Gothic was and still is one of the best action rpg, excluding all hack&slash (were Divine Divinity rules ^^). When it came out it was a nice refreshing breeze on the genre (with too much BG wannabees).
A renewal for the genre with a dark setting and a realistic approach.
It has its flaws: some bugs and a unintiutive interface (that becomes very easy to use after one hour or so), some unfinished contents (strange altar in the swamp anyone?), a bad unrealistic inventory system (welll we have seen worse elsewhere), a machist settings with few females and none of note (in keep and true to the setting).
But the good points are worth it:
enthralling combat: you never know if you can survive when you encounter something new. Strong creatures restrict your exploration... and if you are witty or perseverant enough, the rewards are just behind them.
good intelligent scenario with multiple paths and some well developped characters
world interactivity: a nice change, though it remaims light compared to Ultima VII
good voice acting (german version), free live concert (german version)
interesting and rewarding side quests
some rewarding bugs (that may prevent you from dying stupidly)... exploits really
well contained (time & difficulty), sustaining your interest
beautiful world, well made, using the 3D environment as should be
fun critters and badass monsters
difficult while being reasonable
some nice touches here and there (that I won't spoil)
magic is hard to acquire, and though it is worth it, it won't make a god out of you. The challenges will remain.
One of my favorite CRPG with Ultima, Fallout and BG.
The German original version is superior to the English port sadly.