Gothic 3, long awaited and it didn't disappoint!
First off: Graphics. When turned on maximum settings, the game is stunning. The problem is, the engine is *very* demanding. My system is high end, so I didn't have any issues but a coworker of mine with a medium end system said he had issues running it smoothly, even when turning down the settings. So it's a big + that the game is stunning but a big - that you need a high end system to see the stunning graphics. Animations are good. They motion captured all the animations and actually got a hold of people doing sword combat in real life to do the combat animations. Big + there. The cutscenes are all well made at the surroundings are stunning. The only big - I've seen so far is the graphical glitches which makes lighting appear weird and clipping between textures.
Story: The story follows the previous two installments, but just as Gothic 2, Gothic 3 does not require you to play the other two to understand the story. When meeting familiar faces the first time, you always have the option to say you don't know who they are. Of course, the game is the most rewarding if you've played the other two Gothics, but it still delivers a rock solid story. The story picks up where Gothic 2 ended, with a small cutscene that explains the most recent events on the mainland.
Dialogue & voice acting: They finally hired a big cast of voice actors, but kept all the original actors for the big parts they've played throughout the series. The original cast does a good job as always, and all the new actors also delivers their lines well. Nothing outstanding, but nothing bad either.
Game World: It's HUGE. If you only do the main story, you can finish the game in maybe 20-30 hours, if you know your way around. If you want to do all the side quests and explore every inch of the land, you're looking at 70+ hours, easy. There are three regions: The lush forestlands of Myrtana, located in the center of the gaming world. This is the original country the nameless hero (you) originate from, and where Gothic 1 and 2 played out. To the north is the cold, harsh, wintery land of Nordmar where viking-like people reside. This is the only country that has not surrendered to the Orcs. To the south is the big desert land of Varrant. A country that instead of fighting the Orcs struck a deal with them. Both Myrtana and Varrant have rebellions working to overthrow the Orc invaders in Myrtana and the usurping Hashishin of Varrant. While playing you will have to choose if you want to support the rebels and free the countries, or side with the Orcs and extinguish the last hope of freedom for humankind.
The biggest - of the game is that it seems to have a memory leak. The longer you play, the bigger risk there is of locking up and while saving, sometimes it locks up, ruining your save. If you then try to load that save, the game locks up so you have to go back to your previous save. To this reason, I usually saved often and used many different saves in order to prevent having to replay a long section.
Without spoiling anything, you have to play this game to finally put a definite end to the series, and whichever end you choose (there are 3) you will not be disappointed.
If it wasn't for the save/long play bugs and graphic glitches, this game would have gotten 10.0. Due to those bugs, I cannot give it more than 9.5. Still a score well deserved.
Solid story, solid graphics, solid animation, ROCK SOLID GAME.