Risen 3: Titan Lords Review - Titanfail

[Fsyco]

I am curious, why are you scorning the game for reusing assets from previous games?

It's almost as if I wrote a review explaining the difference between this game's reuse of assets and other, more acceptable uses of it. It's ALMOST as if I answered this very question in the review!

It's almost as if everytime someone asks me a question in an attempt to point out a contradiction in my work, the article they're questioning has preempted their thought processes and already addressed whatever it is they're going to say.

And it's almost as if, no matter what I say, people will do their best not to listen.

Really? Cause i don't see any explanation of the difference between this game's reuse of assets and other, more acceptable uses of it. None at all.
I see that you are criticizing some of the elements that they reused like the combat or the animations.
However when criticizing features of the game, you should criticize them because they are bad in your opinion and not on the grounds that they have been done in the previous games.
And btw. you don't have to pretend like i accused you of being mister hitler, i just asked you a question, no reason to be that hostile about it.

Our lord and savior Jim Sterling (Thank God for Him) clearly pointed out in his review that reusing assets and content is ok if the content was good to begin with, and didn't need that much improving. Risen 2, however, which Risen 3 cannibalizes, was in dire need of tweaks and adjustments. It's like if you go to someone's house, and every time you go they always make the same dish. If it's a good dish, then you won't mind. If it's dogshit casserole, you'd probably complain and tell them to improve their cooking.

I don't know i am just as baffled as you. I know so many people that know and love the Gothic and Risen games here in Germany. It was really irritating having a gaming series that's pretty much universally accepted as a good to great gaming series in your environment, then going on the internet to find out that the series apparently consists of horrible games for the Americans.

That's probably just cultural differences. The same thing happens with Japanese games, too, since different cultures like different things in their games.

 

[Jimothy Sterling]

However when criticizing features of the game, you should criticize them because they are bad in your opinion and not on the grounds that they have been done in the previous games.

So I should ... do exactly what I did.

Read the review again.

And again.

And again.

You'll spot it eventually!

 

[wellwish3r]

I've learned not to trust American reviews on Piranha Bytes games, relying on German ones, or better, just playing them myself. There must be some kind of cultural divide going on here. I loved Gothic, loved Gothic 2 even more, learned to love Gothic 3 after the community patches, and Risen 1 was also an excellent "back to the roots" game. All the while I remember the lackluster reception the games where receiving in the American gaming press.

I'm not sure about the cause. Maybe it's that Gothic-style games are more hardcore, and you can get killed pretty easily. You can't pick a fight with everyone right from the start and must choose your battles carefully. This may frustrate players who are more used to the Elder Scrolls type - I can go anywhere and kill anything - style of play. Combat is often tricky with unusual controls, but it can be mastered. You must simply take your time to learn it, and actually study how to approach different enemies. It's not just hack and slash, but careful maneuvering and timing. I think it's very telling that American reviews often blast the combat system, which I think is one of the best parts of the games.

The more hardcore play style continues with the quests, in which there is very little hand-holding, and puzzles that you actually have to think about, unlike for example the simplistic Skyrim pillar system, designed so that any child can solve them.
I'm also a fan of The Elder Scrolls games, but in Gothic (and Risen) games, the world seems more real and alive to me.

I have to admit though that the games can be quite buggy on release. I always wait for the first few patches to come out. But these days this rule applies to practically all the new AAA games.

It goes without saying that all of the above does not apply to the game "Arcania, Gothic 4" which was developed by Spellbound and is not a real Gothic game.

As a German who has lived abroad, I think it is because our Humor/Storytelling/Characters do not translate at all. Having tried both Gothic and Risen in English, most jokes Just fall flat on their Ass. Risen 2 also had an undeniably bad combat system, unlike Gothic 1,2 and Risen.

 

[Amaror]

That's probably just cultural differences. The same thing happens with Japanese games, too, since different cultures like different things in their games.

Yeah, it's just that i will just go out on a limb here and claim that the cultural differences between Japanese and American culture are slightly larger than the ones between American and German/European culture.

 

[wellwish3r]

That's probably just cultural differences. The same thing happens with Japanese games, too, since different cultures like different things in their games.

Yeah, it's just that i will just go out on a limb here and claim that the cultural differences between Japanese and American culture are slightly larger than the ones between American and German/European culture.

That is probably part of the problem. It is fairly obvious when playing a Japanese game, and many of their oddities an quirks are known and expected at this point, but the style of (some) European (or German) games might fall right into the uncanny valley.

 

[Thanatos2k]

This and Sacred 3 still showing Deep Silver fuck up everything except Saint's Row.

Deep Silver haven't made a Saint's row game yet, they published SR4 but most of it was already made before they bought and then butchered Volition (unless you think Deep Silver could have got Volition to make SR4 in less than 6 months).

Yes, it's a EA Bioware Dragon Age: Origins situation. Remember, the game EA was actually responsible for was Dragon Age 2....

