Arcania: Gothic 4

Arcania
Developer(s)Spellbound Entertainment
Black Forest Games
(PS3 & X360)
Publisher(s)JoWooD Entertainment
Nordic Games (console ports)
Director(s)Daniel Miller
Producer(s)BVT Games Fund III
Designer(s)André Beccu
Composer(s)Dynamedion
SeriesGothic
EngineVision 7[1]
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Xbox 360
PlayStation 3
PlayStation 4
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows & Xbox 360
  • AU: 14 October 2010 (PC)
  • NA: 19 October 2010
  • AU: 21 October 2010 (X360)
  • EU: 29 October 2010
Arcania: The Complete Tale
PlayStation 3
  • EU: 15 July 2013
  • AU: 1 August 2013
  • NA: 30 August 2013
Xbox 360
  • AU: 15 July 2013
  • EU: 30 August 2013
  • NA: 8 November 2013
PlayStation 4
  • PAL: 8 May 2015
  • NA: 12 May 2015
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Arcania (originally released as Arcania: Gothic 4) is an action role-playing video game, spin-off of the Gothic series, developed by Spellbound Entertainment.[2] It was published by JoWooD Entertainment in 2010.[3]

The game was released on 12 October 2010 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. In 2013, Nordic Games released ArcaniA and its expansion, Arcania: Fall of Setarrif, as Arcania: The Complete Tale for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, followed by the PlayStation 4 version in May 2015.

Gameplay

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In comparison to the predecessors, the game mechanics were simplified. For instance, there are only three spells available (but upgradable). Also, the character can only interact with "named" characters, those who have a name.

There is no sleeping mechanic so the player can't sleep for a chosen period of time like in previous games. The player is able to wield any weapon as they have no requirements for statistics. There are no teachers within the game like in previous parts and all skills can be learned by using the skill tree.

Plot

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War covers over the Southern Islands like a blood-drenched shroud and finally, war reaches the idyllic isle of Feshyr in the Southern Seas. The protagonist of Arcania returns from an adventure to find his home and village torched and looted. The aggressors' ships – with an Eagle displayed on their billowing sails – escape over the horizon.

Seeking revenge, the hero leaves the destroyed village behind and soon realizes that this cowardly attack did not just happen on a corrupt king's whim. An evil power lies waiting at the threshold of this world, and our hero will need to face this nameless evil. Yet the hero is not alone – his fate is linked to that of a beautiful, mysterious lady as well as a powerful artifact from the long-forgotten distant past.[4]

Development

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The start of the development was officially announced on 23 August 2007, along with the name of the new developer.[2] The project was originally entitled Gothic 4: Genesis; the name change to Gothic 4: Arcania was announced in 2008.[5][6] At the Games Convention in 2008, JoWooD Entertainment announced another name for the game – "Arcania: A Gothic Tale". The name change serves two purposes. First, it hints at a world rich in magic and fantasy. Second, and completely from a marketing perspective, it helps give the Gothic franchise a fresh start in North America, where it has failed to gain significant popularity.[7] During a press conference of the Polish distributor CD Projekt, the games to be published by the company were presented, including Arcania. The title of the game was stated as Arcania: Gothic 4. A Polish fan-site asked the community manager Reinhard Pollice, known as Megalomaniac, regarding that issue and he confirmed the change of the name. On 1 April, JoWooD marketing manager Clemens Schneidhofer confirmed the new name to GamersGlobal.de: "I can confirm that! Because the date of the release is already defined (more details soon in a press release), we decided to leave the working title "Arcania – A Gothic Tale" behind and to announce the final name "Arcania – Gothic 4". This change is available for all countries (EU & US)."[citation needed]

As announced at the CD Projekt Conference 2010, Spellbound Entertainment was developing the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows versions, while later, another studio would port the game on the PlayStation 3 system.[8] Later news confirmed that the PlayStation 3 version had been delayed until 2011, while the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows release remained unchanged.[9] At the 2008 Games Convention in Leipzig, JoWooD Entertainment presented Arcania behind closed doors.

