Now playing... Gothic 2
Yes, rusty, over-10-years-old, ancient, Gothic 2. The PC's back up again and ready for new games, but RL!Kaidan convinced me to finish this game before moving on. So... we're back in Khorinis.
I *adore* this game. It was my first love, so to say, and I still measure new games against this one. Sure, to our spoilt eyes, the graphic is below standard. And yet, I think the designer did an excellent job. Even now, some 7 years after I first played the game (mark the gap between the release and my first contact -- long enough for patches to mature), I feel like I know every single tree in Khorinis. Which, in a certain way, I guess I do. The game's set on such a great map, where forests truly look like a forest (I'm looking at you, Oblivion!) and every harvest-able herb feels like it has been planted by hand. Which, maybe, it was. Who knows?
Here, let me see if I can find a few screenshots. Ahhh, yes... Let's start with the city of Khorinis itself. It's a little town, complete with an upper class quarter, handymen quarter, market place, a small garrison, slum, and an harbour. I don't think I've seen a town of such a scale in more recent titles. Redcliffe and Lothering from DA:O definitely were smaller than Khorinis. Kirkwall from DA2 might beat it, though only by a hand's breadth. The Citadel from ME or even Edor Skyrim's Whiterun cannot. So, from left to right... there's a view across the dock area, a look over the rooftops of the artisan's quarter, and the place in the upper quarter. And theoretically speaking, you can enter every single one of these houses! Though in practice, you might not wanna get caught by the town's guards. People here don't take lightly to trespassing, theft, or shoplifting. But if there's nobody around to see you...
Next, let me take you outside the city walls. Here's the upper lake, beyond the magician's digging site, on the leftmost screenie. A place packed with wild animals -- no place yet for the squishy little rogue in act 2. Then there's the path leaving the city's eastern gates, which passes Akil's farm and leads to the Dead Harpy, a tavern halfway to the other farms. And then, we've got the fields aroud Onar's farm in the last screen.
I didn't dig up any pictures of wild animals, though. They mostly look... not so nice. But I love all their unique sound samples and that most of them are quite challenging, even as high up as act 4 or 5 (of 6). It makes for a more satisfying gameplay that way. Keeps you hoping to find better loot and more powerful weapons until almost the end.
Here, we're in Jarkhendar, the AddOn part of the island, with tropical and desert-like regions, and complete with nicely-made antique temples. Hmmm, the screenie doesn't really do it justice, I now realized. Then, there's the lake where the entire adventure started, back at the very beginning of Gothic 1. (long story) Coming back into the same valley (a former convict colony) now makes one all warm and fuzzy. Everything from the first game is back, every single detail. The last screenie, the one on the right, is from that former convict colony as well, showing your greatest ally's (second) tower.
I am aware that the game's graphics have long since been outdated, and some aspects of the gameplay are annoying. And yet, there are so many small tidbits that make the game so enjoyable, even now, after such a long time.
Anyhow, after our huge dissapointment at the ending of The Knights of the Old Republic 2, this is just what we needed.
I *adore* this game. It was my first love, so to say, and I still measure new games against this one. Sure, to our spoilt eyes, the graphic is below standard. And yet, I think the designer did an excellent job. Even now, some 7 years after I first played the game (mark the gap between the release and my first contact -- long enough for patches to mature), I feel like I know every single tree in Khorinis. Which, in a certain way, I guess I do. The game's set on such a great map, where forests truly look like a forest (I'm looking at you, Oblivion!) and every harvest-able herb feels like it has been planted by hand. Which, maybe, it was. Who knows?
Here, let me see if I can find a few screenshots. Ahhh, yes... Let's start with the city of Khorinis itself. It's a little town, complete with an upper class quarter, handymen quarter, market place, a small garrison, slum, and an harbour. I don't think I've seen a town of such a scale in more recent titles. Redcliffe and Lothering from DA:O definitely were smaller than Khorinis. Kirkwall from DA2 might beat it, though only by a hand's breadth. The Citadel from ME or even Edor Skyrim's Whiterun cannot. So, from left to right... there's a view across the dock area, a look over the rooftops of the artisan's quarter, and the place in the upper quarter. And theoretically speaking, you can enter every single one of these houses! Though in practice, you might not wanna get caught by the town's guards. People here don't take lightly to trespassing, theft, or shoplifting. But if there's nobody around to see you...
Next, let me take you outside the city walls. Here's the upper lake, beyond the magician's digging site, on the leftmost screenie. A place packed with wild animals -- no place yet for the squishy little rogue in act 2. Then there's the path leaving the city's eastern gates, which passes Akil's farm and leads to the Dead Harpy, a tavern halfway to the other farms. And then, we've got the fields aroud Onar's farm in the last screen.
I didn't dig up any pictures of wild animals, though. They mostly look... not so nice. But I love all their unique sound samples and that most of them are quite challenging, even as high up as act 4 or 5 (of 6). It makes for a more satisfying gameplay that way. Keeps you hoping to find better loot and more powerful weapons until almost the end.
Here, we're in Jarkhendar, the AddOn part of the island, with tropical and desert-like regions, and complete with nicely-made antique temples. Hmmm, the screenie doesn't really do it justice, I now realized. Then, there's the lake where the entire adventure started, back at the very beginning of Gothic 1. (long story) Coming back into the same valley (a former convict colony) now makes one all warm and fuzzy. Everything from the first game is back, every single detail. The last screenie, the one on the right, is from that former convict colony as well, showing your greatest ally's (second) tower.
I am aware that the game's graphics have long since been outdated, and some aspects of the gameplay are annoying. And yet, there are so many small tidbits that make the game so enjoyable, even now, after such a long time.
Anyhow, after our huge dissapointment at the ending of The Knights of the Old Republic 2, this is just what we needed.