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[Ceebs]

What is this? Drakensang: The River of Time is a prequel to Drakensang: The Dark Eye. It is based on the Das Schwarze Auge ruleset (Think D&D, but German). You may have encounted this before if you played any of the Realms of Arkania games (Available on GOG.com if you are curious).

Do I need to play the original game? Nope! This is a whole new quest and you should be able to follow along just fine. Bear in mind that this is a prequel though so there will be plenty of call backs to the previous game.

What does it play like? It's somewhere in the middle between the old Infinity Engine games and Something like Dragon Age. It's much closer to Dragon Age however but has a much larger emphasis on stats as it does not hide it's P&P origins.

Reviews: Awaiting some English reviews, but the German version reviewed very well with a Metacritic score of 84

http://apps.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/drakensangtheriveroftime

Screenshots: (These are PR Shots, I will update this with some nice GAFer shots once people get the game downloaded.)

Avilable From:

Impulse: 19.99 (released)
http://www.impulsedriven.com/drakensang2

Gamersgate: 17.99 (Still up for preorder)
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-DSROT/drakensang-the-river-of-time

Steam: Not on Steam, however the original is. Read into that as you will.

System Requirements: (per Impulse)
Minimum:
Microsoft Windows XP / Vista / 7
2.8 GHz Processor
2 GB Available System Memory
256 MB DirectX 9.0 compatible graphics card
5.5 GB Available Hard Disk Space
DirectX 9.0 compatible sound card

Link to the very amusing Drinky Thread for The Original Game (He can sell you on the original far better than I can)
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=353217

 

[lastplayed]

Here's some I prepared earlier (1080p):

 

[Krauser Kat]

This looks so awesome. Fuck all those who are bored with fantasy land/ Dark Ages stuff.

 

[chautemoc]

Can't believe it's so cheap. What a freakin' deal. All over it.
It's a shame the dev is no more...maybe if enough people buy this it will lead to something...

 

[Raging Spaniard]

Looks right up my alley, will get

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Thanks for creating the thread! I had this pre-ordered on Impulse and look forward to digging into it later today. It looks like they improved a lot from the first game. Lots of polish and art improvements.

 

[lastplayed]

A video showing character creation and intro:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_HyBQWPYnA

So far I'm into the story's third or fourth area if you can call it that. The combat takes a little getting used to, but it works at least.

 

[Patryn]

So I try to save a buck or so, and now I'm stuck in pre-order hell.

Never again GamersGate!

Argh.

Oh, and it's also available for download from Amazon (!).

 

[dejan]

Can't believe it's so cheap. What a freakin' deal. All over it.
It's a shame the dev is no more...maybe if enough people buy this it will lead to something...

Chances are zero to nil at this point.

GAF, if you like playing your crpgs with mouse, keyboard and calculator look no further.

 

[FlyinJ]

Put an hour into it, and the graphics are much better than the first game so far.

Haven't really delved into the systems, so I can't comment on how or what they improved from the first game.

Definitely worth it at $20. This is a huge, classic WRPG.

 

[FlyinJ]

Can't believe it's so cheap. What a freakin' deal. All over it.
It's a shame the dev is no more...maybe if enough people buy this it will lead to something...

Wait, what happened to the developer? I thought these games sold gangbusters in Germany...

 

[Ceebs]

The lighting in the game is fantastic. That tower you go in at the start of the game looks fantastic once you get near the water with all the light beams coming into the cave.

I do like the fact that you can customize your character a bit this time versus the static look of the classes in the previous game.

Wait, what happened to the developer? I thought these games sold gangbusters in Germany...

It seems an investor pulled out before they could start on the 3rd game.

They were picked up by another company and work on Drakensang 3 is underway. (they all kept their jobs)

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=395373&page=2

 

[thegodsend]

The studio nearly went bankrupt (you can't survive with just being successful in Germany). They where bought by Bigpoint at the last second.

The full team is still in place and they are working on a Drakensang browser MMO that is very close looking to Diablo 3 but with more classic RPG elements.
Technically it's also very impressive since it's still using the same engine as Rivers of Time (their own engine called Nebula) and you will be able to play it in the webbrowser without downloads or plugins.

 

[Ledsen]

How is that water nymph in the OP a screenshot? She looks airbrushed.

