Wanna play Gothic! ... But which one?

[duerer]

Hi RPGCodexites!

I am pretty much bored with nowaday's open-ended RPG lieneup (Oblivion), so I've decided to play Gothic instead.

However, I cannot decide which one.
This is what I've heard so far:

Gothic I
+ original
+ good story
- slow start
- aging graphics

Gothic II
+ bigger world
+ better graphics
- very hard
- originality worn out

Gothic III
... don't care, as my computer is not fast enough for it.


Any ideas?
Btw, I prefer good stories/dialogs/lore over anything else...
Also, I'm quite busy, so please do not advise for playing G1 and G2 in sequence

 

[Oarfish]

II, with the NOTR extension and patches. The AI improvements alone are worth it, bad guys will climb after you.

 

[JarlFrank]

Play Gothic 2. It's hard, yes, but it's extremely satisfying to get more powerful - only to be pwned by the enemy because you get too self-confident. Also, it feels very alive and is in most aspects an improvement over G1.

 

[Zomg]

Play both, finish neither. They both shit up towards the ends.

 

[Texas Red]

I'm not motivated to play Gothic 1 because of the simplistic character system. Does it get interesting? It didn't have that "I want to level up" feeling. How is the magic and gear at least? Does it provide this particular feeling? Does Gothic 2 improve in this field?

 

[Claw]

Play with yourself and shut up.



To the OP: Play Gothic first. It's great in many ways, but it may be harder to enjoy it after Gothic 2.

PS: You ought to play with the Sammelmod. It fixes some bugs, adds a quest and some improvements. It also adds the previously unavailable heavy guardist armour behind a door that is unopenable in the original game.

You could probably bablefish and google-translate the page and figure out what the mod does, it's just a handful of changes although I could swear it also makes NPCs behave correctly when you are attacked instead of always reacting like you were the attacker.

 

[Crichton]

You should play G1 first, it provides a lot of background that makes G2+NotR more enjoyable. G1 has a much better plotline, but a smaller world. They're both worth playing once, but probably only once since you can pretty much do everything with one character if you play your cards right.

I'm not motivated to play Gothic 1 because of the simplistic character system. Does it get interesting? It didn't have that "I want to level up" feeling. How is the magic and gear at least? Does it provide this particular feeling? Does Gothic 2 improve in this field?

In both games (particularly G2 with NotR installed) once you run out of weak enemies, if you haven't become strong enough, the stronger enemies will eat your lunch. That should provide plenty of incentive to try to get one more stat boost to qualify for the next level of weapon.

MIsc:

In G1, I played through twice, once as a swamp camp templar and once as a old camp / new camp magic user. Magic is strictly for laughs in G1, but there are enough points to max out 1-handed sword-fighting and still learn all the magic. The story makes the most sense if you join the swamp camp, but you can't be a serious magic user unless you join one of the other camps.

In G2, I've played through three times, once without NotR, twice with it. I've played through as a paladin both ways and as a fire mage in NotR. By and large, being a paladin two-handed swordsman is your best bet. If you are diligent about collecting the DR-boosting jewelry on the tropical island, when it's combined with the best armor, you will be invulnerable.

In both games, melee combat is the only discipline that has any skill to it, it requires timing. Magic/archery require neither timing nor aiming. So focusing on melee combat is the best way to play the game. Magic and Archery both become very powerful but really stink early on.

 

[thesheeep]

Play Gothic 2. It's hard, yes,

... have you played the same Gothic 2 I have? o.O

 

[Jasede]

He means with the add-on.

 

[Hory]

Gothic I
+ original
+ good story

Gothic II
+ bigger world
+ better graphics

Depending on your preferences, the choice should be obvious. But if a bigger world and better graphics are more important to you, just go and play Oblivion.

 

[Jasede]

There's nothing wrong with liking good graphics, and I do not see how liking a big world and good graphics would make you enjoy Oblivion, a game with terrible gameplay. One can enjoy those things and not be stupid at the same time, dear Hory.

 

[Jeff Graw]

Play Gothic, and then play Gothic 2.

 

[flabbyjack]

Play Gothic, and then play Gothic 2.

If you're going to try two or more, you should definitely play them in order. Definitely. You'll be able to stomach the somewhat-aged G1. The improvements made in G2 will be felt better after having played G1. Tip : Start with scavengers. Stay away from bloodflies.

Since you prefer story and dialogues, try G1. It has uncommonly good setting, dialogue characters, and story I guess(Prison colony). G1->G2->G3 will also be best appreciated in chronological order.

