Risen - from the makers of Gothic

[Syt]

http://risen.deepsilver.com/blog/pages/en/news/news.php

Action RPG, from Piranha Bytes, the guys behind the first three Gothic games (unfortunately the third one was quite a dud). So here's hoping the makers to return to true form with an open world, good story and a dark fantasy setting (though from the screenies things seem to have a partially Carribean feel to it).

Comes out in a couple days.

I'd be tempted to preorder, but I already have Bioware's Dragon Age preordered, and after the Gothic 3 debacle I'd like to see reviews and player feedback first.

[Syt]

[Syt]

More screens here:
http://www.worldofrisen.de/english/gallery_pic700.htm

Though I have to say that the character models look dated.

[Razgovory]

Don't know what it is with Gothic.  I didn't think any of the games were very good.  The voice acting was some of the worst I'd ever heard.  Controls were always difficult and iffy.  Fighting was a pain in the ass.  I don't know why Gothic 3 would be worse.

[The Brain]

I already used a "smoking the hookah" joke on Languish years ago

[grumbler]

Don't know what it is with Gothic.  I didn't think any of the games were very good.  The voice acting was some of the worst I'd ever heard.  Controls were always difficult and iffy.  Fighting was a pain in the ass.  I don't know why Gothic 3 would be worse.

Agreed.  IIRC, Gothic 2 didn't even have mouse support for lists!  Gameplay issues made those games losers, IMO, even if there was a potentially interesting story under the hood (once you had made five or six levels so that you could take on rats one-on-one with some hope of success).

[The Brain]

When I first tried Gothic 2 I thought it sucked. When I tested it again a couple of months later and didn't get distracted by the fugly and non-mouse-supporting menus I realized that it rocked. It was a completely awesome game.

One of the many great things about it was that you could easily wander into monsters that were way beyond what you could handle. You hade to display some judgment when picking fights. Running away was commonly a great choice.

Obviously a person who struggled with rats may just have been skillfully challenged.

[Cecil]

When I first tried Gothic 2 I thought it sucked. When I tested it again a couple of months later and didn't get distracted by the fugly and non-mouse-supporting menus I realized that it rocked. It was a completely awesome game.

One of the many great things about it was that you could easily wander into monsters that were way beyond what you could handle. You hade to display some judgment when picking fights. Running away was commonly a great choice.

Obviously a person who struggled with rats may just have been skillfully challenged.

I tend to agree. About the combat though with some skill and when you started to "get" the combat system you could easily take down some hard monsters. Remembering killing the mountain troll as pretty low level.

[Jaron]

I liked Gothic 2.

I have Dragon Age or whatever on my wish list but the Marilyn Manson music in all the trailers really pissed me off.

[Syt]

I liked Gothic 2.

I have Dragon Age or whatever on my wish list but the Marilyn Manson music in all the trailers really pissed me off.

Risen uses Nightwish.

[DisturbedPervert]

I have Dragon Age or whatever on my wish list but the Marilyn Manson music in all the trailers really pissed me off.

The ads and trailers for Dragon Age are simply awful.  This is the first time advertising has caused a game to fall off of my must buy list.  I definitely won't be getting it until I've read reviews from rpg players on the net stating that it isn't a sack of shit.

[Josquius]

I've never attempted Gothic 2 but Gothic 1 was simply horrid.

[Jaron]

I have Dragon Age or whatever on my wish list but the Marilyn Manson music in all the trailers really pissed me off.

The ads and trailers for Dragon Age are simply awful.  This is the first time advertising has caused a game to fall off of my must buy list.  I definitely won't be getting it until I've read reviews from rpg players on the net stating that it isn't a sack of shit.

It LOOKS good, and Bioware has a good record. I'm just worried I'm going to start killing stuff and its going to cue the death metal to start playing.

[Syt]

Played Risen a bit yesterday. It feels a lot like Gothic 2 in a Gothic 3 engine. Landscapes are pretty, character animations look dated and wooden. You are stranded on an island (this time themed after Spanish colonies ca. 16th century). The world is overrun by evil forces, the inquisition locks themselves up in the only harbor town, bandits have a camp elsewhere, and between them stand the mages. You choose which faction to join and (presumably) save the world.

If you liked Gothic 2 you may want to take a look as gameplay is pretty much identical (combat, picking herbs, character development via learning points + trainers etc.). Though you may want to wait for the price to drop - the game does just not seem to offer much new. If you hated Gothic 2 you should stay clear.

[Winkelried]

One of the reviews of amazon says pretty much the opposite: It's basicly Gothic 2 with different names. If you don't know Gothic 2 you might enjoy it but otherwise too much déjà-vu. Any truth to that?