Risen 3: Titan Lords is, foremost, a game of severe conflictions. It does certain things so well, yet fails so miserably at other. The good. + The environment artists have done a spectacular job in creating several wonderful and memorable locations. Walking around in some places is wonderful and islands feel diverse, yet you don't feel like it's all just a big mashup. And the BAD - Most glaring and critical issues are STORY and GAMEPLAY. The story is yet another retelling of every other gothic/risen story that has been told for the past 20 years or so. Revisit most of locations from Risen2 and experience yet another rising terror plot, meeting completely forgetable characters and doing tons and tons of samey quests on every island. The story wouldn't even be my biggest gripe at all, if the gamplay were great. Swordfighting you say? Being unskilled means you get to watch a painfully slow animation of whacking a swords, which you then expand with a single click into a "combination" of strikes. This is neither challenging (timing) nor exciting. God forbid you trigger the deathcam which at the end of the animation spins violently, temporarily disorienting you. There is NO depth to combat and since the game is afraid to turn you off with difficulty, even a child can breeze through it. This sometimes leads to bizzare situations where you might have more problems with a giant rat (lockstun) than a dragon snapper or titan lord :crying inside just thinking of that finale: The game offers no challenge whatsoever, yet it does give you something! A chance to pick up tons of STUFF. Did you look on top of that ruined tower? There's 10 gold pieces lying there on a wooden beam, just waiting for you to pick them up ONE BY ONE! Maybe we'll throw in a chisel or two, or even a blacksmith hammer if we're feeling generous! Those are good money! 10 gpc a piece! The meaninglessness of everything makes the game dull and uniteresting much more than it deserves.
