Risen 2: Dark Waters (PlayStation 3)

The town of Caldera is in deep trouble. The Fortress of Crystal, the last haven of the Inquisition and the Old Empire, harbors a mysterious cave that may protect it from the assault of the Titans. Luckily, two of the Titans began fighting each other, which gives the Inquisition time to coordinate their activities on the land. However, a sea monster known as Kraken attacks and destroys their ships at sea. Pirates roaming about prevent supplies from being delivered to the fortress. In this troublesome time, the hero is sent on a quest to find a legendary treasure and perhaps figure out a way to destroy the Titans.

Risen 2: Dark Waters is an action role-playing game and a direct sequel to Risen. It features the same main character, now a member of the Inquisition. The game’s action takes place several years after the events in the first game, in a pirate-themed, Caribbean-style world. The gameplay follows more or less the same recipe as all other Piranha Bytes RPGs since Gothic, placing emphasis on gradual world exploration, action-oriented combat, and questing.

The game allows the player to explore a world that’s split into several large islands, each loaded separately during gameplay. Not all islands are accessible from the beginning, but as the story unfolds, all of them can be explored by the player. Each island contains wilderness areas and settlements where the protagonist can receive story-advancing as well as secondary quests. Unlike its predecessors, there is little in the way of faction joining in Risen 2; there is a line between different factions, but the difference between them is not as critical as it was before. However, the player still has a considerable degree of freedom in accepting or declining quests, some of which may have different outcomes or contradict each other.

New to Piranha Bytes-style RPG design is the introduction of verbal skills such as Silver Tongue and Intimidation, which open up unique responses during conversations if the player has trained the corresponding skill. Experience points are manually allocated by the player to advance the protagonist’s main attributes; talents and abilities tied to these attributes must be, however, unlocked by paying characters who can train the hero in them. The magic system has undergone a severe overhaul: the emphasis is now set on voodoo magic which deals with mind-controlling spells and curses. Close-quarters combat is now complemented by firearms: pistols, muskets, etc. The protagonist can equip swords and guns at the same time; however, guns require time to cool off after each shot, which can be reduced by raising the appropriate skill. Sometimes AI-controlled characters would join the hero and help him out in combat.