Arcania - First Print Reviews

The first two print reviews appeared. Neither is enthusiastic.
ComputerBild Spiele, a German mag for a non-hardcore readership, gives Arcania: Gothic 4 a rating of 2.49. That's approximately a B-.
CBS likes the beautiful visuals, the lack of bugs and the newbie-friendly learning curve. On the negative they see a general lack of originality, a lukewarm story, boring quests and the too easy difficulty.

The old charm is gone, but maybe the time was ripe for new virtues.

Belgian mag PC Gameplay uses quite colorful language in their roasting. The article also mentions a couple of positive points, so 60% seems a bit harsh.
Here are a couple of random excerpts. The whole article is 3 pages long. All translations provided by Erik.

Ceci n’est pas un RPG [This is not an RPG]
To our surprise Arcania has turned out to be a fairly linear experience. The game only offers a relatively small area where you’ll find a few hours of quests. Once completed you’ll travel to a next area. […] The island Argaan feels more like a collection of levels than an open, vibrant world.

We got used to the often caricature performances of the voice actors in Gothic 3, this time however the content of the ‘conversations’ reaches such a literary depth even the dialogs of the first ‘Two World’ seem of Shakespearian quality.

The system feels like a combination of Fable and The Witcher and requires some practice and skill to really master. The dangerous monstrosities you’ll be up against are quite evenly matched and you’ll enjoy bashing their brains in. If mindless whacking is your thing, you might want to give Arcania a chance.

Painful verdict
It is remarkable that if you try to forget the fact it’s a Gothic game […] you might like to play it. Although the game experience is far from phenomenal, it would be unfair to claim the game was really boring.
[…] As latest Gothic game Arcania: Gothic 4 is worthless, as RPG insignificant and as Hack & Slash game slightly entertaining.
[…] Playing the demo might be a good test, but know only the first few hours are really enjoyable. Once you get to the main island, the experience collapses.

Pro:
- decent combat system
- very atmospheric graphics [The reviewer says the weather effects are top notch.; Ed.]

Cons:
- below average quests and dialogs
- very heavy system requirements
- linear, short and unfinished [They mean cut content, not bugs.; Ed.]

Final verdict: Arcania is a slap in the face of Gothic- and RPG fans, but does offer an enjoyable Hack&Slash experience in a good looking world.

The review is based on one month old review code.
Thanks, Erik.


More information.

"a fairly linear experience"

Well, they lost my money here…

What are average quests and dialogs? I see a comparison to Two Worlds 2, but from my understanding people hated those so they can't be the "average" right?

Also, surprised…not comment about a buggy mess (i.e. the game seems bug free).

Both reviews say Arcania doesn't have bug problems.

Playing time:
PC Gameplay says 20 hours until they killed the end boss. Other sources say 25 hours on easy.

Sounds more or less like I expected -- a pretty engine with poor content and no understanding of what made Gothic such a unique experience. This was on my 'watch the reviews' list; if the reviews continue in this vein it will quickly move into my 'life is too short and I still need to finish Avernum 2' list. Bring on Risen 2!

it seems JoWood wont survive this year…

I understand generating hype and all for a game but to outright lie to your customers in that the game is an open-world RPG comes across as bad business.

I did enjoy the demo's combat, except for the easy exploit of backing up to avoid being hit at all. Monsters can't move and attack at the same time. Doesn't seem like that's too hard to fix either.

So how moddable is this game? That seems to be a key question.

2 words are enough to describe i think: epic fail

Uh-oh. This is not looking good.

Bad story,boring quests.No thanks.

Originally Posted by Daroou
I understand generating hype and all for a game but to outright lie to your customers in that the game is an open-world RPG comes across as bad business.

The same lie that every Fable game promises!

I played the demo and enjoyed it. While the gameplay seemed to me a bit fast (I have been playing Drakensang in the last couple of months and I just accustomed to my main character's turtle speed ) and not quite Gothic, other aspects of the game seems fine.

Anyway, I preordered my collectors edition from shopto. 30 pound for a collectors edition game seems pretty cheap. Standart version 16 pound. Quite cheap for a new game, especially if you consider the prices of latest games like Starcraft 2.

Originally Posted by Barbarian
The same lie that every Fable game promises!

And then some…! I think Molyneux lied enough during the game's development that you could effectively sue the man. The worst part of it was that, while playing through the final game, I never even once had the impression that the team ever had the ambition to implement all the features Molyneux talked about. It was all just stuff he had written on a piece of paper here or on a napkin there and he thought it would be cool to talk about it to the press.

Anyways, I don't want to start that discussion again

Concerning Arcania, I sort of avoided most of the info of the game before it was released, because I really wanted to try out the game without any sort of bias (which is sort of difficult since this game concerns the future of a beloved franchise), but it seems like this game may have hit all the wrong notes. I'm going to hold on until I hear more reviews, but I think the game will end up in my "To buy when it's 5 bucks" list.

Will the mad sudden rush to buy Arcania save jowood from the beckoning financial grim reaper?

Here's a spin.

If, in the final analysis, Arcania does in fact end up being, at best, mediocre, what does this say about the whole Jowood vs. PB debate?

I'd venture to say that Jowood was the thorn in gothic's side the entire time G1 - G3 were in development - especially considering how promising the Risen series is shaping up…

Ummm, the except for Diego, the demo clearly showed this was not really a Gothic Game. But it still seemed fun in it own right. The last new RPG I've played was Risen and I'm hungry to get going again. OTH, While I'm looking forward to Fallout Vegas, I'm not ready to tackle that game yet. I guess my mind was just too set upon playing 2worlds2 right NOW and a post apocalyptic game world is just too much of a scenery change . . . . .

Not so open world I can survive if it has a good story but this one isn't sounding so good. Arg. This may get shoved back to the when-it-costs-only-$10 list for me, too. Is Arcanum going to be the only game I buy in October!?!?

Oh wait - that means I actually have time for Civ 5 now!

[…] Playing the demo might be a good test, but know only the first few hours are really enjoyable. Once you get to the main island, the experience collapses.

Well so much for it getting better once you get to the main island.

That was the main hope most people were holding on to.

Originally Posted by turian
it seems JoWood wont survive this year…

Yes. So it would seem. And they brought it on themselves, I must add.

High computer demands, only 20 hours, cut content and all linear… it seems Jowood has indeed no clue how to make a good RPG. And for me it solves the question who was the real culprit behind the disasters in the Jowood VS PB epic.

I haven't played the demo, and i think i'll skip the entire game if things evolve in the same direction(review wise).
I come to think that the first games were a fluke, it simply came out right without people knowing what they're doing
I was reading this interview for Mafia 2, and the developer was saying how he delivered the story, dialogs and atmosphere. What f* planet is he from?!
Hire some actors and some writers for your games ! There are tons of geniuses waiting for a proposal
ask Alan Moore , ask Palahniuk, they might surprise you with a positive response