent combat, Gothic 3 was just horrifying, and I had better games to play.

Will try it again later, I guess.

 

[WalterKinde]

I agree with the reviewer on the technical issues, 2gb of ram , a dual core 2.8ghz cpu and a mid range vid card, and the game still stutters when loading or saving a game.
And yes some people and items do float in the air and i once ended up shoulder deep in the ground and it took repeated jumping to get out of that.
But with the exception of the long load times and save times , its not too bad.
Also i haven't run into any quests i completed without having been given them.

 

[GeneralSamov]

I haven't finished Gothic 3, but the technical issues were certainly the most prominent feature of the game in as far as I've played it.

Though luck, I guess. Or maybe good luck on my side. Anyway, with the latest patch I hadn't had any of the problems he's talking about (except from some random crashes after hours of gameplay, which could as easily have been due to overheating), but certainly no "quicksand effect".
Although I'm aware of the demands it poses on hardware, if you don't tweak it.