Piranha Bytes makes a comeback with this great game, Risen is a smaller but more refined Gothic clone.
That is how this small diamond of a game starts. First you need to try to survive in the wilderness, and maybe find something to eat. Soon after that you will be thrown into the middle of the "cold war" between the bandits and the Inquisition, which has taken over the control of the only city on the island away from the bandits. And you will learn that you have 3 "class" choices (the so called class doesn't really matter in regard to your abilities, but more in terms of the story): join the Inquisition and train as a warrior to fight with a staff and the basics of magic, or Join the Inquisition's allies, the Convocation of Mages, and learn the advanced ways of magic, then of course there is the other side of the conflict, the bandits, which you can join to become skilled in most combat and hunting skills. Now for you Gothic 2 fans out there this is beginning to sound very VERY familiar. Also if you take into account the fact that the mages guard the Holy Flame you begin to get a good picture of why this game is so much like Gothic 2. But despite that, it does not suffer from those looong load/save times and those high system requirements and low fps rates that the latest Gothic 3 had.
After finishing the game you will come back to it time and again, just hoping to find something new and amazing about it as you did the first time you played it, unfortunately the different paths to tread in the story aren't all that different and the game leaves you wanting for more. This is mainly because of the small amount of spells, creatable weapons and potions, and the story which is not long enough to give you the sense of fulfillment after finishing it.
Graphics: The Graphics of Risen are gorgeous. Large lush forests that make you want to go camping, great spell effects and very nicely done characters textures. Also the weather effects and the night/day cycle are superbly done.
Sounds: The soundtrack and sound effects are good, but the voices are a bit lacking, they don't really express the feelings of the characters well enough. It's like the actors are just reciting from a piece of cardboard held up by a guy behind the camera. There's not enough feeling into them.
Story: The Story is good, but not that outstanding, and if you have played Gothic 2 you will get a terrible sense of déjà vu. And before the end of the game you don't really get that sense of urgency that would drive some other game's players to push forward.
Gameplay: The combat is very good, but if you choose to walk the path of the mage, you will be a bit disappointed because of the small amount of spells. And after finishing the game you feel a bit nostalgic that it didn't last longer. Not that the game is too short or anything. The Island is pretty big and there are a lot of areas that you will want to explore on your own without actually following a quest. The whole area seems very natural and real.
Conclusion: I give this game an 8 and recommend that you buy it even if you are a casual gamer, and especially if you are a Gothic fan. I am sure there will be a sequel and I can't wait for it to come out!!