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Risen 3: Titan Lords

buzz

Arcane
Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Messages
4,234
Guys, is the first Risen worth playing?
I always managed to skip it, partly because I started getting into abandonware by the time it came out and mostly because that MMO-like interface is getting to my nerves. I loved the ultra minimalistic style of the first Gothic games (only the health bar on screen most of the time, map that acts like actual maps etc.). I'm just afraid it's going to have a lighthearted, generic fantasy tone. Part of the charm for me was the gritty, low-fantasy style of the first two games (especially the first one).
 

Nuclear Explosion

Guest
Guys, is the first Risen worth playing?
If you like the first two Gothic games then it is definitely worth playing. It's very similar and parts of it do seem like a rehash, but it has the best combat system of any PB game. It's basically more of the same but more polished.
 
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Konjad

Patron
Joined
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Messages
3,930
Location
Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Guys, is the first Risen worth playing?
I always managed to skip it, partly because I started getting into abandonware by the time it came out and mostly because that MMO-like interface is getting to my nerves. I loved the ultra minimalistic style of the first Gothic games (only the health bar on screen most of the time, map that acts like actual maps etc.). I'm just afraid it's going to have a lighthearted, generic fantasy tone. Part of the charm for me was the gritty, low-fantasy style of the first two games (especially the first one).
Was Gothic 2 worth playing? If yes, play Risen, if not, don't. The story sucks just as in Gothic 2, but the rest of the game is almost as good for the first two chapters (last two terribly suck, but the first chapter is like 50% of the game if not more, while 2, 3 and 4 are short).
 

thesisko

Emissary
Joined
Jan 3, 2011
Messages
354
Project: Eternity Wasteland 2
LOL @ this selling worse on Steam than a month old turn-based RPG that doesn't treat the player like a retard. PB clearly made a good decision by making their games more accessible to a wider audience, I bet this is selling millions on consoles.:hero:
 

eric__s

ass hater
Developer
Joined
Jun 13, 2011
Messages
2,301
Hey, did they end up going with the ugly, skinny, balding protagonist or did they turn him back into Generic Space Marine?
They went with a generic protagonist but I really liked that ugly potato head guy. I'm sure changing the protagonist directly equates to 10,000 sales, but I know I'd definitely rather play as that weird dude.
 

buzz

Arcane
Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Messages
4,234
Nameless_Hero.JPG

:love:ugly protag best protag
 
Joined
Mar 27, 2013
Messages
3,914
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
Guys, is the first Risen worth playing?
I always managed to skip it, partly because I started getting into abandonware by the time it came out and mostly because that MMO-like interface is getting to my nerves. I loved the ultra minimalistic style of the first Gothic games (only the health bar on screen most of the time, map that acts like actual maps etc.). I'm just afraid it's going to have a lighthearted, generic fantasy tone. Part of the charm for me was the gritty, low-fantasy style of the first two games (especially the first one).
I kinda disagree with those posting before me.
Since your main criteria seems to be the gritty low-fantasy style of the Gothic-series, Risen probably won't really satisfy you!
It plays similar to G1 & 2 when it comes to mechanics, combat etc., why I still think its okay. But the atmosphere is much lighter (if not non-existent).
 

Konjad

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Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Guys, is the first Risen worth playing?
I always managed to skip it, partly because I started getting into abandonware by the time it came out and mostly because that MMO-like interface is getting to my nerves. I loved the ultra minimalistic style of the first Gothic games (only the health bar on screen most of the time, map that acts like actual maps etc.). I'm just afraid it's going to have a lighthearted, generic fantasy tone. Part of the charm for me was the gritty, low-fantasy style of the first two games (especially the first one).
I kinda disagree with those posting before me.
Since your main criteria seems to be the gritty low-fantasy style of the Gothic-series, Risen probably won't really satisfy you!
It plays similar to G1 & 2 when it comes to mechanics, combat etc., why I still think its okay. But the atmosphere is much lighter (if not non-existent).
That's why I mentioned G2 and not Gothic series in general. Gothic was clearly superior in terms of atmosphere and setting than any other game PB made afterwards, with the exception of NotR which also was amazing, albeit not dark but mystical instead. All their other games are just generic fantasy turds. Risen 2 tried with pirates, guns and voodoo, but not enough to break with the generic fantasy turdmanry.
 

buzz

Arcane
Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Messages
4,234
I think G2's atmosphere and setting was rescued by plenty of elements and moments here and there. Jarkeendar, the Hall of Irdorath at the end, giant part of the valley of the mines had a brooding atmosphere, the port side of Khorinis was very rough, the Seekers, it was still fairly good in terms of atmosphere (but not like G1, that's true).
Compared to G3 and the first few minutes of Risen, it was tons better. Just that first part is great on its own (Xardas' tower is creepy as always, that bandit that can mug you with his friends, being a jackass and stealing the farmer clothes instead of doing work, the fear of getting recognized as a convict etc).

