My favourite game franchise is the Gothic franchise: three full games and two add-ons. “Gothic” was followed by “Gothic 2” and then the add-on “Gothic 2 – Night of the Raven” (NOTR). All three games were developed by Piranha Bytes. Other games followed in the series but they aren’t as good as the first three.
This is a spoiler-free but thorough review of Gothic. After the Gothic review, I briefly discuss Gothic 2. Since nearly everything that I say about Gothic also applies to Gothic 2, I will not be repeating the information when discussing Gothic 2. I will only mention things about Gothic 2 that are different from the original game.
I will also apply this strategy when I briefly discuss Gothic 2 – Night of the Raven. There is a special DirectX 11 mod for Gothic, Gothic 2, and Gothic 2 – Night. Size: 6x ~ 10,2 MB. I used it in my first and pretty recent walkthrough of Gothic and was very pleasantly surprised. I recently found your post,.
I will also apply this strategy when I briefly discuss Gothic 2 – Night of the Raven. Gothic Introduction Gothic is an open-world RPG. You can play as a warrior, ranger or mage or any combination of the three. The game came out in 2001, 6 months before The Elder Scrolls III – Morrowind.
Massive with great graphics for the time and hundreds of quests, Morrowind received widespread acclaim along with many awards and nominations. In this review, I am going to compare Gothic to Morrowind. My Morrowind Complaints Morrowind doesn’t do everything in the best way possible.
My biggest Morrowind complaints fall into the following three categories: dialogue, combat animation and unrealistic NPCs. Other issues include travelling and the operation of doors and windows. Dialogue First, there is almost no spoken dialogue in Morrowind. When you have a conversation with someone, a list of dialogue options appears on your screen. You click on one and then you read the other character’s reply.
This might be followed by another list of options. Combat Animation Morrownd’s combat animation is not very good.
When you swing your sword, axe or other weapon, your character takes only a very short swing. For an overhead strike, the animation stops when the weapon hits the target’s head. For a strike across the torso (right-to-left or left-to-right), the animation stops when the weapon makes contact with the body. So each strike is very short; there’s no follow-through. Unrealistic NPCs My third complaint is that the game’s NPCs are unrealistic because they don’t give the appearance of having lives.
Most characters have a routine that never varies; they’re in the same place every time you encounter them. Travelling Travelling in Morrowind was annoying.
Whenever the hero traveled somewhere, a “Loading” screen would appear every few seconds. These Loading screens were annoying interruptions. Since Morrowind was a demanding game for the time, the Loading screens may have been caused by inadequate hardware; a modern computer might not have this issue. Operation of Doors and Windows My final complaint involves the operation of doors and windows.
When you enter or exit a building, the door doesn’t open. Instead, you teleport from inside to outside or vice versa. You also can’t look through windows. When inside a building, for example, you can’t look through a window to see people outside. This is because, in Morrowind, the entire outside is a single map and the inside of each structure is also a single map and you can’t look from one map to another. Dialogue and Music Unlike Morrowind, Gothic has spoken dialogue throughout the entire game and the voice acting is beyond excellent.
It is truly outstanding and the game’s best feature. The NPCs are lively and have many things to say. There are also many different accents and several of the characters are very funny.
Some characters are so funny they will make you laugh out loud, others will annoy you like crazy and others you will learn to hate. The voice acting is the best of any game I’ve ever played. Gothic also contains many excellent musical compositions that play at different points in the game. Combat System and Animation The combat system in Gothic puts you in control over how you fight.
You have different strikes to choose from and can put them together in combinations however you like. The coordination of the keyboard and mouse makes the combat system difficult to manage at first. It takes some getting used to but with practice you’ll find that it’s not so difficult. The combat animation in Gothic is excellent.
I always use only 1-handed swords because the animation is so good. When the player’s character swings a sword, the animation doesn’t stop when the sword makes contact with the enemy. If your character swings a sword from right to left (forehand), the animation continues until the sword is on the left side of the character. At this point your character can swing his sword from left to right (backhand), bringing the sword back to the right side. The strikes are very fluid, flowing from one strike to the next. When fighting an enemy you can repeat this motion – forehand, backhand, forehand, backhand – as many times as you want. The animation is excellent.
It’s very smooth and very realistic – much better than in Morrowind. Learn the Gothic Fighting Technique To get the most out of Gothic you need to learn the Gothic fighting technique. Once you’ve received some training, go somewhere private and practice.
It’s all about timing. Watch your character closely and only click the mouse when your character is ready for the next strike.
Clicking the mouse too soon will interrupt the sequence and your character will stop moving and remain motionless until you click the mouse again. So, practice in private until you are confident that you understand the timing. When you have a good rhythm going, go and find some low-level enemies to fight.
