Arcania: A Gothic Tale Preview

JoWooD and Spellbound's Arcania: A Gothic Tale has once again been given the preview treatment, with the most recent article surfacing over at Hooked Gamers. A little something about combat and navigation:
To distance Arcania's combat from Gothic 3's button mashing fest, Spellbound has implemented a lock-on system akin to the The Witcher's in certain ways. For ranged combat, locking on a target is simple and self-explanatory, though not always the best option - hitting a target outside of the lock-on system deals more damage. In terms of melee combat, the nameless hero's weapon will glow blue for a small period after a slash. Hitting the attack button during that time produces a chained attack, and players with quick enough reflexes can continue chaining attacks.

Spellbound also aims to improve on Gothic's traditional lack of navigation. Arcania includes a map marked with teleportation stones and active quests to hand-hold players through the game's large world. However, as with many introductions to Arcania's user interface, the map is optional - veterans of the series need not use it.