It isn't too often that I stray into unknown territory.  I prefer to have a wealth of knowledge about a game before I dish out the money for it.  However, on rare occasion, I've been known to take a leap of faith from time to time, and buying Risen just happens to be the latest.

I suppose my reason for taking the risk was a result of being overwhelmingly dissatisfied with Aion.  Has anyone else noticed that these so-called MMORPGs seem to be lacking in the RPG department?

Risen is being called a spiritual successor to Gothic 3, which wasn't received very well by fans and newcomers alike when it was released despite mostly favorable reviews.  Most of the criticism of Gothic 3 revolved around technical problems, terrible voice acting, and an overall feeling of being unfinished.  Nevertheless, Pirahna Bytes, the German developer responsible for the series, is tireless in perfecting its trade.

So far I've put about 7 hours into Risen.  Much of that time has been spent conversing with NPCs, a task that I don't normally find as entertaining as it is here.  The rest of the time I've spent exploring the game world.

Plot Introduction: Age of Conan Anyone?

After a brief intro cinematic involving a ship capsizing in the ocean, I found myself washed onto a beach.  Immediately, I thought, "Age of Conan?"  It was amazing just how much the beginning of Risen reminded me of the beginning of Age of Conan.  The lifeless bodies washed ashore, the woman in distress... even finding a piece of wood or branch to use as a weapon.  From that point on it was basically up to me as to where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. 

Check out this video to see the opening portion of the game that just screams Age of Conan.  It should also give you a look at the gameplay.  Oh, and I hope you enjoy Mozart.

Technical Problems Aren't Game-Breaking

Sadly, there are some noticeable technical issues and bugs.  However, none of them have hindered my experience as they tend to be mostly aesthetics.  For example, jumping is a very sluggish and strange mechanic.  I can't quite tell if the animation is messed up or the physics are all off, but apparently you begin the story as an accomplished, Olympic long jumper.

Camera angles during dialogue can sometimes glitch and show the scene from a strange angle or viewpoint.  Although, I must admit that the first time it happened, I thought it was purposeful.  I was talking to some guy sitting next to a campfire at night.  He was babbling on and on about monsters and "ancient evil."  At one point during his dialogue, the camera was placed behind some bushes behind the campsite, slightly obscuring the view.  Initially, I thought that maybe the camera was being shot from the eyes of one of the "ancient evils," which would then spring the shadows and attack.  It wasn't until later, when the same thing happened during other NPC conversations involving beer consumption, that I realized it was just a glitch.

Visually Speaking

Visually, the game looks great.  The environments are amazingly detailed and the day/night cycle is true to life--none of that "it's dark but you can still see everything just fine" crap.  Think STALKER day/night cycle if you're looking for something to compare it to.  The best part about this is that it really encourages players to think about when they should attempt certain quests or go exploring.  It would be really difficult to notice a small cave entrance buried behind trees and bushes at night, but during the day it would be a whole different story.  Being attacked by a pack of wolves because you had no idea they were right there is also a not-so-fun ordeal.  You can acquire torches for walking around with at night, and even drop them on the ground to light certain areas, but they are still only torches.

The only negative thing I can say about the game's graphics is that the character models and facial animations are a bit lacking.  They aren't horrible, but they remind me more of character models from MMORPGs like Age of Conan.  A lack of details is probably the reason because I have my visual settings as high as the game will allow.  There is also a lack of variety as well so don't be surprised if you run across NPCs that either have the same faces or voices as ones you've seen already.

Voice Acting

Now, I've never experienced the supposedly terrible voice acting in Gothic 3, but what I've witnessed in Risen thus far has been rather good.  It is a refreshing thing when you can just sit back and allow the characters to really sell themselves.  I'm not sure if it's the fact that the voice acting cast appears to be overwhelmingly English, but it just seems to be of higher quality.  Of course, there are some strange lines that are delivered, but that is more a criticism of the writing than the voice acting.

Conclusion

Risen is providing a fun game experience for me.  It has fun, twitch-based melee combat and a relatively easy-to-learn ranged system.  The idea of ancient monsters rising from the ground isn't a novel idea for a plot, but don't let that keep you away.  If you're a fan of the Gothic series or just someone looking for an enjoyable, single-player RPG, Risen is a solid choice.