TUT !! TUT !! Shame on you both !! Whoever heard of such naughty goings on ??

But these games practically take your hand and draw you over to all that stuff lying around that okay, belongs to someone else, but I want it even if I don't exactly need it.

In Elex you're stealing mugs and plates and dinnerware and for heaven's sake TOILET PAPER that happens to be lying around in the ruins of civilization (one might argue that if you have toilet paper, civilization can't be too far off). I've fought huge battles to get into a ruined building that contained an old flyer, some plates and a mug.

EDIT: And there is a fast travel option, which means you can go way farther and higher than you really should, courtesy of jet pack, and scoot home when the going gets too rough.

You also have companions, each of which has a joining quest. I haven't found them all yet, but so far I have a drone, an android cleric, an Alb warrior, a Berserker warrior, and a ne'er-do-well outlaw.

I'm appreciating the game world more and more. It's intricate and larger than I initially thought.

*me* "Oh sure, an android cleric, wait, what!?!?"

This game is looking more and more attractive.

Toilet paper? An android cleric? Oh, my. You ARE having way too much fun! I agree, Trail - this is looking better all the time!

Now, I haven't been TOLD that the cleric is an android, but if it talks like Data, you gotta be just a little bit suspicious. His voice is oddly expressionless.

Apparently there is a female companion in this game, though I have yet to find her.

I just took out several low-level bots and a MASSIVE combat bot with nothing more than my sword, my jet pack, and a few healing potions. I haven't joined a faction yet, but when I do it'll be the Berserkers for their magic. At the moment I'm developing my ranged combat skills, specifically for Dex-based weapons, though I have found a bow that requires high Str as well. But it looks as though a primitive weapon can indeed fight against powered weaponry.

Some of the mutant beasts have ranged attacks, which, until I have increased my resistances, makes them hard to target with anything but melee. And every skill like Poison or Fire resistance requires a skill point, and you only get one of those per level. You can find amulets and rings that boost stats and skills. The only other way is to make certain potions, but taking those can steer your personality in a direction you might not want.

NPC's react to things you say and do and this affects the story, as does every death of an NPC -- the game even tells you the story has changed. In what way is not clear, but you have to be careful. No random slaughter, in other words.

This game is definitely beyond my meagre RPG capabilities, hagatha - and I have much admiration for you in your tackling it so well !!

I don't know, Mad. If you like Gothic then you would like this game. I dropped the difficulty level to Easy for a while until I felt I understood the combat, and now all is reasonably well. I feel absolutely no shame at doing this, and I continue to do this for unusually difficult battles. My second game run-through will be on a higher difficulty level.


EDIT: Yes, my Cleric IS an android.

Well obviously, with this game earning your favourable comments, hagatha, I will keep it in mind

As with all Gothic-type games the really good equipment and stuff really goes into high gear once you pick a faction. I think you can actually play this game without joining any faction -- there seems to be a neutral group you can hang with -- though I can't see why you would do that.


EDIT: Oh, yeah. Got me a ranged poison spell and a ranged fireball spell, and it's payback time for all those mutant creatures that killed me with their disruptive ranged attacks.

Hi everyone. Not sure if I should start a new post or jump in here, so please move me if I'm not in the right place!

I was just reading through the posts and had never heard of Gothic, so I went to check out some screenshots. It looks really good but I don't know anything about it really, and was curious if it's anything like Morrowind or Oblivion? (I'm replaying Morrowind again and so am curious if the Gothic series is anything like the Elder Scrolls games) : )

Thanks so much,
Tracy

I would say the Gothic games are similar to stuff like Morrowind and Oblivion .... but more so from the second game onward

And they do have plenty of "story" content. Which is what I like

[The original Gothic had slightly less "easy to handle" controls. But I managed them so they can't be too bad ]

I have a Gothic Collection of (I think) 5 games now and have played two and a half of them so far - and have to say they are definitely my type of RPG

Tracy, the Gothics are great games, but not really as "open world" as the Elder Scrolls; in the first two games in the series the world is smaller, though somehow that doesn't matter because the content is so good. Also, the first two Gothics are a little rougher around the edges in terms of visual polish. But in terms of story and re-playability, they are awesome games and well worth playing, especially if you can get them cheap. Loads of fun and highly recommended by this Boomer.

Thanks SO much for your replies, Mad and Hagatha! I appreciate hearing the details because I tend to just look at screenshots and buy stuff based on them, but I want to pare down my impulse buying (lol) so this really helps.

Tracy

I'm pretty sure it was comments from hagatha about the Gothic games that made me want to play them.
I seem to like most games she recommends

[Thanks, hagatha !! ]

Yeah, I get that. I have dozens of games in my GOG and Steam libraries I don't even remember buying!

Better than not having enough games, though, eh ??

So I'm now a level 27 Berserker Paladin. I use mostly magic and bow and arrows, though I do admit to the occasional use of my grenade launcher and sometimes my laser cannon. And yes, a bow and arrows, with sufficient skill and upgraded equipment, can take down a combat robot. Even better is the Fireball spell. Mechs of any kind don't stand a chance against that.

I just found a Thieves Guild of sorts, with several quests to do. At this point, I'm broke. My Paladin armour was so expensive I barely had enough left for arrows. Fortunately, this game repopulates beasts, and they do seem to be levelled to some extent.

EDIT: Correction; enemies levelled to a large extent. All of a sudden there are Trolls everywhere! BTW, many of the beasts are the same as in Gothic, but with slightly different names. Biters=Snappers, eg.


EDIT: Okay, wait...what's that soft pretty music? What's...what's....is that a ROMANCE in a Piranha Bytes game?

Anyway, it's a good game and don't be put off by the technology stuff. I'm playing a straight-up mage/archer just as I did in Gothic.

EDIT: Game finished at level 36 but you could quickly grind up indefinitely until you maxed out all skills if you felt a burning desire to do so). I would give this game a 7.5 out of 10. Lots of replay value, good value for the money. Fun.