Gothic 3 Vs Oblivion

Gothic 3 vs Oblivion
Gothic 3 Vs Oblivion

I have played both Gothic 3 and Oblivion several times.

As a long-time fan of the Gothic series, I was horrified by Gothic 3 when it was first released - however, especially since the community patches have been released, I have learnt to adore this game.

People always try to compare Gothic 3 and Oblivion; in reality they aren't so comparable. The feeling you get playing each game is vastly different. While it doesn't take a genius to work out that the combat in Oblivion was far better than Gothic 3 in most ways, the ridiculously poor game mechanics in Oblivion go far to detract from my opinion of it.

I like to say that Oblivion is like a game that was made by a bunch of writers and graphic artists - it doesn't look like they bring much knowledge of game design to the table. You get a pretty world, fun and interesting quests, and a decent amount of immersion - however the character progression is terrible, and due to the over-use of randomization there is almost no reason to explore the world. Also, there's very little sense of danger or fear in Oblivion since (due to the scaled monster levels) most monsters won't be too challenging.

Gothic 3, on the other hand, features a large and beautiful world that you will actually want to explore, and vastly different landscapes (desert, forest, mountains, plains, coastal areas, snowy mountains). There's no feeling in the world like waking up on a misty morning on Gothic 3 in Silden, taking out your bow and going hunting for bison in the open plains, then trecking up the mountains and hunting a few trolls and shadowbeasts.

I'll also note that while I have tried to go back and play Oblivion a few more times, every time I touch it I end up quitting after 3 - 5 hours of gameplay when I realise there's nothing in the game that I consider worth doing.

I'll cut it off here before I ramble for too long; essentially, both Gothic 3 and Oblivion are good games, however in my personal opinion, Gothic 3 is far superior in terms of gameplay.

-reply by Kakesar

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First, get the latest patches (official & community) if you want to really enjoy Gothic 3 world. Then we can really compare Gothic 3 and Oblivion.

I personally like the 'feel' of close melee combats in Oblivion, having at least three previous installment that dedicated in this area. Bethesda is doing a superb job. In Gothic 3 the 3rd person combat is okay (though I've seen better, like in Witcher). I never switch to the 1st person when I'm in the middle of a brawl, I used it only for sightseeing. The world in Gothic 3 is wonderful. And big. Designed to make you lost in the game (not being sarcastic) because it lacks any useful navigation system like in Oblivion. When you have a mission to find people or kill some beasts you're going have to comb the area, or find a walkthrough.

Monsters are tough and more varied in Gothic 3. Even a puny goblin could whack you easily. Don't even think of fighting a dragon without proper gears and spells. While in Oblivion everything is leveled up, so you won't have to worry.

I think the Elder Scrolls universe is more mature and more complex than Gothic, so if you think Oblivion is another tale intertwined in the world Elder Scrolls than you'll know that Oblivion has better story than Gothic.

Bottomline, Oblivion and Gothic has its own flavor, but me, I like Oblivion more than Gothic.

...Sorry for the bad English, I live in Mars.

 -reply by Xibx

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Most games suck until the fan community gets some decent mods up in it. Like the game "Pirates of the Caribbean." Really buggy (the main quest would break and you'd be screwed and have to start all over in some cases.), and the gameplay wasn't spectacular... well since the game was so moddable, you download the 800 some mega fan-patch they've come out with, and it's like playing a totally different game!

Even games that are awesome to begin with a year ago can be resurrected from the shelf with some good mods. So even if Gothic 3 is buggy and whatnot, there would be hope for it if it were able to be fixed by a loyal fan community. Oblivion has that going for it, no doubt. With literally hundreds of fan add-ons and mods, the game gives you a hell of a bang for your buck, even after you've played it for 100 hours and beaten the main quest, you can download new missions, armors, mods, etc to give the gameplay a new experience.

One of the more fun mods for Oblivion I've found is I believe called "28 Days and a Bit - A Zombie Mod"

(Found here: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=13418 )

This one actually simulates a zombie outbreak by infecting 4 zombies when you start playing, off in another city. As you play, you don't see it, but the zombie infection slowly starts growing, and by the time you find some, they've practically taken over a city and you've got to find survivors to fight them off, or you risk becoming one, which is just another facet of gameplay. It's a different sort of experience if you've already beaten the game, as obviously this would kill some non-essential NPC's and though you can resurrect NPCs that have died, it really is worth it only if you're playing FOR this mod, rather than using the mod while playing a serious game trying to beat the main quest.

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