G2 with NotR - 9.5
G1 - 9.0
G2 - 8.5
G3 (patched) & Risen - 8.0
Risen 2 - 6.5
Risen 3 - 5.5
My favourite segment in a PB game is the return to Mine Valley in G2 - seeing how the area has changed since G1 is just cool and, more importantly, I find it an excellent survival experience and a perfect example how lack of level scaling can work to a game´s advantage. "Nostalgia bonus" obtainable via Diego is the cherry on top
.
I consider G3 to be a bit of a lost opportunity due to lackluster combat system, a lack of meaty questlines and some other deficiencies (like effectively missing female presence for no apparent reason), but I think the game is an impressive achievement nevertheless thanks to its world design + faction system and I really dig how the main quest is weaved into the game´s open world - lack of quest markers is particularly notable.
The core reason why I score R2/3 fairly low is the games´ combat experience - I really don´t understand why PB didn´t expand on the combat system featured in R1 in these games, maybe the publisher´s influence? - and I also think it´s a pity the games pretty much threw out R1´s dungeon crawling experience.
Even though R3 improved upon R2 when it comes to character development possibilities, world design and general expansiveness, I still rank it lower due to most of the predecessor´s setting´s uniqueness missing, lackluster writing (and voice acting), and, most notably, really poor provided combat experience due to a combination of repetitive and uninspired enemy/encounter design and general combat frequency.
It also perhaps bears pointing out that I´ve played R2 as a member of the voodoo faction which, as far as I can tell, provides a more unique and better balanced experience (spells not as immediately "overpowered" as guns, few faction exclusive creative quest solutions, more openness thanks to a certain island being accessible shortly after joining) when compared to the alternative.
G1 and G2 with NotR belong among my favourite gaming experiences and constitute what I consider some of the absolute best open world offerings to date.
Night of the Raven is one of my favourite post-release content for a game (along with Mask of the Betrayer, The Lost Crowns trilogy for Dark Souls 2 and the DLC set for Mass Effect 3) and thanks to providing more ties to the game´s predecessor, careful rebalance and superbly designed new area is the reason why G2 edges out G1 in my book.