Gothic II
by Atari
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Video Game Reviews of Gothic II
Customer Review: If You Can Get Past the Clumsy Interface and Controls.....
Summary: 5 Stars
Both Gothic I & II are two of my favorite RPG's in the last few years. But... there is one disclaimer about the Gothic series before you give it a try. Admittedly, it does have a poor interface and some of the clumsiest controls you'll encounter in an action oriented RPG. The game plays like Morrowind with its 3rd person view but your hero isn't as easy to control. If you were frustrated with Gothic I (and you won't be the first person) but you still want to try a new RPG, my advice would be to pick up the sequel, Gothic II, because it fixes a lot of the common complaints from the first game. The events in Gothic II don't require you to know the story in Gothic I so no matter what your reasons for skipping the first game, you can start with the second game and not lose a whole lot. (If you're a fan of the history in the story though, it does help to play the first game.) Also, explore the web a little too because there are some good Gothic websites that can help you out as the instructions aren't the greatest. Don't be afraid to purchase the game because of these warnings though because if you really want to know why the game has its faults, it's because it was designed by a tiny group of programmers in Germany determined to build the ultimate RPG. While they didn't have the same funding or hype an RPG giant like Neverwinter Nights did, they still did a very admirable job and I've had just as much fun with Gothic as other titles that have received better press and ratings. The attributes of your character are simple compared to most RPG's but the game almost plays like an offline MMORPG with its character progression and exploration. The game begins with a cut scene that explains the events of Gothic I and suffering from side effects of the powerful magic in his final battle in the first game, your hero begin anew with his skills and inventory. The game has some unique characteristics such as night/day, NPC's that respond to home invasion, NPC's that actually sleep at night, and other simple but critical elements that make the game feel more alive. Gothic won't hold your hand and lead you through the game like too many mainstream titles these days so make sure you save often. It's not an easy game to pick up but once you get into it, you'll disocover that it's one heck of an addictive game and probably be a fan of the Gothic series for life.Customer Review: I bought a new PC just to play this game! It's THAT good!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ever since Ultima introduced NPC scheduling, there are not many RPGs that has successfully achieve this beyond the scale set by Ultima 7: The Black Gate. Sure, there are good RPG games since Ultima - Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate, Star Wars: Knights of Old Republic. None of these, however have NPC scheduling - that means the computer controlled character, for example, a blacksmith, works in the morning, take a lunch break in the afternoon, continue his work till dusk, strolls to the bar for a smoke and a beer and finally going to bed late at night.The said blacksmith will make weapons by going to the forge, then hitting the red metal in the anvil, putting the blade in the water bucket to cool it and back to the anvil again. He even has an apprentice to do some of the work.
This scenario is pretty common in Gothic 2. The city of Khorinis is filled with NPCs doing their daily chores, some of these having their own hidden agendas which you will have to help/not help as subquests. You can aid a thief and win favour with the Thief Guild or you can turn this scoundrel in and befriend the militia/paladin.
You can attack someone in the city but will get penalized by Lord Andre, the militant chief. The cost of your penalty depends on how many witnesses saw the fight at that time. The more witnesses will cost you more as these witnesses will report your bad deed to Lord Andre.
As the game progress, you have to choose your career path. There are 5 chapters in the game. In Chapter 1, which may take like 8-10 hours of play, you have to determine what you want to be: paladin, mercenaries or mages. Each of these path have their own quests and story-line, which, again provides replayability. I have played the most recent RPG, Star Wars and I thought that replaying the game as the Dark side would have given me more options or quests. Alas, the quests are more or less the same. Gothic 2 is different. My friend played as a mercenary and I, a militia and we have been discussing the many different quests that were given to us. I will definitely play this again as the Fire magicians ;-)
I will end this mini-review to stress the awesome atmosphere such as NPC scheduling and work cycle, day-night cycle, refreshing quests/subquestes that are not just Fed Ex type, adds a lot to the gameplay of a RPG. Khorinis is not just a game world. It is a place I escaped from Real Life. If you love Ultima but was disappointed with Ultima Ascension, try Gothic 2. You won't regret it... (you don't need to play Gothic 1 to play the sequel)
Customer Review: Very good.
Summary: 5 Stars
Has to be one of the BEST RPG-type games I have EVER played. Gothic is also good; I would recommend it before you buy this. If you do not, you'll miss some of things that make this game "neat".You get to visit the old areas of Gothic, but they are "burnt" by the "dragons".
A MUST buy!
Customer Review: Gothic 2 lives up to its predecessor and then some
Summary: 5 Stars
The original Gothic blew me away and remains one of my favorite games. Yet somehow Gothic 2 is even better. Both are spectacular 3D RPGs where you are able to wander around the vast, beautiful environment doing whatever you wish. That freedom alone is 1/2 the game. Where most RPGs force you to tromp from point A to point B for various tasks, Gothic 2 lets you decide what you want to do. Exploring is not only fun, it's rewarding as well. Sure, you'll probably encounter beasts that will tear you to shreds..if they catch you.. but you may well also find hidden treasures, underground caverns, and hidden valleys. By literally stepping off the beaten path, you never know what you're going to find. In the first hour of playing Gothic 2, I had discovered a hidden stash of potions, a spot where someone had fallen off a cliff and died, consisting of a half-buried skeleton with a rusty sword and silver ring I could take, been chased up and down a path in the woods by a very hungry young wolf, and hidden in a flock of grazing sheep while a nearby shepherd killed off some giant insects that were after me. Great stuff.Gothic 2 is nearly identical to Gothic, but simply is much larger in scale. The somewhat clumsy combat interface combined with the strength of most monsters means it's often wiser to talk to people and otherwise work on your diplomacy skills rather than just kill everything for the experience. This isn't nearly as tedious as it sounds, because the voice-over quality is very high and you'll often gain EXP or items by cleverly interacting with other NPCs.
Gothic and Gothic 2 are those rarest of games, ones where not only does the time just fly by while you're playing them, but that you always find yourself wondering what's over the next hill. Train your magic skills, tiptoe around on rooftops to steal people's items, or become a devout paladin.. whatever you do, you'll just end up coming back for more.
Customer Review: One of the best
Summary: 5 Stars
This has to be one of the best RPG's I have ever played. The graphics are amazing and the storyline is fabulous. Highly reccomend this.