Gothic 3 - Return Of The Unnamed Hero

If you've played any Gothic games in the past, you'll recognize the storyline in Gothic3. For those who haven't however, the gist of the game is simple. Quite some time ago, a man with no name was imprisoned by a king. Through various actions, he escaped and became a hero in past editions of the Gothic series. There's of course a great deal more to the story, but this article is not here to present spoilers. Its good enough to say that the storyline in all of the Gothic games are well done and need to be experienced.

In Gothic 3, the Unnamed Hero arrives in a new area with some friends to find the Orcs have taken over this area and humans are being subjugated. Not willing to just stand by for that, the Unnamed Hero jumps in and frees these enslaved villagers (with some help from a few friends). Once this introduction to the new world is over, you get the option to choose your path. You can choose to fight and overthrow the Orc oppressors throughout the land. You can also choose to join them, aiding in the tyrannical reign of your new Orcish buddies. Or you can choose a unique and different path, something which is at neither end of the extremes.

This unique choice in storyline is what makes Gothic 3 so interesting, since there is now the possibility of choosing to be against humanity rather than for them - or at least choose to be a mercenary for the dark side.

One of the definitive gameplay elements that the Gothic series of games has is how it handles combat. Rather than just a boring clickfest, it actually behooves you to pay attention to what your opponent is doing and adjust accordingly. Gothic 3 continues this tradition, allowing the skilled swordsman to come out in everyone. By using the dodge, parry, and thrust of your character, you can be quite effective in combat. With practice, you begin to dispatch your enemies quickly, and here is where the problem lies. Critics of the game have mentioned that once you learn the rhythm of combat, it becomes a dull and boring case of just clicking at the right time. This is in some ways true; Its only fair to mention however, that too many FPS games require even less thinking and timing than that, so in that respect Gothic 3 is ahead of its time.

One thing to mention is that your reputation in the realm affects how the game goes along. If you're performing a lot of quests for the orcs, you'll be well received in their courts. If however, you choose more quests that aid the humans - or yourself - you'll find you are not as welcome amongst them and perhaps better stay away. The game in fact uses reputation to provide three distinct endings, which is nice for replayability.