Risen

I had a look at the reviews as well. They did little to persuade me to purchase this game, since, while positive overall, they did mention a lot of negatives. Howerver, since I enjoyed some of the previous games by these developers, and as I did feel like playing a good old fashioned RPG again, I decided to give this game a go, after all. And I must say... it is simply lovely.

This is a real RPG. One that gives you plenty of freedom, has depth, has character development that makes a big difference, and that will involve you for a long time. It is, of course, quite combat-focussed, but the combat is not frantic. In a game like this, you can rush into things, but really, it is ideal for those who like to take things carefully and go about their gaming with a degree of deliberation.

Sure, the main character is fixed, there is a lot of gritty combat, and delving into swamps, running through bushes and delving into caves. And it is all quote 'manly' (like the Gothic series, of which the first managed to have a large cast without a single female character). Yet, at the same time, it is quite enchanting and athmospheric. The story makes sense (within the genre, at least), the many gruf characters are decently voice-acted and likable enough. Sure, the story and quests are a bit less complex than, say, the Witcher, Kotor or Oblivion, but it makes sense, most of the time. The world feels quite alive. Reviewers complained about dated graphics, though they did admit it did not look bad. But who cares if it is 'dated' somehow? It looks really good, often breath-taking. The landscape looks quite natural, the weather is really well done and brings a lot of athmosphere. In short... it is a very immersive game.

Reviewers also complained about quirky combat. I disagree. The fighting is quite well done and exciting, especially, although it can be challenging. But that IS sort of the point of games like these. It also makes sense, isn't overly complex (like the Witcher) and requires some skill (unlike Oblivion and Kotor).

In short, this is really the sort of RPG that lovers of the genre will like very much, provided they do not mind playing a likable but somewhat unremarkable nameless hero that they cannot customize. Within it's genre, this is the best game I have seen in quite a while. Don't believe the magazines. This game wasn't hyped, and without hype (and favours to editorial staff members) games get poor reviews, it seems. Don't be misled: this one is a gem.

Played on windows vista64.

Risen is a Role Playing game with a difference. Those of you that have played the Gothic game series (a lesser known yet hardcore RPG series), of which i recently completed myself Gothic 2 Gold Edition & Gothic 3 (PC DVD). This break away series, Risen, is made by the Developers, Pirana Bytes, of those previous Gothic titles. They signed over the rights to Gothic 4 Arcania to JOWood & Spellbound for that one game i belive, in order to make this Risen series, but dont worry, PB still own the rights to Gothic(only signed over while they do the Risen series).

The story of Risen is Excellent, you play a ship wreck survivor(in a fantasy world with magic, swords & sorcery), who washes up on an island, an island with troubles. Eventually You have to decide who's side you want to fight for, out of 3 factions. Warriors of the order/Mages/Bandits. No matter which faction you choose, the story incorperates your choice very well. As you complete quests and slay enemies, you are given "learning points" which you can then use to customise your character as you see fit, with the use of Strength, Dexterity, Mana, swords, axes, staffs, alchemy, smithing(incl.goldsmithing), prospecting ore, gutting animals, archery, crossbow, pick locks, pickpocket, acrobatics, sneak & more.

Visualy the game looks amazing, the shadows and especially the lighting effects of entering and leaving caves/temples is amazingly realistic. Along with the reflections of your armor. The Audio is also very good, although there are a few glitches when sound doesnt play, although this is very rare i found. The voice acting is Excellent overall, but you will hear quite a few of the same voices, but on different characters, however the main characters sound uniqe(of well known actors John Rhys-Davies of Indiana Jones fame voices the bandit leader & Andy Serkis who voiced Gollum from LOTR's is also a lead character voice), and it doesnt distract from the game experience.

I could say more about the game, but i dont want to bore you to death with an essay. In conclusion then, this out the box vanilla version of Risen, is of a high quality, and having just completed it myself, i am already looking forward to another play through, with a new character build. Certainly looking forward to Risen 2. More in depth reccomended RPG alternatives to Risen, Two Worlds II, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind or the prevoius Gothic titles i mentiond earlier. For not so in depth RPG alternaives The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion & Gothic 4 Arcania). I highly Reccomended Risen, especially to those who like thier RPG in depth.

Risen is the new game from Piranha Bytes, the developers of the excellent (but at times horrifically buggy) Gothic series of games. Their most recent effort, Gothic 3, was infamous for the sheer number of bugs present at release and also the abysmally poor optimisation, resulting in a game that chugged even on the most powerful of machines.

Have they learned from their past mistakes? Yes. Yes, they have. The world overall is considerably smaller than that of the Gothic games, but the engine's much improved and the bugs virtually eliminated. At least, I'm now 20 hours into the game and have yet to encounter any. The game itself is relatively pretty, with some of the environmental effects in particular standing out as impressive.

For anyone familiar with the Gothic series, there won't be much new in the mechanics of Risen. Once again, you begin as a simple castaway completely lacking in skills or survivability, and you gradually build your character until he (sorry, women and those who prefer female characters -- once again, you're stuck with a single character to play) is more than capable of taking down the foes that populate the island, of which there are many. The appalling level-scaling mechanic present in games like Oblivion and Fallout 3 is thankfully absent here, too.

The combat system can be really quite unforgiving, and survival at lower levels can be extremely difficult, with even the ambient fauna able to kill you within seconds, but put a little effort into learning the game's mechanics and building your character and you'll rapidly get past this initial hurdle.

In short, this is an excellent RPG, and anyone who likes games such as Gothic or Neverwinter Nights (2) should certainly give its purchase some consideration. It isn't entirely without its flaws -- I'd personally have preferred rather more options involving choice and consequence, but it's certainly far more open than many recently-released RPGs and an extremely pleasant old-school jaunt.