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Keyboard, Adventure/RPG | |
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November 2001 (US) |
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Third Person From Review #1: "Gothic is half of a brilliant game. This single-player RPG from Germany makes a brave attempt to create a world in which your actions and interactions with other characters have true, story-affecting consequences...I can't remember a role-playing game that gave me a more vivid feeling of actually having to make my own way in a populated, complicated world. In this world, your choices have consequences, and sucking up to one boss can make you dog meat to another. "You develop your character by accumulating experience points and finding teachers to instruct you in various skills. By picking and choosing you can create a thief, a warrior, a sniper, or various categories of mage. "The story of Gothic is rich, long and complicated. As you become more skilled and powerful, you're able to take on an increasingly deadly variety of wolves, killer ostriches (okay, they're called "scavengers" in the game, but trust me, they're killer ostriches), skeletons, giant bugs, trolls, orcs, and many more baddies. "The second half of the game, while still entertaining, is not nearly as rewarding as the first half. You can almost feel your character getting funneled into a particular path, and after a while you begin to wonder why you went to all the trouble to pick a camp and a particular set of skills if you're going to end up in the very same Tomb-Raider jumping hackfest at the game's finale. "Gothic has a much more serious problem, however...I'm talking about the game's interface. It's just the worst I think I've ever seen...To perform the simplest of tasks, such as picking something up, or shooting, you have to use some arcane key combination, like Alt-Arrow Up. "However, I've played a lot of games, and I've struggled with a lot of bad interface systems, so even this glaring fault didn't ruin the game for me. Gothic is an innovative effort from a team that will get my serious attention in the future." From Review #2: "Gothic is a hybrid game - an action/adventure with RPG elements...While the character development provides a definite RPG flavor, the game is rich in story and character interaction. Combat requires only basic coordination and the squeamish gamer can turn off the blood effects. The magic system is simple with spells that include the standard fare such as lightening, ice, and fire bolts. For fun, you can try your hand at such magical tricks as transforming into a creature, creating armies of skeletons to do your dirty work, and shrinking foes into mini-enemies...Conversations are conducted through predefined dialog trees and you are blessed with maps to define your position and a log to track quests and progress. In short, this is a hybrid that the adventure gamer can revel in. "Gothic excels in both graphics and sound...The sound effects and voice-overs are also exceptional. Unlike most foreign games, the translation of Gothic from German to English is seamless. Character dialogue is executed with diction and inflections that will make you forget that the game was developed in another language. "The one area that Gothic falls seriously short is in the interface. The key combinations are downright awkward and not well documented...Lastly, the game ending is woefully inadequate. You are denied the visual "warm fuzzy" that should be awarded to a gamer who worked hard to defeat evil and save the world! "Despite these shortcomings, Gothic is a game that you should not miss. It strikes an equitable balance between story, action, and role playing and presents a fantasy environment that begs to be experienced."
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