I've just had the misfortune of reading the Gamebanshee preview. Combined with some of the stuff written in this thread, I can only ask myself wtf happened to PB.
Another thing that mystifies me is how can Brother None keep listing all those glaring and blatant examples of dumbing down, then say that the quest design is 'vastly improved' while it seems to be exactly the same as in previous PB games and finally conclude with 'Based on the preview areas, the sequel appears to be a solid improvement on Risen, despite the disappointing simplification in character system.'.
Solid improvement? Really? No XP needed to learn skills, impossible to fail lockpicking minigame WITH FUCKING SKILL THRESHOLDS TO EVEN START LOCKPICKING, impossible to fail pickpocketing, 'cooldowns' on spells and guns (guess you are reloading that while you run with a very flexible leg muscle, Crimsonland style?), axed hunting/prospecting, Gothic 3 style stunlocks that everyone loves, cooldowns on throwing knives, 'guns or voodoo, pick one' and killcams are a 'solid improvement'? What the hell.