Risen - Demo, Release and Review

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Shir'le E. Illios
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Risen - Demo, Release and Review

Post by Shir'le E. Illios »

Three news post in one day? Oh my. :)

I've perhaps not been entirely fair to Risen, the Gothic-like roleplaying game from Piranha Bytes. After last reporting on it the game has been released, there is a demo for it and reviews ([url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/10 ... /:3t48i2d2]and such[/url:3t48i2d2]) have begun appearing.

The reviews, by all accounts, give the impression that the Xbox360 version is really poor with poor quality graphics, awkward controls and generally just more issues than the PC version. The PC version, on the other hand, seems to get largely quite positive reviews (getting a press average score of about 8 at [url=http://www.gamestats.com/objects/958/958271/:3t48i2d2]GameStats[/url:3t48i2d2]). Though it is clear that whether you'll like the game or not depends on what kind of gamer you are; Risen doesn't really hold your hand and can be quite harsh towards the player. If you've played Gothic, as I understand it it's pretty much exactly like that (if perhaps a [i:3t48i2d2]tad[/i:3t48i2d2] more user friendly).

The latest review [url=http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/103/10336 ... l:3t48i2d2]comes from IGN[/url:3t48i2d2] who give the game an 8.6. Here's an excerpt:

[quote:3t48i2d2]It's quite a recovery for Piranha Bytes from the technical mess that was Gothic 3, a game with a dizzying scope easily matched by the breadth of its issues. Risen whittles that down into a more digestible, manageable space – the volcano island of Faranga. While it may not look like much at first, rest assured that the rocky cliffs, wooded areas, and farmlands are honeycombed with enough caves and eldritch warrens to make any loot hunter giddy. Just so you know what you're in for, though, the loot in this game, like Gothic games past, isn't showered over you along with an avalanche of statistical bonuses. You've got one slot for armor, one for a helmet, can carry a bow and a melee weapon, and a few pieces of jewelry. The rate at which major bits of gear, like armor, are swapped out in Risen isn't what could be described as rapid. In many cases the armor sets not only make you more resilient, but indicate status and accomplishments, giving your protective garb a narrative value in addition to bestowing additional defensive bonuses.[/quote:3t48i2d2]
Having played the demo a bit myself I must say that I enjoyed it more than I was expecting. The game looks quite beautiful (in a somewhat foreboding way), the sense of exploration and just doing whatever the hell you want is quite liberating, and the game plays nicer than I expected (or remember from the Gothic demos I've tried). Though it still is a bit awkward in places and I'm really having a hard time enjoying playing a male character; in my mind a roleplaying game that doesn't let you truly define your own character isn't really a roleplaying game. And even playing on easy I managed to die rather quickly; I guess I just suck too much to enjoy a game like this.

Even so, if I didn't already have enough to play for the coming weeks I might've picked this one up (such as [url=http://store.steampowered.com/app/40300/:3t48i2d2]on Steam[/url:3t48i2d2]). And I can definitely recommend at least giving the demo a shot and see for yourself if you like it.


[[url=http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/103/10336 ... l:3t48i2d2]link[/url:3t48i2d2]] to review at IGN.
[[url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/10 ... /:3t48i2d2]link[/url:3t48i2d2]] to The Risen Report at Rock paper Shotgun.
[[url=http://risen.deepsilver.com/blog/pages/ ... p:3t48i2d2]link[/url:3t48i2d2]] to the Risen demo download (though also available in various other places).


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Shir'le
F'sarn natha tithaur wun l'su'aco.

-= Shir'le E. Illios =-
Chosen of Eilistraee
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