Review: Risen
- Thread starter John Funk
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Here's the thing: The video supplements are used to show things that we can't really communicate through text - hence the jumps and animation - and so... those two things in particular are not ISSUES with the game, but rather symptoms of a larger issue: The game feels sloppy. Cool ideas, lackluster implementation, and these issues of movement and graphics just make it hard to get immersed (which should be the entire point of this style of game).Bretty said:
The quests were cool, but I think the advancement system - obscene amount of character customization or not - was horrible. Why should I have to pay trainers in my own faction? If I wanted to explore the cool crafting, then whoops, too bad, no room for actual combat skills!
I'm all for hard, challenging combat when the game works. I'll play on the hardest mode in BlazBlue, for instance. But Risen didn't feel hard because it was a challenging game, it felt hard because the combat felt broken: Unintuitive, clunky, and awkward. That's not the good hard.
While I agree that the animations are often poor (especially during the conversations -- but what game does that well?) I definitely don't agree that this game's graphics are dated. The game looks absolutely beautiful (on a PC). Try standing on a ledge on the volcano overlooking a vast landscape while a thunderstorm is raging at night and tell me your jaw doesn't drop. Or even just seeing the sunrise or sunset filtered through a forest is pretty stunning.
And I certainly don't agree about the combat. I think the combat is pretty intense. It's challenging but it responds well to your own learning. Early on I had to avoid boars at all costs but eventually I learned some tactics for dealing with them. Of course now that my weapons and skills are better I can do more damage but without knowing how to dodge them they'd still ruin me. That's another thing about Gothic and Risen. The designers don't try too hard to corral you in where you can go. You can get just about anywhere but it's the monsters that tell you that you're probably in an area you're not ready for. So you leave and come back a few levels later.
And I certainly don't agree about the combat. I think the combat is pretty intense. It's challenging but it responds well to your own learning. Early on I had to avoid boars at all costs but eventually I learned some tactics for dealing with them. Of course now that my weapons and skills are better I can do more damage but without knowing how to dodge them they'd still ruin me. That's another thing about Gothic and Risen. The designers don't try too hard to corral you in where you can go. You can get just about anywhere but it's the monsters that tell you that you're probably in an area you're not ready for. So you leave and come back a few levels later.
10 hours is plenty of time to find out if you like the way the game plays just looks at Gothic and two worlds, Gothic it took me about 30min to realize I hated the combat more than any game to date. Two worlds the first cut scene you realize how much you hate this game just by having the sound on.
The graphics however didn't look too bad but I never cared too much about graphics they looked mildly dated but still perfectly fine to me. Then again as long as the characters form a recognizable blob on my screen I am happy.
The graphics however didn't look too bad but I never cared too much about graphics they looked mildly dated but still perfectly fine to me. Then again as long as the characters form a recognizable blob on my screen I am happy.
Give it more time?
He wrote a review, which is his job, and did a far better job than I'm willing to bet a lot of you could.
Just because it's an RPG doesn't mean you have to put in 100 hours of your time to figure if you like it. I could tell I despised Two Worlds within an hour, and this looks worse.
Other reviews have been shit as well - if you enjoy it, fine. But it's the reviewers job to give his opinion, and given the other reviews so far, it would seem those who like it are in the minority.
EDIT: The graphics look bad on both systems. Morrowind is better looking, and 7 years older. That's my two cents at least, since it seems to be the main topic of debate.
He wrote a review, which is his job, and did a far better job than I'm willing to bet a lot of you could.
Just because it's an RPG doesn't mean you have to put in 100 hours of your time to figure if you like it. I could tell I despised Two Worlds within an hour, and this looks worse.
Other reviews have been shit as well - if you enjoy it, fine. But it's the reviewers job to give his opinion, and given the other reviews so far, it would seem those who like it are in the minority.
EDIT: The graphics look bad on both systems. Morrowind is better looking, and 7 years older. That's my two cents at least, since it seems to be the main topic of debate.
Oh, this game is great. I have always loved Piranha bytes games and this is no exception.
Animations are bad (average), who cares? Jumping is weird, who cares? I always listen to dialogue without looking at animations and i jump almost never.
I found it to be amazing game.
Animations are bad (average), who cares? Jumping is weird, who cares? I always listen to dialogue without looking at animations and i jump almost never.
I found it to be amazing game.
Would you consider this to be the "Two Worlds" of 2009? I seem to remember there being a degree of hype behind this game after it got banned in Australia, and after reading the review and seeing the gameplay it reminds me severely of the let down (and money down the drain) associated with Two WorldsCantFaketheFunk said:
"As I said, you get to not like the game, and I agree it has its flaws. However, I was criticizing your review, not your oppinion. It's like you went out of your way to put a negative spin on everything in it."
A review is an opinion. You say this and then below you criticize his opinion. Your a fanboy and everything is perfect in the game, thats grand. That doesn't mean others wont find legitimate flaws in how it plays.
"For instance, you say how voice acting is great, writing is solid and characters are interesting, but how it's all ruined by a somewhat limited selection of arm movements during conversations. Seriously? Limited gesturing capability is enough for you to discount all the other stuff?"
