Some info here, but Aspyr's (who is Gothic 3's USA Publisher) planning the US Version by X-Mas, pretty much:
http://www.firingsquad.com/games/gothic_3_interview/FiringSquad: What is the current status of the US version of the game's progress and when will it be released?
Blaine Christine (of Aspyr): The US version is in the final stages of balancing and polishing. You can expect it on store shelves before Christmas!
Sweet.
FiringSquad: Are there any plans for a demo of the game to be released?
Blaine Christine: As you can imagine, it would be incredibly difficult to craft a demo from a seamless world, so there are no plans for a demo at this time.
I don't think Gothic 1 had one, either.
I think Gothic 2 had one, if I recall...
FiringSquad: What other unique features will Gothic 3 have?
Blaine Christine: There are a number of unique features in the game. From the immense, hand-crafted world to the fantastic, beautiful graphics engine to the seamless world with no loading screens, Gothic 3 will stand head and shoulders above the rest of the single-player RPG crowd. I think one of my favorite features has to be the use of real-world physics with the bow and arrow. In order to shoot an arrow at an enemy, you must take their distance from you into account. If an enemy is farther away, you must aim above their head since there will be a natural arc to the arrow’s flight path. This makes the archery component require skill and strategy to use instead of a simple point and shoot FPS interface.
Interesting.
Blaine: The newly revamped combat system is also incredibly fun to use. The melee combat against orc and human enemies is very fun and feels strategic because of the blocking and multiple types of attacks based on mouse input.
I hope it utilizes mouse-look for aiming, a la Dark Messiah demo and Oblivion.
