Risen - Feb Release for X360 in NA

Here's a graphical comparison between the 2 versions for anyone who's interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx6Fcdyii8E&feature=related

The Xbox version seems to hold up well against the PC. The lighting and shadows are noticeably better on the PC, and the foliage looks a tad better as well, but overall It looks better than I expected it to look on the Xbox.
 
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The US 360 port is improved over the Euro port, according to IGN.
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/106/1063293p1.html

It's said to be an improved version over the one already available in European territories, and I had a chance to check it out briefly to get a sense of how it was running and how it controlled. The initial verdict? It looked pretty good.
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The good news is that the build seemed to run well. If you compare it to another Xbox 360 version of a Western-style role-playing game like Larian Studios' Divinity II: Ego Draconis, Risen's visuals appear to be much more stable and easy on the eyes. I'm told that for this version's launch, parts of the game's lighting and environment detail were retouched and retooled. I can say more about this aspect of the game after more extensive play time.

As for the rest of the experience, there's plenty of fighting, character customization, and questing to do, and lots of interesting things to find. If the performance holds up and the controls aren't too much of an issue for the North American 360 version, this game could be a nice surprise.
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Makes me happy.
 
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Excellen news, thanks for the update!
 
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Releasing a not improved version would be suicidal,I'm still waiting for that PC patch.
 
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Dear Green Place
JDR13 said:
Why? Risen is one of the most bug-free games I've played in a long time.
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It is but a few issues should be dealt with,for example the translation bug in the trade window,which would confuse me had I not read about it here.There certainly are enough bugs to fix..
 
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Dear Green Place
TXB preview:

According to Thorsten Flügel—the game’s producer at Koch Media in Munich, Germany—the extra time spend on developing the North American version of Risen will bring about a number of noticable differences. Reportedly, developer Piranha Bytes put some more effort in to improve the lighting and shadows in the game, buffed up the environments (to look more realistic) and did some major work on raising the texture quality for a better overall look to the game world.
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Let's hope so. I might even spring for full price on this game, if the reviews indicate there were substantial improvements.

http://previews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/2498/Risen/p1/
 
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They should have deleted the ending ;)
 
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Dear Green Place
The quoted paragraph is marketing bullshit. PB didn't work on the Euro XBox conversion. I don't see why they should suddenly change their mind for a patch to create the NA version.
So maybe this is not the only mistake in there. ;)

At least it basically confirms a substancial patch for the XBox version is in the works.
 
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Are you saying Thorsten Flügel lies? Take it back! Take it back now!

Sounds to me like they're saying PB did some spit & polish work on the NA version. Why isn't that plausible?

And even if it's not PB polishing the turd, hey, who cares, as long as someone did it.
 
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Anderson said:
Sounds to me like they're saying PB did some spit & polish work on the NA version. Why isn't that plausible?
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Because PB said they didn't do a thing on the XBox conversion, and they won't do so. Creating a patch for it is Deep Silver's job.
 
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Gorath said:
Because PB said they didn't do a thing on the XBox conversion, and they won't do so. Creating a patch for it is Deep Silver's job.
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Ok. I had never heard the "They won't [ever] do so" part.

Again though, I'm not really sure it matters too much who did the improvements. The important thing is that they are done.

How significant they are — that is another question.
 
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Here are some videos of the 360 NA port:

http://www.youtube.com/user/GameBansheeDotCom

Remember to shift to 720p.

A guy who played the Euro port says the visuals look substantially improved, compared to that version. Still looks pretty flat to me. I know it's all about the gameplay, but still, if you're sandwiching a game between Mass Effect 2 and Final Fantasy XIII, you're going to have to do better than this. People aren't going to be spending $60 for this.

It's set to release in two days, and it has zero buzz. I was thinking about getting it, but it's hard to pay $60 when I know the price will drop quickly.
 
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Ok, 3 posts in a row, not sure if anyone gives a hoot besides me. But here's IGN's review of the NA 360 version. It gets a surprisingly good 7.6 (the Metacritic average for the Euro port is an ouch 57).

Closing Comments
Whether or not you'll enjoy Piranha Bytes' Risen really depends on what kind of gamer you are. Though this is a more humble and user-friendly product than Piranha Bytes' past games, it's still very much a hardcore role-playing game. If you're not willing to figure some things out for yourself and the idea of freedom of choice doesn't sit well with you, chances are Risen isn't going to mesh well with your gaming sensibilities. If you're familiar with the genre and are looking to take the next step into a mature, well-realized fantasy world, then this is it. Its combat system isn't the greatest and its pacing is inconsistent, but for those who put in the time to see all Risen has to offer, it's an experience that won't be forgotten.
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http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/107/1071466p1.html

I'm planning on picking it up tomorrow.

Oh, and it's releasing at $50, not the usual $60.
 
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Fantastic game. Glad to see the port being playable. Hopefully the extra sales will boost PB to new heights. I'm very curious as to what they're currently up to..
 
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Anderson said:
Ok. I had never heard the "They won't [ever] do so" part.

Again though, I'm not really sure it matters too much who did the improvements. The important thing is that they are done.

How significant they are — that is another question.
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To give a brief answer to this ...
PB doesn't have the know-how. You need to a deep understanding of console tech to be able to develop on them on a high level. PB is configured for PC. Outsourcing ports is no bad thing though. Everybody does it. Even the Mass Effect (PC) port was done externally, AFAIR.
 
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Gorath said:
To give a brief answer to this …
PB doesn't have the know-how. You need to a deep understanding of console tech to be able to develop on them on a high level. PB is configured for PC.
Click to expand...

Ok, I see. I'm not a tech-savvy person, so these things elude me.
 
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Anderson said:
Now I'm just waiting to hear about Venetica…
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It's bad. Writing's just horrible. Horrible. It's disturbingly bad. Much worse than Risen. You can get some fun out of it, but you can also definitely find something better to play.
 
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