Review Gothic 3 Review

[Micmu]

What the fuck is a strengthening potion and why the game hasn't told me about it? See, that's why every game needs a magic compass.

Standard potion which you can find, buy or brew. Some monsters (like lizards) damage your endurance so it regenerates much slower (bar becomes grey) - until you cure yourself.

 

[The_Nameless_Prick]

What the fuck is a strengthening potion and why the game hasn't told me about it? See, that's why every game needs a magic compass.

Standard potion which you can find, buy or brew. Some monsters (like lizards) damage your endurance so it regenerates much slower (bar becomes grey) - until you cure yourself.

I really think he was being sarcastic, micmu.

 

[Naked Ninja]

The part about the quest comapass is a clue.

 

[bylam]

Meh, the game becomes far too easy as a mage character. Once you get Mana Regeneration char development is all over. However making my way through the besieged city to get it was good fun.
Enjoying the faction side of things, though I haven't made a clear decision. Got to get in contact with more of the upper-management of the Orcs before I decide for sure.
Combat controls are downright frustrating at times. I'm a little disappointed that when I am fighting a bunch of enemies with allies in tow, my char seems to love locking onto my teamates. It gets me into a lot of trouble.
Dialogue is solid enough, the casual nature of conversations makes the dialogue more realistic IMHO. You don't hear the crappy "Good day sir, how can I help m'lord?" which sounds forced in other games. Most of the voice over work is laid back and interesting.
Good fun, and that is the highest reccommendation I can give a game.

Disclaimer: I also like POR2 so my opinion probably isn't worth shit.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Bringing light to the masses

Edit: Already locked.

Yes, since there is material on your site that is not allowed here we cannot allow one to link to it. PM an Admin about this if you would like to discuss their decision.

What material? Criticism of Oblivion?

 

[The_Nameless_Prick]

Bringing light to the masses

Edit: Already locked.

Yes, since there is material on your site that is not allowed here we cannot allow one to link to it. PM an Admin about this if you would like to discuss their decision.

What material? Criticism of Oblivion?

HAHA geez. Bethesda won't let ANYONE broaden their horizens. Bethstapo indeed. That is too much bullshit to even make a joke out of, someone else will have to do it. HAHAHA!

EDIT: I posted a few links to a few select sites.

 

[Ahzaruuk]

Bringing light to the masses

Edit: Already locked.

Yes, since there is material on your site that is not allowed here we cannot allow one to link to it. PM an Admin about this if you would like to discuss their decision.

What material? Criticism of Oblivion?

My guess is the habitual Tubgirling of some posters *coughNicolaicough*

Tis a shame though. I hope the tension between the two forums can die off soon.

 

[Admiral Rimjob POOBUM]

Bringing light to the masses

Edit: Already locked.

Yes, since there is material on your site that is not allowed here we cannot allow one to link to it. PM an Admin about this if you would like to discuss their decision.

What material? Criticism of Oblivion?

My guess is the habitual Tubgirling of some posters *coughNicolaicough*

Tis a shame though. I hope the tension between the two forums can die off soon.

Has anyone mentioned that there's unsuitable material on WIKIPEDIA? They allow linking to that, after all. Oh, and that "google" thing.

 

[Ahzaruuk]

Bringing light to the masses

Edit: Already locked.

Yes, since there is material on your site that is not allowed here we cannot allow one to link to it. PM an Admin about this if you would like to discuss their decision.

What material? Criticism of Oblivion?

My guess is the habitual Tubgirling of some posters *coughNicolaicough*

Tis a shame though. I hope the tension between the two forums can die off soon.

Has anyone mentioned that there's unsuitable material on WIKIPEDIA? They allow linking to that, after all. Oh, and that "google" thing.

Yeah. Was just recently informed that my theory isn't all that accurate.

Makes me wonder though.

 

[The_Nameless_Prick]

Tis a shame though. I hope the tension between the two forums can die off soon.

That day will never happen unless Bethesda comes out of hiding and has an open debate/discussion with us. It seems that they would rather swim in their millions though.

 

[Ahzaruuk]

Tis a shame though. I hope the tension between the two forums can die off soon.

