Risen 2: Dark Waters
Preview
Brings piracy back in a fun (and legal) way
by Lisa Thrasher
previewed on PC
The vaguely familiar open road into uncharted territory (cntd)
The best suggestion I can give is to talk to everyone. NPCs are your lifeblood in the game, not only will they provide you with information pertaining to your quests and character improvements, but items like island maps that allow you to fast travel between locations as well. There are multiple approaches to every mission, and how you respond to NPCs will affect the world around you by opening or closing side missions and changing how characters will react to you. There is a morality system in place, but it’s not so black and white since you can do things that are considered wrong that improve your pirate status. However, you may say something wrong to Steelbeard that lowers his opinion of you. If this happens, you will have to slog through the swamps instead of taking a better route to board the ship.
In true RPG fashion, some characters will teach you skills for a sum of gold, but not all of the skills are ones that you may expect. Along with the usual abilities like alchemy, lockpicking and pickpocketing, you must also pay to be taught how to perform actions like kicking and crouching. You may be the hero from the first game, but you have apparently lost all recollection of what you once knew, including muscle memory. Through a detailed quest line involving a “primitive” tribe, revealing your true intentions and summoning an ancestor, you can also learn the art of voodoo in order to make dolls and conjure up black magic.
You can also create your own fighting style, though your options are a little limited. In the first Risen you were given a sword and shield combination. In Risen 2 you have the option of dual wielding a sword and a flintlock pistol. You can also fit yourself into a few different battle types such as a sniper or a thief if you want to mix and match a bit.
There’s no road of flowers leading to glory
You are allowed to work with anyone, from the pirates to the Inquisition to the slave-keep Governor. The choice on who to follow is up to you. However, the game gives you two very different feelings depending on who you spend time with. For the Inquisition, you are their only hope against the Kraken of the sea and the Titans warring over the earth. On the other hand, the pirates present a picture of a quest you can’t fail.
Completing missions or killing anything within the environment earns you Glory. Glory is Risen’s version of experience points and Glory is spent to increase your Attributes. There are five Attributes that cover a broad range of areas including overall toughness, success at special conversation topics or an aptitude with blades. However, being defeated causes you to lose some of your Glory, so try to stay alive.
I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with the original Risen and look forward to getting to extend my experience with the series. The graphics and controls have improved over the last game, which will certainly help draw new players in as well. I am personally intrigued by the lack of mini-map and quest markers that require me to pay attention to what the other characters say, especially when I usually just hit “Accept” for every quest in games like WoW. There aren’t many good pirate games and Risen 2: Dark Waters aims to change that. I’m excited for a new RPG and personally think that Risen 2 can bring piracy back in a fun (and legal) way.
