A bunch of Risen reviews

DarkUnderlord · Oct 1, 2009

Gesprechen Risen?

There are a bunch of Risen reviews now out: <a href="http://www.gamestar.de/news/pc/rollenspiel/1959285/risen.html">GameStar</a>; <a href="http://www.pcgames.de/aid,696003/Risen-Test-Kann-Piranha-Bytes-die-Gothic-3-Schmach-vergessen-machen/PC/Test/">PCGames</a>; <a href="http://www.gamepro.de/test/spiele/xbox360/rollenspiel/risen_test/1963046/risen_test.html">GamePro</a>; <a href="http://www.cynamite.de/pc/reviews/aktuelle/risen_test_der_deutschen_rollenspiel_hoffnung/82176/risen_test_der_deutschen_rollenspiel_hoffnung.html">Cynamite</a>; <a href="http://www.demonews.de/kurznachrichten/index.php?shortnews=22001">DemoNews</a>; <a href="http://www.gameswelt.de/articles/reviews/6021-Risen/index.html">GamesWelt</a>; <a href="http://www.xboxdynasty.de/review/xbox_360_risen_review_606.html">XBawx Dynasty</a>.

Oh yeah, no quotes because THEY'RE ALL IN FUCKIN' GERMAN. There's also <a href="http://risen.deepsilver.com/blog/pages/en/risen/stories_uk.php">some gay-ass short story over</a> on the official blog. The first word of it about sums up my thoughts.

Spotted @ <a href="http://www.rpgwatch.com">RPGWatch</a>

Clockwork Knight · Oct 1, 2009

Re: Gesprechen Risen?

DarkUnderlord said:
Oh yeah, no quotes because THEY'RE ALL IN FUCKIN' GERMAN.

phanboy_iv · Oct 1, 2009

Demo's about to be released: http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/newsbit?rw ... sbit=13345

theverybigslayer · Oct 1, 2009

phanboy_iv said:
Demo's about to be released: http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/newsbit?rw ... sbit=13345

IT'S NUKED!!! :shock:

GarfunkeL · Oct 1, 2009

Now that's not something you see very often.

Darth Roxor · Oct 1, 2009

hmmm, my torrent of the demo is still going on :smug:

There was a problem with the installer. Should be back soon.

Well, guess I can stop dloading then.

But I won't. Maybe it'll work anyway.

Stereotypical Villain · Oct 1, 2009

Aaah... I can't wait to give it a whirl. I hope they fix the problem soon.

Texas Red · Oct 1, 2009

Ye behold, here are meager my impressions! I've only reached one of the towns and am going around just collecting quests, talking etc.

1. Since the very beginning you're being flooded by choices. Don't know about &C but they seem to be quite a bit more significant than something between asking for a bigger reward or declining a reward for a quest. Most quests I've encountered have several solutions to them and side taking.

One cool twist: you'll have to work NOT to join the Inquisitors or the mages. This faction invaded the island and anyone who breaks the law ends up being converted in their Monastery. The NPCs warn you about them and most are afraid of what's going on the Monastery.

Generally, it's a lot like Gothic 2. A lot of questing and a lot of talking around. Quests don't have any obvious solutions and you'll have to use a bit of brain power. In the beginning you're a wuss and everyone is stronger than you.

phanboy_iv · Oct 2, 2009

Oh, here's an interesting one from Resolution Magazine in the UK. Reviewer makes it sound very intriguing. VERY intriguing, even though he doesn't seem to like it: "...the stifling relentlessness with which this place sticks two fingers up at you is really impressive, if occasionally not-so-fun."

"The first time I played, I followed the house-gentelman’s advice and joined up with the Don’s clan. I accepted a quest to go and retrive some money - a simple enough task - and got the shit kicked out of me. I went back to my makeshift boss, and he laughed, and told me I should wisen up."

Good review, even if typos abound. It almost seems as if he's complaining that the game is too grimdark and grittymature.

http://resolution-magazine.co.uk/content/review-risen/

Stereotypical Villain · Oct 2, 2009

Well i've played through the demo and all i've got to say is... i want MORE.

Genma:TheDestroyer · Oct 2, 2009

phanboy_iv said:
Good review, even if typos abound. It almost seems as if he's complaining that the game is too grimdark and grittymature.

http://resolution-magazine.co.uk/content/review-risen/

Seems to me he was surprised the game wasn't just rolling over and giving him everything he wanted after the first conversation, and *gasp* factions have their own motives and won't always play fair or nice with the bumpkin that washed ashore and into their dispute.

He keeps acting like he's trying to praise Risen for doing it differently than most standard RPGs...

...but then turns around and bitches because it doesn't behave like a standard RPG.

"Wah, no one can tell me what the right decision is. I actually have to pay attention to someone's directions or I'll get my ass kicked at the front gate, no one will simply accept me at face value", etc, etc.

Or, to put it simply, this game isn't a Bethesda game. He states they pioneered the whole open-world genre, and then goes on to imply that they way they do it is better, and he prefers it.

"This game's like Oblivion, but not as good." Is what he basically says.

phanboy_iv · Oct 2, 2009

Genma:TheDestroyer said:
phanboy_iv said:

Good review, even if typos abound. It almost seems as if he's complaining that the game is too grimdark and grittymature.

http://resolution-magazine.co.uk/content/review-risen/

Click to expand...

Seems to me he was surprised the game wasn't just rolling over and giving him everything he wanted after the first conversation, and *gasp* factions have their own motives and won't always play fair or nice with the bumpkin that washed ashore and into their dispute.

He keeps acting like he's trying to praise Risen for doing it differently than most standard RPGs...

...but then turns around and bitches because it doesn't behave like a standard RPG.