Also, how demanding is this game compared to, say, Dragon Age? My laptop with a 5650m can run DA fine on Very High @ 1366x768, but anything more demanding than that may have problems.

 

[Mudo]

I greatly enjoyed The Dark Eye and have been waiting for this to come out. I really don't want to wait for Steam but have never used Impulse or Gamersgate - any recommendations on which of those to go with?

 

[Fredescu]

Really need to finish the Dark Eye. Or at least make more progress in it. I really enjoyed it for the 10 or so hours I gave it but got distracted for some rea... hey look a shiny thing

 

[Ceebs]

How is that water nymph in the OP a screenshot? She looks airbrushed.

Also, how demanding is this game compared to, say, Dragon Age? My laptop with a 5650m can run DA fine on Very High @ 1366x768, but anything more demanding than that may have problems.

I think it runs better on my rig than Dragon Age. I had the usual dual core hiccups every so often in DA. This has been running smooth as silk maxed out with 4XAA

I greatly enjoyed The Dark Eye and have been waiting for this to come out. I really don't want to wait for Steam but have never used Impulse or Gamersgate - any recommendations on which of those to go with?

They are both good services. I probably buy more through Gamersgate though since they tend to have the more obscure titles. You really can't go wrong either way.

 

[ElectricThunder]

Likely to get this soon, unless it happens to arrive on sale before I get around to it----then I shall get it then. :lol

World needs more good Dark Eye games---Capcom would've done well to give some a whirl like they did for D&D in the Arcades!

 

[-tetsuo-]

I guess I need to finish (start) the first one now. Lighting looks a lot better in this one, though.

 

[Patryn]

I greatly enjoyed The Dark Eye and have been waiting for this to come out. I really don't want to wait for Steam but have never used Impulse or Gamersgate - any recommendations on which of those to go with?

If you go with Impulse, you can get it right this second.

If you go with GamersGate, you'll be stuck in limbo with me. And no clue when it'll be ready for download.

Your choice.

(Damn you GamersGate! Never again!)

And again: You can also choose Amazon. Also available RIGHT THIS SECOND.

 

[Haklong]

Direct2drive has the first game on sale for 9.99:

http://www.direct2drive.com/7595/product/Buy-Drakensang:-The-Dark-Eye-Download

They also appear to have Drakensang: The River of Time.

 

[Kerrinck]

Stupid region restriction wont allow me to get it from any of the three stores.
Any hope this is coming to Steam? At least that way I can get it gifted.

 

[Ceebs]

Stupid region restriction wont allow me to get it from any of the three stores.
Any hope this is coming to Steam? At least that way I can get it gifted.

Whenever GG puts it up you can buy games through a proxy. (Or at least you can from their Euro store)

 

[Dick Laurent]

Whenever GG puts it up you can buy games through a proxy. (Or at least you can from their Euro store)

you don't even have to do the whole transaction over proxy. so I just use whatever free proxy I find on google and login then submit the order, then skip back out of the proxy and change my gamersgate password back and pay for the game normally. heh.

If you go with GamersGate, you'll be stuck in limbo with me. And no clue when it'll be ready for download. Your choice. (Damn you GamersGate! Never again!)

yeah, pretty annoying. no idea why it wasn't released today/yesterday. although the new majesty 2 expansion came out completely unannounced! but, hopefully really soon. check at around 9am tomorrow (gmt +1), that's around the time they usually make their new releases updates for the day, if like me you're not working right now that is. hehe.

 

[Kerrinck]

Glad to know. Will get it as soon as it becomes available then.

 

[chautemoc]

Stupid region restriction wont allow me to get it from any of the three stores.
Any hope this is coming to Steam? At least that way I can get it gifted.

Impulse has gifting.

 

[chautemoc]

I greatly enjoyed The Dark Eye and have been waiting for this to come out. I really don't want to wait for Steam but have never used Impulse or Gamersgate - any recommendations on which of those to go with?

I personally strongly prefer Impulse, but it depends on your needs. GamersGate is a good service in ways but the download speeds are very slow compared to Impulse, and the website is very clunky and poorly designed (imo). Impulse is really slick, no hassle, great design.

Edit: sorry for double post, used to auto merging.

 

[Lafiel]

Didn't know this was so close to release. Unfortunately since I'm so busy with current games now I'll probably hold off for a bit. Looking forward to impressions though.

