Risen

Risen is the kind of game you may consider quitting somewhere in the first act, only to find yourself coming down the home stretch and glad you stuck with it. I say that because at some point in the first chapter the game feels a bit like a slog -- lots of tough grinding, quests that have you running to and fro, combat skills that you've poured points into and they're still not good enough Then it dawns on you that you're just toying with the Skeleton Warriors that six hours ago were taking big chunks of your health. You find better swords, you gain the ability to use bastards one-handed so you can equip a shield in the other, and now not only can you go toe-to-toe with Lizard Warriors, you can turn it into a fun dance of strike/counterstrike. As with the Gothic series of epic rpgs, much has been made of Risen's combat system, but once you've put the points into your weapon, you're rewarded with a wonderful set of combat skills that make it entirely possible to come out of a difficult encounter unscathed and with fine form. The game also grants a welcome favor in that the endgame is fairly straightforward -- you're not trudging around the map anymore because you've got teleporter stones, and you're powerful enough to go most anywhere you please, and you're looking forward to it. Five stars, because although it requires a good deal of patience to get your hero on a heroic footing, in the end the game does in fact put the 'epic' in epic rpg.

In a time where we often have more instruction and cinematics in games than actual gameplay, Risen shines through as an old-school game with heaps of throroughly satisfying gameplay and a very immersive world, and with beautiful graphics to boot. The game in many ways feels like a remake of the original Gothic, an equally great RPG. You join a faction, train in the arts of magic or fighting, and quest your way along as you meet interesting characters, fight creatively-designed monsters, acquire loot, develop your skills, craft potions, and more. The environments are lush and beautiful, and are aided greatly by the great composer Kai Rosenkranz (who has been around since Gothic). The magic of the game is difficult to justify in words. Just drop the few dollars here on this incredible title and experience it for yourself.

I have a terrible case of gaming ADD, but this one has held my attention 'till the end. Pros: * Unique and fun magic system. Magic is a part of the world, and you perform magic by interacting with the world - it's not innate to your character. Also it's petty rare - most people can't cast spells. It makes it feel like a real accomplishment when (if!) you get that ability. * Good-to-decent voice acting. Lena Headey, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis ... the main character is a little flat, but it's not too bad. * Challenging! You can't just spam clicks to win a fight. You have to really watch your opponent and be careful, especially early in the game. You don't start out at superhero-strength, you're just a schmuck like anybody else. * Fantastic sense of character progression. If you're patient, you can really see your character advance in the world. It's very satisfying to mop the floor with that lizardman who was killing you over and over again before! * Good atmosphere / world-building. The island is beautiful. Cons * You'll want to be careful if you want to be a mage. Your class is determined by what faction you side with, and it can be easy to be recruited into the wrong faction. Luckily, the NPCs try to warn you about this. * Combat is pretty hard. I still haven't learned how to counter-parry. It will need patience. * The island isn't exactly huge. It's well-designed, but if you're looking for a vast open world, this might not be the game for you. If you're expecting Skyrim, you'll be disappointed. Not to say that this game is worse, but it isn't a clone - it succeeds on its own merits. There's some crafting, but not the dizzying possibilities of Skyrim. There's a *lot* less armor, but it makes it feel like a bigger deal when you get new armor. It's as much a status symbol as new protection! I've really enjoyed it, and it pushed Dragonborn and Civ 5 to my backlog. Take that as you will.

Would you like more of Gothic 1 and 2? With the same strengths, weaknesses and bugs? Get Risen! I went into it with that mindset and I was rewarded with a Gothic-like experience with all the weirdness that entails. Fans of more polished, more hand holdy, less buggy, beefy combaty RPGs...well...they might find this game lacking. This is for people who want some point and click feel to their adventure. Some oddities in their role playing. Make no mistake, this a solid 3 star game and you'll get a game with a very defined personality.

The designers of Risen put a lot of time and effort into making the Island (the setting of the game) feel lived in and 'real'. It feels like 'real' societies are forming in this place and it gives every little area a lot of character, which makes exploring them and talking to the people inhabiting them very enjoyable. The game tries to keep you out of menus as much as possible and really puts a lot of effort into having you actively listen to and read clues, and just generally being attentive. No hand-holding, this is how I like it. This need for attentiveness also extends into the combat system which I consider to be Risen's weak point. The actual mechanics themselves are interesting, and once you get a hang for them and figure out how to effectively level up skills (which is done through a very cool system) you'll have fun dodging and parrying attacks besides just mashing and dealing damage. The difficulty curve is pretty high here if you don't know what you are doing, but even when you do, every fight could potentially kill you if you aren't careful. This is awesome in theory, but the problem is that the game has some pacing issues. It likes throwing you into one fight after another sometimes, and having to be this focused at all times can get very tiring and eventually even frustrating. I've learned to Quick Save before and after every encounter, and I suggest you do the same. Once you have to get into a level that is all about just hitting levers and fighting monsters in-between those levers, you'll want to take a break from the game. Lastly, there's lots of glitches in this game which can both be exploited to your advantage, or serve as life-ending hazards if you don't save often. With that out of the way, I still recommend Risen to any Action Role-Playing fan. While there are flaws that can make the game frustrating, it is a very memorable and unique adventure. I beat it at around 12 hours, but there was lots more to do.