Deep yet uninspired. Ever get the feeling that their just not trying anymore. Gothic, the original, was a game, which, for its time, was wonderfully open ended and inspired. The problem is, a decade later, and a change of name/publisher, little has changed. The graphics of Risen are dated, the story is generic and dull and the combat mechanics basic. The gameplay simply has not evolved since Gothic. End result, the game is dull, the story s dull, the mechanics are basic and archaic, in short, the game is simply average.

If you are familiar with the Gothic series, you know what to expect from this title. It's very much like those games, with somehow better sound and visuals. You can expect a good and fun combat system and interesting character development system. The plot is more linear though, few choices can be made that alter the progress of the story. Even so, the game is very enjoyable and offers enough quality gameplay hours.

If I'm not completely mistaken this game was made by the same folks that gave us the Gothic games, excluding the 4th one which, honestly, is crap. This one's more Gothic-y gameplay wise and has it all: A difficulty that is just right, areas with overpowered monsters, chance to do everything from mundane tasks to epic quests and a rags-to-riches story that will slowly see you gain fame and fortune through slaying monsters and doing quests until you're finally one day ready to join one of the factions in game, when your true potential will finally be unlocked.

It has been sometime since I played this and quite frankly I can't remember much about the story (which should be some indication that it's not that good). However, since I wouldn't want to spoil it anyway regardless I will not talk about it. The battle system is reminiscent of the ones in Gothic games, although a tad more simple and requires a little less effort and skill. You got magic too, which work with an aim and shoot mechanic.

In case you haven't played any of the Gothic games the game should go roughly the same way as all open world RPGs: Start poor and weak, get more money and better gear to be able to access places previously too dangerous for you. Get loot and better gear. Do quests and advance story. Rince and repeat. There's not a lot of depth here but what it does it does well, and you shouldn't have any problems enjoying yourself if you're a fan of RPGs (I know I am!)

If in the begining it's just a struggle to survive, you'll soon have to choose wisely your side among these who live on this medieval island. Your choices have a real impact on the story which permit to play the game with a lot of different ways.

Between the animals, the warriors, the magicians and much more you'll have hours of fun and interaction with the PNJ are one of the best ever seen in a RPG.

If you have loved Gothic, you'll venerate this game

While it was fun at first it does begin to bore you after a while. It's your average RPG fantasy, nothing really new or game changing features. If anything the the plot line is pretty good.

Risen is a 3rd-person RPG that has been met with mixed reviews among critics - many of them positive, but invariably with a catch; most notably the combat mechanics and technical bugs.

True, despite subsequent patches, Risen still stumbles over technical difficulties (such as clunky collision and clipping issues), but in my opinion this doesn't actually detract that much from the overall enjoyment of the game itself. Many critics fussed over the character lip-sync being off, but I honestly don't find it that distracting. The character models are passable, though you'll occasionally find really ugly ones, but nothing truly good or bad.

The combat system takes some getting use to - it isn't very effective at the start of the game, where you'll have to be careful about what enemy you choose to engage. Expect to do alot of dying during your first play-through! That being said, as you progress and continue to upgrade your combat effectiveness, you'll find that the combat system actually plays to your advantage.

So, the aforementioned would be the most generally cited drawbacks of Risen, and so on to the pros: the story, setting and character customization system.

Though there isn't much by way of lore as such, the plot is quite interesting and is entirely complemented by the engrossing tropical island environment - which is very well executed graphically. The skill-system is well designed and provides different areas of specialization, which provides incentive for a few extra playthroughs. The story itself also has multiple avenues of approach, depending on the faction you choose to ally with, though all directions lead to the same ending.

What Risen gets right, ultimately makes the game extremely enjoyable - what it doesn't achieve technically, doesn't really get in the way of that.

As a fan of the Gothic games which were also produced by Piranha Bytes I must say that they havent changed their style one bit. In my opinion thats good news. Why?

