Risen 2 is a third person open world action roleplaying game made by Piranha Bytes, the team that gave us the Gothic games and of course the first Risen game. It's hard to talk about Risen 2 without referring to their previous games, which I'll call 'PB games' for short.

To summarize: Risen 2 sometimes feels like a 'PB game lite' but it's certainly not completely dumbed down from previous PB games. The atmosphere and the 'feel' of the PB games is there, so I'll enjoy playing this game more than I would 9 out of 10 similar games. The fact that melee combat is almost as bad as it was in Gothic 3 and the absence of 'real' magic are the only two problems that certainly knock off some points in the final score for Risen 2.

To talk about this game more in-depth, I'll take the list I used for my 'Risen' review to elaborate about the aspects that make PB games enjoyable experiences in a way that only PB can create them. Now, as I will be focusing on the differences in Risen 2 compared to earlier PB games, this may come across as a pretty negative review. This is not my intention though. I like this game and recommend it to everyone who is looking for a decent but challenging roleplaying game. But I think people who are familiar with previous PB games will benefit from reading about the differences between previous PB games and Risen 2 to help them decide whether to buy this game or not, more than they would from reading yet again that Risen 2 is a nice but not a flawless pirate-themed RPG. So let's...

- Exciting melee combat... well, NOT. Not this time. You'll soon discover that the melee combat is just as clunky and worthless as it was in Gothic 3. Against beasts it's a clickfest, so you won't experience some form of tactical melee combat like in Gothic, Gothic 2 and Risen here. Against human(oid) opponents, the melee combat becomes more tactical but somewhat boring because opponents can block forever unless you counter their endless block with a specific move... which leaves you open for attacks and after which both parties will get back to blocking. This makes fighting humanoid opponents a slow experience. Only when your level in swordfighting is very high, so in the second half of the game at the earliest, will you be able to learn 'Powerful Riposte' which makes melee combat actually fun. But by then, you'll most likely have adopted a whole different style of fighting, most probably ranged combat (style 'hit-and-run' or 'kite'). This is really Gothic 3 all over.

About the ranged combat. At first, I couldn't get over the fact that Risen 2 has no bows or crossbows at all, unlike all previous PB games. Risen 2 starts a short time after where Risen 1 ended, but all of a sudden nobody uses bows anymore and everyone uses guns instead. But once you get over that, you find that the ranged combat in this game is actually quite effective and fun. Yup, just like in Gothic 3. In Risen 2, you can wield a sword in one hand and a pistol in the other, if you want to stick with blades as your main weapon. But pistols only become decent weapons when you learn a skill to reload them a lot faster. The alternative is fully choosing guns and wielding two-handed guns like the musket or the shotgun.

Usually, 'magic' is another alternative to melee combat in PB games, but not this time around. Don't get me wrong, you can join a faction that allows you to learn some sort of magic (Voodoo) but it is limited to curses and debuffs. So there are no magic attack spells whatsoever in Risen 2.

It's too bad there's only one decent option, really, but let's focus on the good news here: going with guns (or blade + pistol) is a good and fun build in this game. Or maybe you will like the challenge of going with swords and/or Voodoo anyway. You can always change the difficulty of the game in the options menu if you want to play a certain way but find it too difficult (for the first part of the game).

- Learning curve for your character: like in all PB games there isn't just a learning curve for the player but for the character, too. He needs to learn to fight better. As the game progresses and you improve your character's skills, you actually feel your character getting better. This curve is pretty steep in Risen 2. The reason why they had to do this is because for about 90% of the game, you will have an NPC fighting alongside you. So you can't become a godlike solo fighting machine (too soon) or the game would be too easy for people who choose to take a follower NPC with them, as is the case in Risen 3. Now, we had follower NPCs in all the previous PB games but they where very temporary, more like for 10% of the game so the opposite of Risen 2.

- Factions: this time, there are only two factions to choose from. You will join other 'factions' through the main storyline, but the only real choice you have to make, will be between the Inquisition and the Natives. As usual, each faction has their own set of preferred skills and weapons. The Inquisition = guns, the natives = Voodoo and throwing weapons (which are very weak but hey, it's an option). Another difference with earlier PB games is that there is no real 'faction armor'. You will wear the clothes that offer the best defense, whether you side with the natives or with the inquisition. Also, of all the PB games, the faction choice in Risen 2 has the least impact on the game as a whole. Right after making your choice, a few quests are different for each of the factions, but after that the game has 97% the same quests and storyline for all players.

