Rating: 
Summary: A definate good play!
Review: A good all round fun roleplay game!
I've spent many hours running round, trying to solve all the problems, and see all there is to see..
The controls take a little getting used to, but once you're there, it's plain sailing.
A good, strong storyline, with good characterisations, good gameplay, and good graphics.
This is one I'll be keeping on the shelf to replay later!
Rating:
Summary: Neverending Quests!
Review: After reading many reviews warning about "learning" the keyboard commands for this game, I have to admit I was hesitant, but decided to give it a shot... DON'T let your fear of learning keyboard commands deter you from buying G2! It is actually one of the easiest to control games (from a keyboard) that I have ever played. Every RPG fanatic NEEDS to own G2. I have never played a game that scared the heck out of me around every corner... As I sneak through the woods to attack that nasty bloodfly, I hear the horrifying howl of an Orc and suddenly the Orc is upon me kicking my arse all over the place. From the beginning of G2 until the end you will have meaningful quests that are fun to complete, and come with either danger or the promise of a few gold pieces. The world of G2 is neverending (it seems). I am playing through the second time now, and am still finding hidden caves and coves I didn't notice the first time through. You can explore almost every single inch of the incredible G2 3D world. I am very impressed with this game. There aren't many RPGs out there I haven't played, and G2 has become my new favorite of all times. Oh, and the music is incredible. You will experience incredible music and sound in this game, and the placements of the sounds (birds, insects, etc.) are CORRECT, so if you have a gaming computer with 5.1 sound you are in for a real treat. I don't know if this review will help you, as there is so much to tell about G2 I can't imagine trying to fit it into this one space. One thing I am VERY happy about... The ending REALLY leaves everything open for expansion... could G3 be coming along sometime in the future? I can only hope and pray to Innos! Have fun!
Rating:
Summary: An RPG player
Review: Although I rated this game at 5 stars, it does not mean that the product is perfect. Let me explain. Voice acting is below par. Dubbing some characters with assorted local American accents is odd and inappropriate, to say the least. The game becomes choppy sometimes, however, in my experience such occurrences are infrequent. All this said, I should admit that the amount of fun I had with Gothic II is immense. Although I enjoyed playing the Baldur Gate series and some Final Fantsy games, Gothic II stands out and really shines. Character development gives you a lot of freedom, even after you join a Guild. The graphics are very friendly and give you a wonderful point of view. After you set up the controls (forget the original Gothic layout from the prequel and customize them per some very helpful suggestions from the Internet), and after you get used to them, you will appreciate the flexibility they give you in choosing your own, unique combat style. Initially, you will be very seriously challenged by the adversaries, but it makes the game more attractive than any other RPG's, where you are a master adventurer from the very beginning and everything depends on the quality of your weapon. Not that you should not get a good weapon, by all means you must upgrade at the first possibility, but your fighting style and proficiency are very important and you can work on them. Some quests are extremely hard and you may try to tackle them after you build up your skills and experience. If you choose a Guild, you cannot leave it (except for the Tieves' Guild, which you can join in addition to your main affiliation). I am taking extra efforts not to add any spoilers to this review, therefore, I will be brief. The game is great, it has a replay value if you select a different Guild next time, it has a very good story and gives you a lot of freedom in character development. A great value for your money, too. Good luck playing.
Rating: 
Summary: ??
Review: Are u pay by the company? The game is pathetic.
Rating: 
Summary: Exceptional game, with some irritating flaws
Review: Aside from the Elder Scrolls series, few games offer the degree of freedom you enjoy in Gothic 2. You can explore a vast, realistic world at will, meet a host of strange and unique creatures and individuals, and (naturally) kill them. There are numerous quest paths to take, and options available for class customization. The graphics are exquisite, and the sounds and soundtrack well done. Though voice acting is a bit bland, it's at least understandable and doesn't detract from the experience.
The actor and monster AI are quite well done, though it tends to work better outside of combat rather than in. Monsters often get stuck if you're up on a rock or ledge, though I'm half convinced this is a feature rather than a deficiency (more on that later). Town citizens react in a realistic manner if you try to steal from them or act aggressively. Of particular note is that drawing weapons is considered a hostile action- something strangely absent in many RPGs. The realism is enhanced by excellent modeling (though human characters and expressions are somewhat uniform) and occasional cinematics.
