[TucoBenedictoPacifico]

I might be interested if I could play the first game on PS3, but alas its not for the system. Now why would I want to play the sequel without playing the first?

My opinion is that the first game is awesome and if you have a decent PC you shouldn't miss it.
That said, despise being a direct sequel, the second one is pretty much self contained.
You can read a two-sentence-long synopsis about the story and you will know essentially everything you need to enjoy the second chapter.

[-SD-]

http://store.steampowered.com/app/40390/

Hard Disk Space: 5.5 GB

vs.

http://impulsedriven.com/risen2eu

Download Size: 6.59 GB

[Meisadragon]

^ I think I downloaded approx. 7GB + on Steam.

Will this game support the 360 pad on the PC version?

Yes, you have to enable it in the options menu.

[Spectacular Dr Dawg]

I might be interested if I could play the first game on PS3, but alas its not for the system. Now why would I want to play the sequel without playing the first?

The first game doesn't exactly have a deep story so I think you'll be fine. Still, it's a great game and well worth playing if you ever get a PC capable of running it. It's much better than Bethesdas recent games.

[Stallion Free]

So I'm finally getting around to playing the first one since picking it up on Steam, is there are big difference between picking the Don or the Inquisition? Am I locked into certain powers or something?

[-SD-]

The first game doesn't exactly have a deep story so I think you'll be fine. Still, it's a great game and well worth playing if you ever get a PC capable of running it. It's much better than Bethesdas recent games.

Risen does not even need that much. My E6600 2.4GHz/4GB DDR2/8800 GTX comp could run it very smoothly at 1600x1200 with max settings + INI enhancements. That's 5-6 year old hardware.

[Labadal]

So I'm finally getting around to playing the first one since picking it up on Steam, is there are big difference between picking the Don or the Inquisition? Am I locked into certain powers or something?

Different abilities and quests.

[Stallion Free]

Different abilities and quests.

Which one has the better abilities?

[Spectacular Dr Dawg]

Which one has the better abilities?

Mages teach you magic (obviously).
The Don teaches you lockpicking and pickpocketing.
Not sure about the Order.
Keep in mind that you can get kidnapped and locked in the monastery even after you join the Don so stay away from the Monastery until you get a quest from the Don that tells you to go to the monastery.

[mr stroke]

I played the beta of this game not long ago. I am a little conflicted; as someone who loved Risen1 (PC) I was really looking forward to this sequel, unfortunately, after playing the beta, I feel some of the changes Pirhana Bytes made are not for the better and once again some of these changes had to be made due to console limitations. First of all, while the developer claims that the playable landmass is much bigger than Risen1, the world has been chopped up into little islands most likely due to the limited memory of consoles. The explorable area in the beta was very small, here is hope that the other islands are much bigger. The beta area generally seemed less dense and emptier than the world in Risen 1, whether this is due to it being the starting area or some other reason (console limitations?) is anyone's guess. The verticality of the world has been majorly scaled down which is very disappoiting to me. In Risen1, just like Gothic1 and 2, you can climb any reachable ledge, this was great for exploration. In Risen 2, only specially designated areas are climbable. The UI has been redesigned to be controller friendly, but again, many aspects were streamlined in a not-so-good way for PC players; all types of food is shown as one item in the inventory called "Provisions" which restores a little health when eaten for example. The entire UI has been chopped up into tabs and lists with limited information in each, this is once again presumably to make it more manageable with a controller but it's pretty bad with the mouse. Luckily, you can switch tabs and scroll the lists with the movement keys, so after a while one can get used to it. The combat in Risen2 has been drastically changed from Risen1. IMO, the combat is now much less interesting. First off, there is no dodging, so versus non-humanoid creatures, the combat tends to either devolve to a clickfest where you'e just spamming the fast attack just like in Gothic 3 (although you don't get stunlocked) or you try to awkwardly jump out of the way which looks very silly. My other issue is that versus humans, the animations are all mocapped and tend to be very long, so the controls become quite unresponsive because you have to wait for an animation to finish before the character triggers the next action. All that being said, I did enjoy the beta and did feel some of what made Risen1 great; mainly the wonder of exploring the unknown. Keep in mind that these are the impressions of the beginning of the game only, the islands may get bigger, the combat might become more strategic when you learn more skills.

Well this sucks. Game Informer preview said the same things about the clunky combat :(


Hopefully they have improved things since the Beta?

[Meisadragon]

Dtoid - 7

http://www.destructoid.com/review-ri...s-225653.phtml

[TucoBenedictoPacifico]

Dtoid - 7 http://www.destructoid.com/review-ri...s-225653.phtml

Ok, just for a start, let's ignore what he's saying about " unintuitive navigation" cause it's bullshit.
Moving around is quite simple, there's plenty of landmarks to orientate yourself and to say it all there is also the (cheap and disappointing) fast travel option, which I'm not very happy about as it makes moving around even TOO simple.
Not really a issue, here.

Now I'm going to read the rest.