If you don’t learn the fighting technique well, you won’t last long against enemies. Explore and Talk to Everyone Gothic isn’t an easy game especially if you’re new to RPGs. Take your time, explore, talk to everyone and don’t go wandering around the forests at night. If you see something that looks like it could eat you for breakfast, it can. Don’t approach it until you’re well-armed, well-armored and above all, trained. Realistic Characters It’s clear that when Gothic was being developed, a lot of effort was put into making it seem like the NPCs had lives. Nearly every NPC has a home with a bed.
During the day, nearly every NPC does several different things. There’s a lot of variety. Some NPCs might start the day cooking meat on a campfire while others make repairs to their homes. NPCs that are vendors begin selling their merchandise while others gather in small groups to make meaningless conversation. After a while, many NPCs will go somewhere to do something else. In the evenings, the vendors are no longer selling their wares and can be found elsewhere.
![Mod Mod](/uploads/1/2/5/3/125356126/379155495.jpeg)
Some NPCs can be found in the bar in the evenings while others gather around campfires. At a certain time at night, which varies a lot, most NPCs go to their homes. Some might go to sleep immediately while others sit in a chair for a while before going to bed. Some NPCs remain at the bar until very late. This varied and realistic behaviour of the NPCs adds a lot of realism to Gothic.
Travelling and “Doors and Windows” When travelling in Gothic, there are no “Loading” screens of any kind. The graphics is displayed on the screen smoothly, without interruption. Doors and windows function differently in Gothic than in Morrowind. When you enter or exit a building, the door opens. This is because, in Gothic, the entire outside and inside of all above-ground buildings is a single map.
You can enter a building, leave the door open and then look through the open doorway to see people outside. If you’re inside a building, you can also look through windows to see outside. These are minor issues but they both add to the realism of the game. This is one example of why I think Gothic is more advanced than Morrowind at the design level.
Graphics The main complaint with Gothic is the graphics. The game is old and the graphics are very dated. However, there are many mods you can make use of to improve the game. Some improve the graphics while others provide support for widescreen monitors or make the game more stable with modern versions of Windows. Last time I played Gothic, I played at a resolution of 1920 x 1080. DirectX Mod DirectX is software created by Microsoft.
It is part of Windows and is used by games. Occasionally, Microsoft updates DirectX which sometimes results in better graphics for games that are compatible with the new version. There is a special DirectX 11 mod for Gothic, Gothic 2, and Gothic 2 – Night of the Raven. Instructions for downloading and installing the mod are given later in this article. Known Issues These are some of the graphical issues you may encounter while using the DX11 mod:. You may occasionally get a black screen after playing for a little while, sometimes while saving your game.
Don’t worry if you were saving your game when this happened, this is not a crash so your save data will be fine, but the game will need to be forcefully closed and restarted. Some of the trees have incorrect collisions and you may walk in to invisible walls when walking near certain trees, but I didn’t find this to be too gamebreaking or annoying, just something to be aware of. In underground levels such as mines and temples you may get a really annoying bug where you’re able to see through walls at a certain distance, but not when you get closer. Some players have reported that when it is raining in game, save files can get corrupted. If you want to ensure this does not happen, you will need to set skyEffects=0 in your Gothic System Gothic.ini file – however this will mean you have no rain or other sky effects. Troubleshooting You may not be able to get the DirectX 11 mod to run on your system, but before you give up, try these things as they have helped some people:. Unplug/disable all but your main monitor.
Even though you are running the executable, try disabling Steam overlay for the game. If the game crashes on load, try it again, it may just be having trouble with the intial resolution. Be sure the game is running in your native resolution, both in the gothic.ini file and in the in-game options menu.
What Does Gothic Have that Other Games Don’t? Evolving Combat Animation Gothic was ahead of its time in a way that is not seen with most modern games – the combat animation changes as your character learns. Besides the sequel to Gothic and the sequel’s add-on, I’ve played very few games where the combat animation gets more advanced as your character learns.
For example, when you start the game, your character doesn’t know how to swing a sword properly. Whenever he swings a sword, there is an animation sequence that clearly shows his lack of experience. When your character receives level 1 training, the trainer instructs him how to properly swing a sword. After training, the combat animation is different because your character has learned how to swing a sword properly.
The animation actually reflects exactly what the trainer said during training. After receiving level 2 training, the animation changes again. It is now longer and more complex because the character has been trained to the highest level. Besides Gothic 2 and Gothic 2 – The Night of the Raven, I know of only one other game that does this. It shows the effort that was put into Gothic to make it as realistic as possible. Realistic NPCs that Have Lives As said earlier, Gothic’s NPCs seem to have lives because they behave in a realistic manner with a lot of variety in their daily routines. This is not the case in many other RPGs where NPCs have little to no purpose and walk around aimlessly.
