arcania-a-gothic-tale posts

Last year's release of the fantasy RPG title Gothic 3 was pretty much a disaster. The final version shipped with a ton of bugs that made the game unplayable for many. Publisher JoWood dumped the game's developer Piranha Bytes as a result.

Now it appears that the just released expansion pack to the game, Gothic 3: Forgotten Gods, was also shipped with a number of issues that even a couple of patches have yet to solve. The game's official message board has posted up a statement from JoWood executive producer Michael Kairat who basically apologies about the game's release. The expansion was developed by India based Trine Game Studios. Yet another patch is expected to be released soon that hopefully will fix some of the problems.

The statement also says that JoWood plans not to have the same thing happen again for the next full game in the series, Arcania: A Gothic Tale, that's being developed by Spellbound. JoWood plans to have a beta release of the game before it's scheduled ship date of late 2009.


[Via Voodoo Extreme]

The Gothic RPG franchise got served a detour with Gothic 3 in 2007. The game was released with tons of bugs and issues so publisher JoWood dumped the game's developer Piranha Bytes and moved on, even deciding to rename the next full game in the series, Gothic 4, to Arcania: A Gothic Tale.

But before that game is released in 2009, JoWood will release Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods, an expansion pack to the 2007 release. Developed by Trine Studios, the expansion will add new locations, quests and monsters to Gothic 3 and is also designed as a story bridge between Gothic 3 and Arcania: A Gothic Tale. The expansion has now been declared "gold" and will ship to stores on Nov. 21. JoWood's US subsidiary Dreamcatcher Games will handle the North American release

Gallery: Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods

Essentially Gothic 4, Arcania: A Gothic Tale will take place 10 years after Gothic 3 and the player will explore various southern islands, each having different climate zones and its own flora and fauna. The player will have again the ability to climb as well as to ride beasts. The RPG is currently being developed for the PC and Xbox 360.

Download the HD Arcania: A Gothic Tale Teaser Trailer (54 MB)

The Gothic series of fantasy RPGs has a big following in Europe but has never quite gotten as munch attention here in the US. The game's publisher Jowood has apparently decided to do something about that. Gamespot reports that working with their US subsidiary Dreamcatcher, Jowood has decided to rename the next game in the series. Previously known as Gothic 4, the game is now known as Arcania: A Gothic Tale.

The name change isn't the only thing the publisher is doing to attract US gamers. The article reports that the game will have a colorful and bright art style for the US version versus a dark and gritty look for the European release. The game is still a ways away from release (its due out in late 2009) but the article has some brief impressions based on checking an early build. The game will take place 10 years after the events of Gothic 3 and there will be improvements made to the combat in Arcania as well as more of an emphasis on magic.