We have a few more reviews on the horizon, continuing the trend of mixed reviews for Piranha Bytes' latest:

Chuck Osborn for GameSpy:

"Pros:
Gorgeous environments; entertaining storyline; a treasure's chest of pirating skills and dirty tricks to learn

"Cons:
Make wrong choices early on and you may handicap your progression; weak combat; curious design decisions"

Tech, Gadgets, Web:

"Recommending Risen 2 Dark Waters is hard due to the clumsy combat and a few issues it suffers from. But if you can look pass that, Risen 2 is still packed with fun and is a good role-playing experience for fans of the genre."

Tyler Scott for Save and Quit:

"There might be a good game buried somewhere under all the bad in Risen 2, but if there is, I can’t be bothered to find it, not when there are so many better alternatives for action RPGs out there that don’t involve any digging to find enjoyment. I recommend steering clear of these waters, matey."

Links:

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• Review at GameSpy
• Review at Tech, Gadgets, Web
• Review at Save and Quit

written by Nisarg Comments

No, we're not done with the reviews yet. Here are a few more!

Nic Simmonds for NAG Online:

"The 17th-century Caribbean setting went from intriguing to tiring, and the tireless reverting to tried and tested Hollywood pirate tropes began to grate my nerves.

"The third-person combat is nothing new, but in its defence, it works and is moderately enjoyable.

"One of Risen 2’s strong points is the character progression, which manages to be both compelling as well as surprisingly unique.

" There is a degree of humour injected for good measure, but it’s not done well enough to really count as one of the game’s strengths.

"Risen 2 is not terrible but it's difficult to justify its existence."

Edward Torbicki for Level Save:

"Good: Unique gameplay setting | Entertaining Dialogue | Engaging story

"Bad: Frustrating combat | Bugs | Problematic leveling system"

"I wanted to love this game, but the frustrating gameplay teamed up with the horde of bugs to finally nail the coffin shut on my interest."

GamerZines:

"The big question that has to be asked though is that is this a substantial improvement over the original Risen and in our opinion that answer has to be no. Dark Waters feels a lot more disposable than its atmospheric predecessor and lacks a lot of personality, which for a Piranha Bytes game is really strange. Strictly a game for Risen or more appropriately Gothic fans only."

Links:

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• Review at NAG Online
• Review at Level Save
• Review at GamerZines

written by Nisarg Comments

More mixed reviews for Risen 2 have come in:

Rock, Paper, Shotgun has a Wot I Think review for Risen 2 by Alec Meer:

"I guess I’m procrastinating from saying what I need to say, which is that you’re better off avoiding Risen 2 than picking it up. I know full well that’s the right thing to say, but I’ve been reluctant to because it’s clearly got heart and soul, the skill tree is full of genre-unusual delights and it offers several sweet hats. If it could have worked off about 10 to 15 hours of needless flab I’d probably have taken Risen 2 to heart in the same way I did the first half of its predecessor. Instead, I feel a gentle regret for having given it so much of my time and a strong frustration that it didn’t manage to make more of itself."

Jeff Mattas for Shacknews

"Risen 2: Dark Waters offers a lot to like taken in its parts. A competent story, a good amount of player-driven choices, and beautiful locations to explore make it one of the best (and only) pirate RPGs out there. But it fell short for me when it came to other mechanical things like combat and character development."

Sean Halliday for Gamer Euphoria

"Risen 2: Dark Waters is a flawed game in a lot of areas, yet it still packs a strange charm to it. The combat is indeed frustrating and fiddly, the story and quests are indeed nothing special but the charm of the game still shines through. The concept of being a pirate is quite interesting and Risen 2 captures elements of playing as a pirate but doesn’t make full use of the idea. It’s a real shame that developer Piranha Bytes didn’t make full use of the concept and instead partially touched upon it."

