Gothic 3
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| Gothic 3 | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Piranha Bytes |
| Publisher(s) |  JoWooD Deep Silver Aspyr Media JoWood |
| Distributor(s) | Koch Media [1] [2] Navarre Corporation [3] |
| Engine | Genome Engine with Emotion FX 2 character animation, SpeedTree foliage, and PhysX for physics simulation |
| Version | 1.12 (December 21, 2006) unofficial (Community Patch) - 1.6 (February 7, 2008) |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP 64 Bit |
| Release date | October 13, 2006 November 1, 2006 November 2, 2006 November 3, 2006 November 20, 2006 November 20, 2006 June 15, 2007 |
| Genre(s) | Action RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single player first-person and third-person viewpoints |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: T (Teen) 13+ PEGI: 16+ USK: 12+ |
| Media | DVD |
| System requirements | Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4, Microsoft Windows XP SP1, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP 64 Bit minimum 512 MB System RAM 2.0 GHz Intel Pentium 4, Athlon XP or equivalent processor 128MB DirectX compatible video card DirectX 9.0c 8x DVD-ROM drive 4.6 GB free hard disk space DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card Keyboard and Mouse |
| Input methods | Keyboard and Mouse |
Gothic 3 is a fantasy-themed role-playing game for Windows from the German game developer Piranha Bytes. It is the sequel to Gothic II. Although widely available in English, the native release of the game is German. The game was released throughout the European Union on October 13, 2006 and is currently available throughout North America, after the release date of November 20, 2006. Although the US version is rated T (for teens), the version released in North America carries exactly the same gameplay content as those released internationally. The North American release incorporates two patches that appeared after the initial UK edition.
JoWooD has officially announced an expansion for Gothic 3 named Forsaken Gods to be released in Q4 2008.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Story
[edit] Prologue
The first part of Gothic tells the story of The Nameless Hero, a man thrust into the events of a penal colony. The colony takes the form of a natural landscape encased in a large magical shield known as The Barrier, much like an impenetrable dome. Over the course of the story, The Nameless Hero becomes acquainted with several characters, the most notable of which are Diego, Lee, Cor Angar, Lester, Gorn, Lares, Milten, and Xardas. Some of these characters are connected with the various factions of the game, which include the Old Camp, the New Camp and the Swamp Camp. Also connected with these factions are the water and fire mages, of which Xardas is an outcast. Xardas, a necromancer, plays a central part to the survival and advancement of the character. Ultimately, he galvanizes the character toward the ultimate goal of stopping the summoning of a beast known as The Sleeper. The Nameless Hero destroys The Sleeper at the cost of nearly losing his own life.
The second part of Gothic sees The Nameless Hero resurrected by Xardas into a new setting. Now located outside the city of Khorinis, he is asked by Xardas to investigate a new evil that threatens Khorinis and the surrounding lands. Over the course of the story, The Nameless Hero reconnects with old friends from the first chapter while adjusting to changes in the faction structure. With the penal colony and its barrier a thing of the past, the surrounding lands have been invaded by orcs. Factions now consist of the Militia/Paladins of Khorinis, the Fire Novices/Fire Mages, and the Mercenaries/Dragon Hunters. Water mages also make a return. Having discovered the source of the evil threatening Khorinis, our hero assembles a crew of trusted friends and sails to a nearby island. There he battles a large undead dragon, completing the central quest of the chapter. The chapter closes with the hero and his allies sailing away from the island.
Gothic 2 also has an expansion called Night of the Raven. In the expansion, the Hero will face many new dangers and a new unexplored world. The Water Mages play an important role in the expansion. There is a new faction known as the Ring of Water, who have the same relationship to the Water Mages as the Paladins do to the Fire Mages.
