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[FlyinJ]

After playing against some tougher enemies, I'm starting to think the melee combat is the best PB has done yet. It's still got a lot of jank, but the mixture of power swing, feint and roll all mesh together pretty well.

I also figured out that you need to hold down power attack until the character attacks on his own to get full power.

 

[Xander51]

After the huge bummer that was Risen 2, I'm super skeptical of this game...but impressions and videos here may have swayed me.

 

[Moff]

After playing against some tougher enemies, I'm starting to think the melee combat is the best PB has done yet. It's still got a lot of jank, but the mixture of power swing, feint and roll all mesh together pretty well.

I also figured out that you need to hold down power attack until the character attacks on his own to get full power.

really? as I said, I never really liked PB mlee combat, but Risen 1 had at least some dark soulisch combat. of course not nearly on that Level. but you had shields, you blocked, learned enemy attacks, attacked back. now in Risen 3 I have Problems with that, mostly because even normal attacks are extremely slow. every enemy attacks much faster than me. so I always have to roll around and lunge at enemies. am I doing somerhing wrong or is that the same way you fight?

 

[FlyinJ]

really? as I said, I never really liked PB mlee combat, but Risen 1 had at least some dark soulisch combat. of course not nearly on that Level. but you had shields, you blocked, learned enemy attacks, attacked back. now in Risen 3 I have Problems with that, mostly because even normal attacks are extremely slow. every enemy attacks much faster than me. so I always have to roll around and lunge at enemies. am I doing somerhing wrong or is that the same way you fight?

Rolling is key. Generally my strategy is hold block, get hit once, roll away as the second hit usually breaks block. If the enemy attacks after, I hold a power attack or two on them.

Another great strategy is to block and roll until your companion gets a hit in. Then the mob will concentrate on him. Keep power attacking til you aggro , then block and roll until the companion aggros by getting a hit in.

One of the cool things I've started to notice us you can really knock some of the smaller enemies away from you once they die. I've had several goblins fall off a cliff, denying me their loot. I've made a point to kill them against the cliff wall now.

 

[barit]

Can you already play ???? O_O

I´m predownloading it right now on Steam but it still says "Launch 15.08"

So I guess I have to wait another 2 days

Damn I really want to play some Risen now

 

[Xander51]

Can you already play ???? O_O

I´m predownloading it right now on Steam but it still says "Launch 15.08"

So I guess I have to wait another 2 days

Damn I really want to play some Risen now

Yeah it hit in the US today.

 

[GECK]

2 things that bother me already: all the maps are available from start, just why?
.

Why not?

 

[Moff]

Why not?

because its fun to work for things in RPGs? to feel rewardded, to nut just have everything from the getgo?
there is also no logical explanation that you would have them.

Rolling is key.

yea I can see how that would bother some people. it creates a rubberband effect and isnt really good looking or fun.
but I'll focus on magic anyway, and guns on the second playthrough, so I wont bother much.

 

[LtBill]

Can you already play ???? O_O

I´m predownloading it right now on Steam but it still says "Launch 15.08"

So I guess I have to wait another 2 days

Damn I really want to play some Risen now

Just use a free proxy!

 

[Kevtones]

Risen <3

 

[eznark]

No borderless window mode. Fuckers.

 

[loganclaws]

Post your impressions guys! Is it better than risen 2?

 

[Durante]

Computerbase has a review up. (German)

They don't do scores, but it sounds very positive to me.

 

[SneakyStephan]

From the Strategy Informer Review:



Guess I might be buying this after all.

It's a bit less awful = buy?
weird but w/e

I just don't get how people expect so little of combat in wrpgs (especially after playing dragon's dogma)
skyrim, risen...

 

[Sentenza]

skyrim, risen...

These two aren't even remotely in the same ballpark.
And even Risen 2, which is admittedly every bit as shitty as Skyrim mechanically, comes up on top simply because, unlike in the Bethesda's RPG, at least the PB title has some resemblance of challenge and consistent and coherent levels of strength for its creatures, which makes immersion easier.
At least supposedly dangerous creatures actually feel dangerous and so on.

