The houses became empty and nobody enters them even at night (there are some few exceptions but still). You may use any bed for having a sleep – nobody refuses. Even more, if you decide to rob aborigines they won’t prevent you from doing that. But the most bizarre thing is characters’ attitude to beating them.

          You want to study a lot of new useful skills but have no money for that? No problem – just beat the teacher and he gives you all the necessary information. To crown it all, then you may take his personal things. And you can do it many times. Teachers even will not try to resist or to take offence. But this is not the full list of disadvantages of the game. For example your main hero carries amount of weapons that is sufficient for armament of a small fortress. And he is able to make really giant jumps with all that stuff on him! Maybe his grandmother made love with Spiderman when she was young. Who knows?

             Guards are very strange too – if you attack and beat them and after that take all their weapons they just stand up, get new gavelocks from nowhere and go on to watch. And they even do not try to call for help or to revenge! Toxication with poison of a giant wasp was extremely funny because my health began to approach zero but then suddenly stopped for unidentified reason. But when my hero was contaminated with poison of an assassin’s blade and died it was not as funny as with the insect before.

If you want to win you must use benefits.

           By the way, you cannot finish off defeated and prostrated enemy if he is anthropomorphic. Fortunately they cannot do it the same with you – they just take your weapons and money. Yes, unfortunately ideas of previous Gothics were not prolonged in the third part of series. Maybe the situation will be changed with adds on and patches but now we should face the music. But that does not mean that Gothic 3 is a bad game.

         The thing is the disadvantages mentioned before are compensated with an impressing list of interesting innovations. Characteristics of a hero did not change too much. But one more appeared. This is endurance – very interesting parameter indicating amount of enemies’ attacks hero can block and distance he can run without stop. Smithcraft is usual but it is carried out with the aid of drawings.

         Studying of hunting provides possibility of removing animals’ skin and claws and helps you to sneak up on your enemy quietly, pressing “Ctrl” button. Adepts of magic will study it meeting wizards. Power and level of spell depends on the level of your secret knowledge.

           In general, implementation of magic is a great advantage of the game. It is divided into three schools – that of Innos (magic of domination), that of Beliar (magic of summon) and that of Adanos (magic of transformation). Quantity of spells increased very much and their visual effects and variety were significantly improved. A process of spell casting looks really fantastic.

          For example a well-known “fire rain” will make you pronounce admiring interjections. Frankly speaking this is the most wonderful thing I have ever seen. The other games can be hardly compared with the third Gothic in this component. Besides, upgrading weapons, domination over human beings and animals, time controlling, astral body traveling, telekinesis, turning to animal, opening of castles and controlling over thoughts spells appeared.

           Of course, a range of attack spells was widened very much. But unfortunately spells lack information about them – for example, it is impossible to know how many points of damage they cause. As for weapons, warriors may use swords, axes, shields, armor and arbalests. And only hunters may use bows. But guidance system of distance weapons is far from being perfect.

            Alchemistry is implemented in a very interesting way – apart from traditional herbs of restoring and improving action we will take possibility of using herbs upgrading our weapons with getting of new levels. But the real masterpiece is implementation of larceny. Apart from housebreaking and cutting purses off thieves now can knock a victim senseless or even kill it. And to crown it all master-thieves can rob sleeping character and he even won’t feel anything!