JoWooD and Spellbound Entertainment announced cooperation with Trinigy, a provider of 3D game engine technology. In the scope of a multi-platform license agreement, Spellbound is developing Arcania: Gothic 4 utilizing Trinigy's Vision Engine 7, with certain features from the newly released Vision Engine 8.

Arcania's physics engine is NVIDIA PhysX as confirmed by a JoWooD Entertainment representative.[10]

In 2009, JoWooD Entertainment released the official website for Arcania: Gothic 4, revealing new information, screenshots and artworks.[11] In August 2009 JoWooD Entertainment announced that Arcania: Gothic 4 would be delayed until 2010, giving Spellbound more time to polish the game.

JoWooD Entertainment planned to make Arcania an AAA title – the most successful title from the Gothic series, and one of the best RPGs of 2010.[citation needed] In September 2009 the Gothic Community sent a letter to JoWooD Entertainment, complaining about the lack of support and information regarding Arcania: Gothic 4.[12]

In March 2010, Dr. Albert Seidl, JoWooD's former CEO, revealed that Arcania would be released in the autumn of 2010.[citation needed] In June 2010, Franz Rossler, JoWooD's CEO, confirmed via interview that Arcania's release date had been scheduled for October 2010.[citation needed] A demo for the game was released on 24 September 2010.[citation needed]

Arcania was first presented to the general public in August at Gamescom in Köln, Germany. The short playable part featured the very beginning of the game.[citation needed]

Release

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The game was released in October 2010 for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. JoWooD announced on 13 October 2010 via its CEO, Franz Rossler, that Arcania would receive several add-ons in 2011.

A patch for the game was released on 23 November 2010 for the PC platform. The update slightly altered specific gameplay dynamics, increased the overall performance, and improved stability.[13]

On 9 December 2010, JoWooD announced that they would release Arcania: Fall of Setarrif in 2011 – the first addon of several planned add-ons for Arcania. Besides several hours of gameplay, new monsters locations and quests, the add-on introduced a new feature – the possibility to play as known characters from the Gothic series.[14] In November 2012, Nordic Games announced that Arcania: Gothic 4 and its expansion, Arcania: Fall of Setarrif would be available in 2013 as Arcania: The Complete Tale for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[15]

Expansion

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Main article: Arcania: Fall of Setarrif

In October 2011 Fall of Setarrif was finally released for the PC after a long delay and offers four to eight hours additional gameplay.[16] The PlayStation 3 version was released in May 2013 under the title Arcania – The Complete Tale, including the Arcania – Fall of Setarrif expansion.

Reception

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The PC and Xbox 360 versions of Arcania received "mixed" reviews, while the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 versions of Arcania: The Complete Tale received "generally unfavorable reviews", according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[28][29][30][31] While the game was praised for its graphics and production values, it was criticized heavily for doing away with many elements of previous Gothic installments in order to make the game friendlier to casual players and failing to meet expectations of the series' fans.[32] By October 2010, Arcania had sold 200,000 units in Europe.[33]

GameSpot said of the Xbox 360 version: "Arcania has been dumbed down into a generic action role-playing game, so it isn't a Gothic game in anything but its subtitle."[20] IGN complemented the great graphics of the PC and Xbox 360 versions as well as their "loot-heavy dungeon crawling experience that doesn't tax your skills" as well as the way Gothic 4 allows for the player to play leisurely and enjoy the world.[21] In Japan, where the Xbox 360 version was ported and published by CyberFront on 24 March 2011, followed by the PC version on 14 April 2011,[citation needed] Famitsu gave the former console version a score of two eights and two sevens for a total of 30 out of 40.[18]

Sequel

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According to an interview with JoWooD's former CEO Albert Seidl, it seemed that a sequel was once planned.[34]

