Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Grows on you"

Have you ever meet someone for the first time and said to yourself, "What a complete loser? I want nothing to do with this jerk." Only to later on realize that underneath that person's short comings is a really cool and interesting person. Thats Gothic 4. From the very start of the game you will be put off by the:
- Lazy presentation design.
- Sub-par graphics.
- Lifeless environments.
- Boring character design.
- Forgettable supporting cast.
- Painfully bad dialogue.
- Unimaginative storyline/plot.
- Reoccurring quest objectives.
- Repetitive/watered down combat.
- Out dated map system with no way points.
- Small selection of powers/skills to select while leveling up.
- Linear plot paths/choices (although some people like linear games).

Despite trying so hard to make you hate it, this game actually provides a very enjoyable RPG experience. At the heart of this game lies its strengths, dungeon crawling and looting. Arcania sends you from dungeon to dungeon, quest to quest, rewarding you with goodies allowing the way, goodies that are actually worth the time and effort.
As you go further in the game you will develop a tolerance for the somewhat outdated map scheme. You will also come to appreciate the fact that is all one sandbox map-location, with no loading times.
This is an amazingly well paced game. There are no frustrating or head scratching parts to the game. Its starts off weak yet gets progressively better the further you progress. You are only given a handful of leveling up branches to invest skill points in. However, you level up in such a way that its never too fast, you're never too powerful and out matched for your enemies, yet its not slow leveling either. As you go further and further in the game the environments become more and more diverse and the dungeons become more elaborate. Even the story gains some legs a bit by the end.
Arcania is a game that takes the idea of saving the best for last a bit to strongly. Theres nothing wrong with having some good at the beginning too. The core of this game is so strong, but sadly the developers did all they could to undermine its full potential. This is not a game for everyone, but if you a RPG dungeon crawler fan then you will enjoy Arcania: Gothic 4.

Graphics - 6 out of 10
Performance - 9 out of 10
Gameplay - 8 out of 10
Story/Dialogue - 4 out of 10
Fun Factor - 7.5 out of 10