IGN

The atmosphere, spell system, puzzles, voices, and story were good and interesting enough to give me a pretty enjoyable experience. If you're a hardcore RPGer looking for a lot of freeform and tons of options like you found in Morrowind, you need to look elsewhere. If you're looking for an action/adventure dungeon crawling type of RPG, than this is a pretty good choice provided you have a computer that can run it well.

I can't recommend this game enough. It's particularly gratifying that, in a year with so few RTS games (and fewer good ones), Ensemble has favored us with such a fantastic complete package. It's a real ornament for the genre and a benchmark that won't soon be surpassed. After thousands of words of explanation, the short take is this: if you love the RTS genre, you have to own this game. I won't take any excuses.

Along with No One Lives Forever 2, it's titles like Mafia and Medal of Honor and Jedi Outcast that best express this promising new approach to developing first person shooters -- an approach that puts as much emphasis on personality and atmosphere as on technology. Like the first game, No One Lives Forever 2 displays this quality perfectly. It's clear the developers care as much about style and humor as they do about framerates and weapon balance.

The game is a perfect bet for fans of online action. It's even likely that this game will find converts in the RPG or strategy crowd. Hell, we even have the editors of the console sites joining in with us on a regular basis. We play nearly every multiplayer game that comes out here at work and nothing, not even Warcraft III has pulled in the kinds of crowds we're getting here at work.

IWD2 isn't the kind of CRPG like BG2 or Morrowind that will send you into an epiphany over its atmosphere and imagination, but it provides strong value and consistent entertainment. It lures you from one challenge to the next, and just when you think ah ha, I've finished the game, a quietly compelling little voice asks whether you might have even more fun restarting the thing with a completely different party. That's the hallmark of a very good CRPG.

WarCraft III is a finely tuned game and an amazing example of the importance of polish and presentation. Everything in the box, from the game itself to the terrific manual that has tons of info plus loads of extra background story for each of the races, is top notch and adds to the overall luster of the game. If you're one of those that ordered the collector's edition or plan on buying it than you're in for a treat as well if you're a die hard fan of the series.

It's not the most creative or beautiful or revolutionary RPG I've ever played, but it's one of the most interesting in terms of the total package. Even with the initial online problems, Neverwinter Nights is a finely crafted, in-depth RPG with a lot of story and plenty of side quests to keep you busy for a long, long time, and it will surely satisfy those of you looking for your next fantasy fix.

Morrowind isn't perfect and its system requirements are huge; but its accomplishments outweigh any reservations, in my opinion. It isn't for everybody, but then what game is? This one shows more planning, talent (aesthetic, programming, and design) and creative vision than anything I've played in a very long time. And I'll stand by those words.

It may not have been everything that I had hoped it would be, but it still is a solid game. Most of the time, you'll hear people like myself say that graphics don't make a game. And by themselves they probably still wouldn't have, but when mixed with the moody and superlative music and sounds and the near constant action, you get a rich and deep ambiance and atmosphere that's hard to beat.

Overall, Gothic is a solid role-playing experience. Gothic has decent graphics and a well-developed storyline. It also has a great amount of replayability, as each time through the game could yield different experiences with different choices. The awkward interface does not detract from the overall enjoyment of the game. This game would please any role-playing fans looking for a great story to involve them for some time.