Schon am Freitag hat das Magazin DemoNews.de seinen Test zu Risen veröffentlicht. Auf drei Seiten wird ausführlich über das Spiel berichtet.

Hier soll uns ein Ausschnitt aus dem Fazit von Andy Altenheimer genügen:

Was ist es denn jetzt? “Gothic 4“? “Gothic 2 1/2“, “Gothic 3 1/2“? Oder doch nur “Risen“? Ich lasse mal die Scherze beiseite und stelle fest: Hätte Piranha Bytes das echte, wahre, direkte “Gothic 4“ entwickelt, es hätte sich wohl kaum von “Risen“ unterschieden. Die Parallelen bei Konzept, Grafik, Steuerung und Story sind enorm. Können die Entwickler nicht anders? Anscheinend, denn von einem Neuanfang ist man weit entfernt. Müssen die Entwickler nicht anders? Diese Frage ist schwer zu beantworten. Natürlich wird es “Gothic“-Fans immens freuen, dass sie sich auf Piranha Bytes verlassen können. Die Bugscharte des dritten Teiles sollte spätestens jetzt zu den Akten gelegt werden, denn “Risen“ ist für ein 3D-Action-Rollenspiel mit einer solch offen angelegten Welt eines der bugfreiesten Spiele überhaupt. Nur Bethesda Softworks (“Oblivion“,“Fallout 3“) und Lionhead (“Fable“) liefern in der Hinsicht saubere Arbeit ab.

Doch für eine Überwertung reicht es aus zwei Gründen nicht: So schön die Erinnerung an alte Zeiten ist, so sehr hätte ich gerne mehr Neuerungen gesehen. Das bezieht sich nicht nur auf das Spieldesign, sondern auch auf die Grafik. Da fallen nur die heftigen Unwetter auf, die wirklich Eindruck schinden und so ganz nebenbei für einen dramatisch besseren Einstieg sorgen als der verunglückte Startkampf in “Gothic 3“. Der andere Grund ist die Geschichte, die bei einem Spiel dieses Genres mehr bieten müsste. Zwar habt ihr gerade im ersten Kapitel viele Entscheidungsfreiheiten, allerdings bleibt das grobe Drumherum so oder so erhalten. Man hätte also trotzdem eine interessante Story erzählen können, ohne dem Spieler seine Freiheiten zu nehmen. So ist es der übliche “Gruppe A kämpft gegen Gruppe B kämpft gemeinsam gegen große Bedrohung“-Brei, auf den es hinausläuft.

Risen erreicht 86%.

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• zum Test bei DemoNews.de

geschrieben von Don-Esteban Kommentare

Auch GameCaptain.de hat Risen unter die Lupe genommen. Questvielfalt und Charaktergestaltung werden ebenso positiv bewertet wie die generelle Atmosphäre und der Soundtrack. Negativ werden die Animationen der NPC und Monster vermerkt, die noch verbesserungswürdig seien.

Im Fazit von Tester Michael Mombeck heißt es:

Herzlichen Glückwunsch Piranha Bytes: Risen wird sicher den Beifall der Gothic-Gemeinde ernten, für Veteranen ist es wie nach Hause kommen. Neueinsteiger erhalten ein äußerst unterhaltsames Rollenspiel, dem zwar die ganz große Geschichte fehlt aber dies durch eine ungemein intensive Atmosphäre und orginelle Quests wettmacht. Und vielleicht die beste Nachricht: Das Spiel ist nahezu bugfrei so dass ich hier mit gutem Gewissen sagen kann: Mission geglückt, das Spiel ist Klasse geworden und tatsächlich im fertigen Zustand in die Geschäfte gekommen. Gehet hin und reißt es aus den Regalen!

GameCaptain.de vergibt an Risen 89%.

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geschrieben von Don-Esteban Kommentare

IGN published an early impressions article. Preceding a yet to be published review, the author wants to let people know what he thinks of the game so far.

Excerpt:

Since I'm not all that far in I can't really comment on the overall quality of the story, but the presentation is, again, very much like Gothic games, though there's a more natural flow to conversations as compared to Gothic 3. The melee combat, which takes place from a third-person perspective entirely in real-time, is still awkward at the start since it feels very similar to Gothic, but it's nowhere close to as frustrating as the near impossible encounters in Gothic 3, which is obviously a good thing. You ready a weapon with Mouse 3, attack with Mouse 1, and parry with Mouse 2. By double-tapping A or D, you can perform a side-step, and you're helped out a little by a mild auto lock-on functionality. I'm looking forward at this point to seeing how things progress as skill sets for sword, axe, staff, bow, and crossbow weapons are developed, along with the magic and crafting systems. Hopefully large-scale group encounters don't get too messy.

