Hitting I brings up your inventory and holding the cursor over items brings up stats and info – predictably slick, if nothing new. Gothic IV definitely benefits from mouse control for menus, over the console version's radial menus and tabbed browsing. Blocking and defensive rolling are also necessary tactical options – though, we found rolling to be far more handy in practice than raising your shield and still taking damage. The combo system can be steadily upgraded with skill points, too. The pace of the combat puts it more in line with a hack-and-slash adventure, not unlike something like Lionhead's Fable. You can break into your inventory at any time, which pauses the action, allowing you to buff yourself with potions and consumable items-a decision that arguably makes the game rather easy, given the staggering availability of potions and edible items. Players familiar with the genre will feel right at home with the default control scheme, which sticks to WASD controls and smooth mouse aim. On PC, the combat blends mouse-based, two button real-time combat with standard hotkey item selection. Being a role-playing game in the traditions of stats-based RPGs, storytelling and combat are the most important elements of a game like this-and Gothic IV is solid but noticeably unpolished on both fronts. Gameplay, on the other hand, is really where your interests should ultimately lie. Character designs, however, leave something to be desired the human inhabitants are decidedly generic – even downright unpleasant looking at times. Unleashing a particularly devastating spell or delivering the killing blow often results in the foe cartwheeling out and away-which is infinitely satisfying. The character animation systems are also slick, with a decent sense of physicality. If you have the specs to run this at anything from mid-range settings and above, prepare for a very pretty experience. However, the pop-in of textures – and the intentional 'disappearing act' of vegetation as it nears the camera (to avoid obscuring your vision) seems a tad rushed. Self-shadowing is excellently handled, and the draw distance is staggering. The texture resolution is pretty sharp – perhaps not the most subtle use of normal mapping though. Our admittedly high-end hardware cranked out fairly smooth performance at the highest possible settings. Vision Engine 7 – the middleware powering Gothic IV – does a very good job of fleshing out a smooth, stable and saturated fantasy realm on the PC version. The only load screens you'll see occur when teleporting or just after one of the CG cinematic sequences. Transitions from sprawling castle towns to rolling countryside and into caves and dungeons is a smooth and natural process. Arcania: Gothic IV's engine is a surprisingly capable and flexible beast, streaming the world (almost) seamlessly. As this introductory dream sequence dissolves and we're introduced to the game-proper, we also get our first taste of the beautifully revamped and improved engine powering the game. As the game opens, players get their first taste of the overhauled combat and defense systems, stepping into the role of the increasingly erratic King Rhobar III – rapidly losing touch with his people and, now in isolation, about to have a confrontation with demonic forces. Taking place ten years after the events of Gothic 3, a nameless hero once again sits at the center of a grand adventure in the divided realm of Myrtana.
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