You will find yourself in detailed world full of real dangers, where one false move can mean a quick death, but bravery and cunning are rewarded appropriately. If i would have to compare the game with Oblivion or Two Worlds 2, the main advantage of Risen is that it is not as huge in terms of explorable locations as their competitors but you are always rewarded for your curiosity. Oblivion never made one feel that the developers wanted you to explore the world. You never found anything at special places. You were just able to say that you have seen this or that place. Two Worlds 2 rewards those who are willing to search even in the deepest dungeons, but only with randomized loot. Real unique equipment is not available. Risen instead also does have chests with randomized loot but also tons of locations where loot and rewards are set by the developers giving you the feeling, that the developers wanted to thank you personally for climbing that last huge rock or descending that dark and deep hole. As for a german player i havent heard the english localisation of Risen yet, but the german version is as always very germanlike in its humour. For me personally its very entertaining.

Now the downsides of the game.

You will have to play very long before you are able to change your equipment. That is not a negative point per se because it keeps the level of challenge quite high, but i would have been happy to be able to craft more unique items by myself. Especially the ability to craft armors by yourself has been removed. Some comfort functions would have been nice too like eating more than one steak at a time to replenish your health and things like that. The last point is that the graphics are really old fashioned. I could swear that the engine didnt changed since Gothic 3. But after half an hour of play you get accustomed to it and really enjoy those hand made and very detailled locations.

So if you search for a challenging game which will keep you busy for a long time in spite of its rather small world, Risen is a must have.

risen is a good game.

Not bad graphics, interesting stories and sensitive combat

However, the motion is very unnatural and odd.

except that, Risen is one of the best traditional RPG games

This is one of my favorite RPGs - it's easy to get into, does not feel as linear as the first two Gothic games, and has an enjoyable story. It is one of the few games that I have played through completely (once as each character class) and still enjoyed each time. Worth the investment and well worth the time.

Liked this one a lot. The time it took to play it through was just right for me. There are enough drawn out RPGs out there already that take forever to finish and they are not always better for it. And Risen still has it all, choices that give you replay value if you want, cozy exploration, crafting, action, great ambience... This crew has proven again that they know what they are doing.

Gothic 3 could have been great, but the engine was buggy and the world was too big. Risen avoids those pitfalls and presents itself as the game that Gothic 3 should have been. The game world size is just right. The quests are free-form and can be performed at your leisure. The story is interested and there is enough suspense in the plot to keep you interested. There are comparatively few bugs, but it would be untrue to say that Risen was bug-free - there are a few minor ones here and there (tearing textures, a strange inventory bug that pops up but resolves itself), but I played it on 3 systems and found no show-stopping or quest-breaking bugs. Combat is pretty simplistic which can be a let-down, so I suggest playing as a mage or assassin character. 4 out of 5 stars!

A moderately entertaining RPG, Risen sticks relatively close to traditional RPG conventions. There is nothing revolutionary about it but, it you are looking for an average RPG to pass the time Risen might be your thing.

Like many previous titles of the studio the game has been slightly rushed, though it has since launch been polished and is a huge improvement over their last outing (Gothic 3). The setting and the story is quite enjoyable and the gameplay is far more balanced than their previous title.

Again like with any of their titles the community is very involved and if you come up with and problems the people on many forums such as worldofrisen will be there to help you out.

If I had to point elements I didn't like as much it would be that the world feels a bit small, and that the later part of the game isn't quite up to par with what came before it.

Still, it is a great purchase for any RPG fan!

Risen keeps the Gothic lineage going. Think of it as a rougher, tougher and often more interesting version of the Elder Scrolls series. The basic gameplay is similar to other action-RPGS, but the skills and experience system is somewhat unique. The graphics are nice, and the optimisation is okay. Not to everyone's taste, but definitely worth a go.

