Gothic II

PC review by Philip Morton, published on Tuesday 8th July 2003

I’ve never really been a RPG fan. I think it was the Final Fantasy series that drove me away from the genre with it’s linearity, stats, dodgy camera angles and turn-based combat. However, in recent months the so-called A-RPGs like Fable and Morrowind have caught my attention, promising more exploration and action. Leaning towards adventure rather than points and numbers, they seem to be what RPGs should be all about. Although Gothic II is one of these A-RPGs, I was a bit skeptical when I first got it as I hadn’t heard of the series before. Thankfully, it turned out to be an enjoyable game which has showed me that RPGs aren’t all the work of the devil.

Gothic II is set in Khorinis - an island with a capital of the same name - where an army of dragons are rising up to destroy everything in sight. Coincidentally, only you - an unnamed hero - and Xardas - a necromancer - know of this. Unfortunately, Xardas isn’t exactly the most popular guy around, so it’s up to you to tell the townsfolk in the city. You need to deliver the message to Lord Hagen - leader of the paladins - so that he can send you (he’s lazy, see) to save the world. The story isn’t exactly simple, with loads of sub-plots and side quests around.

You start off in Xardas’s tower, where he tells you about the dragons who are intent on setting fire to everything they see. After gathering items from various chests around his not-so-luxurious pad, you set off towards the town. The first few enemies are extremely frustrating, since the combat system takes a while to get used to. Once you’ve slewn a sheep, two goblins and a wolf though, you’re free to wander the countryside to meet various individuals and eventually gain entry to the town.

The town of Khorinis is the center of your adventure, and provides a lot of different opportunities and activities. Lord Hagen is in the upper quarter, which you can only gain entry to by becoming a citizen. To do this you must find work, which is a whole other adventure in itself. The inhabitants of Khorinis seem so sad and downhearted, but it’s really a nice place to live. I mean, who would ever be unhappy in a place where there’s free hotels, free beer (yes, really), free tobacco and lots of interesting people to chat with? Sure, there’s an army of Orcs outside, but that’s no problem with the paladins around.

There’s no Tourist Information Centre, so talking to people is really the only way to find out anything in the town, from job opportunities to the prices of brothels. Fortunately, the townsfolk aren’t annoying and retarded repetition of conversations doesn’t occur too often. There also hard workers - manning their stalls and shops from dawn to dusk, never sleeping, eating or in need of the bathroom. Strange that, isn’t it? Anyway, people can become your enemy or your friends quite easily. Chat with them nicely and do behave yourself and you’re be given employment, food and shelter. On the other hand, kill they’re sheep - a mistake you don’t want to make, believe me - and steal from them and you’re be locked out of the town. Your only option then is to join the thieves and bandits that inhabit the surrounding countryside.

Unlike other RPGs, you don’t have to choose a guild before you start the game, but seek an apprentice in the town. The various masters will set you tasks in order for you to be accepted, and these can be done in any order. The guild you choose will affect your training and therefore skills, so pick the right one wisely. I went for the blacksmiths, so learnt how to forge swords and increase my strength. In between these jobs, there’s other smaller tasks you can do, such as attempting to double your money down at the fight club behind the warehouses. On a side note, if you are short of gold, there’s a guy in the docks who will lend you money - very useful. Getting back to your character, most things you do earn you experience points, which lead to learning points. These can then be ’spent’ by going to certain people and asking them to teach you a range of skills. There’s all sorts of things to gain knowledge of, from lockpicking and stealth to sword fighting and hunting. This way, you can shape your character around your playing style, which is a great feature.

What I love about Gothic II is the freedom - it’s like a medieval version of Grand Theft Auto. You can do missions at any time, and if you feel like it, you can just go for a stroll in the woods. I once found myself bored with the blacksmith work, so climbed the hill opposite the town to admire the sunset. A hunter who I came across shared my woes, as he was also tired of Khorinis and its inhabitants. You can also play the game any way you want, from stealing change and robbing passers-by to upholding the law and fighting for the king. This adds to the replay value as you can play it differently each time, much like in Deus Ex.

The island of Khorinis has a day and night cycle, but its inhabitants don’t seem to follow it. As I’ve mentioned before, they just carry on 24/7, doing what they always do. The weather also changes randomly, from rain one moment to sunshine the next. It would have been nice to see more interaction between the people and their world, seeing them get inside when it rains and change their clothes some time, but obviously this was down at the bottom of the developer’s list of priorities.

What should have been at the top of that list is combat. The way it’s conducted is by facing an enemy, and holding down Ctrl to lock onto them. You then press ‘A’, ‘S’, ‘D’ or ‘W’ - the normal movement buttons - to fight. The system looks ok on paper, but it only allows you to fight one person at a time. When faced with a couple of goblins, or in fact any enemy, you’re better off just running away. I’ve often been caught fighting one person whilst someone else hits me in the back continuously. It’s frustrating to say the least. It isn’t simply a case of button basing either. Thankfully, combat requires strategic timing to bring down an opponent, a technique that you will learn as you go along. The fights in Gothic II aren’t terrible, they just could do with improving for the inevitable sequel.

Gothic II is hard to get into at the start, with so much to take in, from the intricate plot to the occasionally challenging tasks. At 70 pages long, the manual is larger than most and is concise and explains everything, but will never match Civilization III’s 236 page behemoth. Once you’ve got the hang of it though, most tasks are fairly straight forward, with simple kill this or collect that aims. Finding you way around isn’t very easy at the start, but once you get into town there’s a very bored-looking guy who will sell you maps. Otherwise, you have to rely on signposts and directions from other people to get around.

Graphically, Gothic II is fairly solid, but there are some problems. There’s the occasional collision detection error with people and their surroundings, but this is only a minor problem. The most obvious glitch is that even on a 128MB card, the game stutters. What I mean by this, is you’ll be walking along and the game will freeze for 1-2 seconds, then unfreeze. It’s not like lag where the disruption is continuous, but it’s still annoying. The cause of this must be due to the huge level, which is effectively loaded all at once with no interruptions mid-game to load. Khorinis (the island) looks beautiful, but it seems far too dark in some areas. The general visuals aren’t exactly spectacular, but they get the job done; textures are well done and character models are sound. Whilst they are decent, the graphics will certainly be an item to improve for future titles.

The sound is first-rate, from the rustling of trees to the sawing of wood. Even on my built-in sound card with a couple of stereo speakers, the ambient noise and vocals sound great. Each main character’s voice has been recorded by a different person, which gives them a bit more individuality. The music does well to set the atmosphere and isn’t in any way annoying. I just wish the graphics were this smooth.

At first it may seem a bit daunting, but get past that barrier and you’ll be treated to an engrossing game. There’s so much to do and so many ways to complete tasks. I found myself spending hours trying to get an apprenticeship, but kept being distracted by all the people there are to talk to and all the shops to visit. Every game is different as well - the first time you play, you could be an honourable warrior, but the next time you could be a stealthy thief. Although there’s the odd graphical problem, it’s still an enjoyable and replayable adventure.

Gothic II has shown me just how good RPGs can be, that they’re not all linear, stat-hungry monsters. Once you get into it, you’ll find an absorbing, enjoyable and graphically sound title. If you’ve finished Morrowind or can’t wait for Fable, then this is the game for you.