Pages: 1 2 3

The hero has the chance to interact with his group after the battle. They all plan to go their separate ways, and this is your first chance to make a choice. One of your comrades was supposed to stay and guard the ship, so you can go check on him. Another member of the band wants to go meet up with the “Rebels,” a group of free humans fighting the orcs wherever they can. Still, another choice would be to walk away right here and explore the land.

There are three main landmasses to explore, and you are free to go anywhere, at any time. You start in the wooded, temperate region of Myrtana. There is also the hot Varant Desert to the south. Finally, Nordmar, the icy land of hearty clans and ore-filled mines, lies to the north. Most players will find it easier to follow some form of linear path, because monsters and enemies become harder to defeat depending on where you travel. If you can get past that fact, you’ve already uncovered one of Gothic 3’s better features. Following a path closely, you’ll spend a lot of time exploring Myrtana, then Varant, then back north to Nordmar. However, you can simply walk around or swim across a channel to get to Varant, even at the very beginning of the game and get into a whole new series of adventures.

Your personal path

The unnamed hero can become a well-rounded warrior or specialize and focus on one or two variables. Unlike most other role playing games where you pre-pick your archetype, in Gothic 3, practice makes perfect. You will encounter others willing to show you their paths and artifacts and herbs that will boost your skills.

Your overall strength allows you to wield different and better swords and axes. Teachers and mentors in different lands can help you improve your skill, learn new techniques, parry with shields and eventually you’ll even be able to swing two swords at once.

Hunting skill allows the hero to be more deadly with a bow and arrow. Fellow hunters are often willing to part the tricks of the trade with you. Your overall hunting skill lets you use better bows, while specific techniques let you go for kill shots on big game and extract teeth, hides and claws from wild beasts.

This is where the skill of smithing comes into play. Most towns have a blacksmith hammering away to keep the soldiers and hunters armed. Befriend them and, for a price, you’ll be able to learn to forge your own weapons that are stronger than ones you buy.

You might want to take a naturist perspective on things. You can hone your alchemy skills and learn how to brew cures, healing agents or deadly poisons. Flowers, plants, mushrooms, roots and herbs grow all over and you can turn these into a more potent form.

Then there’s magic. You’ll need to find artifacts and teachers that can educate you on the ways of the ancient ones. If you’re sick of swordplay and bows and arrows, a fireball or ice lance can take its place. Moreover, the hero can use magic to transform into a monster, make himself invisible to enemies, enchant all the wild animals in range to attack your foes and cure yourself after taking a hit.

All that hard work got you down? You can also follow the path of a thief. You’ll encounter thieving brethren in almost every city, and they’ll show you how to pick locks and sneak around at night, robbing towns blind. But be careful, if you get too greedy, or if you’re seen, you’ll have a very hard time doing anything else in town because the guards will constantly attack you as the no-good thief you are. If you get good enough, you can effectively bribe the guards or talk your way out of their accusations.

If you play long enough, you can become quite good at each skill, so don’t worry about missing out.

You’ll next want to establish relationships with one or more factions. You can get in the good graces of the orcs by traveling around Myrtana, arena fighting and performing tasks and errands for the orc gentry. The rebels will also have smaller tasks to perform, but their main goal is clear: kill all the orcs and free the slaves in the name of Rhobar, the human king. Eventually, you’ll also encounter the third main element, the Hashishin, slave trading desert dwellers who have forged an uneasy alliance with the orcs. All the while you’ll be hearing about the black mage Xardas, who helped the orcs conquer the humans by taking magic away from the paladin knights.

There are also minor factions like the rangers, bow fighting wilderness folk; nomads who roam the desert attacking the Hashishin; and barbarians in Nordmar.

Pages: 1 2 3

John Guilfoil is the editor-in-chief of Blast: Boston's Online Magazine. He can be reached at guilfoil.j@blastmagazine.com.