 

[Moff]

It's a bit less awful = buy?
weird but w/e

I just don't get how people expect so little of combat in wrpgs (especially after playing dragon's dogma)
skyrim, risen...

maybe some people just have different preferences? I love the witcher and gothic games, but never because of the combat. npc interaction is their focus. I love to solve quets with dialogue instead of action.
risen 3 melee combat plays a lot like the witcher 2 btw.

 

[FlyinJ]

It's a bit less awful = buy?
weird but w/e

I just don't get how people expect so little of combat in wrpgs (especially after playing dragon's dogma)
skyrim, risen...

I'm going to say this game has one of the better action RPG combat systems in the genre.

It's just a bit strange to wrap your head around at first, but once you do it becomes pretty tense and fun.

It's by far the best PB has done so far.

 

[GavinUK86]

Just started streaming on PC if anyone wants to take a look at this hot mess: http://www.twitch.tv/gavinuk86

It's... umm... Quirky.

 

[Durante]

I'm going to say this game has one of the better action RPG combat systems in the genre.

It's just a bit strange to wrap your head around at first, but once you do it becomes pretty tense and fun.

It's by far the best PB has done so far.

I'm curious now. I actually thought even the Risen 1 battle system had interesting ideas.

 

[Lain]

I played it for a lil bit, first impression was positive.
I didn't do much, a short exploration of the beach, grabbing seashells and killing some enemies while I almost had a crocodile eat me.
The game has a B-grade feel, especially in the way it looks. I mean, it looks nicely but there are some oddities and I really dislike the Depth of Field it uses, so I turned it off.

On

Off

 

[SneakyStephan]

maybe some people just have different preferences? I love the witcher and gothic games, but never because of the combat. npc interaction is their focus. I love to solve quets with dialogue instead of action.
risen 3 melee combat plays a lot like the witcher 2 btw.

I like the witcher 1 too
the combat in it is simple and servicable though (just basic timing of the clicks to do your combos), risen 2 combat to me was just painful and awful in it's jankyness and how unresponsive it felt.
Also it really helped that witcher 1 had a beautiful color scheme (game looked like a painting in many areas)

I'm going to say this game has one of the better action RPG combat systems in the genre.

It's just a bit strange to wrap your head around at first, but once you do it becomes pretty tense and fun.

It's by far the best PB has done so far.

So it's a big step up from risen 2 then? I stuck with that game for like 6 hours I gave it more than a fair chance

 

[dragn]

feel very week after the first island :/, didnt join a faction yet

 

[garath]

I played it for a lil bit, first impression was positive.
I didn't do much, a short exploration of the beach, grabbing seashells and killing some enemies while I almost had a crocodile eat me.
The game has a B-grade feel, especially in the way it looks. I mean, it looks nicely but there are some oddities and I really dislike the Depth of Field it uses, so I turned it off.

Oh god. Off is so much better. I'm not a big fan of "movie" type effects for a game.

 

[Corpekata]

Only played a little bit but already glad the game feels a bit less stingy with things you can do. Glad to be stumbling over spell scrolls to break up the combat a bit even early on.

 

[cleveridea]

Surprise of the year for me, in a good way. And Sacred 3 was surprise of the year in a bad way.

First, this is a classic "old school" type of PC RPG like the developers original games like Gothic 1-3 and Risen 1 & 2. Combat I think is greatly improved out the gate and enoyable in that old school way where its about the tactics and stats versus being a modern, streamlined action game (like for example the direction Dragon Age 2 & Witcher 2 took). It took me a while to adjust after playing games like AC4 recently, since combat seemed jerky and poorly animated but after adapting I really like it. I do like playing the smoother, more streamlined RPG's (looking forward to Fallen/Mordor/DAI) but to me its like settling back into those older gothic style RPG's with the handcrafted world feel.

The game is also very nice looking. For some reason it had terrible defaults with all settings to low. Once I turned all the effects and draw distances up it looked gorgeous, and runs nicely on my laptop after turning down to 900p so should run great for most PC owners.