Actually if you listen to the review it was the moonjump that bugged him most. The animations and jump meant that this deeply imersive game wasn't.
"Combat IS timing based. You time your clicks correctly and you get faster attacks, or you get parries, or you time your dodges just when the enemy attacks so you get an opening and bash his head. If you time your clicks correctly and pull off a fast combo, more attacks will land before the enemy gets to defend. Also, it's supposed to be hard and you're supposed to get better at it as the game goes by. Your argument is that you can't pwn faces straight from the get-go..."
No, if you listened, his argument was that after 10 hours of trying he couldn't pick up the fighting style. Thats a pretty serious roadblock to people picking up the game and having fun.
"And finally, you top it all off by saying the JUMPING was the breaking point. Really? That's what ruins a game for you? Somewhat inaccurate jumping mechanics in a game where jumping only plays a minor role? And then you say that it's also bad when the character dodges fast..."
I'm not saying you have to like the game. You have an oppinion just as we all do. All I'm saying is that the review sounded nitpicky and unprofessional."
Don't be such a rabid fanboy, you need to read honest reviews without brining out the pitchforks and torches.
A review is an opinion. You say this and then below you criticize his opinion. Your a fanboy and everything is perfect in the game, thats grand. That doesn't mean others wont find legitimate flaws in how it plays.
"For instance, you say how voice acting is great, writing is solid and characters are interesting, but how it's all ruined by a somewhat limited selection of arm movements during conversations. Seriously? Limited gesturing capability is enough for you to discount all the other stuff?"
Actually if you listen to the review it was the moonjump that bugged him most. The animations and jump meant that this deeply imersive game wasn't.
"Combat IS timing based. You time your clicks correctly and you get faster attacks, or you get parries, or you time your dodges just when the enemy attacks so you get an opening and bash his head. If you time your clicks correctly and pull off a fast combo, more attacks will land before the enemy gets to defend. Also, it's supposed to be hard and you're supposed to get better at it as the game goes by. Your argument is that you can't pwn faces straight from the get-go..."
No, if you listened, his argument was that after 10 hours of trying he couldn't pick up the fighting style. Thats a pretty serious roadblock to people picking up the game and having fun.
"And finally, you top it all off by saying the JUMPING was the breaking point. Really? That's what ruins a game for you? Somewhat inaccurate jumping mechanics in a game where jumping only plays a minor role? And then you say that it's also bad when the character dodges fast..."
I'm not saying you have to like the game. You have an oppinion just as we all do. All I'm saying is that the review sounded nitpicky and unprofessional."
Don't be such a rabid fanboy, you need to read honest reviews without brining out the pitchforks and torches.
I loved this game, but, luckily for me, I encountered an utterly arbitrary game breaking bug after a good couple of hours into it.. woo. I'll have to try again sometime, but it won't be soon. I couldn't bear it if the same thing happened twice in a row.
Hm, I friend really loved this game. I think the originality in having a fantasy WPRG set on a tropical island probably offsets a lot of the mentioned problems.
I can't rightly say. I never played Two Worlds, unfortunately.KeyMaster45 said:
I have a feeling that the diehard fans of the genre will probably still love it and forgive its flaws, as they did with the developer's previous games. But people who only like to dabble in the genre will likely just get lost and frustrated early on.vivaldiscool said:
I never really bothered looking into risen, looks an awesome game visualy.. but the gameplay looks abit meh
Funk, come on. What the hell? You spent the whole review saying that the characters don't move right, the player jumps like a moron and it has bad graphics.
But what about the freaking gameplay? What about the choices? Customisation any good? Is the magic system fun? Use your noggin, Funk.
But what about the freaking gameplay? What about the choices? Customisation any good? Is the magic system fun? Use your noggin, Funk.
I'm pretty sure I covered that in the written part of the review. My point was, that the whole choice/customization/etc that people MIGHT play the game for is so buried behind a clunky, sloppy game that it's a chore to get to them in the first place.Sparrow said:
Wow, being a game reviewer must be hard. Before posting a review, do you brace yourself for the psychological impact of fanboys slamming your opinions into your face?
Btw. I also think that you focused too much on ripping the game for its cosmetic issues and not giving too much attention to its values.
Yes, I'm a fanboy.
But kudos for actually reading through the comments and attempting to clarify your position.
Btw. I also think that you focused too much on ripping the game for its cosmetic issues and not giving too much attention to its values.
Yes, I'm a fanboy.
But kudos for actually reading through the comments and attempting to clarify your position.
Eh, you get used to it. People will always disagree with whatever you write. There will always be someone who loves something you hate, and people who hate something you love.Tiamat666 said:Wow, being a game reviewer must be hard. Before posting a review, do you brace yourself for the psychological impact of fanboys slamming your opinions into your face?
Btw. I also think that you focused too much on ripping the game for its cosmetic issues and not giving too much attention to its values.
Yes, I'm a fanboy.
But kudos for actually reading through the comments and attempting to clarify your position.
I don't think I've denied the game has values - I've seen glimmers of its depth and stuff to like about it as I played - my issue was that it's simply too taxing to get to those values if you don't, say, have 20 hours to sink into the game.