Preview Swashbuckling on the High Seas of Gothic Fantasy

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: Piranha Bytes; Risen 2: Dark Waters

<p>Gamedynamo offer a preview of Piranha Bytes' next entry to the shiny world of action RPGs: <strong>Risen 2: Dark Waters</strong>.</p>
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<p>The mechanics of Risen 2 are receiving a bit of an overhaul, as well. Bows and arrows have gone the way of the dinosaur, replaced by gunpowder firearms - what's a good pirate without his trusty revolver and a few cannons on his ship, right? Naturally, both melee combat and magic are still going to be present in the game, as well. There's not much info on the magic system at the current moment, but the combat animations are a lot more fluid and visually impressive than Risen's oft-awkward and clunky sequences.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>Piranha Bytes is going out of their way to make their fantasy world appear as real as possible. The game's got a regular day-night cycle, and everyone (even monsters) sleeps eventually. Can't seem to beat down that ogre to steal the chalice he's guarding? Wait for him to take a nap and make off with it in the night?&nbsp;</p>
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<p>Freedom of choice is also big in this game - if you want to shoot that corrupt governor in the head, feel free; just be prepared to suffer the consequences when his guards bust through the door to find out what happened to their boss. Factions also play an important part in the game - if you want something from a person or group, they need to trust you first.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>The armor set system and skill progression from Risen are both going to be making a comeback in Risen 2 - your character will progress in a very organic, very natural fashion, unlike the cut and dry "you have reached level five" sort of system you see in a lot of RPGs. As for the armor system, let's just say that armor sets are a sign of accomplishment as much as they are equipment, and leave it at that.</p>
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[curry]

what's a good pirate without his trusty revolver

 

[Spectacle]

I thought pirates mostly used AK-47s and RPG-7s?

 

[Coyote]

what's a good pirate without his trusty revolver

I missed that the first time though.

Here's the whole article, along with some pictures that I haven't seen before:

An ‘old friend' from the first game strongly encourages you to get up off your drunken, good-for-nothing behind and work for him. By "strongly encourages," I mean ‘it's this or jail time.' Thus, you set out on one of the first missions of the game, infiltrating the Pirate Clans on the behalf of a group known as The Inquisition.

Sounds like the factions of Risen 2 are going to be the pirate clans. Aside from that (which may be old news, but I don't remember hearing it before), I don't see anything new in the article.

 

[Metro]

I have a bad feeling mages are going to be poorly implemented... yet again.

 

[CrunchyHemorrhoids]

Can't say I care for the amount of almighty holy bloom PB has been using in its promo screenshots ever since G3. Even Bethesda would stand in awe.

Has anyone seen the hud? Is it still in the middle of the bottom of the screen instead of in the corners?

 

[Phelot]

I have a bad feeling mages are going to be poorly implemented... yet again.

What didn't you like about them in Risen 1?

 

[Jaesun]

Please don't fuck this up PB.

 

[J_J_M]

Can't say I care for the amount of almighty holy bloom PB has been using in its promo screenshots ever since G3. Even Bethesda would stand in awe.

I've read on the World of Risen forums that they have toned it down.

 

[abnaxus]

I want to be a pirate.

 

[Raghar]

I remember mount and blade. They introduced muskets, and the whole game went down.

 

[Ruprekt]

I have a bad feeling mages are going to be poorly implemented... yet again.

What didn't you like about them in Risen 1?

They weren't true to real magic users.

 

[commie]

If it's half as good as DA:O then I'm sold.

 

[JarlFrank]

I remember mount and blade. They introduced muskets, and the whole game went down.

Wait what. Muskets are p. awesome in M&B.

 

[felipepepe]

along with some pictures that I haven't seen before:

Holy shit, I almost went blind by looking at them, so much bloom!

 

[Excidium]

Please don't fuck this up PB.

 

[Metro]

I have a bad feeling mages are going to be poorly implemented... yet again.

What didn't you like about them in Risen 1?

I'll see if I can dig up the link to that Risen thread where I went into more depth but the upshot is I thought they were poorly balanced. The addition of mana efficient nukes was both progress and regression. On the one hand it helped sidestep the problem in G2 you constantly had to chug potions as rune magic required huge amounts of mana. On the other it was too efficient as you didn't really have to dump any LP into +mana -- so long as you fast tracked your primary nuke (usually either fireball or the bullet) to 8 or 10 you could dispatch most groups of enemies with under 60ish mana. Rune magic was pointless. First it was limited to utility spells that all character builds used. Second, as in G2, scrolls did the same job for less mana and you could find them in abundance.

 

[Oriental European]

what's a good pirate without his trusty revolver and a few cannons on his ship, right?

Yes. Yes, we need more cannons.

As for the armor system, let's just say that armor sets are a sign of accomplishment as much as they are equipment, and leave it at that.

Fuck. You. That shit works only if you join a faction, when armor set means status. If you just buy it in a store once in a chapter...

Oh look, steel ans muskets against Giant Punk Chickens! Adventures!

 

[Micmu]

Scavengers are still in!! :D

 

[Hobo Elf]

Why do those two screen shots remind me of Fable 2.

 

[ValeVelKal]

The armor set system and skill progression from Risen are both going to be making a comeback in Risen 2 - your character will progress in a very organic, very natural fashion, unlike the cut and dry "you have reached level five" sort of system you see in a lot of RPGs.

Well, Risen 1 was the cut and dry "you have reached a new level - now go spend your training points", in addition to the "you have reach a new chapter - now go buy a new armor."

Good system, I like it, but it was neither organic nor natural.

 

[Raghar]

I remember mount and blade. They introduced muskets, and the whole game went down.

Wait what. Muskets are p. awesome in M&B.

So how it works when you are going against 40 muskets? I thought MB become too random.