I was a big of fan of Risen, the open concept third person RPG that was rough around the edges, but had a lot of promise and was fairly challenging. Sure the game had technical problems, repetitive dungeons and a fairly simple combat system, but it was still a good rpg. Risen took place on an island and you had a little bit of story to do in the beginning and then you were basically unleashed upon the island to do whatever you wanted to do. In that game you had to choose warrior or mage, but in  Risen 2: Dark Waters Deep Silver has improved upon the class idea and many other aspects. Instead of choosing a class you merely choose skills to spend money and experience on. It isn't a revolutionary idea on how to handle rpg classes, but it does work much better than the stuck in stone class system of the first game. While the first Risen took place entirely on one island, Risen 2 looks to take you to many islands and still gives you fairly open environments to explore. It is a pirate game after all and it would only make sense that you have the option to travel the seas. Read on for some further impressions and a combat video.

I have been playing the Risen 2 singleplayer beta for a couple days and I haven't completed it yet, or even come close as far as I can tell, but I can tell you that it is a lot like the previous game, but with obvious improvements. Combat is still pretty simple, but now you have actively try to parry enemies in melee fights and you can also wield ranged weapons, like muskets. I've ran around with my overly expressive companion, a woman pirate, and cut down wild and apparently vicious monkeys all over the first island in the game. Sure I've fought escaped slaves, giant spiders and more exciting things, but I just cannot get past all the monkey killing I've had to do. With that in mind I will say that game is challenging, just like the first one, and it will likely get easier along the way as you get better equipment, skills and more combat options. Graphically the game, even in beta, is just as gorgeous as Risen and some of the character, armor, clothing and weapon textures are impressive.

I haven't played the beta enough to say whether the game is a huge improvement over the first game, so far it's not enough of improvement to make me all that excited, but I still have a lot to play and will definitely bring back some further more complete impressions once I have completed the beta. For now I am certainly enjoying dressing like a pirate, acting like a pirate and exploring a world that feels like a crazy pirate tale that is based on myth and conjecture. Thanks for reading and get on our giveaway before Friday! Also, take a look at this video of combat, in which the player decided to engage a whole bunch of well armed guardsmen on the first island of the game. I do intend to take some more expressive video, if it is allowed for the beta, for the next impressions article.
Main Website: http://www.risen2.com/startpage/