I disliked Risen 2 so much I wasnt even anticipating this game, but fortunately checked out review mentioning how it fixes Risen 2 issues 2 hours before release, so managed to get the game for $10 off at GMG and still get the bonus preorder items.

 

[Clydefrog]

That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough. I'm going to clown college! ... and I'm buying this game tonight!

 

[GavinUK86]

Shit just got weird (webm)

http://a.pomf.se/iheptf.webm

 

[bryehn]

No idea why, but I downloaded this on 360 today.

Just a heads-up, I paid $40 on 360 but seeing it listed at $50 on PSN (in Canada at least).

Thought I'd mention it in case someone was trying to decide between consoles

 

[Zafir]

Seems like they've unlocked it early for the UK(Probably Europe too?) since it's now released for me and allowing me to play.

 

[Gothos]

Please don't tell me this is the whole game world. And why freaking islands, AGAIN.

 

[MayMay]

Seems like they've unlocked it early for the UK(Probably Europe too?) since it's now released for me and allowing me to play.

Yup, can confirm for Germany.

 

[loganclaws]

Please don't tell me this is the whole game world. And why freaking islands, AGAIN.

I think it is, someone mentioned that all the places are visible as soon as you start the game. Looks very small but apparently it's the biggest risen yet according to developer.

 

[Stranger In The Alps]

Anyone else on PC getting weird framerate issues? I'm getting a strange stuttering issue whenever I turn the camera or walk in a direction. Tried both mouse/keyboard and gamepad, with the same result. My framerate will randomly tank at the exact same time as the stutter, and this happens even if I remain completely stationary. The game runs fine otherwise. It's driving me nuts. I realize laptops aren't the best for gaming, but I don't have a real PC at the moment. This issue happens no matter what settings I run the game at, even lowest at 800x600 resolution.

 

[Rizzi]

So.. How is it?

 

[FlyinJ]

Please don't tell me this is the whole game world. And why freaking islands, AGAIN.

That's the whole world. But keep in mind, those islands are pretty big. I've played the game for four hours and have only made my way around 3/4 of one of them.

I would say this games overall land mass is bigger than any of the previous PB games.

Also, I'm pretty sure I had a new island location pop up from a quest.

 

[Moff]

piranha bytes games are not 100 hour RPGS, they are 20 to 30 hours with a lot of replay value. I'd say the world is big enough and the islands are actually a good idea. offers diversity and adds some size to the gameworld.

 

[Totobeni]

Please don't tell me this is the whole game world. And why freaking islands, AGAIN.

This is almost the same world map as Risen 2. :|

did they really just recycled all the islands? I saw some Risen 2 locations in Risen 3 video but I thought they are just parts of Risen 3 and not all of it.

Edit: Risen 2 map.

ok I was wrong about this, still very similar to Risen 2 map tho.

 

[FlyinJ]

This is almost the same world map as Risen 2. :|

did they really just recycled all the islands? I saw some Risen 2 locations in Risen 3 video but I thought they are just parts of Risen 3 and not all of it.

I think I read they repurposed all the risen 1 islands and added another new set as big as the originals. The repurposed islands are very made over though, and altered quite a bit but that's getting into spoiler territory.

 

[eznark]

This game is fucking awesome

 

[butman]

It seems interesting.

Is more like Souls games? The Witcher? or Dragon's Dogma?

 

[Big_Al]

Only played an hour or so but I'm enjoying it quite a bit. The combat is so much better than Risen 2 but remember it's still a Piranha Bytes game combatwise I'm still having much more fun with the combat this time though (admittedly I didn't play Risen 2 for a long period, but I'm enjoying it just as much as Risen 1 so far). Just scratching the surface, really looking forward to digging into it this weekend.

