[Greywulf]

I wanted to post a bit of a rebuttal to this thread since I am a big fan of Gothic, and I think that the game is one of the best out there.

Gothic 2 is like Morrowind with a more medieval/less alien feel. It is large and free-form, like Morrowind, but not quite as big. Like Morrowind, it is in first-person perspective by default, and is not a Diablo-style game.
You could argue that the plot to Morrowind is pretty clever, but then again, not entirely original. You don't know who you are as you arrive on the island of Morrowind, but it will turn out that you may be the reincarnation of the Nerevarine. In PST, you don't know who you are, but it will turn out that you are a reincarnation of yourself, and something of an immortal. And in BG2, you are the son of a deity. And in Morrowind, you are basically going to save the world from evil, a common theme.
All that being said, Gothic 2 is not really original either - you are a nameless hero who is going to protect the world from the dragon-led orcs forces that threaten it.
Morrowind had a unique leveling scheme and approach to classes and skills and character customization. So does Gothic 2. Does anything make Gothic any more complex or difficult than Morrowind? Not necessarily.
Everyone who wants to find a complaint about Gothic 2 will bring up the controls. Admittedly, they are different than many other games out there, primarily because they are not a mouse-oriented point-and-click affair. This makes them unfamiliar, and thereby difficult, but once you get accustomed to them, they will be as second-nature as any game's controls. They present a steeper learning curve simply because they are not like most other games. But there is nothing inherently faulty in the system. Just be prepared to have to adjust and don't take your first playing time or two too seriously. Think of them as practice sessions if you want.
There is no tutorial, but please do read the Read Me file and the manual.
You can activate hotkeys, and they do work. Read the Read Me file.
You can activate quick save and quick load keys, too - it's all in the Read Me.
No, you cannot pause in combat or even search through your inventory without subjecting yourself to attacks from your foes. Annoying? Perhaps. But it is much more realistic. If you're in a fight, would you ignore your opponent to look through your backback?
I have read some reviews that say the graphics are average. I think they are better than those in Morrowind, but perhaps this is just my opinion.
The game has smart AI and the characters are very well-designed and IMO much better looking than those in Morrowind.

If you liked Morrowind, you ought to check out Gothic 2. Gothic 1 is great, too, but less polished with poorer graphics. G2 does pick up where G1 leaves off, and there are many recurrent characters and topics, but you do not need to have played G1 to get G2. G2 also addressed many of the complaints people had with the games (hotkey, quick save, keyboard control issues).

All I'm saying is give it a try. Don't be deterred by the keyboard control system or complaints about the combat system. And if you need to hear something about the game to send the point home, it is this:
It has dragons. Real big, real scary, and real deadly.