- Trainers: to learn new skills, you will still need to visit a trainer who can teach you. But not so for your stats anymore. 'Strength' and 'dexterity' have been replaced with more interesting stats (blades, guns, defense, thieving and voodoo). You increase these by spending XP (called 'glory' as of Risen 2) directly in the character screen. Each of the 5 stats has an impact on 3 talents (e.g. for gunfighting you have muskets, shotguns and pistols) and each of the 5 stats determines which skills you can learn providing you can afford the price in gold and find an appropriate teacher. At first, it seems like a bummer they removed the old and well-loved strength and dexterity system, but the new system is actually a lot more elaborate and interesting, and makes for more varied character development options.

- Great atmosphere: the settings, the NPCs, the towns, the music, the humour, ... everything adds to a distinct atmosphere that only PB can create. Although, I must admit in this aspect the 'slightly dumbing down' of the game is most noticeable. Nothing huge, little things really. But it's the little things... Example: there is only one type of food in your inventory, called 'provisions'. So you'll pick up apples and cheese like in previous PB games, but in your inventory they are immediately converted into 'provisions'. You'll still loot raw meat from animals you killed and you can fry this meat at a fire, but once the meat is fried, it's converted into 'provisions' as well. Another example: after beating an NPC in a duel, you can no longer loot them or even pick up their weapon. One last example: in most cases you can steal items in NPC's houses without any real repercussions. They will moan something to let you know they saw you steal but that's it.

Like I said earlier, things like that often made me feel like I was playing a 'PB game lite'. Simplifying things is not necessarily a bad thing, and people who never played another PB game wouldn't even think twice about things like that. But all in all, I'll take a 'PB lite' game over 9 out of 10 similar games any time!

Note about achievements: some achievements are bugged but completionists can unlock them, mostly by using console commands. There is a nice guide here on Steam (scroll down or use the index to jump to the english translation): http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=179681304