That day will never happen unless Bethesda comes out of hiding and has an open debate/discussion with us. It seems that they would rather swim in their millions though.

So it is begginng to seem to me. But I rather save such judgements until I actually hear it from them or something equally as tangeble. Mainly because I don't really like how my feet taste...

 

[Nedrah]

Meh.
I'm constantly tempted to give the game another go... and I already KNOW that no .ini tweaking in the world is going to make the game run fluidly on my rig. Seriously, I've tried - including experementing with drivers, geting the hdds and registry and what have you in top shape... I just can't stop it from giving me serious loading pauses every 50 or so meters.
So unless anyone has any great advice to offer I'll have to wait for my next upgrade cylce before I can get into this. Shame on that crap, I'm such a sucker for the gothic world(s) and feel. So, any advice?

Specs:

pentium M 1,6 (the mobile thingy)
1GB DDR2 Ram
gf6600go @ 415/630 (mildly overclocked)
60gig Hdd, 5400RPM (guess that'd be a pretty bad combination with that "only" 1gig of ram right there)

 

[fizzelopeguss]

I'm sure Tinyurl would work if you really wanted your review on the TESF.

 

[The_Nameless_Prick]

Tis a shame though. I hope the tension between the two forums can die off soon.

That day will never happen unless Bethesda comes out of hiding and has an open debate/discussion with us. It seems that they would rather swim in their millions though.

So it is begginng to seem to me. But I rather save such judgements until I actually hear it from them or something equally as tangeble. Mainly because I don't really like how my feet taste...

They have not said anything yet though, so i can only assume my judgment to be true. At least Peter "M" (can't remember how to spell his last name) apologized about Fable. It was quite well after the game was released, but at least he did it and I respect him alot more than I do Toddy Boy because of it.

 

[Vault Dweller]

I'm sure Tinyurl would work if you really wanted your review on the TESF.

What I really wanted is to see if the fuckers still hold a grudge.

 

[Claw]

Nice review. You kinda forgot to mention dynamic shadows and shaded water, though.

Maybe not though, I have yet to play a magic character myself, but it seems magic doesn't have as strong as a presense in this one as opposed to G1 and G2.

Say what?

Meh, the game becomes far too easy as a mage character. Once you get Mana Regeneration char development is all over. However making my way through the besieged city to get it was good fun.

Well, duh. Mana Regen is a skill with one of the highest attribute requirements in the game, if not the highest. And that is special since most perks with high requirements are associated with strenght or hunting, which start considerably higher than all other attributes. Magic skills are the only ones where you start with a low attribute and have to raise it beyond 200 for the best skills. Seriously, at the time you get Mana Regen, character development is over because you are one badass wizard.
Of course, it would have been better if Mana Regen had been implemented as a way to facilitate playing a mage without having to swallow several potions during a many fights, but whatever.

 

[The Vanished One]

The review is very good, VD, you've explained very well why Gothic 3 is a good game. I also agree with the G3 vs Oblivion chapter, even if I like both games and Oblivion was better optimized. I've seen the specs of your PC, and I wonder why performance is so bad on mine - I don't have a dual core processor and I have only 1 GB ram, but I've got a better video card. Maybe video cards are not so important for gothic 3.

 

[Jon]

I have only 1 GB ram

I am pretty confident that this is the problem.

Excellent review as ever.

 

[Shagnak]

I've seen the specs of your PC, and I wonder why performance is so bad on mine - I don't have a dual core processor and I have only 1 GB ram, but I've got a better video card. Maybe video cards are not so important for gothic 3.

Well, my experience says they do.
In fact, I'm mystified by VDs performance claims.
I had an Athlon 64 4000+ with 2 GB of RAM, and exactly the same video card as VD and it was running at about 1 FPS on high settings.
It was so slow that mouse clicks wouldn't even register on the interface properly.

Changing my card for a GF 7600GT and suddenly my performance problems were gone (well, mostly ... still a glitchy game). I've seen exactly the same thing with a friend's high-end P4. So, like I said, I'm mystified.

