Risen 3: Titan Lords Reviews
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While our review for Risen 3: Titan Lords isn't ready yet, the embargo has been lifted, and I rounded up the first English verdicts on Piranha Bytes' action-RPG threequel. I can't say I'm surprised by the mixed opinions, though so far the good seems to be outweighing the bad.
PC Gamer, 83/100.
Some small concerns remain. The scattered, male-dominated islands of Risen 3 always capture the intended ambiance of their settings well, but very few vistas inspire the taking of personal screenshots for the heck of it. Frankly, it looks old.
But I didn't want to stop playing. Fifteen hours in, I faced my toughest challenge yet in the form of giant spider-thing that spouts giant insects from what looks like Galactus's large intestine. At last she falls.
"What is this worm doing in in my cave," she asks.
"Kicking your ass," our hero says. I actually clapped.
The Escapist, 2/5.
There's nothing wrong with "more of the same" if what you're providing more of is genuinely excellent stuff. With a game as archaic as this, a game that needs so much fixed, there's simply no excuse to just rehash stuff and toss it back out there. Reusing assets, bringing back old gameplay mechanics, there's nothing inherently wrong with all that, but when your last games just barely managed to be acceptable through dint of uniqueness and surprising charm, retreading old ground is the absolute worst thing you can do.
Don't worry though, the preorder bonuses included a new island and new equipment - things you'll find yourself in dire need of if you just buy the game at launch. Nice to know where the priorities are!
Strategy Informer, 8.0/10.
Despite still having a few issues Risen 3: Titan Lords is a vast improvement on Risen 2. The combat could be better but doesn't cripple the game this time, the world is more interesting and easier to get around, and there's tons of stuff to do. The story's a bit too straightforward with not many surprises, Fast Travel is a bit of a pain when it's supposed to make things easier, a number of things could be explained better, character customisation is nil, and despite the islands being better designed we're still dealing with a nicer-looking Xbox 360 game here. I can live with all that though, because while Risen 2 was physically painful for me to play (I had more fun with the Game of Thrones RPG, and that's saying something) I really enjoyed Risen 3 and can heartily recommend it. It's still totally a pirate RPG though despite the various marketing lies, but it's also actually a good one this time. Hooray.
Cram Gaming, 8/10.
Risen 3 provides an interesting romp through its fictitious locales with an overflowing amount of things to do , comprehensive character progression, and the chance to do things differently depending on the choices made. Despite a few negatives here and there with things like getting stuck in the scenery, not enough variety with the combat and the view being obscured by foliage when in battle, the game runs smoothly and plays well. Considering its price point, gamers will get their monies worth in terms of hours, and there's enough intrigue to keep battling on to see what happens next despite some dodgy dialogue and shallow performances. If you're a fan of action role playing games, then there's a lot to like about Risen 3 which offers some pleasant and open ended adventuring.
TPReview, 7/10.
Overall Risen 3 is an entertaining RPG. It doesn't innovate or set any new standards, but it is fun and much more challenging than the standard fare. Gold is hard to come by, skills often take a long while to unlock and combat is consistently difficult. If you like a challenge and an interesting story, you could do much worse.
GameInformer, 7/10.
While Risen 3 doesn't have great combat or an enthralling story, there's a lot of content to delve into for those hungry for an open-world action/RPG, and that might be enough to entice fans to give it a try.