EDIT: Ok. I'm probably not going to repeat this anytime soon, but I must admit that beside that starting bullshit about the "navigation in the game being obscure" I'm incline to agree with jim Sterling.
Pretty much all the points he makes seem to match with what I experienced with the beta. Unlike him, on the other hand, I don't count the punishing learning curve as a flaw, quite the opposite.
I can't comment about offensive jokes, as I can't say I remember any of those in the initial part of the game.

[Alextended]

He's trashing the original there. Yeah, still disagree. Those first lines are awkward. I wouldn't try to claim Risen is flawless, but enough to give up (as he states when he says that for Risen 2, this time, he didn't)? No way, it's not like we have many choices. I don't see much wrong with his difficulty examples. If you were reckless (or tried to play it like any other ARPG) Gothic 2 too could easily put you in such situations within the very first town. Like that thug outside the bar. Or the guy you can duel for money. Shit that in other games would be piss easy are real challenges in these worlds, so you soon correct that first instinct taught by titles like Bethesda's recent stuff of being willing and able to stand up to anything and anyone from start to finish. It's awesome.

Funny to see Sterling concerned about people getting offended.

[Imp the Dimp]

It's getting good reviews in Europe. I'm looking forward to it.

[Sn4ke_911]

Reviews

PC Games Germany - 86%

Gamestar Germany - 85%

IGN - 6.5

[-SD-]

Piranha Bytes' games have always received mostly lukearm reviews and there's always been something something about the controls, even with Gothic 3 and the Risen series, which is unbelievable since those are stupidly easy and fluid to control.

To me, PB games have always been amazing (yes: even Gothic 3, after a couple of patches) and the controls have been great (yes: Gothic 1 included - just give it time).

[subversus]

this type of game always gets better reviews in Europe. Same goes for adventure point and click games. German press gives these titles higher marks because they are used to playing them.

[TucoBenedictoPacifico]

He's trashing the original there. Yeah, still disagree.

Yeah, that's bullshit by the way.

[Lafiel]

The smaller scale of the explorable areas also means it's harder to feel lost and isolated. It's a strange decision considering a big component of Piranha Bytes' past work has been creating spaces that let you wander far off quest paths. The upside, at least for players who prefer when designers hold their hand, is a more focused experience. Risen 2 is by far Piranha Bytes' most user-friendly product. Fast-traveling between points of interest, the locations of quest goals and skill trainers, and progression from beginning to end has never been clearer and more straightforward than in Dark Waters. Casting aside the prohibitive density of past games certainly has its upsides – frustration is rarely due to the game's lack of direction – but in the process it seems as though many of Piranha Bytes staple elements were removed, or left untouched when they too should have been updated.

- IGN review.

This sounds disconcerting to read :( hopefully the GAF impressions are good.

[Alextended]

The IGN review is worrying since he speaks fondly of Risen and the Gothic games.

At least he mentions that melee combat does get better and while he doesn't mention dodging there are parrying and riposte moves. Which apparently don't work against monsters, making those fights a mess in comparison. Ah well, Gothic II too had terrible combat but you could eventually feel suitably badass-like once your character was skilled enough to do lengthier combos and you figured out the timing needed to stunlock tougher baddies. Hopefully things like that are still possible.

Still, how sweet would it be if we could get an experience like Gothic with the awesome combat of games like Monster Hunter, as far as non humanoids are concerned, and something based on the solid, polished simplicity of a 3D Zelda title for the rest.

But it's not like their competition has much better combat either, they just decided to "fix" that by making them piss easy.

[CaVaYeRo]

My colleague reviewed it and says that if it doesn't frustrate you during first 6-8 hours, it becomes pretty rewarding.

I'm waiting for consoles though.

[Acosta]

The IGN review is especially worrying because it really feels like the author knows well Gothic/Risen and what makes them special.

My hype is really fading, I knew the decision of smaller landmasses was not a good one.

[subversus]

- IGN review. This sounds disconcerting to read :( hopefully the GAF impressions are good.

wow, I haven't read it yet but it sounds like he liked Risen...

But it's not like their competition has much better combat either, they just decided to "fix" that by making them piss easy.

competition?

[Acosta]

Been looking around, Charles Onyett (the IGN reviewer of Risen 2) it´s the same that reviewed Risen (with a 8,6).

http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/103/1033646p1.html

I'm officially worried.

[subversus]

I'm officially worried.

why worry? this review says everything we need to know. Worth playing but don't expect a worthy sequel.

[Kayhan]

The smaller scale of the explorable areas also means it's harder to feel lost and isolated. It's a strange decision considering a big component of Piranha Bytes' past work has been creating spaces that let you wander far off quest paths.

dumb

[Acosta]

why worry? this reviews says everything we need to know. Worth playing but don't expect a worthy sequel.

Not exactly what I wanted to hear to be honest.

I still want to buy and play it and I will do it, but I expected something better over the foundation of Risen. It probably doesn't help that I was a bit off with the "smaller island" decisions.

