Gothic for PC - A Perfect 10?

Back in the early days of my marriage, I had made theanything you can think of. You can do whatever you
mistake of bringing the game Gothic into our home. Mywant in Gothic.
husband and I were still in that blissful, honeymoonMe: Can you sit around and eat cheetos?
period and I really had no idea that his addiction forPerplexed Husand: There are no cheetos in Gothic.
games rivaled only Bobby Brown's addictionMe: So, well no cheetos, well then......is there a purpose
for..well...anything other than games. Happily, I installedto the game? And why are you a prisoner?
Gothic, giddy that I had found a game that lookedNot-So-Patient Husband: (exasperated) I just told you
interesting to play and was a bargain at under twentythe purpose. To become whatever you want to
bucks. My husband had already informed me that hebecome. And I don't know why you are a prisoner.
had downloaded the demo and wasn't interested, andYou just are. You decide why you are a prisoner.
so for a few sweet hours Gothic was all mine.Me: Perhaps because you ignore your wife.
And then my husband woke up from his nap.Smart Husband: (silent)
"What's that?" he asked, looking over my shoulder.Me: Okay, well, anyway. Say I want to become a
"Oh, Gothic. You tried it, remember? You didn't like it sonon-prisoner. Can I do that?
I'm going to play it."Still-Somewhat-Patient Husband: Well, yes, I guess that
"Yeah...I remember." He said warily. He leaned in closer.is the overall purpose of the game. But don't you see,
Now, I'm not the greatest gamer that has ever lived. Inyou can be an archer?
my twenty years of gaming I've finished exactly oneMe: So Gothic is great because you can be whatever
game (unless you count Pong). My love of games isyou want to be.
only exceeded by my complete inability to be anyDarling Husband: (nodding excitedly as I was beginning
good at them. Having my die-hard, gamer husbandto catch on)YES!
giving orders behind me got to be a bit nerve-racking.Me: And that's it? So it's basically a clickfest?
"Go here." "You should have bought the sword." "WhyNot-Quite-As-Patient Husband: Well, you can explore
didn't you train when you had the chance?" "You can'ttoo. Part of the beauty of Gothic is that you never
leave the camp without pants."stop exploring. Each little nook and cranny of the
After nearly two hours of this I finally gave in and letuniverse holds mysteries for you to unfold. And the
him have at it. That was the very last I saw of myreplayability (sweat beads on his head) is great! You
husband's face for the next three months. He was socan replay in each different camp pursuing each
absorbed in the Gothic world that I actually began todiffererty type of career. It is never the same.
wonder what he might look like. I took out old picturesHe had the same look of joy I felt when Target was
to remind me. Every once in awhile I'd catch a fleetinghaving a two for one hot dog sale.
glimpse of him, running from the computer to the fridge,Me: Is the ending always the same?
and maybe to the bathroom, but other than that I wasExasperated Husband: Well, yes I guess so. But it's the
a single woman.journey, see?
That experience was as close as I've ever felt toI was beginning to feel sorry for the guy. He was really
being cheated on.doing his best to enlighten me.
When he finally beat the game, (and then later GothicMe: If the ending is always the same then you really
2) he emerged, a tired lion after the hunt "It's the bestcan't become what you want to be. Ultimately you are
game ever," he'd tell anyone who would listen. Peoplea puppet right?
grew weary of his Gothic banter. They had heard ofNot-So-Darling Husband: No, you arent a puppet You
his heroic deeds so many times their ears bled. I had tostill have free will.
hire people to pretend to be interested, but he evenMe: Anything else I should know?
managed to run them off. For months I endured this,Defeated Husband: Well, outside the barrier the king is
and then on one beautiful spring day he did notraging war on orcs. The irony is that he needs ore to
mention the game, and I knew life was back to normal.defeat the orcs. The only place to get the ore is...
That was until a few weeks ago, when he returnedMe: Inside the barrier, right?
from a three-week trip to the bathroom, PC Gamer inJubilant Husband: Yes!
his hand. "They are going to release Gothic 3 soon!" heMe: So how do they get the ore if you are destroyed
announced merrily, plopping down in front of thecrossing the barrier?
computer to check his available RAM, and then myDarling Husband: It's magic ore.
world went black. What was it about this game thatMe: Of course.
made my husband disappear so completely that I hadDarling Husband: And people can go inside the barrier
to file a missing person's report? I had to find out.and ore can be moved out. So, one of the camps has
Me: Honey, is Gothic your all-time favorite game?created a barter system with the king. They supply the
Darling Husband: Yepking ore and the king supplies them with food, supplies,
Me: On a scale of 1-10 what would you rate thiswomen...
game?Me: Women???? Do the women WANT to go in
Darling Husband: 10there, with all the prison men? Do they know what
Me: A ten? Really? You've never given anything a ten.they are getting into?
Whose the hottest woman you can think of?Desperate Husband: Well, nobody wants to go in there.
Darling Husband: I don't see the point of this questionBut...
Me: Just answer. Who would you say is the hottestMe: How can you like a game where women are
woman you can think of?treated like a commodity? I bet the men are fat and
Darling Husband: Okay...Angelina Joliegreasy and old too. Right?
Me: (throwing a shoe at him). Okay...fine...but the rightHusband-Who-May-Have-Said-Too-Much: ......
answer was me. Havn't you learned anything yet?Me: I bet the women have to cook and clean after
Disgusting Husband: Oh yeah...I meant to say that.their "other" duties too. I bet the men don't have any
Me: Uh-huh...Anyways, would you give Angelina a 10?hair. You know what it's like to have to be a slave to a
Disgusting Husband: Nahbald man?
Me: Would you give ANYTHING a 10? A food, anotherWishes-He-Wasn't-A-Husband: They aren't real
game? Anything besides Gothic? (our love perhaps,women you know.
you cold-hearted man)Me: ....
Stupid Husband: NahDarling Husband: ....
Me: Okay, fine. What is Gothic about? Tell me whyMe: Sounds like a horrible game.
you wet your pants whenever you hear that word?Distressed Husband: (looking defeated)
Now This is the part of the conversation I like toMe: Okay, fine. I'm an adult. I will get beyond the
call....You had to ask.traficking of women. Tell me more.
Long-Winded Husband: Gothic is an open-ended RPG.Darling Husband: Well, the best part of the game is the
You start out a prisoner within a clear, magical barrier.layers. There is politics and espionage among the
If you pass through the barrier you die. You have tocamps. Each has it's own agenda. It's a huge spiral
join one of the three prison camps. There is the oldstoryline. It's (wipes a tear from his eye) the best game
camp, and the new camp, and a hippy, commune typeI have ever played.
camp where you sit around and get high.And we had come full circle. Now for my husband to
Me: Well, that's an obvious choice.say it's the best game he has ever played is truly
Oblivious Husband: (continues unphased) After yousomething. I can't think of a game he hasn't played. For
decide which camp you join you work your way uphim to play tribute to this sleeper game, Gothic, really
through the ranks. You can 'level' any skill you want. Ifgave me pause.
you want to be a mage, you can be a mage. LikeMe: Honey, do you love me as much as you love that
archery? You can be a great archer. Melee, thief skills,game.