[edit] Plot
The third part opens with the Nameless Hero and his friends sailing to a new continent overrun with orcs, arriving in the Myrtana, the central region of the continent. Presumably this is the source of the orc invasion that was launched on Khorinis during the second chapter. These lands have no physical connection to Khorinis or the ruins of the penal colony. In these mountainous forests the orcs have enslaved the human kingdom with only a few free humans living in the nearly uninhabitable icy northlands of Nordmar and the southern desert of Varant. The hero must decide whether to join the rebellion and stay true to the deposed human king, serve the Orcish usurpers in their quest to topple the last remaining human stronghold, or choose a path that serves his own ends. Throughout the story, he is accompanied by a number of NPCs, some of whom are old friends. While this chapter brings forward friends from the previous title (Xardas, Diego, Milten, Gorn, Lester, and Vatras) it also introduces two new major characters; King Rhobar the Second (Who ultimately was responsible for sending the Nameless Hero to the penal colony in the first game) and Zuben. While the king has a strong past as a bold leader, he now faces a near defeat; his fame on the decline. Zuben leads the Hashishin that inhabit the southern region of Varant.[2]
[edit] Gameplay
The player must complete quests and slay wild animals and monsters to earn experience and improve skills. The game is reputation centric allowing the player to side with the Orcs or Humans or a little of both within the quest and faction systems, or just battle it out. The player is able to take advantage of missons to allow either side to take over towns. Dialog changes according to in-game actions and behavior. The game places a special focus on the interactivity of the environment. The game claimed to employ an unusual combat system which emphasizes carefully timed combinations of strikes, requiring the player to read the body language of attacking opponents. However, in practice, many players found the combat system lacking such unique features and have been known to describe it as a "button mashing clickfest." This was due to the fact that the most successful strategy during combat seems to be to just click the left mouse button as quickly as you can, if you time it right at the beginning you are able to defeat any enemy with relative ease. The controls have been altered slightly with a stronger focus on action. Navigation and combat are more mouse-centric, with each mouse button having a different combat action. The Nameless Hero can also now wield dual weapons or use a shield. [If the difficulty of the game is set as *Hard* then mere button-mashing wont work. Correct calculation about the opponent's move will be necessary.]
[edit] Reception
Prior to its release in early October 2006, Gothic 3 was nominated as the best game of E3 by IGN. Since the release, most concerns have centered around bugs.
| Reviewer | Rating | Available Languages |
|---|---|---|
| Extreme-Players.de | 9.3 (out of 10) | German |
| Eurogamer.de | 9 (out of 10) | German |
| HonestGamers | 9 (out of 10) | English |
| PC Games Online | 8.8 (out of 10) | German |
| Computer and Videogames | 8.5 (out of 10) | English |
| GameCaptain.de | 8.3 (out of 10) | German |
| RPG Codex | 8-8.5 (out of 10) | English |
| Gameswelt | 8.1 (out of 10) | German |
| Eurogamer.net | 8 (out of 10) | English |
| GameSpot | 7.6 (out of 10) | English |
| Hooked Gamers | 7 (out of 10) | English |
| 4Players.de | 6.8 (out of 10) | German |
| IGN | 4.9 (out of 10) | English |
| Gamespy | 1.5 (out of 5) | English |
| Blastmagazine.com | 4 (out of 5) | English |
[edit] Technical
[edit] Engine
Gothic 3 is powered by a custom engine called the Genome engine; it supports Pixel Shader 3.0, has a multithreaded design and includes dynamic lighting (including self-shadowing). Physics simulation is provided by Ageia's PhysX physics engine. It also uses IDV's SpeedTreeRT tree and plant software, Bink Video Technology from RAD Game Tools for the cutscenes, as well as the FMOD Sound System from Firelight Technologies for sound playback.[2]
[edit] System Requirements
Although the minimum system requirements consist of a 2.0 GHz Intel Pentium 4 and 512 MB System RAM, a 3 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor with 1.5 GB of System RAM or more is far more suited to the task. Recommended video cards include an ATI X1600, Nvidia GeForce 6800 series or better if possible.[2]
The following chart lists the supported video cards as found in the Gothic 3 manuals for both the UK edition of the game[3] and the updated North American edition[4]. Although not directly referenced in the manual, the Nvidia GeForce 5200le, 5200, 5500, 7600, and ATI Radeon 9600 series also appear to be supported. The game doesn't run on Intel GMA series. The game can run on many other untested systems but you may experience poor performance.
