Risen, another good game

User Rating: 8.5 | Risen PC
The world of Risen is surprisingly rich. when you first open your map and realize that you have just crossed the map from south to north in a couple of minutes, you have a sad feeling that this will be another one of these little games, that will not carry you through the weekend. But after a couple of hours of playing the game you realize that the world is not small, not small at all. the variety of underground structures and interconnected caves are well hidden beneath the surface, uncovering and exploring all of them will take time.
the game immediately invites comparison with the Gothic series, and it feels like playing Gothic 4 (or what Gothic 3 should have been). The game is more savage than that of Gothic 2 and the chaos on a small island is more like the atmosphere you had in the Pinal colony of the original Gothic.
The fights can be hard at the beginning of the game and the AI of the NPCs is remarkable. you will see how different creatures fight in a group, trying to flank you, surround you, disorient you. it is also remarkable that different creatures have different tactics, some more efficient than the others. wolves for example will always try to surround you, when boar will always charge at you, trying to knock you off your feet. because of this you will find yourself avoiding big groups at the lower levels, and saving a lot throughout the game. Fortunately the game has a quick save button and auto save.
there are remarkably few bags in the game. the only bag that I have encountered is related to jumping on an object. when in dungeons the player will sometimes fall through the floor or vanish without a trace. but in general this doesn't happen very often and can be easily overcome.
though there are many NPCs in the game, and you get a lot of interesting quests at the beginning of the game, later on however you don't really interact with them that much, you get a feeling that all you do is trade, learn and occasional dialogues concerning the main quest. also there are very few people outside of the main camps, this creates a feeling of emptiness.
Overall this is a good game and a must for RPG funs.
In general if you have enjoyed Gothic , Gothic 2, and Night of the Raven then you will love this game.