The next Saints Row game they make will be the determining factor.

 

[dani3po]

Divinity: Original Sin is hardcore (more even than Risen), is european and has been universaly acclaimed. God games are good games anywhere in the world. Maybe this game is bad, simply..

 

[dani3po]

I am curious, why are you scorning the game for reusing assets from previous games?

It's almost as if I wrote a review explaining the difference between this game's reuse of assets and other, more acceptable uses of it. It's ALMOST as if I answered this very question in the review!

It's almost as if everytime someone asks me a question in an attempt to point out a contradiction in my work, the article they're questioning has preempted their thought processes and already addressed whatever it is they're going to say.

And it's almost as if, no matter what I say, people will do their best not to listen.

Really? Cause i don't see any explanation of the difference between this game's reuse of assets and other, more acceptable uses of it. None at all.
I see that you are criticizing some of the elements that they reused like the combat or the animations.
However when criticizing features of the game, you should criticize them because they are bad in your opinion and not on the grounds that they have been done in the previous games.
And btw. you don't have to pretend like i accused you of being mister hitler, i just asked you a question, no reason to be that hostile about it.

I've learned not to trust American reviews on Piranha Bytes games, relying on German ones, or better, just playing them myself. There must be some kind of cultural divide going on here. I loved Gothic, loved Gothic 2 even more, learned to love Gothic 3 after the community patches, and Risen 1 was also an excellent "back to the roots" game. All the while I remember the lackluster reception the games where receiving in the American gaming press.

I'm not sure about the cause. Maybe it's that Gothic-style games are more hardcore, and you can get killed pretty easily. You can't pick a fight with everyone right from the start and must choose your battles carefully. This may frustrate players who are more used to the Elder Scrolls type - I can go anywhere and kill anything - style of play. Combat is often tricky with unusual controls, but it can be mastered. You must simply take your time to learn it, and actually study how to approach different enemies. It's not just hack and slash, but careful maneuvering and timing. I think it's very telling that American reviews often blast the combat system, which I think is one of the best parts of the games.

The more hardcore play style continues with the quests, in which there is very little hand-holding, and puzzles that you actually have to think about, unlike for example the simplistic Skyrim pillar system, designed so that any child can solve them.
I'm also a fan of The Elder Scrolls games, but in Gothic (and Risen) games, the world seems more real and alive to me.

I have to admit though that the games can be quite buggy on release. I always wait for the first few patches to come out. But these days this rule applies to practically all the new AAA games.

It goes without saying that all of the above does not apply to the game "Arcania, Gothic 4" which was developed by Spellbound and is not a real Gothic game.

I don't know i am just as baffled as you. I know so many people that know and love the Gothic and Risen games here in Germany. It was really irritating having a gaming series that's pretty much universally accepted as a good to great gaming series in your environment, then going on the internet to find out that the series apparently consists of horrible games for the Americans.

It seems that not everyone in Germany thinks that Risen 3 is a good game:
http://www.4players.de/4players.php/spielinfonews/Allgemein/35519/2142644/Risen_3_Titan_Lords-Angespielt_Ernuechterung_auf_PlayStation_3.html

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

Right, 2 stars. And this is the website that gave Skyrim the best RPG of the last 10 years, or something. I had more fun in 10 minutes of Risen 3 than in 10 hours of Skyrim (and I didn't play Skyrim much longer than that). You have to wonder what sort of drugs these reviewers are on while playing their games because whatever it is, I want some. Meanwhile, I'll get back to playing me some more Risen. It's a terrific game.

 

[Rico Stucke]

all I want is a game like gothic 2. It was not too big, the quests where well done and the story was also good.

it can not be that hard

 

[Double A]

Right, 2 stars. And this is the website that gave Skyrim the best RPG of the last 10 years, or something. I had more fun in 10 minutes of Risen 3 than in 10 hours of Skyrim (and I didn't play Skyrim much longer than that). You have to wonder what sort of drugs these reviewers are on while playing their games because whatever it is, I want some. Meanwhile, I'll get back to playing me some more Risen. It's a terrific game.

I loved Risen and Skyrim, but I merely liked Risen 2. With that in mind, something something subjectivity.

 

[Monsterfurby]

I respect Jim and this might be the first time I'm disagreeing with him, but does anyone else feel the review is lacking concrete examples for its claims? It all feels a bit vague and rushed, and since it's an outlier score-wise as well, I'm not sure if this is the one I want to rely on this time.

 

[Saxnot]

I've learned not to trust American reviews on Piranha Bytes games, relying on German ones, or better, just playing them myself. There must be some kind of cultural divide going on here. I loved Gothic, loved Gothic 2 even more, learned to love Gothic 3 after the community patches, and Risen 1 was also an excellent "back to the roots" game. All the while I remember the lackluster reception the games where receiving in the American gaming press.

