Risen - GameStar Gameplay Video

Dhruin

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In the comments thread about Risen's freshly revealed German release date, Moriendor points out a fantastic video clip courtesy of GameStar magazine. The nearly seven minutes of footage shows a range of gameplay sequences, including a nice dungeon example. The voiceover is naturally German but it's well worth watching for all fans.

More information.
 
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Man, it's so just Gothic. Which is a good thing, since Gothic is awesome. They could've skipped the lockpicking minigame as far as I'm concerned, tho'...

But I'm not sure about those dungeon sequences. The use of different kinds of magic in creative way to circumvent traps = awesome, but it's not immediately clear how you're supposed to spot the traps in the first place, whether or not there's a disarm traps skill and what the alternative paths for non-magicians are.
 
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Hey, that looked surprisingly good! I liked the alternative ways to solve problems, the fighting looked passable, and it was all very... Gothic.

Still, I can't help feeling that they just *might* have done a bit better for monsters than recycling bloodflies, minecrawlers, and ogres under new names and slightly altered graphics.
 
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Oh, c'mon, PJ, how can you not love those gnomes? The gnomes make everything all right.
 
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@PJ for me the recycling gives it even more of a Gothicfeel, but I can understand what you mean.

At any case, this video almost tells me to much, but it has taken one doubt away: I will buy this game. I hope Arcania can persuade me too, but Risen has already done that.
 
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I can't hear it as I'm at work, but is that gnome scavenging from the corpse?
 
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Yes, and it seems to be dynamic. Gnomes tend to loot corpses. If it's not scripted, it's a great feature that makes the world feel more alive.
 
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I can't hear it as I'm at work, but is that gnome scavenging from the corpse?

Yes it is :)

Anyway - this is exactly what I want and what I was secretly hoping for (and almost not daring to hope for). Looks like a revamp of G1/G2... great! I hope I won't be disappointed by the actual game though because a movie is still just a movie.
 
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One thing: It was annoying how the PC made a sound every time he attacked ("Hah!" "Hrmph!" "Ah!" "Hiyah!"). The frequency of these sounds should be much lower.
 
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Or they should have more variety. Maybe he could recite little poems?

Edmond Rostand said:
CYRANO:
[shutting his eyes for a second] Wait while I choose my lines. Ah, now I have them!
[He matches each action to each word.]

I lightly doff my hat down low,
And, freeing hand and heel,
My heavy cloak away I throw,
And I draw my polished steel.
Graceful as Phoebus, round I wheel,
With swiftness and skill alike,
“Careful now,” I say with zeal,
For at the end of the refrain I shall strike!
[They begin fencing.]

Better for you had you lain low.
Where shall I hit you? In the heel?
Or how about the heart, my worthless foe?
Or in the hip, and make you kneel?
Oh, for the music of clashing steel!
Where shall I land my spike?
’Twill be in the belly the stroke I steal,
When, at the end of the refrain I shall strike!
Oh, for a word that rhymes with “o”!
You wriggle, so white, my eel!
Your face is as pale as fresh snow, As I parry the point of your steel.
Oh there, a thrust you hoped I'd feel!
But alas, you missed, little tyke!
Now we're nearing the close of this deal. Watch out! At the end of the refrain I strike!
[He declaims solemnly.]

Refrain:
And now I shall make you kneel.
Pray for your soul if you like!
I thrust [He thrusts.] and your fate I seal,
As at the end of the refrain—[DE VALVERT staggers; CYRANO salutes.]
I strike!
[Acclamations and applause rise from the boxes. Flowers and handkerchiefs are thrown down. The OFFICERS surround CYRANO, congratulating him. RAGUENEAU dances for joy. LE BRET is happy, but anxious. DE VALVERT'S friends hold him up and bear him away.]
 
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Yes, and it seems to be dynamic. Gnomes tend to loot corpses. If it's not scripted, it's a great feature that makes the world feel more alive.

Why, the little blighter.
 
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The very first male NPC in the video is actually the guy I met first during trying out the demo at the RPC (readable in my RPC snippets).
And the house he sits before is the first house I described there.
 
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It's Gothic allright! Almost amazingly so. Does look a bit dated in parts, particularly animations, but for a Gothic fan it sure pushes all the right buttons. It also makes a more solid impression than I hoped for overall, although that is of course easily faked in such a video. I was a bit worried about the relatively close release date (I was with G3 and I was right in that case) but here I get a somewhat better vibe so far. Here's hoping.

Oh one major nitpick though - I hate the combat grunts of the PC - that sounds almost like a wimbledon tennis match...
 
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Agreed, the combat grunts need to go. The occasional is fine, on a crit or something but not every swing.

The models looked dated, the female model especially looked a little blocky and the animations too rigid. So...very Gothic. :) Who wakes up after a shipwreck and stands in a seductive pose with one hand on her hip? Shouldn't she be holding her head or ribs or coughing water or something?

The environments looked good though, I'm getting excited for this one. I just hope the localization is done well and it's not buggy.
 
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This video looks, sounds, and feels very promising! Gothic indeed.

Hm, it seems that you can zoom the camera in and out a little, am I correct?

Yeah, or sing some Marilyn Manson tunes ;) .

Or imagine the hero humming those tunes while fighting. Now that would be disturbing. Anyway, I agree that these sounds should be less frequent, 'cause it's kinda awkward.

Other than that, it's a pleasure to watch this video. Also: yay for lockpicking!
 
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Speaking of audio, Michael Graf's (Gamestar) commentary of the video is great. He always does a great job, keeping a somewhat ironic distance from what's going on on the screen.
 
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Speaking of audio, Michael Graf's (Gamestar) commentary of the video is great. He always does a great job, keeping a somewhat ironic distance from what's going on on the screen.

Hehe, I agree. "There we see something untypical... a woman." XD
 
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