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geschrieben von foobar Kommentare

GamerSyndrome gives RISEN 4.5 of 5 stars. While the overall game is praised, only the AI, a lot of (minor) bugs and the troubles it may give total beginners are criticised by the author.

So much for the good parts of the game. Time to turn the tide. Everything is perfect as much as you don’t notice the tons of bugs. From the AI being horrible, to the fact, that the friendly NPC’s don’t notice you being chased by a pack of wolves. They’re either too stupid or are complete assholes. You’ll also get stuck quite often. I haven’t noticed any bugged quests or critical bugs, but the ones present are enough to destroy the atmosphere. I sure hope they get fixed with an upcoming patch.

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• Review
• Discussion in the forum

geschrieben von foobar Kommentare

Resolution Magazine reviewed RISEN. Reading the text, it becomes clear that the author does not know what to make of the game. The basic game design concepts seem not to be his personal taste but he tries not to let that influence the review too much.

Excerpt:

Risen’s a brave, self-assured game that I’m sure a lot of people are going to really dig. You can tell it’s from the same development team as the ambitious-but-flawed Gothic series, and there’s a reason why that found such a dedicated following. I’m not so taken, but my increasingly frazzled mind through endless streams of instant-gratification blockbusters might have something to do with that. Or maybe I’m just losing patience with minor flaws. Or maybe I’m just weird.

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geschrieben von foobar Kommentare

At StrategyInformer, another review of the Xbox360 version has... risen.

Excerpt:

Lacking in polish and attention to detail, Risen still stands up as an absorbing and hugely playable RPG title. The PC version is inarguably superior to its console counterpart, this Xbox 360 iteration feeling somewhat unfinished and unrefined. Yet, for a sophomore console effort, Piranha Bytes has done a solid enough job in adapting an intricate role-player for Xbox 360, which bodes well should the dev decide to bring future releases to the platform.

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geschrieben von foobar Kommentare

The british site "All About The Games" has published a review of the Xbox360 version of RISEN.

Their overall rating is 3/5.

Excerpt:

It's a real rough diamond, it takes someone with enough patience to look past the jagged edges to see the real jewel at the core. In this case it's the stories in the game. The over-arching quest as well as the individual NPCs and your very own personal path through it all. The control and combat issues are less ofa pain later on when you have the weapons and skills to make them less significant, the focus on non-combat pursuits at the start also keeps these frustrations to a minimum. The other problems do drag it down though and it makes it a very hard game to give it a blanket recommendation. There is a good game in there, just be prepared to compromise.

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geschrieben von foobar Kommentare

IncGamers.com also tested the Xbox360 version. The overall rating is 6.4

Excerpt:

If you've played Fable II to and are looking for an RPG distraction to tide you over until Fable 3 comes out, you could do worse than Risen. I'd just wait until the first price drop before picking it up.

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geschrieben von foobar Kommentare

The website GamesRader.com has also tested RISEN. The PC version, to be precise. With an overall rating of 9/10, the author cirticises the voice acting, the unoriginal premise and the far too easy combat system.

Excerpt:

All in all, there’s little to find fault with here unless you have a grudge against the Gothic series, or the occasionally crap voiceovers inherent to such games. Risen is a solid, engrossing and beautifully presented RPG that’s well worth your time and money.

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geschrieben von foobar Kommentare

Another review of the Xbox360 version of RISEN can be found at VideoGamers.com. The author finds the story good and the moral concepts better than in some games from BioWare. But he criticises that there is too much dialogue to listen to, too little guidance for the player. He also dislikes the graphics, performance and interface. Especially the lack of a minimap or quest compass seems to confuse him. The overall rating is 5/10.

Excerpt:

German developer Piranha Bytes clearly doesn't give a toss about accessibility. If it did then Risen, its new fantasy role-playing game, wouldn't play slower than a legless turtle. If it did, then Risen wouldn't be an overwhelming sprawl of a game that tries its damnedest to make you feel very, very lost. If it did, then Risen wouldn't make you want to tear you hair out in frustration every time you swing your sword. If it did, then Risen wouldn't be half as annoying as it really is.

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geschrieben von foobar Kommentare