Gothic 3 Preview

The tides of the gaming industry are shifting towards next-generation consoles. I hate that, and so does a majority of hardcore PC gamers. Even though I enjoy playing certain Xbox and PS2 titles, I despise what consoles are doing to the market and I am generally disheartened to witness several well-known developers working on console projects, instead of devoting their creativity to making a decent PC game. Some say PC games need to be taken more seriously, considering the large number of supporters worldwide. And while most publishers are targeting younger audiences and console gamers, others are focusing on luring gamers into vast (and lucrative) MMO worlds. Certain developers, thankfully, are steering clear of such contemporary clichés, going back to more traditional single-player CRPGs. Piranha Bytes, for instance, focuses its latest project, Gothic 3, exclusively on classic single-player RPG content, in order to stay true to the Gothic series.

Forge me a mighty weapon, kind sir.

Forgive me, can you show me the way to the nearest brothel?

The unstable history of the Gothic series didn't hinder the diligent folks over at Piranha. Gothic 2 went through different publishers, but in the end it managed to please gamers in Europe (and in the US, eventually). The third installment of Gothic has been in development for some time, although actual in-game media has been scarce, there's no doubt that the game is safely on its way for a Q1 2006 release (according to the official web site that is). American distribution rights were recently acquired by Aspyr Media, so there shouldn't be any worries this time around.

First of all, I have to say that I've spent long sleepless nights playing Gothic 2. Also, I almost developed a speech impediment and I nearly broke up with my girlfriend (We keep telling him it's impossible to 'break up' with a sheep. - Ed) Alright the game wasn't flawless. As I remember it had some glitches in the combat system, and yet ultimately I found it to be a satisfying and appealing RPG. The visuals were good and there was a huge world to explore and many foes to fight against. Right now, I'm looking forward to playing the expansion, which was finally released in English (along with the Gothic 2 Gold Edition). In short, I'm really looking forward to this new one.

In Gothic 3 gamers get to discover a whole new world. The first two games took place on an island, isolated from the mainland. Players had the freedom to go anywhere they pleased, complete any quest they wanted and join any faction they wanted. During your journeys, you often heard talks of the mainland, but you never got a chance to see it. Gothic 2 ended with players sailing away from the island on a ship. Well, Gothic 3 begins as your ship docks onto the mainland. As our hero arrives, he finds that the war has been won by the Orcs, and it is they who control most of the mainland now. A great number of humans are now enslaved and forced to obey the will of their fearsome enemy. Rest assured you won't be bored since there are over 1000 unique characters to interact with, which amounts to a whole lot more than in the previous installment (around 400).

The world in Gothic 3 is huge - about 4 times larger than in Gothic 2, which is definitely a considerable improvement. If I remember correctly, in the second installment players were able to visit around two or three cities (that's including the add-on). It took me quite a while to explore each of these. Now, your character gets the opportunity to go through around 20 cities, most of which are, unfortunately, inhabited by the filthy Orcs.

Once you set out on your journey, there will be plenty of choices to make. One of the first decisions is whether or not you're ready to help the Orcs and fight for their cause. Players can do so if they wish. In which case, you shouldn't expect to find a warm welcome near any human settlements. But if you decide to stay loyal and supportive of the humans, you're bound to get into conflicts with the Orcs. If you're fed up with the Humans vs. Orc war altogether, you are free to tell both sides to sod off, so you can follow your own destiny. Also, Gothic 2 featured two or three factions at the most. In Gothic 3 you'll be able to choose from six diverse factions. Joining a faction, naturally, effects the way other citizens and enemies look upon you. So, think carefully before you choose.

Actually, what ever you do in Gothic 3 effects the world and people around you in one way or another. On several occasions, the crew at Piranha Bytes stressed that their goal is to create a live and convincing environment. So, if you decide to buy weapons or armor in the middle of the night, you'll most likely find the blacksmith's shop closed. The same thing goes for other traders and civilians. Each individual (or NPC) in game, reacts to the living environment in an appropriate way. So, at the crack of dawn shops will be open and you can buy anything you want (similar to what we've seen in Gothic 2 or the Lionhead's recent RPG Fable: The Lost Chapters).

NPCs usually behave in accordance with your actions as well. If a farmer witnesses you killing his sheep (Or as we like to call it, Vader's 'girlfriend'. - Ed), don't expect him to be friendly and cooperative. He'll also spread the word about your foul deed, so other people will be less helpful too. To avoid this you can kill the farmer and put the lid on the whole sheep situation. Of course, things could get even worse if there were witnesses present when you iced the poor farmer, in which case citizens will once again refuse to assist you. Luckily, there's a way around that. Other people can be persuaded in various traditional ways - you can offer them money, complete a few tasks for them, etc. Once you do that, you'll gain their trust. Basically, there's a solution to every problem, but the ticket is to think before you act.

Many cool new features are being added to Gothic 3. I should emphasize though, that the developers are still toying around with some ideas. Piranha Bytes seems to show a keen interest in how fans feel generally about the worlds and characters of Gothic. Apparently, most fans are itching to see horseback riding in the game. The developers are still considering how to implement this in the third installment. Personally, when I played Gothic 2, I also felt that a mighty stead would be a welcomed addition, so I could go around the countryside more swiftly. In the end, I always figured that going on foot is one of the essentials of gameplay and that if I rode around on a horse all day, I would surely miss out on many of the games concealed pleasures (not those types of pleasures!). Should horses be introduced to the game, it might cast a shadow on other aspects that make RPGs cool to play - such as methodical exploration, looking for hidden treasures, etc. Plus, it could change the pace of the game itself. Even so, I think it would be interesting to see how mountable creatures would fit into this one. (Can you tell that Vader has never even tried World of Warcraft? -Ed)

We were also informed that dual wielding of swords has been added to the game. As we understand, the development team is also willing to remove such features should they hinder the gameplay in any way. Apart from adding new traits to the game, they also wish to avoid complicating the combat system, which is, I'll have to admit, a touchy aspect of Gothic. The problem was that the fighting and pulling off combos took some getting used to in Gothic 2. Many players complained about that. Most got used to it though.