I was assuming it was a shader issue, i.e. it's use of shaders is better processed by the newer range of video cards. If anyone else has claims of "flawless" performance with a vanilla GF 6800 256MB, please pipe up.

 

[Vault Dweller]

In fact, I'm mystified by VDs performance claims.

Well, I wouldn't have been able to play the game long enough to take those shots if the performance was shit, would I? Like I said, it was absolutely flawless.

 

[Jasede]

I think they just messed up with their engine a bit, so that it only works with certain shaders on certain cards. This also means there's hope that the performance will vastly improve on some systems once the patches are out. I mean, it's really impossible that it runs smoothly on medium to high details on really ancient computers while it sometimes seems to run like shit on modern rigs. I am really happy I didn't update my three year old system because I am not sure if Bloodlines or Gothic 3 would run on a more modern config smoothly.

Si non confectus, non reficiat, as they used to say.

Oh, and maybe I should just post some gurochan.com links onto the ESF, just to enlighten those punks about /truly/ inappropriate content?

 

[The Vanished One]

I have only 1 GB ram

I am pretty confident that this is the problem.

..I had an Athlon 64 4000+ with 2 GB of RAM, and exactly the same video card as VD and it was running at about 1 FPS on high settings.
It was so slow that mouse clicks wouldn't even register on the interface properly.

Changing my card for a GF 7600GT and suddenly my performance problems were gone (well, mostly ... still a glitchy game)...

Since I have an Athlon 64 4000+ and a 7800 GT, my problem must be the ram. Thank you guys :D

 

[Naked_Lunch]

While the rather dumbed-down character mechanics is a bummer, in the long run is doesn't bother so much as this time around the game is much more about the interaction with the world, exploring, talking, trading etc than just pumping up character points and whatnot. So it all balances out.

 

[Woetohice]

__

 

[aries202]

Thanks for writing this review of Gothic 3.

Your view of Gothic 3 seemss to be the same as mine.
(I have only played 2½ hours of the demo, but I made a mistake once and didn't go see one certain NPC fast enough --- and then the inhabitants of a certain town
were going about their business, re-building the town).

I especially liked the G3 - Oblivion comparision, especially the part where you stated that the inhabitants of Cyrodil seem to be oblivious of the fact that certain gates has opened.

In fact, they seem to be much more pre-occupied with having seen mudcrabs or gossiping about who's seeing who and so. They also somehow seem not to care that much about the emperor dying. They just seem to go about their business.

In Gothic 3, you on the other hand, seem to have a living, breathing world, in which your choices both matters and have consequences as well.

 

[Ceridwenn]

What happened to all the women?

The Gothic series could have been the best rpg if it had some more Oblivion in it(especially when it comes to performance vs looks).
At the same time Oblivion could have been the greatest Rpg ever if it had the non-linearity Gothic has.

Now, they halt somewhere in the middle.
It's too bad PB decided to release an unfinished game, considering the people out there sitting on slow or no internet connections.

But, disregarding the wild uberboars and bugs and how frustratingly slow the combat system is(especially magic) I'm stuck with it.
There are some issues that I need to ventilate however:

Where are the women? Have the developers never met the opposite sex? Yes, sure there are some unnamed female NPCs(who are carefully pointed out as "female" rebel, "female" slave etc. setting even more the male gender as a norm) and who's voices are performed weak and vulnerable.
Is that the developers view of women? Weak and vulnerable?
I can look aside the bugs, the hefty machine reqs. and the sometimes unpolished gameplay but this issue is REALLY bugging me.
Can someone give me a good answer?

Gothic 1: Ok, it's a prison and the history shows that the male norm is more violent, thus the overrepresentation of women.

Gothic 2: Hmm, I can only remember one "strong" female and that was the thief master right? And a "happy" prostitute. Then there where wives and maids...

Gothic 3: I haven't yet stumbled upon a "named" woman. Only female rebels and slaves with vulnerable voices, and I've been to Ardea, Cape Dun, Montera, Okara, Gotha and the vicinity. Let me guess, the orcs have raped and slaughtered the women, since there is clearly a huge shortage of female orcs?

I hope there will be more female game developers out there so the games can somewhat represent the female gender cause clearly male developers fail to do so.