From the creators of Gothic so I hear. Having never played a Gothic game before but a veteran of RPGs I would like to believe that my perspective is somewhat fresh. Graphics are sub par but graphics do not make a game. What stands out above all else in RISEN is immersion. From the great period level design of the town and the dangerous foreboding of caves and temple ruins and beautiful garden landscapes under a nicely implemented day night cycle to the interactive crafting mechanics and alchemy system RISEN will immerse you and make you feel part of its alive and breathing world. At first you are weak and RISEN does an excellent job at character progression. To start life is tough but stick with it because RISEN will reward you for your persistence. RISEN will not hold your hand and much of the world is open to you at your peril. Frustration is unwarranted. Situations that cannot be conquered must be re-visited at a later time when you're up to the task. Split into 4 chapters RISENs late game design requires "back tracking" or the re-visitation of places already explored with areas set aside within for new exploration. Not really a negative though as these were some of the more compelling parts of the game. I enjoyed my time with RISEN. It's not AAA but what it is is a very competent PC role playing game.

If you have played gothic 3 this is very much the same game engine with better graphics set on an iland off the mainland.

Chosse which side too help either Outlaw or Inqusition forces, as you work your way through the story building up a background for the new character your playing while makng moral choices which affect outcomes in game.

So far i have found no issues running the game and its completely stable.

Excellent graphics other then a few clone faces which isn't a real concern.

As with all gothic games its hard to aquire new armors while weapons are pretty much everywhere Risen follows the same loot path.

All in all a great open world RPG that hasn't been killed by console.

Its what gothic 4 should of been and i look forward to the second Risen in the future.

Risen is a good 3rd person perspective RPG set on a island where you wake up and have to decide to help the locals are the white robed invaders. The game feels very similar to other Piranha Bytes games in the look and feel of the world and people. The graphics and sound are good and it really immerses you in the island enviornment. The controls also are quite good and its fun to fight the monsters and NPC's. The only problems I have with the game is that it seems that there are a lot of back tracking that you do for a quests and the world seems small for some reason. Also I had one big bug which required me to restart the game over again with a new character..but after that I did not really

After playing Gothic 4: Arcania, I felt a bit disappointed as the game does not match any of the prior gothic games (even the third part). I was told that the developing team behind these games did not make the forth part, instead they developed Risen. Indeed the game feels more "Gothic", although it is difficult to consider that it is a rival for the original saga (espoecially, the second part). However, from a RPG perspective, the game is pretty good, the gameplay, even in the more ARPG part feels somewhat fresh and good for a WRPG standard. Also the technical part is great. Both graphics and music are pretty good. Thus, a seriously advisable game, especially for those who enjoyed the Gothic saga.

Very good RPG from the creators of Gothic. Not quite a match for Gothic 1 and 2 in atmosphere and world design, but close. First half of game is better from an RPG point of view than second (which gets more actiony). Poor ending. Nice graphics, adequate voice work. Highly recommended for RPG fans!

I waited a long time before getting the game, I was skeptical due to bad reviews from both the critics and other gamers. I must add that I loved the Gothic series (well, at least the first 2, Gothic 3 was so-so), but I was nervous in picking this up. I was wrong, I was immediately immerse in the story and it was very difficult to let it go ("just another hour playing and then I'll go to bed" kind of syndrome). I am very methodical in playing games, I want to be sure I am not missing anything, and after over 30 hours I was still in Chapter 1, trotting around and resolving quests (I don't mind the 'fed-ex' like quests as long as they help to advance to story). My only complain is the ending, quite disappointing. All those effort to get the best armor and weapons in the game to use it a couple of times? Come on! And the final Boss, please, it seems so out of context. Please remove it. Overall, 4.5 out of 5.

Game that realyl suprised me. Tried the demo and it is beautiful and the combat is very unique and engaging. The free-form gameplay and world is a breath of fresh air. I actually felt like I was deciding how my game went, not some programmer. Multiple paths and sides means replayability. I highly recommend this game to all action/RPG types.

