Gothic

• TO PICK UP ITEMS, TALK TO PEOPLE OR ATTACK, YOU HAVE TO HOLD DOWN CONTROL AND THE UP (OR W) KEY. That right there answers the one of the most frequently asked questions about Gothic 1.

- You're weak at first, really, really weak, as in a strong gust of wind can kill your character weak. Because of that, I suggest you avoid any and all combat (unless you run into some juvenile scavengers) until you have a few levels, higher strength and a decent weapon.

- Alternatively, there's a person who sells bows near the old camp (the big camp you'll find near where you're dumped at at the beginning.) If you can scrounge up the cost for a short bow + arrows (or be lucky enough to find one yourself) you can effectively weaken most low-end enemies to the point where they take 1-2 hits in melee.

- In the Old Camp, there's 2 "escort" quests - do them. You won't be escorting anyone - they'll be escorting YOU. The people escorting you are nigh-invincible, strong and will kill anything that gets near them, but you'll get all the experience. Use the last fact to your advantage, as you can draw creatures to them and they'll kill them for you.

- The entire game world is open at the start - the only thing preventing you from exploring is the fact that a lot of places are filled with enemies that can and will kill you at the beginning of the game. However, if you're sneaky enough, you can get by a lot of these and collect whatever loot they may be guarding.

- After each chapter, new enemies will spawn in at certain locations, so if you clear out a cave of molerats in chapter 1, there may be lizards in that same cave come chapter 4.

- Don't be afraid to use a lot of the plants you find - they'll be your main source of healing until you have enough for potions (or start finding them during your dungeon crawls) and they're EVERYWHERE.