GamerNode: Reviews - Risen

Risen

• Risen
• PC
• Piranha Bytes
• Deep Silver
• October 02nd, 2009

Releasing a title during the Fall quarter can be a daunting task, especially when your game is an RPG that will be competing with BioWare's latest epic, Dragon Age: Origins. But developer Piranha Bytes and publisher Deep Silver gave it a go with their third-person action RPG Risen. While the game has places where it shines and can feature a worthwhile RPG experience, several glitches and shortcomings seem to keep the game from ever reaching the level of enjoyment that has come with other games in the genre like Fallout 3 and Oblivion.

The game's story is a tad basic and underwhelming. It starts off telling you how after years of inferiority, humanity has finally cast the gods out of the world. But there was unfortunately a side effect that came with the banishment of the gods, as temples, monsters, and titans have risen to the surface to threaten humanity. Your character is a stowaway on a mage's ship, which is wrecked after the mage fights and runs away from a water titan. You and one other survivor, a female name Sarah, are washed up on an island and it is up to you to find out where you are and just what is going on.

While it does start off with some intrigue, it is quickly lost as no real explanation is given as to what has just happened to you until a good hour or so into the game. Then your character is left to do menial tasks for either bandit freedom fighters or the Inquisition that rules over the island's only city. The game's story won't pick up, depending on how many quests you take, until about 10-15 hours after you have started.

The rest of the story is interesting, as you are forced to choose an allegiance, fight off ancient foes, and eventually save the island from destruction. It's just that there doesn't seem to be too much emotional attachment to any of the other characters in the game. Everyone in the game just seems to be there and the only characters you may start to care about are thrown by the wayside as soon as you get attached. The game also ends on a bit of an anti-climactic note.

One of the best examples of this is Sarah. What was potential for a love story or companion to add weight to decisions made in the game is thrown completely away when she has you leave her in an abandoned house not 10-15 minutes after the game's beginning. The character is only ever seen again if you choose to tell someone she is there and needs to be brought to a safe location. If so, all that happens is a tiny bit of unimportant dialogue where Sarah thanks you for saving her. It all feels like a massive letdown for where the story could have gone.

The graphics are pretty and will keep you pleased. Environments are detailed and there are a few nice effects, like swords sparking when they clang and steam rising from a hot blade as it is cooled by a smith. But the game is lacking when it comes to characters. There are no facial animations in conversations at all; most emphasis in dialogue is used by body language. Also, practically every single female in the game is modeled with the same curvy body figure. A little diversity would have been nice.

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