5/5overall: 5/5fun, 5/5sounds/dialogue, 4/5controls, 4/5learning curve, 5/5graphics, 4/5replayability. I am a strategy gamer normally, but love RPG's. I needed a RPG fix and scoured the Internet for 2 days looking for reviews and information regarding which game to purchase. Finally decided on Risen and I will admit that it did not disappoint. The story begins with you stranded on a island, unable to leave because of magic storms surround it. It is a rags to riches tale with you having nothing, and with the game giving very little for you to learn with. There is no tutorial and you must learn everything as you go along, which is part of the fun. I never played Gothic 3 and many people said the combat system is the same terrible system from that game. I will admit that for the first few levels you must be careful who you pick for a fight, but don't let that scare you. You must learn to take as few hits as possible by tapping the “d” or “a” key to dodge, then its easy to pull a strike on them. Almost every time after attacking I had enough time to put up my shield or weapon. Anyway you gain experience from killing things, competing quests, quest points and just having conversations. To skip a conversation just click the right mouse button. Every character in the game is voiced and while there is the OCCASIONAL bit where the dialogue doesn't match the text, it no problem. Just check you quest map! The graphics are superb and the sky and environment is richly detailed. Towns are equally just a rich with nearly every character in the game having a unique name and voice (exception are guards and one or two townspeople). The setting is only on one island which might seem bad a first but every part of the island has something you can find. Climb every cliff and search every cave and corner and you will always find a treasure cheat or a important plant. Plants are important because weather you are a fighter or mage you must get your alchemy up to create potions which increase your stats by +5points a pop! Some quick advise save the plants: pixie hat, ogre's root, wonderlust and hero's crown until you can get the recipe for the potion it creates, don't eat them right away! You gain skills by amassing Learning Points at every level (10 per level), and you can use these points to learn everything on you character sheet. With loot, armor is hard to come by. Weapons are easier to acquire but beasts don't drop swords or things like that, believe me there are plenty of swords and items all throughout the island hidden around every corner. There are two factions basically, the local bandits and the order (inquisition/priests) you can only learn magic from choosing the order but you can still learn to write magic scrolls and use it as a any character. I played through the game twice, first as a member of the Don's gang(bandit) and second as a mage for the order. Honestly if you want to play through the game again then don't play a mage first. Once you g

I'm really enjoying this game. It's what Gothic III should have been. Gameplay is difficult for the first few hours, but it's been a long time since I've felt this challenged in an RPG. Quests are varied and interesting, NPC's are well voice acted, and the detailed world is a joy to explore.

They always say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, or by its prologue or first chapter. Only by delving into the expanse of pages can its merits truly shine, and by the time they do, you should be sufficiently hooked to want to see it through to the end. The same is true of films, in which an opening act might prove entirely at odds with what lies in store. When applied to games, though, with their differing styles of gameplay and individual pacings, the concept becomes a little more difficult to apply. When should you judge it? After an hour? Ten?

If so, Risen would still come off sorely lacking. It isn’t until you get a good way into the game- and by that we mean 20 hours or more- that the story begins to come to the fore. Before then, our nameless hero will spend plenty of time exploring the island of Faranga where the game takes place and meeting its inhabitants, building up enough of a relationship with them all that when the storyline does kick in, you at least have some attachment to the characters of the piece.

In many ways, Risen owes a lot to Piranha Bytes’ previous title, Gothic 3. The world is much smaller- marooned on Faranga after a shipwreck, the nameless protagonist cannot leave the island due to strange storms which ravage the oceans- and the scope more constrained, but Risen picks up on the same style of challenging exploration, combat, and open-world gameplay with lasting consequences. It never reaches the heights of Gothic 3 at its finest- but it doesn’t destroy itself with technical inadequacies like its spiritual predecessor, either.