 

[Gattsu25]

Was thinking about getting into the series starting with the first game. Will need to pick this up from Impulse when I am able to.

Any general hints for a total noob regarding the first game?

 

[Ceebs]

Some quick screens. The color palette in this game is great. A great counter to pretty much every other game being made today.

 

[Link Man]

Some quick screens. The color palette in this game is great. A great counter to pretty much every other game being made today.

Just out of curiosity, have you played Torchlight?

 

[Sectus]

This game looks pretty.

I've not tried any games in the series. How does it compare to other recent RPGs like Gothic 4 and Risen?

I greatly enjoyed The Dark Eye and have been waiting for this to come out. I really don't want to wait for Steam but have never used Impulse or Gamersgate - any recommendations on which of those to go with?

I've bought games from both before and I think both are great. Although I'd give the upper hand to gamersgate since they've got an easy system for downloading games. They also tend to let you download a manual which I haven't seen impulse do.

 

[Ceebs]

This game looks pretty.

I've not tried any games in the series. How does it compare to other recent RPGs like Gothic 4 and Risen?

It's a completely different style of game than Risen, and I could not be bothered with Gothic 4. It's very stat heavy with multiple character sheet pages of various stats and skills you pump points into. The most unique thing about the game is you earn points instead of XP for all your actions and kills that you can spend as soon as you earn them instead of during level ups. The combat is real time, but governed by turns (They are delayed enough so you can tell when turns are taking place) with a pause button to issue orders.

Just out of curiosity, have you played Torchlight?

Of course, who has not played it at this point?

 

[Sectus]

It's a completely different style of game than Risen, and I could not be bothered with Gothic 4. It's very stat heavy with multiple character sheet pages of various stats and skills you pump points into. The most unique thing about the game is you earn points instead of XP for all your actions and kills that you can spend as soon as you earn them instead of during level ups. The combat is real time, but governed by turns (They are delayed enough so you can tell when turns are taking place) with a pause button to issue orders.

I guess it plays more similar to something like Dragon Age or Baldur's Gate then? That'd be a shame since I could never get into those type of RPGs. Only party based RPG I really like is Betrayal at Krondor. Others tend to bore me because of the combat system. But well, maybe I'll just get it for the sake of it looking pretty. Especially if the price is low.

Is it released in Europe (excluding Germany) yet?

 

[René_EM]

Just picked this up off Impulse. (first ever Impulse purchase so we'll see how that goes) Still waiting for the confirmation before I can download.

Played the first Drakensang for all of ten minutes, but I love European-developed PC RPGs (all hail The Witcher) and the YouTube videos for River of Time sold me. I can't wait!

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Wow, so this seems like it might actually be really good. The translation seems good enough with some decent voice actors (and some not-so-decent ones as well), and pretty much everything seems improved from the first game. Graphics, animations, responsiveness, UI, controls, etc... The whole thing is very smooth so far and looks great. I am still milling about the first town, but I'm pretty impressed so far. Definitely worth $20!

 

[Aaron]

I wish Steam would do a bundle for this and the previous game for say $30. I'm playing through Risen right now, but when I've cleared that, this series is my next stop.

 

[Dick Laurent]

ok. it's up on gamersgate.

 

[Ceebs]

So word of advice...do not try the Werewolf quest as soon as you can. I just got straight up murdered. :lol

Really enjoyed the Tollgate mission. Lots of branching path stuff that changes the entire dungeon.

 

[Mudo]

Bought this morning on Gamersgate (I was getting pretty good download speeds too) - it is installed but I've been at work all day so I will be playing some tonight and will probably post some impressions after I've put some hours into it.

 

[Ceebs]

Decided to restart my game as I was pretty unhappy with my character build thus far. The time spent was a good refresher on the mechanics however so I know exactly how I want to build this new one. (knowing which early companions you get also helps)

 

[xelios]

Will be looking into this when it's on Steam. Looks good.

 

[desverger]

Can't buy from Impulse (not available in your region) and still coming up to gamersgate. Want to buy

Oh well, guess I can wait for a bit. This looks great, though. I would appreciate a bundle as well, seeing as I didn't really play the original.

 

[Ceebs]

Can't buy from Impulse (not available in your region) and still coming up to gamersgate. Want to buy

Oh well, guess I can wait for a bit. This looks great, though. I would appreciate a bundle as well, seeing as I didn't really play the original.