I'm not sure about the cause. Maybe it's that Gothic-style games are more hardcore, and you can get killed pretty easily. You can't pick a fight with everyone right from the start and must choose your battles carefully. This may frustrate players who are more used to the Elder Scrolls type - I can go anywhere and kill anything - style of play. Combat is often tricky with unusual controls, but it can be mastered. You must simply take your time to learn it, and actually study how to approach different enemies. It's not just hack and slash, but careful maneuvering and timing. I think it's very telling that American reviews often blast the combat system, which I think is one of the best parts of the games.

The more hardcore play style continues with the quests, in which there is very little hand-holding, and puzzles that you actually have to think about, unlike for example the simplistic Skyrim pillar system, designed so that any child can solve them.
I'm also a fan of The Elder Scrolls games, but in Gothic (and Risen) games, the world seems more real and alive to me.

I have to admit though that the games can be quite buggy on release. I always wait for the first few patches to come out. But these days this rule applies to practically all the new AAA games.

It goes without saying that all of the above does not apply to the game "Arcania, Gothic 4" which was developed by Spellbound and is not a real Gothic game.

It really isn't cultural. I only played Risen 2, but it was not that hard. if you just kept to the plot rails, everything would be relatively easy to beat. nor were the quests difficult, since simply picking up as many quests as possible MMO-style and then completing the objectives when nearby would suffice for completing most of them.
Where risen 2 fell down for me was the idiotic story and the lack of pirate-related activity in this allegedly pirate-themed game. You had a ship, but it was basically just a moving fast travel point. you never actually sailed it or did any sea battles. plus, that game had an awful combat system. I went for magic in that game. that was a mistake.

 

[nitrium oxide]

I've always been a fan of the Risen games, and will almost certainly check out Risen 3. Cheesy, bit dodgy, but like Jim says, they have a certain charm you can't quite put your finger on. I see Gamespot gave it 7/10 - about the same rating given to the other games in the series.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

It's incredible how way off the mark Jim is on this one. Then again he's always raving on about games I've never even heard of so maybe it's just a matter of taste. This 'new content' spiel by him is nonsense. The graphics were fine in Risen 2, and they're fine here. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Why bother revamping the whole damn thing if it looks gorgeous to being with? What the fuck is wrong with recycling? But this is an industry obsessed with cosmetic upgrades, and games with minimal substance can sell billions if they follow the creed of Appearance Above All. To me it seems like a giant waste of time, and Jim is usually the first one to attack devs over doing unnecessary bullshit. I'm 8 hours into R3 and not only it's great fun, but beyond superficial aspects like graphics and character models it's totally different from R2. That game made you trudge through linear paths sequentially, while this game presents you with a massive open world to explore right from the start. That is a substantial difference, and it's odd Jim missed it. Risen 3: Better than fucking Skyrim.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

I've been a fan of Piranha Bytes ever since Gothic 1 and was slightly underwhelmed after the changes that they went with for Risen 1, but it was still a good Gothic successor.

Risen 2 was a hit and a miss..more of a miss and now with this third one I'm actually enjoying it very much and I find it the best out of the three.

Of course it's not for everyone, but the jankyness has always been a part of this series. A solid 7.5/10 for me thus far after playing the game for 15+ hours.

 

[Amaror]

Divinity: Original Sin is hardcore (more even than Risen), is european and has been universaly acclaimed. God games are good games anywhere in the world. Maybe this game is bad, simply..

Well Europe is a pretty diverse place. What i think is that it's more with Risen is the german way of game design. I have seen in lot of games from my country that they tend to focuss on one aspect of the game which they then do really really well, while other aspects of the games tend to be mediocre. That often results in a game with a very specific audience of players that enjoy that one perfected aspect of the game well enough to not mind the mediocrity in the other aspects.
Take Risen for example. The Gothic and Risen games have always focused on exploration. And they do it better than any other rpg. Skyrim also does exploration well, but the world is so huge that it always takes a long time to find something rewarding and money is not scarce to begin with so the benefit to exploration is minor.
In Risen on the other Hand, while the game world is still pretty big it is also incredibly dense. You can fight small hidden gems to find EVERWHERE. Behind a rock on the wayside, in a cave hidden behind a waterfall or in that very small valley beside the path. And no matter where you go there always is SOMETHING to find. Exploration is almost never disappointing because there is always something to find. It might just be a few small gold coins or a flower, but it might also be a powerfull rune or a rare alchemical plant that provides permanent statt boosts. Additionaly it is more rewarding since money is required to gain additional skills, so it is always usefull to find gold or something valuable to sell.
This additionaly makes me thing that the game just isn't Jim's thing. Exploration is the one big draw to these games and he didn't mention it at all.

 

[Grape_Nuts]

Well, I just got a chance to try the game, and I gotta admit, it sucks monkey balls. Everything feels... wrong. This is coming from someone that enjoyed all the Gothic games as well as the first two Risen games. I'm sorry I ever doubted you, Jim.