PS - Slow starts are better, it gives the numerous deleterious(harmful) things in the gameworld much more weight.

 

[The Ticktockman]

For slightly more money than getting either Gothic I or Gothic II, you can pick them both up, plus NotR, PLUS Gothic III in one package (Gothic Universe) http://www.amazon.com/Dreamcatcher-DVD5 ... 342&sr=8-1

 

[Hory]

There's nothing wrong with liking good graphics, and I do not see how liking a big world and good graphics would make you enjoy Oblivion, a game with terrible gameplay. One can enjoy those things and not be stupid at the same time, dear Hory.

Who says that liking good graphics and a big world is wrong or that whoever does it is stupid? If you have comprehension problems, I will say it clearly:
There is nothing inherently good about a big world, and this shouldn't be a criteria in itself for choosing a game. The same goes for "good graphics". A lot of games have good graphics, and A LOT of games have graphics better than G2. Anyone who chooses these two things before a good, original, atmospheric story has bad taste, low standards and a shallow, meaningless life.

 

[Jasede]

So you're saying that when faced with a choice between ugly graphics and a small world, but good story, and great graphics, a big world, and a meh story, you should pick the former always or are stupid, aren't you saying that?

 

[yellowcake]

I like G1 graphics allright. It's a bit outdated, but it's by no means ugly. models are lowpoly and textures are of small resolution but that's it. level design is great and there are many spectacular locations. G1's adventure is dense as hell and i missed something that would be on par with it in g2 very much, considering improved game mechanics. i consider g1 a much better, consistent and well thought out as a whole game, though it might not be a better rpg.

 

[Kraszu]

Yeah just play G1 first. G2:Notr is hard at start, and that is not a bad thing, the thing that I dislike about it is that potions are imbalanced and there is no way to have good stats whithout them. I am not a big fun of looking for flowers, you can complete game whithout good stats at least whit fighter through.

 

[1eyedking]

G1, then G2+NotR.

 

[jiujitsu]

Play Gothic 2. It's hard, yes, but it's extremely satisfying to get more powerful - only to be pwned by the enemy because you get too self-confident. Also, it feels very alive and is in most aspects an improvement over G1.

Agreed.

 

[Squeek]

The original Gothic is my favorite one, and starting with it puts you at the beginning of the story. So that's what I'd recommend.

 

[The Rambling Sage]

Gothic I

+ good story

Is that some kind of joke?

- One dimensional characters.
- Ancient evil.
- Chosen one.
- Ancient orc prophecies.
- Mighty sword of hellish doom.

It was a quite cool game, but the story sucked badly.

 

[1eyedking]

Is that some kind of joke?

- One dimensional characters.
- Ancient evil.
- Chosen one.
- Ancient orc prophecies.
- Mighty sword of hellish doom.

It was a quite cool game, but the story sucked badly.

I strongly disagree.

- Story-consistent plot twists (Free Mine, Sleeper);
- Believable characters (slothful, self-righteous, cruel);
- Interesting back-story (the barrier, the ore barons);
- Orcs that actually have a culture;
- Mighty spell of hellish doom.

And I don't farking care about being 'the chosen one to bring down the barrier'. It's comparable to being the chosen one to find the GECK; a child of circumstances.

 

[A user named cat]

Play them both starting with the first one, considering the story is continuous. G2 is a little better overall especially with the expansion pack. There are texture mods as well that you should get, I've only ever tried the G2 one though. Makes it look much better and less muddy. The one for G1 was just recently released which I'll be checking out pretty soon.

G1 texture patch

Screenshot comparisons for G2 texture enhancement pack

Download (93mb)

Just copy the file to your "...Gothic 2/DATA/" folder, very simple to install and remove.

EDIT: Just noticed that if you attempt to download from World of Gothic through the translated page, you'll get an error for the G1 texture patch. So just get it from HERE

Also ran across THIS other and older texture pack for G1, no idea if it's compatible with the other one or not.

 

[ghostdog]

Start From Gothic 1. It's only problem is the somewhat obscure controls , but you'll get used to them. Great world , great atmosphere, intersting characters.

Then go to Gothic2+NotR. It's a bit hard but in a good way. Again you'll have a very well made world nice story and chars.

If you liked both Gothics AND have an uber PC try Gothic 3 I hear that after the fan patch it's mostly bug free.

I would also suggest ARX FATALIS. It's made by the same guys and it's a tribute to Ultima Underworld. Very good game.