Risen is like a bad 1990s RPG with a low-budget wannabe face-lift
Since visuals are the first things players see, lets start there. First off, the graphics are hideous! Yes, they have volumetric lighting, shadows, HDR lighting, and all the latest shaders, etc. But all these graphic tricks can't cover up the terrible art underneath it. The textures look like default stuff from generic texture CDs, and there's no control on art direction. It's as if the designers just depended on the engine to "pretty" up this game. The worst are the characters. What year is this? 1995? In an age of Oblivion, Mass Effect, and Assassin's Creed, how can they ever think their character models will hold up? Risen's characters look like a 3D student's first attempt at modeling. And btw, I ran Risen on 1920x1200 with all settings on high; and it's still ugly. Animations are even worse. The default animations that come with software packages are better done.
What's worse is the repeat use of the same character models on everyone. The entire world of Risen must be inbreeding.
And now for actual gameplay: control wise, it's easy to run around and control your character. However, when it comes to combat, there's no sense of control. There's a terrible lag and none-responsive feel to combat. And coupled with armature animation, the entire system felt broken and unfinished. There's no sense of accomplishment for defeating your foes.
Risen is also filled with bugs or just unfinished features (I can't tell if they meant it or not). For example, there's no UI indication for stealing. You can just open up someone's chest and take their stuff to only find out about it later. And if the AI does find out, they'll chase you around but only within their tiny "active radius." So if you leave this ring (which is only about 15 feet or so), the AI simply returns to their original spot and forgets all about it! You can now walk right back to them and they'll act as if nothing happened. If this was 1992 or something, then I'll understand. But for 2009, this is pure amateur programming.
The story itself is filled with random plot holes and stuff that doesn't make any sense. I love how your character just leaves the girl behind to the first stranger he meets.
Since I wanted to salvage my $50, I tried to ignore these nasty things and did my hardest to play through. But after a few days, I just couldn't take it anymore. I understand the "old school" feeling this game might bring for some, but for me, it failed on so many levels. Spend your money on Oblivion or wait for something better to come along.