For example, in some games I have played, NPCs in a town might walk from one location to another only to turn around immediately and walk back. That’s all these NPCs do – walk back and forth between 2 points for no reason at all.
This is done in an attempt to make the town seem lively but the lack of variety in their routines detracts from the game’s realism. Also, NPCs often don’t seem to have homes; they’re not asleep in a bed at night. The NPCs in Gothic have lives and this adds to the realism of the game. At no time will you find NPCs walking back and forth aimlessly between 2 points.
Pictured on the right is a Gothic NPC sitting in his hut in the evening before going to bed. Objects in the Environment the Player can Interact with The player can interact with many objects in the game. Many of these aren’t important but there are some that are quite useful and make the game more enjoyable. There are also some that are quite important as they give you a way to earn the game’s equivalent of money. Replayability You have several options for the type of character you want to create.
In addition to being able to play as any combination of warrior, ranger or mage, Gothic has three factions and you are free to join whichever one you want. As a member of a particular faction your character will wear the armour of that faction for most of the game. Also, in the first part of the game, there are some quests that are faction-specific – they can only be done by members of a particular faction. The above options and faction-specific quests provide the game with significant replayability. Conclusion When it was released, Gothic was ahead of its time featuring voice acting for the entire game. The game has a good story with several funny characters – outstanding voice acting is actually the game’s best feature. To enjoy this game you need two things: patience and mastery of the Gothic fighting technique.
If you don’t possess these two items, you won’t last very long. The combat animation is better than many much newer games, the NPCs behave in a realistic manner and the music is also very good. The graphics are now very dated but mods help a lot. If you look past the graphics, Gothic is a great RPG.
Gothic 2 Gothic is a great game but I prefer Gothic 2. While Gothic 2 doesn’t have the humor of the original, I find its game-world more interesting.
Gothic 2 begins where Gothic leaves off. Once again, the game is open-world and you can choose from many options of how to play.
Both the music and voice acting are excellent. The graphics are better than the original but still dated. However, as before, you can make use of mods to improve the graphics considerably and provide widescreen support.
Everything I said in my review for Gothic, except for the many funny characters, also applies to Gothic 2. The game-world of Gothic 2 is extremely well designed. There are many interesting places in a relatively small but carefully crafted game-world filled with secrets. This makes Gothic 2 a lot of fun to explore. There’s something different around every corner in Gothic 2. Gothic 2, like the original, is not an easy game.
It’s harder than the original; some people find it quite difficult. To enjoy this game you need the same items you need to play the original Gothic: patience and mastery of the Gothic fighting technique. Since Gothic 2 is harder than the original, possessing these two items is even more important than for the original game. Gothic 2 – Night of the Raven This is my favourite RPG and my favourite game of all time. In response to requests from fans, the developer released Gothic 2 – Night of the Raven (NOTR). Nearly everything I said about Gothic and Gothic 2, except for Gothic’s many funny characters, also applies to NOTR. Although it’s known as an add-on, NOTR is actually a reworking of Gothic 2.
Unlike a typical add-on which is a stand-alone game that you might play after playing the original game, NOTR is a game that you could play instead of playing its predecessor. That’s because, for the most part, NOTR is the same game as Gothic 2. It has the same main quest as Gothic 2 but adds an additional main quest. It also adds a new area to explore with new NPCs, monsters and quests.
NOTR is also harder than Gothic 2; some mid-level and all high-level enemies are harder to kill. Since NOTR is harder than its predecessor, great patience is crucial.
This might force you to change your strategy from Gothic 2. Download and Install If you decide to play these games, you can buy them from a game download site. To get the most out of these three games, I suggest you start with the original. It’s the beginning of the story and the easiest game although still not all that easy.
Then, play Gothic 2. Only move on to NOTR if you want an even greater challenge than Gothic 2. The DirectX 11 mod and other files for all 3 games on the page. Instructions for installing all the files on the Download page can be found below. Gothic Gothic was released in 2001 but is still popular as evidenced by the many mods made for it. Download the official patch (might not be necessary if you buy the game from a game download site as it might be included in the download) as well as mods to improve the graphics, increase stability and provide widescreen support. There’s also a program that modifies the game to make it easier to use mods.
Some of these files I only recently discovered and haven’t yet had a chance to try. I’m glad that you reviewed Gothic. I love RPGs but I never got around to playing it. Indeed, I got sucked into Morrowind instead. I hated its combat but I loved its odd world.
The latest Elder Scrolls game, Skyrim fixed most of the problems that you talked about for Morrowind, but you still can’t look in the windows. I appreciate the detail at the end of your post about how to find the game and install its patches. That is the kind of walkthrough that old games need if modern gamers are going to give it a chance.