Links:

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• Review at RPS
• Review at Shacknews
• Review at Gamer Euphoria

written by Nisarg Comments

DeepSilver have released a new five and half minute long Making Of video featuring Jennifer Pankratz, Björn Pankratz, Michael Hoge, Mattias Filler and Milad Sadinam.

In this video, they talk about the design of the game, explaining things such as why they have a definite character as the hero, only one ending, the different design compared to their previous games and how the world opens up later in the story unlike Risen.

They also talk about how the design a game by first designing the game world - including why different people live where they do - and use it as the basis of the story. They also talk about quests and NPC reactions to the player's choices in dialogue.




Links:

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• Video at YouTube

written by Nisarg Comments

Deep Silver and Piranha Bytes changed the combat system of Risen 2. With the patch, which is available via Steam, players now can (again) evade attacks. This is done by pressing the right mouse button and double-tapping the respective movement key, as in Risen 1. Furthermore, even attacks from monsters can now be blocked.

By that, one of most criticised problems of the combat system has been solved. Now the player has defensive options against non-human opponents.

The patch also fixes the flickering of distant vegetation with NVidia cards.

Overview over the changes:

Player can block most attacks by monsters

Player has an evasion move in combat

The maximum number of auto-saves has been limited to 10.

Improved combat AI of monsters

Improved combat AI of NPCs attacked from behind

Improved rendering of vegetation

Improved view range of items

Improved rendering of terrain

Sabotaging the cannons in Puerto Isabella much easier

Trade woman at the Sword Coast now sells rum

Removed exploit from the shooting mini-game

Mara has more hitpoints

Steelbeard's hat cannot be sold any more

Trees in the distance do not flicker anymore on NVidia cards

Problems fixed when playing with multiple cards linked via SLI

Crash when using 7.1 sound system fixed

Rare crash while climbing fixed

Fixed bug with the "return to ship" function

Fixed bug with indoor rain

Crew members cannot be killed by monsters any more

Player now receives the item Fooljuice after brewing

Fixed bug when learning certain skills

Removed several exploits

written by foobar Comments

Just in case you still haven't decided whether or not you shall purchase Risen 2, here are two more reviews:

Jeffrey L. Wilson for PCMag

"Pros:
Flexible character-building system. The game frequently autosaves, so if you fail a mission you aren't set too far back. Solid voice acting.

Cons:
Buggy combat. Robotic character movement. Annoying fetch quests.

Bottom Line:
Risen 2: Dark Waters delivers does a decent job of creating a pirate-fantasy adventure, but it feels flat at times and has trouble overcoming some of the more annoying RPG tropes."

Uros Pavlovic for ActionTrip

"The odd thing is that Risen 2 is not a bad little pirate adventure. Even with all its peculiarities, I have to be honest, I did have fun along the way. Plenty of fun. The quest structure is solid and rarely feels repetitive or bored. At this point, I should say that even with all these drawbacks, I felt compelled to play on. "

Links:

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• Review at PCMag
• Review at ActionTrip

written by Nisarg Comments

The modding community is already valiantly working on the new game, despite their lack of official support. Tools for modifying data (textures, sounds, dialogues and more) are already created.

Now, the first mod for Risen 2 has been published which addresses one of the most severe optical bugs in the game: The strange morphing/zooming of the vegetation.

Our user Baltram released this mod yesterday:



It is available in different versions to allow maximum flexibility due to different performance levels of the PCs out there. By extending the view range, the ugly plant morphing is almost complete removed. It costs a few frames, though.


