Gothic II

The demon known as The Sleeper has been banished and the magical barrier around the prison mining colony on the isle of Khorinis destroyed. The nameless hero who accomplished this, however, had to pay a high price: he lies buried under a pile of rocks.

Shortly afterwards he is revived by the renegade mage Xardas. A new threat is rising: evil armies, led by dragons, are gathering in the old mine valley. Someone has to take the news to the people of Khorinis and help them in defeating this menace. But the people have their own problems: the war against the orcs is still raging on the mainland, and the king has sent his paladins to Khorinis to make sure that the mining of the magical ore continues, now that the prisoners have fled the mine. Many of the former prisoners have now become mercenaries, hired by the farmers on the island, who refuse to obey the king and his minions any longer. Violent conflict seems inevitable.

Gothic II is a 3D action role-playing game that uses a refined version of the previous game's engine and controls. The world is many times larger than in the first game: the mine valley (which has changed a lot in the meantime) is still accessible, but is only a relatively small part of the game now. As in the original game, the player can join one of three different factions, with the choice influencing the player character's abilities, opening up different quests and changing the details of the story. The available factions are the city militia, the mercenaries and the fire mages.

Aside from significantly expanding the environments and adding many new weapons, armor, and monster types, the sequel plays very similarly to the preceding installment. Combat and magic are action-based; melee fights are based on combinations of attack moves and directional arrows. Non-playable characters follow a daily schedule, and many objects are usable.