Risen 2: Dark Waters is a pirate themed action role-playing video game. As a sequel to Risen you will encounter ancient gods, monsters, and magic in this fantasy world. The game was developed by Piranha Bytes and published by Deep Silver for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Throughout the game the player will have the ability to improve upon five key attributes the blades, firearms, toughness, cunning, and voodoo.
A Pirates Life in Risen 2: Dark Waters
Risen 2: Dark Waters takes place after the first game Risen and features the same hero. This game features the protagonist in a third-person perspective as he explores the world around him. He’s a profoundly changed man, however, both physically and mentally. Having suffered the consequences of the first game’s ending, he’s lost an eye, and worse, his confidence.
He’ll be starting all over again and so will we, this time in a distinctly pirate setting, complete with tumbledown driftwood pirate villages and dual-wielded firearms. The main character’s physical appearance is static, however, other characters can be changed as well as clothing and skill sets.
The game has a full day/night cycle that will affect your ability to go full-on pirate and steal people’s stuff. Obviously, daytime isn’t a great time for such things but at night you’ll be able to sneak into people’s homes and fill your pockets.
The core RPG mechanic in Risen 2 remains much the same as the first game (or is at least familiar), with leveling and spendable skill points. The interesting thing is that since you are not starting with a specific class, you’ll be able to create any kind of class or specialization hybrid you like.
Risen 2: Dark Waters New and Improved
Aside from the change in setting, weaponry in Risen 2 will also see a significant change. Rather than staffs and swords it’ll be “all guns, all the time.” This makes perfect sense since, well, why would a pirate use a bow and arrows? Players will be able to choose from muskets, shotguns, rifles, and of course, cannons. This thematic realism will be accompanied by a marked improvement in the overall realism of the game world due to a revamped character system.
Some of the new-and-improved characters throughout the world were revamped resulting in more detailed and varied NPCs, thus preventing you from repeatedly encountering the same bland, clone-like mission givers. In addition to the character changes, the environments have also had a considerable amount of love.
Deep Silver’s main goal aside from amping up the realism is to reduce load times, and they’re doing that by moving away from the “one big island” model and toward a “many smaller islands” one. There’ll be one load time per island, and after that, you’ll be free to explore the completely open location in any way you like. This kind of non-linear expansiveness continues from the first game, and while there will of course be missions, curious players who enjoy exploring will be rewarded with hidden points-of-interest.
Last Remarks
The game is looking great and if it’s stable, relatively bug-free, and builds on Risen’s interesting RPG mechanics. The game’s leaps and bounds better than its predecessor. The setting alone is great, and let’s be honest, who doesn’t have pirates at the forefront of their mind? All in all, this game is much improved from the first Risen and is worth taking a chance on.