Unfortunately, I’m getting too old to mess around with such things. Instead, I will watch a video of someone else playing the game to experience it vicariously. Omg omg omg omg FINALLY someone wrote about the Gothic series! I grew up playing the first ever Gothic 1,2,3 and I remember the characters well – Diego, Aidan, Whistler, Fletcher, and Dexter. God, it’s been 15 years already! I remember that our hero didn’t have a name and they call him the Nameless Hero. And when you first played the game he was like “My name is” and then Diego stopped him and said “I don’t need to know”.
Awesome review man, very nostalgic. I’m definitely going to start playing again.
Super Mario Odyssey's Balloon World is a mini-game introduced as part of a free update to the game in February 2018. With the help of Luigi, you can find and hide balloons around areas of the game, competing against players all over the world. How to unlock Balloon World and find Luigi in Super Mario Odyssey To unlock and play Balloon World, you must first complete the game's story.
Second, make sure you're connected to the internet. Then, find Luigi in any of the game's worlds. If you're struggling to find him, then use your map, and he'll be signposted with a telltale green letter 'L'. On the first visit he'll explain the rules to you - as shown in the below embedded video - before allowing you to play at your heart's content. How to play Hide It and Find It in Balloon World Balloon World is a game of players hiding a balloon somewhere within any of the game's Kingdoms, and challenging other players to then find it. If you are playing Hide It, then you simply find a location, press Right on the D-Pad to drop it where you stand (it cannot be in the air). With Hide It, you just pop the balloon using the guidance of the arrow above your head, and once you find it, then either run into it or throw your cap to win.
There are some shared rules and things to note for both:. You have up to 30 seconds to find or hide a balloon.
One second of time added for every three Coins found. It costs at least 10 Coins for each Balloon attempt, with the entry fee and winnings changing depending on the difficulty to the balloon.
That's the essentials - but there's a lot of nuance in terms of where Balloons could be located, as well as how you get earnings. Balloon World tips for getting better at Find It and Hide It Here's some things that might help you improve at the balloon hiding and popping mini-game:. The clock doesn't begin until you leave the starting area, so use that opportunity to orientate yourself properly before speeding off. In Find It, use the arrow to learn of the general direction. If you get lost, stand still for a few moments for the arrow to reappear again.
As well as using a list of Balloons to find in the game, you can also share a nine-digit code for friends to play. ( Note the following code has expired, but use it as example of how you might share codes with others!) Right, I have hidden a balloon in Cascade Kingdom. Let me know if you find it!
003 89M 5JD — Matthew Reynolds (@Crazyreyn). It's worth starting with Find It before playing Hide It as a reminder of the area's layout, and common places others are putting their balloons. Use this to get an easy streak when you learn these reoccurring locations, then use that knowledge to try and find somewhere better to hide your balloon!. You can replay a Balloon as many times as you like. This is useful if you think you were close but need a cleaner run to get another stab at it. The amount of coins you'll earn will easily outweigh what you spend to enter on a successful retry, so you may as well!. You cannot leave balloons in bonus rooms or other places beyond the area you are in, so don't try!.
You have until the last possible moment to leave a balloon (if you run out of time, the game will ask you if you want to leave it where you stand). But remember others can pop it with their hat, so take that extra distance into consideration. Underwater areas are particularly devilish, especially since your movement speed is hampered and the lack of oxygen can lead to panic-inducing moments. Time is of the essence, so learning the moves that make Mario get around at pace - such as long jumps and hat throws - allow you to get to places quickly. You can capture things as part of your run, which can help you put the balloon in unusual places. How to earn more Coins in Balloon World As well playing for the fun of it, it's worth knowing the various ways you can get coins in Balloon World, if you're looking to grind them out for some late game outfits. How to earn Coins in Balloon World:.
You get a base amount of coins - 50 to begin with - for finding a Balloon, which increases the more people fail to find it. There are additional Coins up for grabs if you find it fast and earn a Time Bonus. A key aspect is the faster you find it - or hide it without a player then discovering it - the more bonus Coins you receive. You gain a bonus for a streak of wins. Finding balloons twice in a row earns you 10 additional Coins, for example. Particular Kingdoms will be highlighted to give you more Coins for a short amount of time, as indicated on the Stats screen and the corner of the screen during regular play.
Each Rank up gives you a bonus set of 100 coins, too, which is another useful way of earning Coins. Ways to increase your Balloon World ranking: Find It rank bonuses:. Coins earned. Number of Balloons found. Number found in a row Hide It rank bonuses:. Coins earned.
Others' Tries Essentially, then, the more you play the higher your rank will improve, as even if you come up against a run of difficult balloons (or can't think of a good place to put them) only two of the five ways to level up are skill-related. Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. For more information, go.