I was glad that I had this arrive yesterday, I was a huge fan of Gothic 2, and was dismayed when the english version of the addon Night of the Raven was nowhere to be found until now.
Was it worth the wait? Lets find out
After installing, I started the game oh look the same old Virtual File System that we Gothic fans love to hate. Yep thats still there, but for those who had trouble with Gothic 2 installing that checking system on the first disc while installing is now removed
So game starts, started a new game, so far same old Gothic 2, but now new video at the start also. So off I went to the big city Khorinis, had my dagger out to kill the goblins, but wait no goblins but an old friend from Gothic 1.
This is many of the surprises in store for everyone, there is now more missions and more to do, more NPC's. So reply value is very high here. You will not get bored.
Graphically its fantastic, some tweaks to the system makes it now easier to see objects with a sparkly glow for potions and magic items. This is handy since it was hard in Gothic 2 to see scrolls in bushes.
Weapons have had an overhaul also, early in the game I found an axe that does 150 dmg and needs 150 strength
A powerfull weapon so early on in the game I hear you say, oh yes they are powerfull. Which could possibly mean even stronger weapons for later on also.
Swords arent now easy to equip, some require dexterity to be handled, some even give a bonus to your single-handed or double-handed swordmanship. Couple them with new armor like the belts and more power rings and amulets, and you do become quite a powerfull character.
Never fear though, they are stronger monsters to contend with also and newer monsters like for example the boars. Dont forget the new areas even in the first map, some new caves, old caves with new tunnels.
So the game is even bigger than before, and im only on Part 3 of the game.
The artifical intelligence of people and orcs have been greatly improved, no longer can you just swing your axe or sword around like a madman, they will block constantly, you will have to wait for an opening now to strike which makes it hard especially when they are in a group
Some of the glitches that some people were familiar with like the random crashing when travelling to a new area on the loading screen, and several fall through the floor bugs have all been erased so far.
There is no cap on experience, you could goto level 2000 if you could, and amass alot of skill points and health points. This is handy since, its no longer easy just to gain strength quickly for 5 SP each time, the more you have in a particular skill the higher the cost. The maximum is 25ap for +5 strength.
The maximum strength you can have is 200 same with Dexterity. I assume its the same for Magic also.
New quests? Yes lots of them, from the start you will find out about Missing People, and it will take you a long time to even just do the first part of this.
New Jobs? Yep, you can become a member of the Ring of Water, which Vatras talks about, so yes you can join the Water Mages but not until later I feel.
The overall maps are the same, and most of the gothic 2 quests have not been retouched, so veterans to the game will quickly finish these quests. But thats not to say they are tiresome or even difficult for the newer player, they will have the same fun time we vets had originally.
Is it worth it then? Yes it is, with the addon its a new game, not just a plain old addon like other games, when you finish the game here is a new area. The new addon kicks in straight away. So it really is worth it
Score out of 10
I will give it 2 categories here
1. For Veterans 7/10 (although its still very much playable, perhaps some old vets will see the same o same o)
2. For Newer Players 9/10 (its a unique RPG experience you should not miss out on)
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