"Wah, no one can tell me what the right decision is. I actually have to pay attention to someone's directions or I'll get my ass kicked at the front gate, no one will simply accept me at face value", etc, etc.

Or, to put it simply, this game isn't a Bethesda game. He states they pioneered the whole open-world genre, and then goes on to imply that they way they do it is better, and he prefers it.

"This game's like Oblivion, but not as good." Is what he basically says.

What he basically says is that the tone and approach is vastly different than Oblivion, almost diametrically opposed to it. That's a good thing, that's a positive.

MasterSmithFandango · Oct 2, 2009

There seems to be a lot of praise and then a lackluster 6/10 score... Console tard thinks it's too hard.

kenney bounces · Oct 2, 2009

Umm i just got the game. (Pre-order with amazon)

Why is the combat system brainless mouse click-click-click like gothic 3?

I was expecting gothic 2 combat. =(

Stereotypical Villain · Oct 2, 2009

I... never played Gothic 2. What was it like?

SuicideBunny · Oct 2, 2009

Dark Individual said:
One cool twist: you'll have to work NOT to join the Inquisitors or the mages.

do you get the choice to become a mage if you get caught? i was under the impression you only get to choose if you get a recommendation from harbor town.

flabbyjack · Oct 2, 2009

Stereotypical Villain said:
I... never played Gothic 2. What was it like?

Gothic 1/2 is like an action-RPG hybrid, but not in the stupid Diablo sense, more like Mount & Blade or Darkfall Online. A third person camera flanks your character, left click to swing sword, right click to block.
The catch and replay value inherent to the Gothic series has always been your ability to pick a faction to join, factions who are often at odds with each other, and although there is 1 main storyline it plays out differently depending on the faction you choose to align yourself with.
The setting and execution thereof were exquisite in Gothic 1(Trapped in a rebelling prison mining colony by a magical barrier? Awesome) and arguably 2.
I've always liked that rustic sense of barely being able to squeeze by, when your character is 'just starting out' and isn't an elite warrior, since there is so much more room for character progression.

Gothic 3 however was a buggy unoptimized mess. They also missed out on the whole 'early character progression' thing, with your character hopping off a ship and immediately slaughtering capable warrior orcs). From the German reviews this doesn't seem to be the case with Risen AKA Gothic 4.

Stereotypical Villain · Oct 2, 2009

Thank you, Flabby.

From whati 've seen of the demo you pretty much start off as a run down shipwreck survivor armed with a stick so i can see why people say it's like Gothic 1 \ 2. I know i'm buying it, that's for sure.

kenney bounces · Oct 2, 2009

Stereotypical Villain said:
I... never played Gothic 2. What was it like?

Gothic 1&2's combat = left click to lock your target, down to parry, left and right to take slow swipes with your sword, forward to start the combo moves based off on your skillset. Each skillset and level mastery required a different timing of the combo and the swipes.

Gothic 3's combat = left mouse click repeatedly until monster dies.

Risen's combat = left mouse click repeatedly until monster dies.

Yeah.. i'm kinda pissed off at the combat, which takes a huge chunk of the gametime. Everything else is quite good though.

Sovard · Oct 2, 2009

So I just ran into the end of demo and an audible, "Awww, fuck!" escaped my lips.

I think the atmosphere and environment thus far are great. Like with all games I play I immediately bumped the difficulty to the highest setting available and found it pleasantly challenging. The combat is not quite click-click-click at that setting-- if you do that then a boar will soundly beat the shit out of you. Just holding down block doesn't work either (hits will knock your shield away and most things so far have multiple attacks), and multiple opponent combat will whip your ass if you just try and spam attacks.

Not too much dialogue in the demo, but it pretty much waves three options of progression in your face and ends the demo when you try and follow up on any of them.

I like the attention to the environment as it rewards people with a sharp eye (adventure gamers?) and willingness to explore. I found lots of little thingies off the beaten path that encouraged my endeavors.

As for the visuals/performance, I have a Core2 Duo 6320/8800GTS/2gigs of RAM running at 1680x1050 and turned shadows off (always do) and set everything to medium (except for view distance, which I kept high) in anticipation for it to chug on my rig. Everything looked fine with no performance issues.

It's on my buy list now, though, no question about it.

SuicideBunny · Oct 2, 2009

kenney bounces said:
Risen's combat = left mouse click repeatedly until monster dies.

unless you are cheating or playing on easy, that will get you killed rather fast.

kenney bounces · Oct 2, 2009

SuicideBunny said:
kenney bounces said:

Risen's combat = left mouse click repeatedly until monster dies.

Click to expand...

unless you are cheating or playing on easy, that will get you killed rather fast.

I'm playing it right now on normal mode, i'm trying to love it.. seriously i am. I forked out 50 bucks for it, pre-ordered, and had it one-day delivered.

Right now i just have to face the fact that you should only buy this game if you loved gothic 3. This is more gothic 3 than it is gothic 1&2 from my first hour of the game.

Sigh.. why did i listen to the reviews that claimed this game was going back to the roots of gothic 1&2. Sorry, i just feel kinda let down cause i was REALLY looking forward to playing gothic 1&2 in an improved game engine.. instead what i got was a gothic 3 left mouse click x50 clone. =(

ksjav · Oct 2, 2009

I don't know... haven't had so much fun running away from wolves since Gothic 2 :cool:

Allanon · Oct 2, 2009

kenney bounces said:
Risen's combat = left mouse click repeatedly until monster dies.

Say what?
You must be talking about the first couple of monsters in the game. The combat is hard and most enemies will kick your ass if you are not careful. The combat is very entertaining though.

Mr. Teatime · Oct 2, 2009

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/risen-review

Eurogamer's review.

Gothic 3 was fun for a while, but I'm not sure I'd buy Gothic 3, the sequel.

How's the writing/dialogue?

A bunch of Risen reviews

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