After a brief tutorial, you’re given the first of many choices- to side with the spiritual warriors of the Order, who have come to the island in search of ancient artefacts and have taken control of Harbour City, or to support Don Esteban, displaced ruler of the city and his band of rogues who have set up camp in the swamp. There are dozens of characters to meet on both sides, and many of the quests can be undertaken without picking an allegiance (though some will naturally close off others). But since nearly every character is a named, unique person with their own role (and voiced dialogue), the choices you make have tangible impact on their lives and the way in which they respond to you. Offend someone or get spotted trying to steal something and they’ll not speak to anymore, closing off potential storylines, or possibly even attack you. Not all opponents aim to kill, fortunately, and most will just be content to loot your unconscious body instead. Goods can be traded with locals, new skills can be learned by purchasing training, and you can craft your own weapons, brew your own potions, write your own scrolls and cast spells as you like, developing along an expansive set of abilities that you can customise to your liking.

A good deal of the game is taken up with dialogue; many of the quests are solved throu

Risen is an absolutely awesome, challenging, and rewarding RPG. Make no mistake, this game is out to kill you. If you're not smart, quick, and lucky you will die, and a lot. Every fight is a challenge and a very quick way to die. Save like a maniac with multiple save slots. That said, it is incredibly satisfying to win and get at whatever your opponent was guarding. With great challenge comes great reward, and Risen knows how to make you glad you won. Besides the challenge, Risen presents an interesting, though perhaps not original, plot and setting. The island looks good, but not great. For some reason I'm kind of surprised to find no loading screens when traveling between major areas. Risen is a great open-world RPG with a lengthy scope, an interesting plot, a challenging world, and a great sense of success and reward. Buy it.

As mentioned by others, this is a substantial RPG in the Gothic style, with many tens of hours of gameplay. Relatively bug free and very enjoyable for the most part, with a fair degree of replayability due to different character and faction options. Exploration is fairly open ended (and rewarding) although game log always let you know what quests are current. Interface and game mechanics all work very well.

Risen is a solid and totally engrossing open-world RPG which should definitely appeal to fans of the Gothic series, as well as anyone looking for a challenging-but-rewarding role-playing experience.

With a large detailed island to explore, a boatload of skills to master, multiple factions to join, numerous dungeons to raid and deadly traps to puzzle your way through, this game will last you a fairly long time, too.

One star off for a few (totally patchable) bugs, but other than that it's one of the best RPGs of its kind of the past few years. Highly recommended.

Risen is fun, the story is engaging and it’s easy to play. The English voice acting was pretty good and I liked the characters enough to feel I had engaged with the story. So in general it was a good game and good experience - especially for the price.

I’ve played The gothic games and so I expected the combat to be pretty difficult. But like Norwegicus I found the combat in Risen to be a too hard on Normal Difficulty. It wasn’t that I couldn’t kill things or that I died too often - it was that the combat took a very long time and there was a lot of it - and It’s a little too arcade style for my taste.

I felt a little like the developer was making a game for the hard core Gothic fans and went a little too far in into the hard core – but that again is just my taste in combat. I went for a mage and enjoyed that game style very much - Although I also agree magic was a bit limited early on but - 10 points in magic bullet and the combat was fast and deadly the way I like it.

One thing I really disliked was that the choice of classes was bound to factions. I played a Mage, partially because I disliked the melee combat but mostly because I like playing mages, but was bound to the mage faction by doing so. Personally my sympathies were more with the Don’s men but I wanted to play the mage so I couldn’t join the faction I liked best.

I also found the ending to be a pain – I developed mage skills and power etc but the ending isn’t class specific and the fight is pretty difficult. This was balanced by the fact you get all you need to win but i would have prefered a more class (mage) specific ending.

I also thought that the end battle was slow and boring and incredibly frustrating – but that only takes a few minutes and wraps up story – the story itself, like the game play, was pretty good.

All that said - I enjoyed it - but preferred Drakensang which is a very good old school party based computer role-playing game also available from this site.

