Gothic 3
Preview
Incredibly deep, atmospheric and open-ended storyline may make this RPG the one to get this Fall
by CrazyCanuck
previewed on PC
Saving the world, one Orc at a time...
When you think of an epic role-playing adventure set in a wide-open fantasy world with an engrossing story, extensive character development, interesting non-playing characters and fantastic atmosphere, people, particularly in North America, will think of the Elder Scrolls series. However, another series of titles has been thrilling gamers in the role-playing domain and the next adventure in that series is the upcoming Gothic 3.
Created by German developer Piranha Bytes, Gothic 3 is the next adventure in the successful role-playing series. Published by Aspyr Media in North America and JoWooD Productions elsewhere, Gothic 3 takes the player on an adventure of heroic proportions where the fate of the world lies entirely in your hands!
The story thus far...
Many long, hard years of defending the land have substantially weakened the kingdom of Myrtana. The king, desperate to increase the production of ore, decided to magically seal the mines on the island of Khorinis so that the slave labour (prisoners who have been found guilty of all sorts of major and minor offences) may enter but not leave the mining areas. The king knows that, as is common in all mythical realms, evil will arise from its ashes once again and the precious magical ore found in the mines will be necessary to build the weapons he desperately needs to defend the kingdom.
At the start of the Gothic series, our nameless protagonist found himself in the position of being newly convicted of a crime and pushed through the magical barrier on Khorinis to serve his sentence. He ends up joining one of the factions who inhabit the sealed area and eventually becomes the hero who saves the world from the mighty evil 'Sleeper'. Gothic II picked up immediately where the first game left off, as our champion regained consciousness from the final conflict only to learn that in its last, dying breath the Sleeper managed to awake even more wickedness and once again he was thrown into a bold struggle to save his homeland from the forces of evil.
This third time around, our hero will find himself traveling to the mainland where the Orcs have enslaved the human kingdom. Pockets of human resistance remain but the decision on how exactly to proceed is completely open - siding with the ruling Orc army may even be an option worth considering. Every game will play out with its own unique story and in the end the player will decide the fate of the entire human race.
