Gothic II First Impressions

Section: 

With Morrowind out of the way IÂ've finally had a chance to dive into my copy of Gothic II. The North American release isnÂ't until October but you can get the UK version from GoGamer right here for the low low price of $37.90 US. After about eight hours of play Gothic II reminds me a lot of Divine Divinity in some ways. On the surface theyÂ're very different since DD was a top-down Diablo-like romp where as Gothic II is a 3rd person 3D RPG. Aside from that however, they share the same level of quality when it comes to detail, interaction and just plain fun as hell gameplay.

gothic2.thumb.jpg

Gothic II has some excellent little touches that draw you into the world and hold you there until way past your bed time. Try drawing your sword in the middle of town or walking into someoneÂ's house uninvited; see what the NPCÂ's have to say about that. How about watching what happens after you get killed by a bandit? The world Piranha Bits has built is full of attention to little details and interesting situations and decisions as you explore the lands. In fact, while there is a strong plot line to follow and a specific goal in mind for the first chapter how you reach that end is completely up to you. IÂ've found no less than four different ways to reach my first goal of getting into the upper part of the city so far. Each way is unique and offers you different benefits for following that path. I really want to avoid spoiling anything since I came into Gothic II knowing next to nothing about it and you would be wise to do the same.

Another thing Gothic II does that is worthy of note is the amount of quests to be done and the way they are presented. A lot of them are packed with ambiguous choices that may not have any apparent effects in the game until much later when you canÂ't Â"reloadÂ" and make a different choice. You need to think about your actions and what consequences they may have later on based on what you want to do. Catching a thief and turning him in may score you a nice bounty but it may also screw your chances of getting into the thieves guild for instance.

The combat and interface is one of those things you need to get used to. At first, finding that the inventory canÂ't be manipulated by the mouse can drive you crazy. Once you do get over it you will find the system they use is really quite simple and very quick. You bring up the inventory (which is just a grind containing all of your items), use the arrow keys and zoom though it clicking on what you want to equip or what youÂ'd like to remove. Anything you happen to be wearing is highlighted red so itÂ's very easy to see what you have on at any given time. IÂ'd still prefer a paper-doll system like youÂ'd find in BaldurÂ's Gate but what Gothic II uses isnÂ't really as bad as I first though it was.

Your stats and skills will affect your ability to swing a sword or cast a spell but beyond that you still need some actual timing to excel in melee combat. Sword fighting has four buttons that need to be used, your main swing, swing left, swing right and parry which all have to be timed properly in order to not do the most damage and avoid getting cut yourself. It feels a little like Die by the SwordÂ's younger and simpler cousin in many ways. As you increase your skills IÂ'm told different combos open up to you but IÂ'm finding I still need more practice with my normal moves as it is. No one in Gothic II really tells you exactly how things work in combat so you need to spend some time figuring out whatÂ's best for your style of play. Suffice it to say IÂ'm glad that there is more to do than standing your ground and swinging until one of you dies.

The graphics and sounds are both high quality and unique to the world. Gothic II takes place in a large area covered in dense trees, bushes, plant life and nasty creatures. There are various farmsteads, a city to explore and more interesting locations to stumble upon as you travel than I would ever dream of trying to mention. In the sound department, every NPC IÂ've talked to be it a lowly peasant or a gruff mercenary is fully fleshed out with multiple chat trees and full voice work. Even better, most of the voice work is actually quite good. I havenÂ't winced once while listening to someone speak and thatÂ's damn near perfect when it comes to voice acting in games these days.

The reason IÂ'm writing this without giving too much detail is that I want you to buy Gothic II now and play it before the North American press starts posting previews/reviews and spoiling all the good parts. Gothic II is a lush, non-linear world that is admittedly tougher than usual for the first few levels while you get yourself into the game and get passed looking for expected Â"American styleÂ" design decisions. Like Divine Divinity, Gothic II is a gem from across the ocean that deserves every ounce of attention we can give it.

- Certis

Comments

I actually never played Divine Divinity, so I would not know how it is... however, is it really worth getting this game? Because the way you put it, sounds like it is, a good game.

Don't take my word for it, check out this list of reviews (many of them non-english but still) good scores all around.

While you're at it, get Divine Divinity.  Best RPG released last year by my count.

