The graphics are identical for the thugs used in the Ishar 2 city. It doesn´t take long before I meet the first thugs and have to fight them to get by. If I where to be playing seriously I would also start to write down each shops inventory and prices as in Ishar 2 but there are people out there that have already done that so I think that If I first discover all shops there are and then use the pre-written lists, it does not count as cheating, right ? You still have the automap and this time it is improved in one important way. After you´ve visited a place it is marked on the map and color-coded. I don´t know who he is but he gives us our first task Where that astronomer is to be found he doesn´t say. Too see an astronomer and ask him about the great conjunction. In front of you stands a man. My party approach and he give us the first task. Probably twice as large as the city in Ishar 2 and the city graphics is much improved and more detailed. However, I still choosed to go with my old group for this quick revisit. This is a major improvment and let´s you optimise your party. This time around you really create your own characters by selecting race, class and distribute 62 points to attributes. Just to compare I restart the game from scratch without importing my last save from Ishar 2.

My highest level characters are level 24 but If I am starting Ishar 3 from scratch, they begin at level 16. But we keep our levels and therefore vitality points. Not that it matter much because as I´ve said while reviewing Ishar 2, neither skill points or attribute points increase during level ups. I first inspected my group and they retained everytying except their equipment and gold. I successfully imported my party from Ishar 2. Unfortunately I cannot find any example of these bad games but I know there are several that have crossed my path amongst the classical RPGs of the last decades.ĭo you have any exampels of the games that handles this bad ? Such games spoiles the fun of exploration and forces you to stay to the main quest and roads in order not to trigger them until you´ve been given them. You will miss out on both XP and a potential reward for the quest. Now, the bad games will just remove the quest from the game without informing you when you complete it and you will never be given it in the first place. With a system like that you take no risks or chances by this playing style other than that it could have been nice to know the context of the quest before you completed it. If the game also let´s you complete the quest when you later see the quest giver, all the better because then you get the reward for the quest as well.īut these are the good games. Then you know you´ve done something good and gets some credit for it. The good ones let you get into the quest by informing you that the quest is completed, perhaps by showing it´s name or giving you xp. So far so good but here is where RPGs traditionally differs. A big world but totally without content beyond the quests given.

Bad games never put interesting things or places beyond the main roads like Arcania - Gothic 4. It could be by killing a sorcerer in a cave, or finding a special item. When doing that it is not seldom that I trigger or complete a quest not yet given to me. Everything in hope of finding hidden or hard to get items that will give me a small advantage early on. I take the time to explore the surroundings by climbing up the mountains, finding small ways through swamps, ravines etc. I almost never follow the main roads or go straight ahead to my next natural objective. It struck me lately when playing that I have a certain playing style in open gameworld games (like Two worlds, Gothic 3, Morrowind, Risen etc).

Avadon the black fortress lockpicking