It's showing that it's available in the US. Try using a US proxy with GG if you are in another region. You should only need it to add the game to your cart.

 

[Diseased Yak]

How many hours long is this supposed to be?

 

[Sinatar]

How many hours long is this supposed to be?

If it's like the first one, it'll be real long, like 50+ hours.

 

[thetrin]

Green elf babes you say?

 

[René_EM]

Some comments after about 4 hours of gameplay:

-Really liking it so far. Kind of mix between Neverwinter Nights, Dragon Age, Gothic, Risen, etc.
-Graphics are fantastic. Almost moving towards cartoony but not quite; still very realistic (and far better than Fable 3, for example). Character models are fantastic, animations are good, and facial emotions are great. The lighting is also fantastic; very nice atmosphere, god rays, day/night, etc. Good cutscenes too. Also runs extremely well on my modest/old system (Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, 4GB RAM, Radeon 4570 512MB).
-Nicely detailed living breathing world. The first town anyway is HUGE and there's lots of people going about their business and vendors to trade with. Also, I saw a couple of cats sitting on the edge of a dock. It wasn't until I panned the camera around that I noticed there was a school of fish swimming right below! And then there was a handful of chickens moving down river in a broken dinghy/boat, clucking away. Didn't make any sense but made me chuckle! Neat details like that.
-The quest structure thus far is very organic and feels natural (not light the Christmas tree effect from quest givers in an area of MMOs). So far I've just run into people and been like, "oh cool, a new quest!". I'm playing a Thief and the starting quests there with the guild are really neat.
-It still remains to be seen after just a handful of hours, but the story seems like it might be very good and quite deep. I love character and story-based games and this one delivers so far.
-Good writing and voice acting for the English version (in case anyone was worried since it's a German developer).
-The game's not afraid of its pen and paper heritage. I guess it's based off the German equivalent of DND? Lots of character and weapon stats (1D2+1) and lots of character customization (lots of starting classes with their own variants).
-I love the real-time yet turn-based combat gameplay. Of course it's been done before but I really enjoy pausing combat and issuing orders to my group. I had a heck of a time with a fight last night until I realized I had a bunch of unused action points (experience points) to upgrade my character with as well as a bunch of spells people in my new group had. Combine that with mixing up my tactics are failing miserably, and the battle was won! Hehe.

So far, this seems like a game that will go completely unnoticed by the North American media. If it were developed and published by one of the biggies here (EA, Activision, Microsoft, etc.) it would be marketed and sold as a AAA title. But because it's by a Euro developer and publisher, it's not getting any notice which is a shame considering how badly Dragon Age 2 appears to be undoing all the good that the first game did, and it no doubt will sell millions while Drakensang 2 here looks so far like it's going to be a better game.

And for $20? A deal!

 

[Ceebs]

-The game's not afraid of its pen and paper heritage. I guess it's based off the German equivalent of DND? Lots of character and weapon stats (1D2+1) and lots of character customization (lots of starting classes with their own variants).
!

Yeah, it really helps to do a bit of checking into the actual system at work behind all the stats before you go spending points on stuff. For instance the Elementalist starts with a fire minion spell. You can dump several points into this right away thinking "More points=Stronger elemental", when in fact the actual spell level for this particular spell only affects the maximum modifier of the spell which happens to be your level. (So if you are level 5 you can add a +4 modifier to it as long as you have 4 points in the spell)

Speaking of modifiers, most of the spells in the game allow you to manually adjust them per cast so that they can be more powerful or use less mana if you happen to be mana starved and really need to cast something.

If you do want to see more in depth stuff as to how things work give the English Wiki a read.

http://en.drakensang.wikia.com/wiki/Drakensang_English_Wiki

 

[Mudo]

Ok I only got to play for 30 minutes last night but I do have a couple questions:

Character creation: Am I limited to making a Warrior, Ranger or (forgot name, sounds a lot like warrior) ? Maybe I missed a tab or something, I love playing mages in games like this.

I can't find an instruction manual with my Gamersgate download. I'm new to GG so not sure if I missed it - I really need some info on the game as it's been a long time since I played the other and it's really complex =)

Can controls for movement be changed to something more like WOW where turning left and right turns the camera, and not your character sort of just turning on the screen?