Description
The earth trembled and ancient temples rose from the ground followed by unknown creatures. Cyclones drive over the sea and Firestorms roam the land with not only thousands of lives but also the hope that the Gods will save humanity lost. When the dark wave hits, the humans are on their own and only a few enclaves survive the attack. One is a volcano-island which has been saved from the worst by an unknown force but its protection is getting weaker and weaker.
The player arrives on the island after his ship is hit and destroyed by the dark wave and finds himself in an open world filled with dangerous creatures, many different characters and three factions and will unlock the secret of the island during the course of the game.
Although the game is called
Risen, it plays very similar to
Gothic 2 and
Gothic which means the player once again takes over the control of a nameless hero from a 3rd-person-view and will be exploring the island, talking to people in multiple-choice-dialogues, fulfilling quests and fighting monsters and other enemies while using the experience points earned to level up and learn new skills and abilities in a typical role-playing-game-fashion. Depending on which of the three factions (bandits, mages or inquisitors) the player joins by earning their respect through fulfilling quests, he also chooses to a certain degree what he wants to be although he is always able to distribute his skill points into anything he likes - as long as he finds a teacher for that particular skill.
Combat against the many enemies ranging from gnomes to powerful ash-beasts requires the player not only to invest points into his combat-skills, but also to master blocking and dodging enemy attacks while on the other hand get through the enemy defense. If a parry is activated at the right moment it is even possible to land an immediate counter-attack.
Alternate Titles
Part of the Following Groups
| Merchant |
Title |
Platform |
Price |
|
 |
Risen |
Windows |
$11.89 |
|
| Risen |
Xbox 360 |
$5.95 |
|
 |
Risen |
 |
|
| |
User Reviews
The Press Says
| Cheat Code Central |
Windows |
Oct, 2009 |
4.4 out of 5 |
88 |
| GameStar (Germany) |
Windows |
Oct 02, 2009 |
87 out of 100 |
87 |
| PC Gameplay (Benelux) |
Windows |
Sep 30, 2009 |
87 out of 100 |
87 |
| ActionTrip |
Windows |
Oct 20, 2009 |
8.1 out of 10 |
81 |
| ET Magazine |
Windows |
Sep 30, 2009 |
76 out of 100 |
76 |
| GameBanshee |
Windows |
Nov 10, 2009 |
7.4 out of 10 |
74 |
| Worth Playing |
Windows |
Dec 18, 2009 |
7.1 out of 10 |
71 |
| Jeuxvideo.com |
Xbox 360 |
Oct 05, 2009 |
13 out of 20 |
65 |
| Gamernode |
Windows |
Nov 04, 2009 |
6.5 out of 10 |
65 |
| MS Xbox World |
Xbox 360 |
Oct 09, 2009 |
5.5 out of 10 |
55 |
Forums
Trivia
Censorship
The game could not be given a OFLC classification in Australia and was banned, according to news articles in August, 2009. The reasons cited were:
"During the course of the game, players can interact with prostitutes (referred to as “whores” in the game) at a local brothel. Players can trigger a lengthy dialogue to engage in their services; sexual activity is strongly implied, but never depicted on screen. Many of the characters in the game smoke a fictional drug called “brugleweed.” The “wood reefer” plant is described as having a mild relaxing effect on users, and can be bought, sold, and used by players. Some profanity (e.g., “f*ck” and “sh*t”) can be heard in the dialogue."
The OFLC Classification Board felt that the game contained sexual activity and drug use related to incentives or rewards.
Parody
Risen (more precisely: the development of the game) was parodied in an episode of
Die Redaktion (The Editorial Team), a monthly comedy video produced by the German gaming magazine GameStar. It was published on the DVD of issue 02/2010.
Information also contributed by Jeanne.
This entry was contributed by
Sicarius 
(61059)