Risen 2 is a third person open world action roleplaying game made by Piranha Bytes, the team that gave us the Gothic games and of course the first Risen game. It's hard to talk about Risen 2 without referring to their previous games, which I'll call 'PB games' for short. To summarize: Risen 2 sometimes feels like a 'PB game lite' but it's certainly not completely dumbed down from previous PB games. The atmosphere and the 'feel' of the PB games is there, so I'll enjoy playing this game more than I would 9 out of 10 similar games. The fact that melee combat is almost as bad as it was in Gothic 3 and the absence of 'real' magic are the only two problems that certainly knock off some points in the final score for Risen 2. To talk about this game more in-depth, I'll take the list I used for my 'Risen' review to elaborate about the aspects that make PB games enjoyable experiences in a way that only PB can create them. Now, as I will be focusing on the differences in Risen 2 compared to earlier PB games, this may come across as a pretty negative review. This is not my intention though. I like this game and recommend it to everyone who is looking for a decent but challenging roleplaying game. But I think people who are familiar with previous PB games will benefit from reading about the differences between previous PB games and Risen 2 to help them decide whether to buy this game or not, more than they would from reading yet again that Risen 2 is a nice but not a flawless pirate-themed RPG. So let's... - Exciting melee combat... well, NOT. Not this time. You'll soon discover that the melee combat is just as clunky and worthless as it was in Gothic 3. Against beasts it's a clickfest, so you won't experience some form of tactical melee combat like in Gothic, Gothic 2 and Risen here. Against human(oid) opponents, the melee combat becomes more tactical but somewhat boring because opponents can block forever unless you counter their endless block with a specific move... which leaves you open for attacks and after which both parties will get back to blocking. This makes fighting humanoid opponents a slow experience. Only when your level in swordfighting is very high, so in the second half of the game at the earliest, will you be able to learn 'Powerful Riposte' which makes melee combat actually fun. But by then, you'll most likely have adopted a whole different style of fighting, most probably ranged combat (style 'hit-and-run' or 'kite'). This is really Gothic 3 all over. About the ranged combat. At first, I couldn't get over the fact that Risen 2 has no bows or crossbows at all, unlike all previous PB games. Risen 2 starts a short time after where Risen 1 ended, but all of a sudden nobody uses bows anymore and everyone uses guns instead. But once you get over that, you find that the ranged combat in this game is actually quite effective and fun. Yup, just like in Gothic 3. In Risen 2, you can wield a sword in one hand and a pistol in the other, if you want to stick with blades as your main weapon. But pistols only become decent weapons when you learn a skill to reload them a lot faster. The alternative is fully choosing guns and wielding two-handed guns like the musket or the shotgun. Usually, 'magic' is another alternative to melee combat in PB games, but not this time around. Don't get me wrong, you can join a faction that allows you to learn some sort of magic (Voodoo) but it is limited to curses and debuffs. So there are no magic attack spells whatsoever in Risen 2. It's too bad there's only one decent option, really, but let's focus on the good news here: going with guns (or blade + pistol) is a good and fun build in this game. Or maybe you will like the challenge of going with swords and/or Voodoo anyway. You can always change the difficulty of the game in the options menu if you want to play a certain way but find it too difficult (for the first part of the game). - Learning curve for your character: like in all PB games there isn't just a learning curve for the player but for the character, too. He needs to learn to fight better. As the game progresses and you improve your character's skills, you actually feel your character getting better. This curve is pretty steep in Risen 2. The reason why they had to do this is because for about 90% of the game, you will have an NPC fighting alongside you. So you can't become a godlike solo fighting machine (too soon) or the game would be too easy for people who choose to take a follower NPC with them, as is the case in Risen 3. Now, we had follower NPCs in all the previous PB games but they where very temporary, more like for 10% of the game so the opposite of Risen 2. - Factions: this time, there are only two factions to choose from. You will join other 'factions' through the main storyline, but the only real choice you have to make, will be between the Inquisition and the Natives. As usual, each faction has their own set of preferred skills and weapons. The Inquisition = guns, the natives = Voodoo and throwing weapons (which are very weak but hey, it's an option). Another difference with earlier PB games is that there is no real 'faction armor'. You will wear the clothes that offer the best defense, whether you side with the natives or with the inquisition. Also, of all the PB games, the faction choice in Risen 2 has the least impact on the game as a whole. Right after making your choice, a few quests are different for each of the factions, but after that the game has 97% the same quests and storyline for all players. - Trainers: to learn new skills, you will still need to visit a trainer who can teach you. But not so for your stats anymore. 'Strength' and 'dexterity' have been replaced with more interesting stats (blades, guns, defense, thieving and voodoo). You increase these by spending XP (called 'glory' as of Risen 2) directly in the character screen. Each of the 5 stats has an impact on 3 talents (e.g. for gunfighting you have muskets, shotguns and pistols) and each of the 5 stats determines which skills you can learn providing you can afford the price in gold and find an appropriate teacher. At first, it seems like a bummer they removed the old and well-loved strength and dexterity system, but the new system is actually a lot more elaborate and interesting, and makes for more varied character development options. - Great atmosphere: the settings, the NPCs, the towns, the music, the humour, ... everything adds to a distinct atmosphere that only PB can create. Although, I must admit in this aspect the 'slightly dumbing down' of the game is most noticeable. Nothing huge, little things really. But it's the little things... Example: there is only one type of food in your inventory, called 'provisions'. So you'll pick up apples and cheese like in previous PB games, but in your inventory they are immediately converted into 'provisions'. You'll still loot raw meat from animals you killed and you can fry this meat at a fire, but once the meat is fried, it's converted into 'provisions' as well. Another example: after beating an NPC in a duel, you can no longer loot them or even pick up their weapon. One last example: in most cases you can steal items in NPC's houses without any real repercussions. They will moan something to let you know they saw you steal but that's it. Like I said earlier, things like that often made me feel like I was playing a 'PB game lite'. Simplifying things is not necessarily a bad thing, and people who never played another PB game wouldn't even think twice about things like that. But all in all, I'll take a 'PB lite' game over 9 out of 10 similar games any time! Note about achievements: some achievements are bugged but completionists can unlock them, mostly by using console commands. There is a nice guide here on Steam (scroll down or use the index to jump to the english translation): http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=179681304