That's why I was asking around about Risen, hoped the atmosphere might get a bit better in other areas or at least in the end-dungeons.
 

cvv

Arcane
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Joined
Mar 30, 2013
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18,074
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Kingdom of Bohemia
Codex+ Now Streaming!
http://www.twitch.tv/angryjoeshow/b/557556223

If you watch the AngryJoe stream (that is, if you can made it beyond the first five minutes without being annoyed to death), you can sort of understand what kind of gamers is PB courting. And why it's ultimately a futile effort. As soon as a combat is any more complicated and skill based that in Assassin's Creed, it's "clunky". Also, for this lot, "voice acting" and "awesome moments" are extremelly important.

I think this company is lost for good. They seem to insist on sucking the console crowd dick. They'll never succeed - without turning the series in an AssCreed knock off that is - but it seems they're gonna keep trying. Just keep trying on.

:negative:
 

Konjad

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Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
OK, completed the first island and here's a summary of my impressions so far:

It's Risen 2 2. With all its pros and cons.

Combat is annoying because everything is an HP bloat. Both you and the enemies. I get annoyed by such things, this is why I hate jRPGs. I want fights to be challenging, but also short. I want to easily kill enemies and easily be killed by them, not to mash each other for a minute or two until one of us runs out of arbitrary number of health points. FFS

The enemies are not level scaled, I killed some scavengers and shit for EXP, but also met enemies that kill me easily and I barely harm them. So I run away from them to explore but there's that feeling of 'danger' you are deprived of in level scaled games.

It's just the first and tiny island, made for training I guess, but it's already an exploration tard heaven, as there are here and there hidden chests, sacks of gold and an artifact (though the artifact is in kind of obvious spot). I expect the following isles to be better in this regard and therefore very good, but I'll have to see it yet.

My guess is the game is again written by Rhianna Pratchett as it has a very similar style to Risen 2 (and a different one from other PB games). This means it's going to be silly lighthearted and funny adventure, but no hope for any sinister and complex story.

Patty the whore. They changed that pretty likeable character to something that looks like an ugly whore with tits flapping around. Her character though seems to be the same, but that fucking ugly character model... and the main character seems to be in a late stage of a throat cancer. I'm not sure if he can regain his soul before tumor will take him away. In addition he seems to be an annoying smartass too, but so far it was just Patty and Bones he had dialogues with so it's too early to criticize. I'm going to find out soon.
 

Raghar

Arcane
Vatnik
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
22,506
Guys, is the first Risen worth playing?
I always managed to skip it, partly because I started getting into abandonware by the time it came out and mostly because that MMO-like interface is getting to my nerves. I loved the ultra minimalistic style of the first Gothic games (only the health bar on screen most of the time, map that acts like actual maps etc.). I'm just afraid it's going to have a lighthearted, generic fantasy tone. Part of the charm for me was the gritty, low-fantasy style of the first two games (especially the first one).

It has much better combat than Witcher 2, and the one of few downward things is drinking from barrel. Fred is wonderful. And Patty is funny.
 

adddeed

Arcane
Possibly Retarded
Joined
May 27, 2012
Messages
1,473
It looks like a success and one of the better PB games. All the hater clowns can now exit the thread in shame.
 
Joined
Apr 3, 2006
Messages
1,386
The "it's just like a Gothic game" sales pitch video suckered me in, but now I have to wait until the 15th to weep salty tears of disappointment. Apparently, judging from the commentary floating around the 'net, "it's just like a Gothic game" is true in a twisted, devil's bargain, sort of way:
Arcania_Gothic_4_Game_Cover.jpg

 

Starym

Educated
Joined
Jun 17, 2013
Messages
40
but with the improvement that all the islands open up immediately after the tutorial

Yeah, you're free to go to any island after the tutorial, as long as it's Antigua. :D

Going to any other island is a mistake.

How do you figure that exactly? I went to Taranis (which totally isn't named that because G2 and Khorinis) where the Mages and Guardians are and this one feels way more like R1, Gothic etc, none of that Pirate crap I don't particularly like. I've had no problems with anything and the story there is even mildly interesting. Also the Gnomes.
 
