Gothic 2: Opinions Please

[Albromor]

Been playing NWN, SoU and a number of fan modules and I am getting a little tired of playing in that RPG setting (though I do plan on getting HotU). I've been looking at Gothic 2 but I have read much on it. I trust gamers opinions far and above any magizine publications read. So, if you have played this game what do you think of it? Does it hold your interest? Is it worth getting for single player mode? How is the interface? Anything else you can think of? Thanks!

[john]

Just finished Gothic 1 and loved it ,need to upgrade before I can get Gothic 2..And I've heard 2 is better than 1.

[Paladin2000]

Quirky interface. A bit tough when you are at low levels. Other than that, it is one of the best CRPG I ever played.

[Albromor]

Paladin 2000, I have read that there is really not all that much leveling up of your character in this game that one would expect from an RPG game. They say it gets tedious to play because of this. I also read that you are lucky to survive the lower levels and you elude to this in your post. So, what tips do you give for survival? Also, please explain what you mean by "quirky interface"? Thanks.

[Paladin2000]

You do gain levels, but leveling up means some extra points to you maximum vitality and skill points. Skill points are very important in the world of Gothic because high proficiency in weapons would make short work of your foes. Trust me, when you are battling 2-3 orcs at once, reducing their numbers in the shortest time is the main difference between life and death.

When you are at lower levels, you must know which animals to fight and when to fight. When you are outnumbered, you better run for your life. For example, when you are at lower levels, even a single Warg can kill you in less than 2 minutes.

The controls are quite hard to get use to, For example, to attack, you will need to do something like this:

1. SPACE BAR (draw weapon)
2. CTRL UP/LEFT/RIGHT to attack.
3. CTRL DOWN to block.

While doing so, you must use the cursor key to make sure that you are facing the enemy.

You can execute some combo attack patterns like UP+LEFT+RIGHT or UP+UP+UP+UP.

The problem is that if you keep on attacking, you will get hit a lot. Thefore you must alternate between attack and parry/blocking, thus UP+DOWN+LEFT+DOWN and so forth.

To access to your inventory, you will need to press TAB and then use the cursor key to scroll to the desired item to use. While you are doing so, you will shealth your weapon. Mind you that accessing inventory DOES NOT pause the game. Therefore trying to quaff that life saver potion in the heat of battle would get you killed even faster.

Gothic and Gothic 2 are very tough and unforgiving games to play. But once you get used to the control system and game mechanics, you would definitely enjoy the game.

If you are planning to get this game, do spend some time to get used to the control scheme or you will hate this game. But once you get used to it, this game extremely fun to play.

Gothic 2 does have some mouse support, but being an old time Gothic player, I prefer to use the old keyboard only control scheme. Besides, I didn't spend all that time to master the keyboard controls for nothing.

[the mighty stamar]

Some gothic trivia is that the controls are so confused because it was orignally a console game. It never met msn requirements although theres been many rumors that they were finally going to make in an xbox game and edit it.

Gothic 2 has always been a pc only game though.

There are plenty of leveling up things to do. Basically though, you are a fighter, a mage or an archer. Usually at least some of all three and specializing more in one.

[Calaethis Dragonsbane]

Gothic II's a great game. The only problem I have with it is the voice acting. Basically, there are not enough actors - and you can tell the same guys have been used over and over. After a while, it gets a bit wearing. Gothic I was a great game too. Highly recormend both of them.

[the mighty stamar]

Ya actually one of the better parts of gothic 1 is that it has really cool new york sounding voice acting, it just fits in with the prison camp scene.

It would sound strange to hear ' Eh ged oudda heah" in a fantasy story but for some reason it really fits.

In Gothic 2, there are some of the same voice actors but fewer of them, and there are a lot more people. All the people are fully spoken so you hear the same voices a lot.

I would not say it is bad because some of it I like but its better in the first game.

More gothic trivia. For some reason I never played the game because I thought "Gothic" meant it was dealing with vampires and such. Like gothic music.

Actually what it means is Tribal, or primitive. The goths are the primitive ancestors of the germans where the game was made, and in their language the word has that connotation. So the name deals with being in a primitive, tribal situation in the camp.

Anyhow just wanted to relate that it took me a while to figure it out. The next game is pretty much the same its three different tribes each with a different story.

[ 03-13-2004, 05:13 AM: Message edited by: the mighty stamar ]

[Assassin]

/thread hijack

Well, I got Gothic 2. Works pretty well on my machine, and it's actually quite interesting. I have 2 questions about the beginning tower:

There is a Rune Table and an Alchemist's Bench. I can't access either of them. Is there a way to do it in the early game?

Also, there is a chest behind some bars. Again, is there a way to get to it in the early game?

[Paladin2000]

The Rune table is for creating spell runes. You will need the necessary skill before being able to use it, not to mention empty rune tablets. Sadly the skills or empty rune tablets are only available in the middle of the game, depending on your guilds.

To use the Alchemy's Bench, you will need empty vial and some knowledge in making potions... which is available fairy early in the game. But you will have to get to the city first and sign on as an apprentice with the resident alchemist, or doing a special quest for a guy knows a little bit of alchemy. Getting trained in alchemy is not guild dependent and it is one of the most useful skill to have.

There is a hidden switch near the fireplace. Press it to open the grill.

[ 03-15-2004, 01:27 PM: Message edited by: Paladin2000 ]