References

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  1. ^ "AracniA: A Gothic Tale Banks on Vision Game Engine 7". Trinigy. 18 May 2009. Archived from the original on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b "JoWooD presents Gothic 4 Developer". JoWooD Entertainment. 23 August 2007. Archived from the original on 1 September 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2007.
  3. ^ "ArcaniA – A Gothic Tale RPG release postponed until 2010". GamezPlay.org. August 20, 2009. Archived from the original on April 3, 2010. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  4. ^ "Background Story". Arcania: Gothic 4. Archived from the original on 17 September 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  5. ^ "Gothic 4: Arcania (Preview)". PC Games (in German). International Data Group. 2008.
  6. ^ "Article about "Gothic 4: Arcania" in PC Games". World of Gothic (in German). 25 April 2008. Archived from the original on 3 May 2008. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Gothic 4: Arcania Name Change". GamersHell.com. May 20, 2008. Archived from the original on June 9, 2010. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  8. ^ "CD Projekt Conference 2010". Gamona. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  9. ^ "PlayStation 3 Version of Arcania – Gothic 4 to Be Released in 2011". JoWooD Entertainment. 5 August 2010. Archived from the original on 26 August 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  10. ^ "Gothic 4 Arcania uses Nvidia Physx – no one-sided preferences". PC Games. International Data Group. 6 January 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2018.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ "Arcania – Gothic 4". Arcania: Gothic 4. Archived from the original on 17 September 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  12. ^ "Arcania: A Gothic Tale: Fans erstellen offenen Beschwerde-Brief an JoWood". PC Games (in German). International Data Group. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2018.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ "Gothic 4 Patched". New Game Network. November 24, 2010. Archived from the original on October 9, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  14. ^ Ranier (9 December 2010). "'ArcaniA: Fall of Setarrif' announced". Worthplaying. Archived from the original on 15 December 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  15. ^ "ArcaniA - The Complete Tale PS3". nordic games. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  16. ^ Chris L. (22 September 2011). "Arcania: Fall of Setarrif – Erscheint ohne "Gothic" am 25.10". GamersGlobal.de (in German). Archived from the original on 26 October 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  17. ^ Bickham, Al (21 October 2010). "Arcania: Gothic 4 (PC)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  18. ^ a b Fajardo, Mark (16 March 2011). "Dead or Alive Dimensions Gets a Solid '9' From Famitsu Magazine, Other Game Review Scores Revealed". Just Push Start. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  19. ^ a b Biessener, Adam (19 October 2010). "Arcania: A Gothic Tale (PC, X360): Explore, But Don't Look Too Closely". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on 25 August 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  20. ^ a b Todd, Brett (18 October 2010). "Arcania: Gothic 4 Review (X360)". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  21. ^ a b c Kolan, Patrick (12 October 2010). "Arcania: Gothic IV [sic] Review (PC, X360)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 18 May 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  22. ^ Davies, Emma (August 2013). "Arcania: The Complete Tale PS3 review – Closer to orc-ful than awesome". PlayStation Official Magazine – UK. Future plc. p. 94. Archived from the original on 10 August 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  23. ^ Watt, Meghan (21 October 2010). "Arcania: Gothic 4". Official Xbox Magazine. Future US. Archived from the original on 25 October 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  24. ^ PC Format staff (25 December 2010). "Reviewed: [Arcania] Gothic 4". PC Format. Future plc. Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  25. ^ Senior, Tom (13 October 2010). "Arcania: Gothic 4 review". PC Gamer UK. Future plc. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  26. ^ "Review: Arcania: Gothic 4". PC PowerPlay. No. 185. Next Media Pty Ltd. 25 December 2010. p. 64.
  27. ^ Marshall, James (26 June 2013). "Arcania: The Complete Tale Review (PS3)". The Digital Fix. Poisonous Monkey. Archived from the original on 25 November 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  28. ^ a b "Arcania: Gothic 4 for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 10 October 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  29. ^ a b "Arcania: The Complete Tale for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 13 November 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  30. ^ a b "Arcania: The Complete Tale for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 21 August 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  31. ^ a b "Arcania: Gothic 4 for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 15 November 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  32. ^ VoxClamant (13 October 2010). "Arcania Review (PC, X360)". RPGWatch. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  33. ^ "Die bekanntesten Spiele von Jowood: Der Publisher von Gothic 4 im Fokus". 14 October 2010. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014.
  34. ^ "JoWooD: Der Vertriebsplan geht auf". Boerse Express (in German). 26 March 2010. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
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