travel around the world and while you are at it, save a nation in distress. Gothic 3 is the much awaited sequel to the last two Gothic releases. This game has all it takes for a role-playing game to make it to the top. Gothic and its sequel, Gothic II, offered a challenging role-playing experience but had technical issues that held them back from making it to the top rung.

Like the previous games, in Gothic 3 you play the role of the series’s nameless hero, a soft-spoken adventurer who can eventually pursue one of the three career paths: warrior, archer or wizard. It would help if you are familiar with the characters and items from the previous games though, because Gothic 3 is full of references from the earlier games.

You are basically in a nation that is enslaved by brutal orc oppressors. The hero starts off with little or no basic training. But in course of the game, he is expected to pick up skills like sorcery, mastery of different weapons and skinning, among other things. When the hero has gained enough experience, he can access different levels and also visit trainers who can hone his skills.

The story picks up right where Gothic II left off. Your ship finally reaches land in Myrtana and you find that the Orcs have won the war and that human society is in a disarray, with the king besieged in the capital city. After an initial battle that serves as your tutorial, your companions want to split up and see what’s happening around the mainland.

Only Gorn sticks with you and even then just for a few moments — he knows the area and takes you to the nearby rebel hideout before doing his own bit of exploring. This leaves you to search for the key to the Orc victory — Xardas, the enigmatic necromancer, who tries to communicate with the dead and the former Fire Mage. The rest is up to you — will you side with the rebels or the Orcs, the nomads or the Hashishans, and preserve Nordmar or allow it to fall into ruin? The decision is all yours as you make your way around this massive world.

The biggest issue with this game is its high-end graphics.You need a very good computer to play this game. The audio is pretty good. Much of the game’s music is subdued and changes dynamically and appropriately, depending on where your character is and whether you’re in battle. Gothic 3 is also a great-looking game that has detailed character models and beautiful outdoor vistas.

If you have the resources to run this game, this is a must buy and you would definitely find yourself waiting forthe next release.

Minimum system requirements: 2.0 GHz Intel Pentium 4, 512 MB System RAM, a 3 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor with 1 GB of System RAM Recommended video cards include an ATI X1600, NVidia GeForce 6800 series or better, if possible