Gothic III Preview

The folks at 1Up have posted a preveiw of Gothic III, based on what they know about Piranha Bytes' ambitious RPG so far. Take a look:
Sounds like a certain other massively nonlinear RPG (read: The Elder Scrolls IV), but don't confuse Piranha Bytes' design approach with Bethesda's. While both toy with multiform freedom, Gothic 3's expansiveness is focused. That also means you're still not rolling a scratchboard character. "All Gothic games have one thing in common," says Rosenkranz. "They're RPGs without the character generation at start-up." From Gothic 3's outset, your "nameless self" already sports a list of talents. Thereafter, it's up to you to shape and personalize the character by expanding all the usual skills, plus a host of new ones. "In addition to the principal weapon and fighting talents, you'll now find a variety of small skills that work like perks," Rozenkranz continues. "That's brand new, like, for example, extra damage against orcs, two-weapon combat, or shields."