Elysium

Thanks for the advice! I was looking for an RPG game to sink in to.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Certis, now that you have my curiousity is peaked, I was wondering how would you compare this game to Morrowind.  I'm a huge fan of the Elder Scrolls series but the melee combat is admittedly a bit weak.  In fact, I'm surprised you didn't make any comparison references to Morrowind in your first impressions because on the surface the games look quite similar.  Also, I heard a lot of complaints about the control system in the first game so can I assume they  made amends with the sequel with remappable keys and the like?  Thanks for taking the time to post some initial impressions.

Good questions mtl, let's see if I can knock them down for you.

I'm a huge fan of the Elder Scrolls series but the melee combat is admittedly a bit weak. In fact, I'm surprised you didn't make any comparison references to Morrowind in your first impressions because on the surface the games look quite similar.
Let's see, in Morrowind when you swing your weapon you damage is dependent on the type of swing you make, a slash a thrust etc. Blocking is done automatically and really, you'll just keep thrusting with your sword if that's what does the most damage.

I Gothic 2 you have to time your attacks. Your enemies dance around (and so should you) and you need to parry attacks manually and getting the timing down. Also you can link your thrusts and slashes together if you can time your attacks properly. There is some definite stratagy here and playing well is key to staying alive or not losing all of your health in every fight. Honestly, I've spent about 10 hours in the game now and I still haven't mastered the combat system completely. How much damage you do is still dependent on your stat (your strength stat is added to your damage) but you've got to make sure you're striking when your enemy isn't. Bottom line: Morrowind is all about who has better stats while Gothic 2 requires stats AND technique.

Also, I heard a lot of complaints about the control system in the first game so can I assume they made amends with the sequel with remappable keys and the like?

Yeah, from what I know of the first game (keyboard only, non remappable keys etc.) Gothic 2 is a big improvement, if only for the option to remap all of your controls. It's still a bit different from a 3rd person game like Heretic II which is purely first person controls and ideas in a 3rd person game but it does the job. It's a little hard to describe to be honest, my arrow keys do the front, back and strafing movements like an FPS but you won't be using strafe much unless you're fighting. Mostly, you use the forward and back movement and use the mouse to turn. Honestly, it feels a little like banking a plane at first if that makes any sense. I'm very picky about game controls and it's fair to say that once you get used to Gothic 2's (maybe 15 minutes) they feel perfectly fine even though they don't quite match the precision of a game like Heretic II. Then again, combat isn't quite as fast either

Whew, talk about long winded! Hopefully the answers to your questions are in there somewhere.

- Certis

How about system requirements? I mean Real System Requirements?

My wife will not have sex with me until I buy her Gothic2, I`m afraid, but I was wondering whether I should upgrade something in my Duron 800, with 128Mb RAM and Riva TNT2....

 

yeah, I know, I should probably just throw my system out of the window...

The CPU is ok for the game, I played it on a 800MHz system as well. However, I'd really recommend a better gfx card. And more RAM is an absolute must. I personally would say that 256MB is the minimum for the game since the game is constantly loading things. Even with that amount of RAM the performance will go notably down in the town area (but still playable).

Glad to hear that you're enjoying the game. It's one of the best titles I've played in the past 12-24 months, and the level of immersion and atmosphere really beats many other genre representants. I've got the add-on, which will be released around August 20th over here - on my list, of course. I still wonder why Atari/Infogrames chose to release the game in October in NA, because there will be a tougher competition around that time. (HL2, KoTOR etc.)

Sold!  Thanks for answering my questions.  This sounds exactly like the type of game I've been looking for now that Morrowind is about finished.  Maybe you can get a commission from the developers.

Same here... I should be getting my copy tomorrow.

Gothic 2 is definately worth the investment. I found Morrowind too big and little repetitive. Additionally, whilst the graphics were top notch, there is an attention to detail in the outdoor environments in Gothic 2 which really brings home the feeling of a 'being there' (dense 'spooky' forests, small beaten tracks, caves and houses with no loading).

It's great hearing your impressions Certis.  I think I'm gonna grab Gothic II when I get back from vacation.

I'd like to know though, how large is the world in Gothic II comparible to Morrowind?

Also, do you know roughly how many hours of gameplay Gothic II features?

Oh, I forgot to ask: If I order the game from gogamer.com am I gonna get an English version of the game?  Thanks for your time!