Which gothic game is best?

[frozentundra123456]

Hi all

I purchased the gothic series on steam a few months ago. Finally want to get back to it. I have Gothic, Gothic II: Gold Edition, Gothic 3, Gothic 3 Forsaken Gods Enhanced Edition, and Arcania Gothic 4.

I have played some of Arcania, and while the graphics are really nice even on my low end system, I have found the game has gotten rather boring and repetitive. Would anyone here know about the other games, like which one is best, are they that much better than Arcania, etc.?

And what is the difference between Gothic 3 and the Forsaken Gods Enhanced Edition?
If none of the games are that much better than Arcania, I will probably just finish that or wait for Skyrym.

 

[motsm]

Arcania was made after the original developer lost the license to make Gothic games, and it took the series in a very simple action RPG direction. So I'd consider all of the other games in the series to be better.

With that said, Gothic II is typically the fan favorite, but the first and second are linked, so I'd say start with the first. It's a great game on it's own and playing it will make Gothic II more enjoyable. Gothic 3 is good, but most will say not as good as the first two. Primarily because Gothic 3's story is less at the forefront, and instead the game has a very large open world to explore. Finally, Forsaken Gods is another that wasn't made by the original developers, it's an expansion to Gothic 3 that is supposed to link the story a bit more with Arcania, and while I haven't played it personally, I hear its very, very buggy and not worth your time.

 

[-Slacker-]

I and II are definitely the best.

Don't play the third without the community patch, and avoid forsaken gods like the bubonic plague.

If you like them, you might also want to try Risen

 

[Via]

Gothic and Gothic 2 are very similar. I have a soft spot in my heart for the original, but I realize that 2 improves certain aspects and delivers a larger gameworld (especially with the pirate add-on).

It really should just be considered one game in two parts. Definitely play them in order.

3 is good now (with the patches), and you get to see the old cast again. It's different from the first two.

Arcania? meh.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I and II are definitely the best.

Don't play the third without the community patch, and avoid forsaken gods like the bubonic plague.

If you like them, you might also want to try Risen

I do want to play Risen. I am waiting for a good sale, something less than 20.00. Right now though, I am trying to catch up on some backlogged games, and waiting for Skyrym, Modern Warfare 3, and Mass Effect 3. So I am not really looking to purchase anything other than those games right now.

 

[motsm]

I do want to play Risen. I am waiting for a good sale, something less than 20.00. Right now though, I am trying to catch up on some backlogged games, and waiting for Skyrym, Modern Warfare 3, and Mass Effect 3. So I am not really looking to purchase anything other than those games right now.

BTW, if you start Gothic and find the combat controls a bit weird, give yourself a good shot to get used to them as they are a bit unconventional. Also keep in mind that as you train your character the combat will become more fluid, as the game tries to give you a sense of real character progression as you reach milestones.

 

[Via]

One more thing - if you go mage in G2 make sure you focus on magic. If you try to spread the points around you wont be able to access the highest level spells at the end.

Just put enough points into the other stuff to survive. It was pretty frustrating for me the first time I went magic and ended up with a borked character at the end.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Thanks for all the comments. I started up Gothic 4 again and am going to try to finish it I guess. Hopefully I can do this before Skyrym. I think I am about 3/4 of the way through the game. At some point I will try starting from the beginning with Gothic I

 

[coloumb]

I found Gothic 3 [with community patch] to be the most enjoyable.

I just couldn't get over the ancient low res graphics and terribad combat system of Gothic 1 and 2 [Gothic 3 had the same terribad combat setup as well - thank gothic for god mode].

I'd say Risen was about perfect - good story and combat that worked well.

Gothic 4/Arcania - I don't think they ever resolved the optimization issues with the game and the story wasn't as good as G1/2/3.

 

[Via]

Maxing out every graphics option on your GPU helps the jaggies.

I didn't find the combat system bad, just hard to master. I think that was the point of it. I did go on the net to find out how to do all of the combos, and them I practiced them until I could pull them off.

 

[motsm]

I found Gothic 3 [with community patch] to be the most enjoyable.

I just couldn't get over the ancient low res graphics and terribad combat system of Gothic 1 and 2 [Gothic 3 had the same terribad combat setup as well - thank gothic for god mode].

I'd say Risen was about perfect - good story and combat that worked well.

Gothic 4/Arcania - I don't think they ever resolved the optimization issues with the game and the story wasn't as good as G1/2/3.

Combat is hardly different in Risen, so I don't really see why you think it's fine and Gothic 3 is "terribad"?

 

[AdamK47]

I and II are definitely the best.

Don't play the third without the community patch, and avoid forsaken gods like the bubonic plague.

If you like them, you might also want to try Risen

Forsaken Gods with the community patch is actually pretty decent now.

 

[Kristijonas]

I'd skip Forsaken Gods Enhanced Edition and Arcania. I'd add Risen.

 

[silvan4now]

for me the 2nd one was by far the best;
you already know what to expect from the 1st of the series and at the same time the feeling is the best of the time!

 

[-Slacker-]

Forsaken Gods with the community patch is actually pretty decent now.

Interdasting.

But when I played it was just ... not sure how to put this briefly ... it was down right offensive. I was offended by it and threw the freeware expansion disk into the trash can. I'm having a hard time believing the game can be fixed even with a community patch but, since I've actually found someone who likes it, I might give it another try.

 

[Rhezuss]

It's soooo not related to Gothic but if you like this kind of gameplay and RPGs, you have to try Divinity 2 The Dragon Knight Saga.

 

[HunterDT]

I absolutely loved Gothic III with the community patch. One of the biggest game worlds I have had the pleasure of adventuring in.

 

[MustangSVT]

G3 and Risen are both good.

I stopped playing Fallout and dragon age because of them.

 

[mindcycle]

Gothic 2 is the best in the series by far. I'd suggest starting from the beginning though.