| Vendor | Series | Supported Models |
|---|---|---|
| ATI | Radeon | 9600, 9700, 9800 |
| ATI | X | 300, 550, 600, 700, 800, 850, 1300, 1600, 1800, 1900 |
| NVIDIA | GeForce | PCX 5900, FX 5950, 6100 n, 6200, 6500, 6600, 6800, 7300, 7600, 7800, 7900 ,8800 ,8600GT |
[edit] Release and Distribution
The game is currently available throughout the European Union in English and German and was released on October 13. The North American version was released on November 20. The English edition from the UK was released as version 1.04. The North American version incorporated two patches (the first being 1.07) in its initial release at version 1.12.
[edit] Rating
In the UK, the PEGI rating board has assigned the game a 16+ rating. In Germany, the USK has rated it 12+. In the US and Canada, Gothic 3 is rated T (Teen) by the ESRB. The gameplay content is identical between each version released worldwide.
[edit] Other releases in the series
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- Gothic II: Die Nacht des Raben - 2003 (German release only)
- Gothic II Gold - 2005 (the Gold box of the game including the original Gothic II as well as the first release of the English version of the expansion, entitled The Night of the Raven)
- Gothic 3: The Beginning - 15-01-2008 (a mobile version of the game, developed by Handy-Games)
- Gothic 4: Arcania - TBA (currently being developed by a different producer: SpellBound)
[edit] Criticism
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The game has received positive reviews for its open-ended world (with 3 possible endings), scenic beauty and original musical score. Although the game demands very high-end hardware, the pay-off is in the overall environment and story.
Review scores from critics as well as gamers differ highly per player. The reason for this could be the extent to which the reviewer takes the release bugs into account, often prompting the term "unpolished gem". JoWood has been accused of rushing the game, giving less time for play testing and optimization. While Piranha Bytes is no longer supporting the game since the franchise has been taken over by Spellbound Studios, Spellbound has released an official statement claiming that they will now support it.[5]
It is generally agreed by most reviewers that the initial release of the game was rather buggy. However, many bugs have been corrected by a number of both official and community-released patches.[6] [7]
For the actual game, most criticism was directed towards the gameplay itself. Not only was the actual fighting considered rather bland (with some level of button mashing); some opponents encountered in the early game were deemed too powerful for early encounters in the game. Such things as "stun lock" have been downplayed in later patches to make these enemies easier to defeat. Though some fans from the Gothic series protested this, some enemies such as the wild boar were made less powerful in the official patches.
The game's Austrian publisher, JoWooD, received criticism for their treatment of the fan community and press as well as forcing Piranha Bytes to have the game ready for sale before it was fully finished. They were accused of playing with the fans' high expectations, making promises about the final quality of the game which were perceived as fatuous by some, and threatening the publishers of less-than-favourable reviews with libel lawsuits and actions for injunction.
Part of the criticism was also directed at Piranha Bytes for stopping their support to Gothic 3, while they were in negotiations with JoWood to Gothic 4. This was seen as a bad business practice and as the main cause for the separation of game maker and publisher. Because of this, the fan community had to do the work of patching the game's bugs, until Spellbound Studios agreed to support the game.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Expansion for Gothic 3 (HTML). JoWood Official Website. Retrieved on 2008-04-15.
- ^ a b c Gothic 3 manual (all versions).
- ^ Gothic 3 manual (UK version).
- ^ Gothic 3 manual (North American version).
- ^ New Publisher (HTML). JoWood Forums. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
- ^ Official Patches (HTML). Gothic3 Official Website. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
- ^ Unofficial Patches (HTML). JoWood Forums. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
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