The first thing you're likely to notice about Gothic, however, is that the controls are very odd. Strafing makes you go perpendicular to the direction you're facing- it doesn't allow you to move diagonally. This will certainly throw anyone familiar with FPS controls. You click to target an enemy in combat, and then use directional keys to perform attacks or a block. Your character tries to track the target, but more often than not hits something or someone else. Additionally, the controls are sometimes very unresponsive. Accessing your inventory causes you to put away your weapon, and you have to run through your presorted items (which can be massive in number, since there's no encumbrance limitation) and select, say, that healing potion. Most of the time if you need healing in combat, you will die.
Couple these problems with the fact that early on, most enemies will be able to smack you down with ridiculous ease, and you have a pretty harsh initiation into the world of Gothic 2. It doesn't help that most of the vermin out there come in packs. I found myself doing a lot of running until I hit about level 15. It's a good thing guards lend you a hand if you happen to lead some monsters by. This also makes that occasional rock or ledge extremely useful, provided you have a ranged attack.
The world itself is actually quite small, as you'll see when you get a map (you have to buy one- no freebies like in most RPGs). However, the developers did a great job of expanding the world vertically, so there's a surprising number of places to visit. Many of these are creepy caverns filled with monsters and treasure, and secret areas lurk in hidden corners away from roads. The different environments have creatures to match, and you can usually tell when you're treading on the territory of some powerful beast (wonder where this blood trail leads...) There's enough NPCs around to make the world seem reasonably populated, and they go about their business like real people would.
As for more serious problems, I noticed significant game instability during saving. Furthermore, whenever it crashed during a save, the save was unrecoverable (yikes!). I also saw the world reset every time I changed areas during a chapter transition. This led to weird things like people I had killed returning to life. The patch didn't fix these problems.
Lastly, if your PC isn't relatively powerful, you're going to see some major lag in populated areas like Khorinnis. Reduced video settings might fix this, but playing on low detail in this game is just no fun. One cosmetic gripe I had was the lack of character customization- you have precisely one choice in terms of your appearance and voice. This is for continuity purposes, I understand, and doesn't detract too much from the game experience. Nevertheless, it is something missing that's present in most current games.
There are scores of quests, most of which work as expected. I did see a few quest bugs, but that's to be expected given the complexity of the game. The main quest is what drives the plot, and although it does have some interesting twists, it isn't exactly brilliant. I suppose the developers spent so much time and energy on the world, the graphics, and the side quests that they had little juice left to work on the main quest. However, there's enough paths to make the game replayable nevertheless. Specifically, you can play as a mercenary, paladin, or fire mage, and each route leads to unique quests and capabilities. If I could resolve the technical issues with the game, I'd likely play it through again.
In summary, Gothic 2 isn't a perfect game, but it's definitely a great one. For what it costs now, it's one serious bargain for any RPG addict.
Rating:
Summary: An hour later, you are hooked!
Review: At first, I didn't think very highly of this game. But of course, how much of a different experience can you have within a few minutes? About an hour into the game however, I realized what a gem this is!The Gothic 2 game world is beautiful and rich in detail. There is lots to do, and lots to see. And I think this is one of the major selling points this game has going for itself. It is a rarity for a game to have a sophisticated story line, and this game does. A lot of the things that happen do not require you to fight, which is also a rarity, and a welcome change. The world itself is more believable than other game worlds. Just walk into somebody's house, and they will get very upset and call the guards. Draw your sword in the middle of town, and people will not be happy either. It's just a lot more immersive than other games. Although some of the characters do get repetitive over time. The fighting system takes a bit to get used to. At first, I hated it, but then I got to like it. Basically, one holds the left mouse button and uses movement keys to launch attacks or to defend yourself. This is a bit unusual and hard to coordinate at first. Once you get used to it however, it sometimes allows the player to win fights that one wouldn't win if it all just depended on a role of the dice. So overall, I like the combat system, I like that they had some new ideas there, but I do wish the exact implementation was slightly different. Overall, this is not a big problem though.
