Gothic

Review - A very fine RPG from Xicat, no less.

The role-playing game genre has enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years, thanks to the burgeoning popularity of it’s love-child; the massively-multiplayer online role-playing game. Of course, the new focus upon this lucrative subscription-driven genre, has vastly impacted the development of more traditional off-line RPG’s, and it was with this in mind that I approached Piranha Bytes’ Gothic – a huge RPG title that was released in Germany earlier this year to critical acclaim, and has now arrived in the UK.

Sure enough, the game’s ambitions cannot be doubted, with Piranha pouring endless hours of attention into the depth of the game’s premise, and it’s relationship to the graphical world in which the plot unfolds. I also noted with relief, at the same time, that the translation in language from German to English has been a good one, with good voice-acting, and convincing dialogue. Perhaps this explains why Gothic took so long to reach other countries outside of Piranha’s homeland of Germany. Regardless, it was time well spent.

As with any RPG worth it’s salt, the story is a good yarn, and fortunately Piranha have crafted a pretty good effort proving, intriguing, immersive, and perhaps most crucially, compelling. The plot surrounds a fantastical realm which is ravaged by a desperate war against the ‘Orcs’; the King of this realm is driven, in a bid to maintain the War effort, to put all criminals guilty of any offence, to work in the Mines of the province, providing materials for weapons, etc. Unfortunately, the appalling conditions lead to many escape attempts from the prisoners, and the King is eventually forced to request the powers of the twelve ‘Mages’, in erecting a magical barrier incarcerating the convicts. This force-field goes horribly wrong however, leaving the Mages trapped inside their own spell. The convicts immediately kill their guards and anarchy ensues forming new alliances in the struggle for power. The King is now forced to bargain with the convicts for the essential ore – it is at this seemingly hopeless stage that you arrive, just another convict pushed into the magical cage to work in the mines. Here you enter the plot.