Links:

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• Releasethread im Modding-Forum

written by foobar Comments

A new day, and nothing has changed we have yet more reviews floating about:

Dylan Burns for games.on.net:

"Good:
Whimsical pirate setting
Combination of melee and firearms can be fun
Generally good voice acting
Logical, integrated quest structure

"Bad:
Awful graphics engine full of 'quirks'
Quests can get broken as you explore
Crappy character animation
Very difficult combat, and super grindy in nature"

Brittany Vincent for The Blast:

"But stilted presentation, muted visuals (I refer back to awkward character gestures), muddy textures, and over-used combat dialogue combined with a combat system that just isn’t remarkable in any way, shape or form doesn’t exactly an epic pirate adventure make. There was much that could have been accomplished here, and at times you catch a small glimpse of greatness. With a bit more polish and care, Risen 2: Dark Waters could have knocked it out of the park. Opt for other RPGs that arrrrren’t as underwhelming."

wethegamerz:

"Risen 2 is a game that improves in some areas from the first Risen but still feels like a last generation action RPG. The game is quite hard and while exploring is encouraged, if you venture too far and if you don’t have the right weapons or skills then you will get killed in a matter of seconds, which can be very frustrating. I feel like this could have been a good game and it had some potential, but what holds Risen 2 back is a hit or miss combat system, boring fetch quests, lots of AI glitches, and a very dull story."

Links:

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• Review at games.on.net
• Review at The Blast
• Review at wethegamerz

written by Nisarg Comments

Chris Capel apparently liked the idea of comparing The Witcher 2 (Enhanced Edition) and Risen 2: Dark Waters, despite the two games being very different in design. And so he wrote an article for Strategy Informer pitting them against each other in terms of Combat, Story, Dialogue, Characters, Maturity, Setting, Map, Graphics and Criminality.

Some snippets:

"Witcher 2 out the gate had frustrating combat, with difficult to dodge attacks, enemies boxing you in, and no real explanation of the fighting mechanics. Fortunately CD Projekt have worked hard at patching the game and we’re now at the Enhanced Edition, with still challenging combat but much more fair on players, which is of course more fun. Now we come to Risen 2, which is out the gate with frustrating combat, difficult to dodge attacks, enemies boxing you in, and no real explanation of the fighting mechanics."

" As attached as I was to Patty, Chani, ol’ Steelbeard, and that weird guy who thought he was possessed by spirits, they just don’t hold a candle to Dandelion, Zoltan, Triss, and Iorveth. Witcher 2 even managed to make me care about the death of Cedric, whose entire role in the game was to sell me a few ingredients then get killed. Meanwhile I can’t even remember the name of the head Inquisition commander who sets you off on your quest in Risen 2."

"For all its brilliance and CD Projekt’s dedication, Witcher 2’s map still sucks. I actually failed a time-sensitive quest once because I couldn’t find an entrance, and spent 45 minutes trying to find a marked doorway that turned out wasn’t even in the same town I was in. In Risen 2 you can fast travel and generally always know where you are, even if you have to purchase the map first. Much better."

Links:

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• Article at Strategy Informer

written by Nisarg Comments

If you thought that the tide of reviews has ended, think again!

Rich McCormick for PC Gamers:

"Risen 2 is as coarsely put together as the pirates it references throughout. Dig around and there’s real gold to be found in the hours of game-time it offers, but the sheer hard work required to unearth them will be too much for all but the truly dedicated RPG plunderer.

"A pirate’s life for ye? That depends on your tolerance for working for your treasure."

Tim McDonald for IncGamers:

"Objectively speaking, Risen 2 a bit of a broken, over-ambitious mess, but it's a bizarrely enjoyable one because of the way the flawed mechanics flow together, and it's buoyed up by its amount of heart. Once you get past the aggressive opening and the punishing first few hours, it opens up enough that it provides a half-decent RPG experience – and one with pirates."

Kevin VanOrd for GameSpot:

"The Good
Array of quests that make you feel like a true adventurer
Voodoo and dirty tricks spice up battles
Great island atmosphere
Fun attitude that doesn't rely on tired pirate cliches.

The Bad
Frustrating combat scenarios
Some annoying bugs
Not as free-form as the original Risen."

Links:

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• Review at PC Gamer
• Review at IncGamers
• Review at GameSpot

written by Nisarg Comments