With the release of the Xbox360 version in north america at the end of febuary, some sites come up with fresh reviews of RISEN.

Site	Rating	Version	Excerpt
GamingUnion	5	Xbox	Overall the game holds little for anyone looking for a very rich and detailed RPG experience, attempting to mimic similar titles in its genre but falling very short. It's hard to justify a single playthrough for plot sake, let alone additional playthroughs. A dull combat system and dry storyline make for a very dull experience, which is a shame since a lot of nuance and detail (design wise) was put into the world that Risen takes place in.
GamingEvolution	6/10	Xbox	Risen is the kind of game that really makes me want to see what developer Piranha Bytes could do with more time and money. They're no rookies, having long-since established themselves with the cult-favorite Gothic series, and they have a lot of big, great ideas. Some of my problems with Risen, such as poor graphics and frame rate hiccups during combat, are the result of a shoddy port, which is a damn shame (I understand the PC version is quite a bit better on the technical side).

Links:

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• Review @ gamingunion.net
• Review @ gamingevolution.info

With the release of the Xbox360 version in north america at the end of febuary, some sites come up with fresh reviews of RISEN.

Site	Rating	Version	Excerpt
DieHardFanGames	Decent	Xbox	Risen is the sort of game that will appeal to diehard fans of the action RPG genre, as there’s enough good elements to the game to make it enjoyable, but it’s more than likely to put off more console-oriented fans because of its obtuse nature and more casual fans because of its stylistic and mechanical issues.
ZTGD	6.0	Xbox	Somehow within one game the developer managed to get nearly all the RPG details right and nearly all the technical elements wrong, leaving behind a broken yet promising shell. Dedicated WRPG players who enjoy open world style games will find plenty of stuff to like if they can push themselves past the games numerous faults, unfortunately most of them have probably already played the unquestionably superior PC version of the game.
GameFreak365	7/10	Xbox	Risen is a decent game sporting some tried and true concepts that make RPGs the fun and time consuming genre that many of us love. That is, if you can look past the issues, Risen for the Xbox 360 is a decent game. You will encounter bugs and the controls are “iffy” at best. My main issue with Risen is that is feels like a PC game that has been downgraded to run on a console.
GameZone	7.0	Xbox	Risen is a solid game brought down by a shoddy port to consoles. While there’s still a lot of fun to be had with the deep missions that foster exploration, the game’s technical presentation is subpar and there are some gameplay issues as a result of the move to the Xbox 360.
ExtremeGamer	6.0/10	Xbox	You really have to be ready to put in the time if you truly want to get the most out of this title. Unless you fit into the hardcore RPG demographic, I would sit this one out. However, If you are part of the demographic, then 'Risen' is a niche game that will entice your adventurers sensibilities-- that is, if you don't mind sitting through a few glitchy spots for the thrill of the hunt.

Links:

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• Review @ diehardfangame.com
• Review @ ztgd.com
• Review @ gamefreaks365.com
• Review @ gamezone.com
• Review @ extremegamer.ca

While we are waiting for Piranha Bytes and Deep Silver to reveal information about their new project, André Thiel from Piranha Bytes sweetens the time by giving us a new tutorial. In this article, he explains how he created the item and skill icons in the graphical user interface of RISEN. You can see for yourself that even such tiny elements require quite some work.

Links:

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• Tutorial (english)
• Discussion in the forum (english)

Our user I Wussel I presented his version of a RISEN themepack in the forum. The file for Windows 7 provides a common desktop design centered around RISEN. Screensaver, wallpapers and system sounds - everything is RISENfied.

Links:

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• Diskussion and download in the forum (german)

Some weeks ago, we restarted the contests "A girlfriend for the gnome" and got a lot of new submission. Now, the contest is over and after having to make some tough choices, we can declare the winners:

The winners of the picture contest are:
1. DerSommer
2. adiga
3. Ingmar

The winners of the english story contest are:
1. TheDoctor
2. Maladiq
3. Nirolf

And the winners of the german story contest are:
1. Nimue
2. artemis4ever
3. Faith


These are the prices which the respective winners will get:
1. A gnome figurine and a RISEN t-shirt (default size)
2. The artbook "The Art of Gothic 3" (signed by PB) and a RISEN notepad
3. A poster of the hero (rolled and signed), a poster of the fist (folded) and a poster of the Inqusitor (from german GameStar magazine, folded)


The winners are requested to send a PM to Don-Esteban with their postal address. If you do not have a forum account, send an e-mail to st.bollmann@worldofplayers.de.