Rating:
Summary: If You Can Get Past the Clumsy Interface and Controls.....
Review: Both Gothic I & II are two of my favorite RPG's in the last few years. But... there is one disclaimer about the Gothic series before you give it a try. Admittedly, it does have a poor interface and some of the clumsiest controls you'll encounter in an action oriented RPG. The game plays like Morrowind with its 3rd person view but your hero isn't as easy to control. If you were frustrated with Gothic I (and you won't be the first person) but you still want to try a new RPG, my advice would be to pick up the sequel, Gothic II, because it fixes a lot of the common complaints from the first game. The events in Gothic II don't require you to know the story in Gothic I so no matter what your reasons for skipping the first game, you can start with the second game and not lose a whole lot. (If you're a fan of the history in the story though, it does help to play the first game.) Also, explore the web a little too because there are some good Gothic websites that can help you out as the instructions aren't the greatest. Don't be afraid to purchase the game because of these warnings though because if you really want to know why the game has its faults, it's because it was designed by a tiny group of programmers in Germany determined to build the ultimate RPG. While they didn't have the same funding or hype an RPG giant like Neverwinter Nights did, they still did a very admirable job and I've had just as much fun with Gothic as other titles that have received better press and ratings. The attributes of your character are simple compared to most RPG's but the game almost plays like an offline MMORPG with its character progression and exploration. The game begins with a cut scene that explains the events of Gothic I and suffering from side effects of the powerful magic in his final battle in the first game, your hero begin anew with his skills and inventory. The game has some unique characteristics such as night/day, NPC's that respond to home invasion, NPC's that actually sleep at night, and other simple but critical elements that make the game feel more alive. Gothic won't hold your hand and lead you through the game like too many mainstream titles these days so make sure you save often. It's not an easy game to pick up but once you get into it, you'll disocover that it's one heck of an addictive game and probably be a fan of the Gothic series for life.
Rating:
Summary: Totally awesome ¿ one of the best ever
Review: Bought this game a month or so ago on the rave reviews I saw here on Amazon. This game pretty much unbelievably rocks. I've played tons of rpgs my whole life... and Gothic 2 is quite the rare gem. The world they've created is VERY real, so real it's hard to put down (though I have to admit I haven't finished it yet, I think I'm still on Chapter 1!). I love the fact that it's easy to die... this kind of lethality is something that more RPG's could learn from. And when I mean real... I mean that there's a realistic night and day, people react to you realistically (wouldn't try stealing from townsfolk too often), manipulation of objects. Probably the only unrealistic thing in the game: you can heal serious physical damage by eating and sleeping (but hey, all CRPG's do this and how else would you do it, especially when at the beginning you've got almost no money and no magic?). As far as realism goes... you even have to get a realistic friggin job at some points (though this doesn't become burdensome, it only adds to that real feel.) The game is challenging, features good conversations with characters (and pretty good voice overs), always has a good amount of combat but not too much, beautiful graphics, great sound, you can pretty much go anywhere and do anything you could in real life, you have character development that's simple - yet still feels important, and good weapon/armor selections that affect how you fight (though I don't see any shields - a pity but it doesn't detract from the game). I think the keyboard controls are relatively simple and easy - though I would LOVE if they rig more of these games for play on a Playstation 2 type controller. Before, I was more strictly the CRPG fan of games that feature a whole party of different characters, preferably with one as the central character. However, as these things have gotten better I've become engrossed (or enslaved by...) some of these first rpgs that have immersive, believable, cool environments. Gothic 2 is like the Half-Life of fantasy - but even better if you ask me! I like Half-Life, but never got into it enough to finish it. I will definitely finish this game. One other very minor strike against this game, the basic background story is kinda like everything else you've seen in fantasy hack stories or CRPG's, but that doesn't really matter as you became immersed in what you are doing (heck, wasn't Half-Life's story another lame re-hash too? Didn't seem to matter to most people...). Oh yeah, I'm taking the Paladin path, which has some magic capability. There are 3 character types you can progress as: DragonHunter (which has the least magic), Paladin (middle of the road magic), and Wizard (pretty much all magic, I don't think that's the exact name though). Maybe I will post more reviews after finishing and/or re-playing the game as Hunter and Wizard (I love games that have this kind of replay value!)
