Raw, Rough and Redeeming- Risen Review

A reoccurring trope within role-playing games is the protracted tutorial, which slowly introduces players to a title’s byzantine array of options. Typically, this is where players garner the fundamentals of a game- from equipping weapons and armor, learning new spells, to managing hit points. Recent Xbox 360 release Risen wisely forgoes these clichéd lessons, requiring players to fend for themselves after regaining consciousness from a violent shipwreck.

Gamers will spend the first few minutes of the game looting corpses, searching for survivors, and desperately searching for a way to defend themselves from enemies that lurk just beyond the grisly shoreline.  Inspiring moments like these happen sporadically in Risen, and help to elevate the title above its RPG brethren. Unfortunately, the periods in-between these flashes of eminence may display enough rough edges to sully a discriminating player’s appreciation of the title.

Foremost among these blemishes is Risen’s general lack of polish; small flaws are ubiquitous in the game. From perpetually spinning dispatched enemies, omitted line of spoken dialog, and half-second pauses when a weapon is unsheathed, the title is teeming with quirks. Mercifully, most of these imperfections are cosmetic, and do little more than tarnish the game’s sense of atmosphere. The single exception during my extended expedition came when the protagonist was caught in a looping animation, forcing a reload from the last autosave file.

Risen’s visual voyage has moments of unflinching repulsiveness, from cave walls textured with ribbons of solid lines to ore despots that resemble bloody gashes. Like Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the title focuses on creating a sweeping landmass overflowing with a multitude of flowers, structures, and creatures rather than producing a circumscribed location filled with reoccurring objects. Both Risen’s framerate and the fluidity of the game’s turning speed can fluctuate wildly, lending the title an uneven feel. Evidence that the game is a PC port is pervasive, ranging from the convenient ability to save at any time, to the title’s loading screens- which unabashedly display their standard aspect-ratio roots.  Risen shines in its aural presentation, with resonant voice acting and a marvelous musical score.

Despite a laundry list of deficiencies, Risen’s gameplay can offer a refreshing reprieve from the usual trappings of the RPG genre. Most noticeable is the game’s handling of personalities; conversations, actions, and alliances have a tangible effect on how each character will treat you. Revisit a NPC you’ve encountered previously and their attitude will be altered by your actions. The mutable demeanor of characters lends Risen an open world feel that is only hinted at in other role-playing titles. Leading a horde of agitated foes into a nearby individual and seeing them defend themselves is not only perpetually amusing, but indicates the scope of the game’s artificial intelligence.

As players embark on the game’s myriad of quests, they may notice the game’s irregular trajectory- Risen starts with an open-ended adventure, funnels the player though a linear section, before returning to its free reign cadence. The title’s unconventional pace work well, giving players narrative and instructional direction after they’ve had an opportunity to immerse themselves in the game world. During the second phase, adventures will learn the intricacies of combat- an advantageous lesson, since dungeons can hold a degree of challenge for the ill-equipped or under-experienced player.

Risen’s blend of ranged, magic and melee combat is represented real time, requiring players to parry, dodge and strike with a right trigger, while shielding blows with the left. Initially, learning the rhythms and skills required to fight simultaneous foes can be taunting, but as gamers stick with the game, clashes become straightforward. I did wish Risen offered the ability to lock onto enemies- accidentally raising the ire of a NPC with an errant blow can be frustrating.