Links:

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• Picture contest
• Story contest (german)
• Story contest (english)
• Discussion in the forum

Marcos Duarte, the Community Manager of Deep Silver announced in our forum that PB is currently working on a patch for RISEN. However, what problems will be addressed by that patch and when we can expect it, he did not tell.

Links:

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• Post by Marcos Duarte (german)

Now we all know Risen like the back of our hand. We found every existing cave with gnomes and robbed all the treasure chests. We found everything - white elephants, valuable scrap and all of the treasures.
But there is something no one found until today: female gnomes!

That's why we call out for all the explorers to find female gnomes until the 15.12.2009. Cook up a story about a possible girlfriend of a gnome or portray them.
Where are they from, how do they look like and why aren't they on Faranga anymore? Do they hide? Or do they just look alike the male versions.

Before you send in your pics or stories you can present your works in a special thread at our forum to moot them proliteratively. There is more than one contribution per user possible.

You need prices?
There are Gnome figurines, signed books of "The Art of Gothic 3", singed Risen-posters, T-Shirts, writing pads and many more merchandise products.

The contest is open up until the 15.12.2009 at 23:59 o'clock CET.

The submitted works will be judged by our jury afterwards.

Links:

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• Here you can show off your stories
• Here you can show off your pictures
• Discussion at our forum

Site	Rating	Version	Excerpt
GameBanshee	7.4	PC	At its core, Risen still does well what Piranha Bytes always did well: it gives as a very atmospheric world, filled with low-fantasy NPCs, black-and-white situations and gameplay hinging heavily on exploration and the ability to use something other than combat to resolve situations.
Othergames.com	7.5	PC	Risen has been heavily criticised in a lot of reviews, and the game does have its flaws there’s no doubt there, the game can be jittery at times and loading can be a pain. The game also had an issue where you couldn’t play the game when it got dark or in dark areas because it was simply too dark.
itreviews.co.uk	-	PC	However, as we progressed through the campaign, we began to appreciate the fact that some meaningful changes have been made. The much tighter world design and fine-tuned combat mechanics do make a difference, and Risen's tale is a suitably gritty and compelling affair.
computergames.ro	90/100	PC	I rarely come across a title with such an atmosphere, competent AI, interesting combat system and fleshed out characters. And even if I finished it twice, I haven’t encountered too many bugs and the performance was rarely a problem.

Links:

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• Review @ gamebanshee.com
• Review @ othergames.com
• Review @ itreviews.co.uk
• Review @ computergames.ro

Site	Rating	Version	Excerpt
EuroGamer	6/10	PC	Adequate rather than inspired, Risen doesn't even match up to the polish and narrative depth of The Witcher, now two years old, so releasing it only weeks before BioWare's Dragon Age is bordering on suicidal.
Loot-Ninja	-	PC	The game also oozes atmosphere, not unlike the Elder Scrolls games. Faranga is well fleshed out – not an open world like Oblivion, but more linear, like Fable. The environments are amazing and diverse, and Risen is complimented nicely by a fitting soundtrack and decent sound effects.
GameSquad	4/10	PC	Fans of Risen will say that the game is a throwback to the old days when RPGs were hardcore, but hardcore doesn’t always mean fun. RPGs have evolved quite a lot over the last ten years, and Piranha Bytes seems content with not being a part of that innovation.

Links:

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• Review @ EuroGamer.net
• Review @ loot-ninja.com
• Review @ gamesquad.com

Site	Rating	Version	Excerpt
GameInformer	8.5	PC	Nobody will be awarding Risen any trophies on its technical merits. Is that why you play an RPG, though? Or are you in it to explore a story in which you have genuine input over the outcome? Risen can be awfully frustrating on a technical level (though rarely broken, like Gothic 3 before it), but it’s a *** good RPG.
Britxbox	6	Xbox	In terms of content, Risen is nothing to scoff at. There are a good few hundred quests available, a whole bunch of items to either find or forge and, on occasion, you’ll come up against a genuine moral dilemma. It may not be pretty and may not feel at home on the console but if you honestly haven’t had enough of the genre you’ll perhaps be able to overlook the foibles and enjoy what Risen has to offer.
Orange	7/10	Xbox	The epicness of Risen’s size and scope overcomes most of our gripes, though, and on the PC this could be a 9 out of 10 – but since we reviewed the game on the Xbox 360, our score reflects the failure to implement console-friendly interface and controls.
HookedGamers	8.5	PC	Risen provides the player with hours upon hours of role-playing goodness. A sign that you are playing a great game is when it becomes more difficult to put it aside for a couple of hours and this was certainly the case with Risen.

Links:

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• Review @ gameinformer.com
• Review @ britxbox.co.uk
• Review @ orange.co.uk
• Review @ hookedgamers.com