Review RPG Codex reviews Risen 2: Dark Waters

[Chuck Norris]

There's no fuckin way in hell Risen 2 is as bad as codex makes it out to be. Some bitch gave this game the " hate it, it's cool " reputation before it was released and now it's the victim of this reputation. Darth Roxor is clearly influenced by the hate atmosphere around the game in his review and sees nothing except bad things about it.

This is not some classic shit like Gothic, that's true. But it definitely doesn't deserve the harsh comments it receives here either. Shit, this is PB you are dealing with, not some Arcania developer. Show some fucking respect.

 

[Darth Roxor]

There's no fuckin way in hell Risen 2 is as bad as codex makes it out to be. Some bitch gave this game the " hate it, it's cool " reputation before it was released and now it's the victim of this reputation. Darth Roxor is clearly influenced by the hate atmosphere around the game in his review and sees nothing except bad things about it.

No, fuck you, I was actually looking forward to it for the most part. Then when I heard all the news of streamlining right before release I was still thinking "Hey, it's PB and they learned their lesson with Gothic 3 -> Risen, this will still be at least good". After release, I was specifically avoiding the big Risen 2 thread because I wanted to see it for myself. And I sure did fucking see it for myself, alright.

Sees nothing but bad things? Read it again, this time with comprehension. Or maybe you're prejudiced and see nothing but bad things in my review?

This is not some classic shit like Gothic, that's true. But it definitely doesn't deserve the harsh comments it receives here either. Shit, this is PB you are dealing with, not some Arcania developer. Show some fucking respect.

Ok, brb while I'm re-writing my review to 'show some fucking respect':

"But despite all these staggering flaws, hey, it's Piranha Bytes we're talking about. If Risen 2 sang the blues, you'd want to listen. There is no doubt that the game is still a modern classic, a rough diamond and an absolute treat for any Gothic fan. Just approach it with your expectations a bit lower and you'll love everything it has to offer, 10/10!"

 

[made]

If I had to name one positive aspect about the game that stuck out for me it'd be that NPCs usually give directions to quest objectives so it's actually possible to play without the help of quest markers. Except treasure maps ofc, but that actually makes sense. Did you mention that in the review? I kinda skimmed over a couple paragraphs.

 

[commie]

Darth, I think the confusion comes with you playing the 'Kurwa' version rather than the Western release. Don't you realise that the decadent West has some superior version of Risen 2 and that's why so many cannot reconcile themselves with the idea that the game is shit?

 

[made]

Actually, "wersia kurewska" must evidently be superior in this case. Had he played it in German he wouldn't call the writing solid. Or the gnomespeak funny.

 

[Darth Roxor]

I played the decadent inglese western version tho

Did you mention that in the review?

Shit, I forgot to . I remember I also noticed it when playing, but forgot to jot down a note in my .txt.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

The screenshots are from Elwro, remember?

Btw, I'm still waiting for those who "do disagree on a few key points" or who "do think the game is actually pretty good" in one way or another to actually bother to mention said key points or to give an example of what the game does well.

 

[commie]

Why did they forget to take notes from how commercially successful ArcaniA was?

They did take the notes...but from Jewood's marketing manager telling the world how ecstatically Arcania was received by the public(a few weeks before they folded).


@VoD

I think the only things that people can disagree on are subjective things like art style and the odd bit of pedantism like with the Kraken open mouth thing(after all, virtually every game with a boss fight has the boss doing some stupid thing where all of a sudden it is vulnerable so singling out Risen 2 is a bit pointless).

 

[Darth Roxor]

the odd bit of pedantism like with the Kraken open mouth thing(after all, virtually every game with a boss fight has the boss doing some stupid thing where all of a sudden it is vulnerable so singling out Risen 2 is a bit pointless).

"Every other game does it" is hardly an excuse, for one thing. And second, every other game actually does it better because, at least in most games, there'll be like 4 'stages' of a bossfight, where dropping the baddie's HP below a certain % will make him act differently. Not so much in Risen 2 where the earth titan and the kraken pretty much keep doing the same things over and over again.

 

[Outlander]

I hope PB, or anyone else for that matter, to stay the fuck away from the Gothic IP. I know they own it now, but I'm not interested in witnessing how they rape the series even more.

Only a PB kickstarter could save Gothic and still, they would have to be very clear, explicit and specific in their "Please believe us, we're not gonna fuck it up" pitch video.

PS: good review, FUCK YES!

 

[Tolknaz]

All things considered it's still a good game, but then you list all areas in which it can and does fail painfully?

Two words. Pirate atmosphere. In my opinion PB gets it right (maybe it helps, that the banter between pirates is surprisingly well written and voice acted), and it goes a long way towards making these flaws bearable for me. Well, i don't know. Maybe i am just easy to please, but to me Risen 2 is definately a game, that's bigger than the sum of its(sometimes atrocious) parts. I certainly expected to hate it as much as Forsaken Bugs, Arcania and Dragon Age 2, but for some reason i don't. Maybe i'm tricked by the fact that i can still clearly see the old PB stuff unterneath all the publisher forced bullshit like minigames, locked dlc-s and whatnot. People still don't like you taking their shit or trampling in their homes and there is still a lot more ambient stuff like schedules than in almost any other game but PB-s old games. Also, their compass-fu isn't very strong yet and you still have to buy your own maps and shit.
Long story short: The decline has made me mellow. Had they released this after Gothic i really don't know how i would have felt.

 

[Achilles]

Btw, I'm still waiting for those who "do disagree on a few key points" or who "do think the game is actually pretty good" in one way or another to actually bother to mention said key points or to give an example of what the game does well.

