The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Gothic is an excellent modern computer RPG. Below I'll go into just some of the details about it. I'm leaving out a lot of things because this game has so many juicy bullet items I could make this review twice as long.

Graphics
You'll need a very powerful computer to run Gothic with all of its graphical options turned up. But if you can muster it the game is absolutely stunning. My Athlon XP 1900, GeForce 3 ti500, and DDR chipset ran it with full screen antialiasing at great framerates. Even with a more reasonable system you can enjoy everything the engine has to offer. There are no load times until you travel underground: the entire outdoor world is one big place you can roam around in. If you get to the top of a mountain on one end of the gameworld you can look out and see hills, mountains, and structure that are clear on the other side, and that would take many tens of minutes to run over to. This gives you a real sense of "being there" and that the world is a living, breathing place. The creatures you face are excellently designed and look great. 3D animations are excellent, textures look nice (if a little "gothic" in the color scheme), and so on.

Sound
The game's sound and music are first rate. There really isn't much more to say. Things sound the way they should, and the music blends so seamlessly into the game you'll forget it's there. I wish I could think up some more prose to describe this aspect of the game but I can't: it's just really good!

Statistics
There is a limited amount of roll-playing "statistics" to work with. You have a few different paths you can take your character down, but at the end of the game you become so powerful that the distinctions get blurry. If you enjoy old-school RPGs for the endless min-maxing of your team's skills and abilities you might not dig this aspect of the game.

Fighting
The magic and combat system is a bit tricky. I won't lie: it takes a lot of getting used to. You almost never use the mouse, everything is done via the keyboard. Once you get the hang of it, though, it works great. Everything happens in real time, and the melee combat has a slight bit of arcade-ness to it. At first it's pretty annoying. I am a pretty low-dexterity guy, so it wasn't until about halfway through that I really got the hang of it. As you progress in melee skill, you get a wider range of special maneuvers you can perform, and this adds a bit of color to the fights. It never approaches anywhere near a console fighting game like Mortal Kombat, but it is also nothing like old-school turn-based RPGs either.

NPCs And Dialogue
This is the meat of the game. There are a lot of very talkative NPCs in the game. Some are more important than others, but they all have something to say. They also have habits and jobs and interests of their own that you can interfere with or assist, as you see fit. The heart of the game is talking to people, getting quests from them, and being rewarded by them. Suffice it to say this is the whole driving force of the game, so it's done to a very high degree of excellence.

Plot
I won't even begin to describe the plot of the game. I myself had no idea what it was about when I bought it, I just wanted to play a new RPG with a fancy graphics engine. I will tell you this: it is original, fun, interesting, and it really draws you into the game. At no point will you ever ask yourself "what's the point in this?". I suggest you find out as little as possible about it before you play initially. For the record, it's a great story that takes you from "rags to riches", so I think you'll really enjoy it.

Community
Gothic is a big, long, deep game, so it has a pretty dedicated community behind it. The people who like this game *really* like it. I got a bit of help from them online, and the fully detailed FAQ really helped me in a few tricky spots. There's also all sorts of knowledge about cheating and enjoying the more restricted parts of the game if that is your cup of tea. Check out the community website at the end of this review.

Bottom Line
Gothic looks great, sounds fantastic, plays fun, has a masterful story, and will capture your attention for a long, long time.

Developer: http://www.piranha-bytes.com/
Publisher: http://www.xicat.com/games/Gothic.htm
Community: http://gothic.rpgdot.com/index.php

Gothic
Gothic Playtest Review by John DeHope on 27/01/02 Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) Gothic looks great, sounds fantastic, plays fun, has a masterful story, and will capture your attention for a long, long time. Product: Gothic Author: Piranha Bytes Category: Computer RPG Company/Publisher: Xicat Line: N/A Cost: ~ $30 Page count: N/A Year published: 2001-2002 ISBN: N/A SKU: N/A Comp copy?: no Playtest Review by John DeHope on 27/01/02 Genre tags: Fantasy Gothic	Gothic is an excellent modern computer RPG. Below I'll go into just some of the details about it. I'm leaving out a lot of things because this game has so many juicy bullet items I could make this review twice as long. Graphics You'll need a very powerful computer to run Gothic with all of its graphical options turned up. But if you can muster it the game is absolutely stunning. My Athlon XP 1900, GeForce 3 ti500, and DDR chipset ran it with full screen antialiasing at great framerates. Even with a more reasonable system you can enjoy everything the engine has to offer. There are no load times until you travel underground: the entire outdoor world is one big place you can roam around in. If you get to the top of a mountain on one end of the gameworld you can look out and see hills, mountains, and structure that are clear on the other side, and that would take many tens of minutes to run over to. This gives you a real sense of "being there" and that the world is a living, breathing place. The creatures you face are excellently designed and look great. 3D animations are excellent, textures look nice (if a little "gothic" in the color scheme), and so on. Sound The game's sound and music are first rate. There really isn't much more to say. Things sound the way they should, and the music blends so seamlessly into the game you'll forget it's there. I wish I could think up some more prose to describe this aspect of the game but I can't: it's just really good! Statistics There is a limited amount of roll-playing "statistics" to work with. You have a few different paths you can take your character down, but at the end of the game you become so powerful that the distinctions get blurry. If you enjoy old-school RPGs for the endless min-maxing of your team's skills and abilities you might not dig this aspect of the game. Fighting The magic and combat system is a bit tricky. I won't lie: it takes a lot of getting used to. You almost never use the mouse, everything is done via the keyboard. Once you get the hang of it, though, it works great. Everything happens in real time, and the melee combat has a slight bit of arcade-ness to it. At first it's pretty annoying. I am a pretty low-dexterity guy, so it wasn't until about halfway through that I really got the hang of it. As you progress in melee skill, you get a wider range of special maneuvers you can perform, and this adds a bit of color to the fights. It never approaches anywhere near a console fighting game like Mortal Kombat, but it is also nothing like old-school turn-based RPGs either. NPCs And Dialogue This is the meat of the game. There are a lot of very talkative NPCs in the game. Some are more important than others, but they all have something to say. They also have habits and jobs and interests of their own that you can interfere with or assist, as you see fit. The heart of the game is talking to people, getting quests from them, and being rewarded by them. Suffice it to say this is the whole driving force of the game, so it's done to a very high degree of excellence. Plot I won't even begin to describe the plot of the game. I myself had no idea what it was about when I bought it, I just wanted to play a new RPG with a fancy graphics engine. I will tell you this: it is original, fun, interesting, and it really draws you into the game. At no point will you ever ask yourself "what's the point in this?". I suggest you find out as little as possible about it before you play initially. For the record, it's a great story that takes you from "rags to riches", so I think you'll really enjoy it. Community Gothic is a big, long, deep game, so it has a pretty dedicated community behind it. The people who like this game really like it. I got a bit of help from them online, and the fully detailed FAQ really helped me in a few tricky spots. There's also all sorts of knowledge about cheating and enjoying the more restricted parts of the game if that is your cup of tea. Check out the community website at the end of this review. Bottom Line Gothic looks great, sounds fantastic, plays fun, has a masterful story, and will capture your attention for a long, long time. Developer: http://www.piranha-bytes.com/ Publisher: http://www.xicat.com/games/Gothic.htm Community: http://gothic.rpgdot.com/index.php