[subversus]

Not exactly what I wanted to hear to be honest.

nobody wanted to hear this but it's past the time we should worry. The game is done, I mean. We can't provide any feedback.

[Acosta]

nobody wanted to hear this but it's past the time we should worry. The game is done, I mean. We can't provide any feedback.

Yeah,I guess you are right. Take the game and see how the ride goes.

[Midou]

I guess this went from day 1 to steam sale, I guess I'd get it for like $20.

I was really hyped for this being at least equal to risen but in a sweet pirate theme, oh well.

Still going to wait for more reviews.

[pilonv1]

Piranha Bytes chose to create multiple, separate islands for Risen 2, as opposed to a larger, single space.

I don't see the "smaller scale" being an issue, just a different style from Risen. If they're used and designed well then I don't have a problem with it.

[Eggman]

Damn, when did the console release get delayed?

[Gbraga]

I just want to know if the low scores will be based on it as a stand alone game, or in comparison to Risen.

Ok, it's worse than 1, I get it, but if it wasn't called Risen, would the score still be 6,5? That's what I'd like to know.

[Eggman]

[Moonstone]

I don't see the "smaller scale" being an issue, just a different style from Risen. If they're used and designed well then I don't have a problem with it.

In the Gamers Global review they claim Risen 2 follows a concept called "open linearity". The game starts very linear, but as you reach a vertain point you can travel completly free between the islands.

They gave it a 8.5. German PC Games 86%. Gamestar 8.5

[daviyoung]

Looking forward to more impressions of this.

[Alextended]

Did he... Did he really say "Bollocks!"? I'm boycotting this game.

[Derrick01]

I know I tend to avoid reviews for wrpgs but some of the quotes do have me worried, combined with the earlier quote and Stallion's vague comments about the beta possibly not being all that great in the Steam thread a while ago. Seems like this will be a deep steam sale game now.

edit: No surprise that the PC places give it higher scores. They just get these games and appreciate them more than the american "bioware or bethesda or nada" media.

[subversus]

edit: No surprise that the PC places give it higher scores. They just get these games and appreciate them more than the american "bioware or bethesda or nada" media.

read IGN review to see that you are being wrong in this case.

[Alextended]

read IGN review to see that you are being wrong in this case.

It's one review, people can disagree without being wrong. It's worrying as said already but nothing's yet set in stone.

Also beta testers have said almost the same so I don't see any reason not to believe IGN.

Beta testers have only played a small demo-like portion of the game and the IGN review actually says some things beta testers didn't like improve too (such as melee combat skills) too. Noone said IGN lies either, hence the worry people expressed.

[Ledsen]

Did he... Did he really say "Bollocks!"? I'm boycotting this game.

Look up. I don't find it offensive, but pretty juvenile.

[Stallion Free]

I know I tend to avoid reviews for wrpgs but some of the quotes do have me worried, combined with the earlier quote and Stallion's vague comments about the beta possibly not being all that great in the Steam thread a while ago. Seems like this will be a deep steam sale game now.

There were just some aspects of it that had me very worried about a release so soon.

The last time I felt that way about a beta was Battlefield 3 and the game absolutely failed to fix any of the issues that had me worried by the release.

[daviyoung]

Look up. I don't find it offensive, but pretty juvenile.

What? Are you joking? What's wrong with one character saying 'bollocks' exactly?

[subversus]

It's one review, people can disagree without being wrong. It's worrying as said already but nothing's yet set in stone.

my point was that IGN's complaints weren't "LOL THE GAME IS HARD, INTERFACE IS TOO COMPLICATED, FACIAL ANIMATIONS SUCK, WE CAN'T ROMANCE TALI" but legitimate ones. Also beta testers have said almost the same so I don't see any reason not to believe IGN.

[Ledsen]

What? Are you joking? What's wrong with one character saying 'bollocks' exactly?

Er, I misread something. Never mind.

[Spectacular Dr Dawg]

The IGN review is especially worrying because it really feels like the author knows well Gothic/Risen and what makes them special. My hype is really fading, I knew the decision of smaller landmasses was not a good one.

Didn't they get the rights to the Gothic IP last year? Maybe they want to make Risen a different, more accessible series while the next Gothic game will be more like Gothic 1-3 and Risen?
I can't decide wether I should pre-order or not. I loved Risen but I'm not liking the changes at all.

[TucoBenedictoPacifico]

Did he... Did he really say "Bollocks!"? I'm boycotting this game.

Sorry, but not being a native english speaker I have some problem to understand this.
Isn't "bollocks" just another way to say "bullshit", just more common in England than in USA?

[Stallion Free]

Sorry, but not being a native english speaker I have some problem to understand this. Isn't "bollocks" just another way to say "bullshit", just more common in England than in USA?

You understand what the word means perfectly.

[TucoBenedictoPacifico]

You understand what the word means perfectly.

...And the problem with it is?
Cause then I'm missing the point with the outrage.

[Spectacular Dr Dawg]

...And the problem with it is? Cause then I'm missing the point with the outrage.

He was joking.