A truly satisfying RPG is a scarce commodity these days. Unlike many other genres in PC gaming such as the First Person Shooter, a quality RPG worthy of praise only comes along once every blue moon. This, perhaps, is due in part to a more critical and detail-conscious consumer base. Fewer developers are willing to take a stab at creating open-ended role playing games, but when they do the RPG community busts out the magnifying glasses in anticipation of what we hope to be the next great RPG. Lately, I’ve had my scope focused on Piranha Bytes’ Gothic II Gold, which includes the original Gothic II plus the Night of the Raven expansion pack. After giving the game a run, I can genuinely say it had potential to be something great, but with a few major design flaws it fails to be anything more than mediocre.