Earlier this year when Risen 2 came out I started and stopped playing two different times, about a month apart. Each time I couldn't seem to get 'into' the game and then wrote it off as 'meh I don't really like it.'
But for whatever reason, I came back to it again about 3 days ago and now I'm hooked. I think my first two tries I just didn't really like how 'piratey' the game was and also I didn't feel interested in the character customization structure (attributes, talents, skills) or terminology (blood = hp, glory ~ exp.).
Also, a lot of the grumbling over the game in its early days didn't help - a lot of attention on DLC being 'built into' the main game and being otherwise too short. I think all of that got me distracted and I just played other games like Skyrim.
My recent fresh look at Risen 2 sees a game more similar to Risen 1 than I thought and it is quite a lot of fun. It has the same addictive quality as Gothic 1 and 2.
There are a few things I don't like. I don't like the fade away into a new screen when opening chests or crafting - not a big deal but I just don't like it. I prefer a large continuous landmass over smaller ones masquerading as islands - though I suppose that's to aid in memory management of consoles that run this game too. But at least the first two islands are fairly sizeable (I'm only on the 2nd island).
One of my bigger gripes so far is the quests early on on the 2nd island where stealbeard guides you to the tribal and inquisition camps. The distances were too far and really cramped my style of slow and methodical exploration from a starting point. Before I knew it, I was running across the entire island following stealbeard. In Risen 1, where the first male NPC you meet will show you two locations, but each one is just a short run from where you find the male NPC. I was expecting something like this, not running across the entire island.
That said, I am having a lot of fun with this game and I am finding it far more engaging than Skyrim (though I do like Skyrim). I have always loved the strong narrative of PB games and how densely they fill their worlds with content.
But for whatever reason, I came back to it again about 3 days ago and now I'm hooked. I think my first two tries I just didn't really like how 'piratey' the game was and also I didn't feel interested in the character customization structure (attributes, talents, skills) or terminology (blood = hp, glory ~ exp.).
Also, a lot of the grumbling over the game in its early days didn't help - a lot of attention on DLC being 'built into' the main game and being otherwise too short. I think all of that got me distracted and I just played other games like Skyrim.
My recent fresh look at Risen 2 sees a game more similar to Risen 1 than I thought and it is quite a lot of fun. It has the same addictive quality as Gothic 1 and 2.
There are a few things I don't like. I don't like the fade away into a new screen when opening chests or crafting - not a big deal but I just don't like it. I prefer a large continuous landmass over smaller ones masquerading as islands - though I suppose that's to aid in memory management of consoles that run this game too. But at least the first two islands are fairly sizeable (I'm only on the 2nd island).
One of my bigger gripes so far is the quests early on on the 2nd island where stealbeard guides you to the tribal and inquisition camps. The distances were too far and really cramped my style of slow and methodical exploration from a starting point. Before I knew it, I was running across the entire island following stealbeard. In Risen 1, where the first male NPC you meet will show you two locations, but each one is just a short run from where you find the male NPC. I was expecting something like this, not running across the entire island.
That said, I am having a lot of fun with this game and I am finding it far more engaging than Skyrim (though I do like Skyrim). I have always loved the strong narrative of PB games and how densely they fill their worlds with content.