It would take a very lengthy post to discuss the basic points of the review and I'm not sure it's worth it at this point. Most people have already made up their minds about the game so... I don't know. In brief I can say that Risen 2 is a trademark Piranha Bytes game at its heart, just sliced up differently (many smaller locations rather than one big landmass). It is a bit worse than Risen and in that sense it's a bit of a setback, but I can't fathom how anyone can think it's that much worse than Risen, a game with quite a few problems of its own if I might add. Besides, I think Brother None's review over @ Gamebanshee sums up the game quite well.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Two words. Pirate atmosphere.

Yeah, this is pretty much one of the very few things Risen 2 does right. For me, at least, there's no way atmosphere alone can carry this wreck of a game :shrug:

 

[commie]

I think Darth would have been more forgiving and probably was in his more carefree days before he played Arcania. I know I certainly would have forgiven Risen 2 a lot more had I not supped from that infernal cup myself. I now find myself not giving a chance to any game when it rises above a certain turdiness threshold unlike in the past. Just don't have the patience anymore.

 

[bat_boro]

There's no fuckin way in hell Risen 2 is as bad as codex makes it out to be. Some bitch gave this game the " hate it, it's cool " reputation before it was released and now it's the victim of this reputation. Darth Roxor is clearly influenced by the hate atmosphere around the game in his review and sees nothing except bad things about it.

This is not some classic shit like Gothic, that's true. But it definitely doesn't deserve the harsh comments it receives here either. Shit, this is PB you are dealing with, not some Arcania developer. Show some fucking respect.

Believe me bro, it's really that bad. This is my first post about the game, btw.
You know, when I played Arcania, I endured it for quite some time I remember, waiting for it to get better but it never did. Then I remember myself being in a forest of some sorts, remembering the old Gothic 2 forest near the first town. I was this close to coming to tears because I witnessed the desecration of something holy to me as a gamer - my childhood memories of my first game that I really, really loved.

I had the same experience with Risen 2. It's like raping all my Gothic memories. By the way I really waited for Risen 2 to get better, too. But when I saw that the exploration was fucked beyond repair (what the fuck was that Fable shit PB pulled on us!?) i just quit the game raging and never looked back. And really I don't think that anything good could come out of the Gothic IP if PB go with the same mindset. Just don't rape it, PB, for old times sake.

 

[zodden]

I don't agree with the review. The game has faults, and combat is probably the main one. This has been true for all of PB games though. The story and theme I think makes for a pretty good game. I usually agree with his reviews but not this time. I have been enjoying the game overall.

 

[Darth Roxor]

The game has faults, and combat is probably the main one. This has been true for all of PB games though.

 

[zodden]

The game has faults, and combat is probably the main one. This has been true for all of PB games though.

I think another reason for VoD's poor review is that he played this game before the patch came out. That patch added dodge and monster block, among other fixes, and that makes combat a lot better. If I had played without those for any amount of time that would color any future review for me. The lack of the above contributed greatly to the low scores in reviews of the game. In fact with the official patch and some mods (like anti warp) go a long way to taking care of some of the larger complaints I have read about.


Also there is an unofficial patch:

http://forum.worldofplayers.de/forum/threads/1154440-release-Risen-2-Unofficial-Patch

and a mod tool released:

http://forum.worldofplayers.de/forum/threads/1147645-RELEASE-Risen-2-ModStarter-v-2-0-(Online-DB-version)

 

[Grunker]

The story and theme I think makes for a pretty good game.

No. No it doesn't. A pretty good story and theme makes for a pretty good story and theme. A good story and theme in a movie doesn't make a good movie, like they don't make a good book. Good writing makes a good book. Good gameplay makes a good game. Story, theme, character - these things add value to media. They don't "make" them. They make them better. This is not of much use if the very craftsmanship the media is based upon is nonfunctional.

I'm one of the resident storyfags ffs, I would never defend a story or theme detached from gameplay as something that could save the "game"-part of the game and thus make a good game.

I think another reason for VoD's poor review is that he played this game before the patch came out.

Darth Roxor wrote this review, as can be seen both from VoD's original post and in the review itself.

 

[zodden]

Darth Roxor wrote this review, as can be seen both from VoD's original post and in the review itself.

Whoever reviewed it- It doesn't matter. The game is not something great, I would say its a little above average but this review makes it out to seem far worse and barely playable. I disagree.

 

[Darth Roxor]

I think another reason for VoD's poor review is that he played this game before the patch came out.

Your powers of clairvoyance fail you. I've been running around Tacarigua when the patch was released.

And you still deserve to get clobbered for saying that PB games have shit combat

 

[ghostdog]

Thanks for the review Darth. In general it seems we like and dislike the same things about PB games, so I'm gonna trust you in this one and stay away from R2.

 

[toro]

"But despite all these staggering flaws, hey, it's Piranha Bytes we're talking about. If Risen 2 sang the blues, you'd want to listen. There is no doubt that the game is still a modern classic, a rough diamond and an absolute treat for any Gothic fan. Just approach it with your expectations a bit lower and you'll love everything it has to offer, 10/10!"

This is misleading. Not a bit lower, the expectations should be under the ground.

Face it: The game is a failure for any PB fan. For a new player it can be debated, but for an old fan ... no fucking way. It's probably between Gothic 3 and Arcania.

 

[Metro]

The combat itself just feels like shit. Melee combat has always been the highlight of PB games... well... the ones that didn't suck: G1, G2, and Risen. Combat in Risen 2 is closer to combat in Arcania.

 

[zodden]

And you still deserve to get clobbered for saying that PB games have shit combat

You are right. Imo combat sucked in Gothic 3 and I didn't play 4. I didn't like combat in G1 either.

I did really like it in Gothic 2 and Risen also. This one ahead of Gothic 3 unpatched but behind G2 and Risen. I did like Gothic 3 combat playing as a mage though.