A wonderful open-world RPG which is a successor to the Gothic series in everything but the title. You play an unnamed hero shipwrecked on the volcanic island of Faranga, where ancient temples have mysteriously risen up out of the ground. Although the graphics are a bit dated, the voice acting and storyline are superb throughout.

First of all, if you like the Gothic series you will probably like this one.

For newcomers it's a nice rpg and if you play all the paths available in the game it's pretty much amounts to the 60 hours featured in the description. The story is so and so but what I like most is the character development in anyways and the different storyarcs even if they are a bit similiar. Combat is a bit shabby until you get a few skills but it's still repetetive, at least you can pick different types of combat for additional playthroughs. Playing as a mage is a whole lot different than as a fighter wielding a sword. The only noticeable bug I found in the game is clipping, I got stuck several times and some doorways magically teleported me to the roofs. Luckily this game has autosave compared to Gothic so that helps when you forget to constantly quicksave, I recommend keeping at least 3 savegames. Considering the amount of patches Gothic 3 received not to mention the community patches it's a possibility that risen will be given the same treatment but as said the bugs didn't really stop me from playing. The most noticeable thing is that a restart is needed every few hours, I lose speech on npcs and it starts stuttering like crazy, I'm guessing it's a memory issue.

Risen is a beautifully imagined world and the way it's been portrayed makes you want to dive in and drink it all up. Often I find myself parking my character and just watching the environments and the world roll by. The combat is vastly improved over Gothic 3 and trying to play it with click spamming is one of the easiest ways to die. You'll need to take into account timing and geography and your opponents strategy to succeed.

The story is somewhat stereotypical but includes enough fresh elements to keep it new and enjoyable. The quests are excellently done and rarely boring. My only major complaint is the lack of customization of the main character that and he's got an instantly forgettable face, voice and personality, one of the most uninspired characters in years. Nothing sticks out about the character whatsoever which is a major failure if Piranha Bytes won't let you define your own character and instead provide you with one of their choosing.

Regardless it's a solid rpg and extremely stable and optimized pc game that I can safely recommend to any rpg lover and just about any gamer.

Please sir, can you spare some change? Wish there was a begging skill in the game, at least early on. Gold, the engine that drives this gameworld, is hard to come by so be careful how you spend it. I've played all the Gothic games, this is just like them. Polished fighting system that will kill you if your a button masher. As with the Gothic games, I generally stick to melee combat, until late in the game when you wont die trying to hit a stingrat with a fireball. Graphics aren't bad, game only crashed once on me after about 15 hours of playing and multiple secessions. Quests are good, and varied, but like all rpg's pretty standard. Did like the detective work in Harbor Town. Voice acting is from England, a couple of characters sound like my friend from Manchester, overall its not bad, kind of Guy Richie esque. All in all, good game, and like the Gothic series, solid main story line that makes you want to keep playing.

This is quite similar to gothic 3, probably because its from the same makers.

Compared to gothic 3 i have not found as many bugs yet in Risen, and that's a good start.

Graphics are like gothic 3, so not the best but i will do.

The fighting is very similar to gothic 3 only much harder, the enemy dodge more often and block more often. One fight may last a long time because of this so i would say its quite hard at times.

Also there are monsters every where, but that's seem to be the whole point when considering the story line.

The game world is a little disappointing, your on an island so its not so big and full of settlements, how ever if you like exploring caves and ruins you'll like it, full of traps and a few riddles mixed in with things that go bump in the night.

your character is ready made for you like gothic, but you get to choose your own skills and traits, i only wish it was more. And the magic system left me a little disappointed in the beginning, you need either crystals, scrolls or runes to be able to cast spells which make melee skills vital unless you want to die or run all the time.

One last thing.

You get to choose who you want to join sides with early on. Listen to the warnings you get or you might end up like my character. I went for one profession but was kidnapped and kind of forced to change paths. I could restart but wheres the fun in that, i decided to just go with the flow on my first run through the game.

So far its fun, difficult , but fun :D