Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods returns gamers to this popular universe and answers quite a few questions from the previous games and of course adds a variety of new questions to the mix. For those unaware of the Gothic franchise, it's basically an third-person RPG title that allows gamers to explore vast uncharted environments as they challenge a variety of foes in an attempt to cleanse the lands and of course, make your characters more powerful. It's classic Dungeons & Dragons!

Features

• Huge lively environment which reacts to the player's actions, creating a very intense and realistic atmosphere

• Improved graphics quality thanks to updated engine technology

• Enhanced user interface

• 15-20 intense hours of gameplay

• Improved combat system with new combat rules

• Plenty of new weapons, armors, monsters and quests

The story itself revolves around a "nameless" warrior who has built a reputation from the war between Humans and Orcs. Your job is to reunite the lands of Myrtana and of course bring peace, however you must first start from the bottom of the pack before you can challenge the three warlords.

Although Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods may sound like the RPG paradise, Forsaken Gods is unfortunately riddled with bugs, unless you download the gamut of patches from the official website. Thankfully JoWooD have addressed these bugs which has also caused the release of Gothic 4 to be postponed and the development company have also publically apologized on their forums for the "buggy" release.

With that said, once the patches have been installed, the game is considerably more playable than without the patches which will make this game almost on par with Gothic 3.

Although the story of the Forsaken is your classic clichéd RPG tale that actually suits the genre (I'm a sucker for RPG tales) as you engage in a variety of different quests and adventures as you interact with NPC's, defeat enemies and of course find a wide range of items for your kitty.

Unfortunately for series, the title has unfortunately dated since we last saw the series and at times, the control system feels a little archaic and limiting to what we now consider the norm of RPG titles. This does become an issue when you are facing more than one foes as it becomes quite a click-fest of buttons as you attempt to fight or run.

The characterization of the Gothic series has always been impressive as you can virtually create your own unique and individual RPG character that when matched with the different skills and classes in the game, does create some ownership in the character and assists in immersing you into this title. 

Of course experience points is a vital aspect of the game and your character must "level" in order to become more power. By learning at shrines, you can upgrade your characters abilities and skills and needless to say, the choices are almost unlimited.

Although the quests are engaging, if you do not download the patches, you may be stuck in quests and provided you have saved at a non critical point, you may need to go back and re-attempt the quest. The biggest problem is that once you begin a quest, you need to stay on this journey. Once you get past the "bugs" in the title, Forsaken Gods could have been something special, unfortunately it seems a little rushed out the door.

Graphically, the title is a little dated and at times the slowdown can become horrendous. Thankfully these only happen in highly populated areas. Where the game does shine is through it's Lord of the Rings inspired soundtrack and average to good voice acting that suits the cheesy storyline.

At the end of the day, Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods is a shame because the series has been so strong. At times it feels like a BETA Game which most of the patches will fix, however this is definitely one for the fans of the series, provided the bugs don't get them first.