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Scruffy

Ex-janitor
Patron
Joined
May 16, 2008
Messages
18,150
Codex 2012 Torment: Tides of Numenera Codex USB, 2014
i actually like risen's atmosphere, the story is a bit meh, but the island feels "real" and well developed.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
OK, completed the first island and here's a summary of my impressions so far:

It's Risen 2 2. With all its pros and cons.

Combat is annoying because everything is an HP bloat. Both you and the enemies. I get annoyed by such things, this is why I hate jRPGs. I want fights to be challenging, but also short. I want to easily kill enemies and easily be killed by them, not to mash each other for a minute or two until one of us runs out of arbitrary number of health points. FFS

The enemies are not level scaled, I killed some scavengers and shit for EXP, but also met enemies that kill me easily and I barely harm them. So I run away from them to explore but there's that feeling of 'danger' you are deprived of in level scaled games.

It's just the first and tiny island, made for training I guess, but it's already an exploration tard heaven, as there are here and there hidden chests, sacks of gold and an artifact (though the artifact is in kind of obvious spot). I expect the following isles to be better in this regard and therefore very good, but I'll have to see it yet.

My guess is the game is again written by Rhianna Pratchett as it has a very similar style to Risen 2 (and a different one from other PB games). This means it's going to be silly lighthearted and funny adventure, but no hope for any sinister and complex story.

Patty the whore. They changed that pretty likeable character to something that looks like an ugly whore with tits flapping around. Her character though seems to be the same, but that fucking ugly character model... and the main character seems to be in a late stage of a throat cancer. I'm not sure if he can regain his soul before tumor will take him away. In addition he seems to be an annoying smartass too, but so far it was just Patty and Bones he had dialogues with so it's too early to criticize. I'm going to find out soon.

Wat.

It is not a HP bloat if you play on Hard without the pre-order armour and get killed in 3 hits. Anyway, it is no more of a HP bloat than any other PB game. The balance there has not changed at all. (Remember how long it took to kill some enemies in G1/2? That was part of why it was good, because you had that tension of trying to survive.)

It still has better exploration than most games, but it is worse than G1/2/3/R1. Hidden stuff is entirely where you expect them to be. (Look, a dead end! There's a big tree! I wonder what's behind it?)

Anyway, yeah, Risen actually has good atmosphere. It is unlike any other game, it has a cohesive feel about it, etc - it just isn't the G1/2 atmosphere.
 

Baron Dupek

Arcane
Joined
Jul 23, 2013
Messages
1,870,765
Better to play some Gothic 1/2 mods. There is bunch of them, some of them quite impressive, like recently released Global Mod. Bunch of stuff (new factions, items, quests) and almost 100h of gameplay. So choice is your...
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
R2/3 are no longer about getting that 'Gothic feel', for which you might as well replay G1/2 & R1.

If you enjoyed R2 or even modpatched G3 for what it is, then R3 would be worthwhile, I think.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
Why would anybody play any PB game with companions? It's cheat mode for combat. Luckily you can ditch Patty after the tutorial. I swear I had an aneuryism in the opening beach when she says NO DONT GO THAT WAY LETS TURN BACK. (Luckily you can ignore the bitch.)
 

Siobhan

Arbiter
Joined
Feb 25, 2013
Messages
472
Location
1X 1Y 2Z
It is not a HP bloat if you play on Hard without the pre-order armour and get killed in 3 hits. Anyway, it is no more of a HP bloat than any other PB game. The balance there has not changed at all. (Remember how long it took to kill some enemies in G1/2? That was part of why it was good, because you had that tension of trying to survive.)

NOTR at least has some of the worst HP bloat I've ever seen because the tactics are always the same: lure away from pack, backstep/parry/sidestep (depending on whether you're fighting an animal, human, or orc), do a quick combo, rinse and repeat. Whether you do that 3 times or 15 doesn't really make a difference because none of it is particularly challenging once you get used to the control scheme and know the enemy patterns. It doesn't even contribute to difficulty by attrition --- the player slowly being whittled down by encounter after encounter --- because you always have a gazillion potions and herbs in your inventory. So what you end up with is overly long encounters that pose no challenge whatsoever. It's pretty much the definition of tedium.

I'm not going to play Risen 3 any time soon since I haven't even played the first two yet, but if they can't be bothered to fix at least the most obviously broken aspects of the Gothic school of design, I should probably put them very close to the bottom of my embarrassingly long todo list.
 

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