 

[Totobeni]

This game is fucking awesome

a more detailed impressions will be appreciated

Only played an hour or so but I'm enjoying it quite a bit. The combat is so much better than Risen 2 but remember it's still a Piranha Bytes game combatwise I'm still having much more fun with the combat this time though (admittedly I didn't play Risen 2 for a long period, but I'm enjoying it just as much as Risen 1 so far). Just scratching the surface, really looking forward to digging into it this weekend.

to this day I'm not sure why they dropped Risen 1 combat, they should've improver that combat system.

It seems interesting.

Is more like Souls games? The Witcher? or Dragon's Dogma?

it's an RPG (upgrading, classes, quests and side quest, dialogues..ect) so I guess it's more closer to The Witcher series than the other two, but unlike the Witcher 1/2 it's also open world.

 

[FlyinJ]

This is seriously shaping up to be better than Risen 1 after 5 hours.

The combat is great. And I love the ease of use changes, such as auto provisions and the overall UI design, without the horrid gameplay of Risen 2.

This is on track to be even better than Gothic 1.

 

[DualShadow]

Waiting for more opinions/reviews before I decide. I did replay Risen 2 so I'll most likely pick this up at some point.

 

[Murtrod]

Considering this as a purchase in the near future.

Detailed impressions from you guys, please

 

[Zafir]

Is there a order you're meant to do islands in? I only ask because a significant amount of the mobs on the island I went to (Kila) my weapon barely scratches them. :?

 

[ambientmystic]

Anyone else on PC getting weird framerate issues? I realize laptops aren't the best for gaming, but I don't have a real PC at the moment. This issue happens no matter what settings I run the game at, even lowest at 800x600 resolution.

The game is a rather odd duck performance-wise.

I did some rough profiling when running the game on my admittedly ancient Core 2 Duo T9550/ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670 laptop, and it's a very, very CPU bottlenecked game. Changing the resolution down the lowest I could go (960x540) and all around minmal settings only brought it up to 43 FPS, so the sweet spot ended up being 1280x720p, High Textures, Low Shadows and minimal settings for everything else to get the standard 30-ish FPS console experience.

The first part of the game (the dream ship battle bit) chugged to the single digits at times, even with minimal settings.

I had a look at GPUz whilst running the game and GPU% usage was really low (i.e. never hitting 100% even with Vsync off), which is normally the case in games that are properly optimized no matter how I tweaked the graphics settings.

The game also only really effectively uses 1 core of your CPU; I discovered this by experimenting with the core affinities in the Task Manager (making the game only use 1 core yields little to no difference at all as compared to using both cores). Even then, single core CPU usage is decidedly low, leading me to suspect that there is something else along the chain that is problematic.

I've also got a sinking feeling the game uses the CPU to render certain graphical assets (like GTA IV did with the shadows).

The way the game tanks to extremely low framerates (13-15 FPS) in certain areas of inactivity (places you wouldn't expect it to tank) is also rather annoying and brings to mind another poorly optimized PC port which was Dark Souls. (unoptimized mutlicore CPU usage coupled with low GPU usage which leads to an overall poor framerate which is unaffected by tweaking graphical settings).

Frankly speaking, after being used to a solid 1080p30 experience with Dark Souls II's engine (Mostly High and Medium settings) on my crappy laptop, I'm rather disappointed with this game in terms of its performance.

 

[Karak]

Considering this as a purchase in the near future.

Detailed impressions from you guys, please

Wait for a sale seems safe.
If you could find it for say 1/2 or 3/4ths full price it might be worth it.

 

[dragn]

so after 8 hrs i joined the guardians... and i finally do some real dmg ! ;D

 

[Stranger In The Alps]

The game is a rather odd duck performance-wise.

Thanks for such a detailed response. My laptop has an intel i5-3210M and a radeon 7670m. I run most things just fine at medium-ish settings, but my performance issues mirror yours completely (the dream ship battle single digit fps). I've noticed that these dips seem to happen in areas with a lot of effects, like fire or smoke. Another area in which the dips occur is the cutscene at the

Spoiler

first crystal portal, where you die and your soul is stolen.

I'm quite alright with mucking through the game with the current performance, I'm just worried that later areas might run even worse, making the game completely unplayable. I probably should have picked this up on ps3 instead.