Rating:
Summary: I bought a new PC just to play this game! It's THAT good!
Review: Ever since Ultima introduced NPC scheduling, there are not many RPGs that has successfully achieve this beyond the scale set by Ultima 7: The Black Gate. Sure, there are good RPG games since Ultima - Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate, Star Wars: Knights of Old Republic. None of these, however have NPC scheduling - that means the computer controlled character, for example, a blacksmith, works in the morning, take a lunch break in the afternoon, continue his work till dusk, strolls to the bar for a smoke and a beer and finally going to bed late at night. The said blacksmith will make weapons by going to the forge, then hitting the red metal in the anvil, putting the blade in the water bucket to cool it and back to the anvil again. He even has an apprentice to do some of the work. This scenario is pretty common in Gothic 2. The city of Khorinis is filled with NPCs doing their daily chores, some of these having their own hidden agendas which you will have to help/not help as subquests. You can aid a thief and win favour with the Thief Guild or you can turn this scoundrel in and befriend the militia/paladin. You can attack someone in the city but will get penalized by Lord Andre, the militant chief. The cost of your penalty depends on how many witnesses saw the fight at that time. The more witnesses will cost you more as these witnesses will report your bad deed to Lord Andre. As the game progress, you have to choose your career path. There are 5 chapters in the game. In Chapter 1, which may take like 8-10 hours of play, you have to determine what you want to be: paladin, mercenaries or mages. Each of these path have their own quests and story-line, which, again provides replayability. I have played the most recent RPG, Star Wars and I thought that replaying the game as the Dark side would have given me more options or quests. Alas, the quests are more or less the same. Gothic 2 is different. My friend played as a mercenary and I, a militia and we have been discussing the many different quests that were given to us. I will definitely play this again as the Fire magicians ;-) I will end this mini-review to stress the awesome atmosphere such as NPC scheduling and work cycle, day-night cycle, refreshing quests/subquestes that are not just Fed Ex type, adds a lot to the gameplay of a RPG. Khorinis is not just a game world. It is a place I escaped from Real Life. If you love Ultima but was disappointed with Ultima Ascension, try Gothic 2. You won't regret it... (you don't need to play Gothic 1 to play the sequel)
Rating:
Summary: One of the best RPG's to ever hit the gaming world...
Review: For true fans of role-playing games who are tired of linear worlds where actions are determined by the no-choice plots of profit-minded programmers, there is good news.
Like Gothic (1) before it, Gothic 2 invites the player on a journey into a gaming world where NPCs actually care what happens. Unlike most RPGs, the path of the game is not easy to see from the beginning. From the start, there are decisions to make that will alter the way the world reacts throughout the game. When the character rises in the ranks of a guild, instead of the dull "Yes Guildmaster" that many gamers have come to know and despise in RPGs, the world actually seems to notice that he is still alive.
Among Gothic 2's major victories, players will find the no-nonsense gameplay to be refreshing. The controls have been much improved over the controls of Gothic (1) though the option to stick with the original controls is left to the player. When the character draws his sword in town, he better have a good reason. The locals get very upset. When a player enters someone's house whether innocently or to rob them blind, they notice and come on the war-path promptly. The player will sigh with relief even at the beginning of the game. Instead of spending needless time trying to decide what race and class to choose for maximum punch, the player is thrown nameless and immediately into the world not knowing if they can kill the bandit attacking them or the wolf close behind. There are no natural abilities in this game. Skills, of all sorts, must be learned and refined.
Gothic 2 can take anywhere from 30-40 hours to beat and offers great replayability with different quests depending on the player's choices. It is well worth any gamer's time to find this game and give it a few spins.
At an average cost of $20 (US) this game is a bargain and though a few years old, the graphics still amaze anyone with a decent system. If the gaming world is truly lucky, Gothic 3 will not be too many years away from becoming a reality. This game earns 5 out of 5 stars.
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