Risen 2: Dark Waters Xbox 360
User Score
5.6 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 31 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 31
  3. Negative: 10 out of 31

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  1. Mattaclysm
    Aug 30, 2012
    6
    Risen 2 is not a completely terrible game, it does seem very low quality though. For what it's supposed to be shown off as it's supposed to be a pirate RPG.. not really so. It's more so an RPG - with "pirates". There isn't much pirating - in fact you spend all of your time in this game on land.... Your main quest is pretty straight forward find 4 "artefacts" and seal away a Titan Goddess named Mara. Combat is ok it is not anything special by all means it is very generic, you learn new skills by leveling up and then buying those said abilities. You don't get much to choose from learning a kick or a power attack. The game feels a little difficult until you are leveled up. Graphics aren't bad, landscapes are actually nice but character models are lousy and downright ugly. Voice acting is decent, but dialogue is not read properly sometimes you will see dialogue differently then what some of the characters say, which. I don't really know how this could happen. I actually had a lot of fun with Risen 2 until near the end, then it just became repetitive and boring to the point where I had to force myself to finish it. Areas felt overly large and way too many paths makes for a headache. The lack of a mini map is redundant. Menu is a cluttered mess. Nothing is explained clearly what you are really supposed to do. This game is your average budget title worthy of a rental. I mainly play games on PS3 but I could only find the 360 version of this game. It did run very well for me mostly but sometimes it would lag for no apparent reason. There would be nothing going on at all on the screen and my games frame rate would skip terribly for about a minute. It's better comparable would be something like Two Worlds 2 over Skyrim.. It's really a slightly better Two Worlds 2 thats all.… Expand
  2. bugbear1
    Aug 4, 2012
    1
    By turns, "interesting" and "utterly broken" RISEN 2 for XBOX 360 is a technical mess with hitching, lockups, poor LOD, collision errors, toons walking thru toons, objects spawning within objects and other foibles. A late-cycle example of technical mastery, RISEN 2 is not; as an offbeat, more stylized RPG, the game's focused success, if any, is on pirate adventure with limited mystical overtones. Dev Piranha Bytes have a storied history with broken ports, underdeveloped GOTHIC 3 and its subsequent unauthorized add-on, including a nearly-broken (and not patched-to-completion) franchise-spawning RISEN on both PC and 360.
    It's difficult to recommend a game that barely runs and will most likely, NEVER be fixed nor patched to completion-    … Expand
  3. PlanByHero
    Aug 20, 2012
    9
    Risen 2 is pretty much what you should expect if you played Risen; buggy, unpolished, a little ugly at times but heaps and heaps of fun. The sword combat starts out a little clumsy and basic but as you progress it becomes much more enjoyable. Also, you get to use Muskets.....MUSKETS!! They even have a lovely puff of smoke when you fire them! The main CONS of this game are it's buggy, ugly, somewhat "cheap" nature but those CONS are far outweighed by the PROS such great funny dialogue, imaginative missions/quests, slow character progression (that may seem like a bad thing but it actually makes leveling feel much more rewarding), a lovely lockpicking mini-puzzle, and it's just downright FUN. If you can look past some moderate flaws (below average graphics, buggy animations, occasional severe frame rate drops) and see the gem beneath you will really enjoy this game. If you like your RPGs polished and triple-A - steer well clear of this one. I've listed several pretty big flaws in the above but I'm still giving the game 9/10...THAT SHOULD TELL YOU HOW MUCH FUN IT IS!!… Expand
  4. Xborn74
    Aug 5, 2012
    6
    "Risen 2: Dark Water," is an RPG in 3rd person, developed by German company Piranha Bites and produced by Deepsilver, and following the RPG "Risen" 2009. The game's story follows the trajectory of the unnamed protagonist of the first game, that after the events of this, is allied to the soldiers of the Inquisition, and is in the sea stronghold of Caldera, in a land where ancient beings (Titans), which helped Gods to make the world, and who were banished by the gods for nearly destroying the world in the midst of their wars for power - they've reappeared on earth, and re-started fighting between themselves, and one of them (Mara), releases the mythical Kraken, which destroys boats. You as the protagonist, is the other game nameless character, like the pirate, searching for pieces of a legendary weapon that can destroy it.The game's graphics have a good detailing, in constructions and details of the scenarios (such as objects and items in the environments and landscapes around), but have regular contours and textures, with lots of jaggies and a robotic in the characters actions and movements. For example, the act of jumping, it seems that the protagonist floats in the air, between the CG and Gamplay we see some abrupt changes, as in the sequences of dialogues.Some graphics are regular (mostly), and some bad, like the strange foliage with its pixelated look in some segments. The animations are a bit odd too, like to run or fight, and have many bugs, and there is some collision detection between objects, parts of the body, weapons, or trees "cross" other structures, and some animations are clumsy, if not funny at all. The same applies to the camera, which does not help in the fighting.Overall, there is a game above the 1st, but with a general outdated graphics, as was the 1st one in relation to other games of the time - as a comparison, I compare it graphics to recent games, they are like the ones of "Game of Thrones" or "The Cursed Crusade".Audio: The game features a music composed of orchestral music, has a very low volume, almost inaudible in the game, and totally secondary role. The dominance turns out to be the speech sounds and general game. The voiceovers, have a certain accent, and some performances are bad, but mostly passable - and almost everything in the game has a line of audio associated. In relation to other sounds, are suitable.Gameplay: the gameplay (which is the best part of the game), can be compared to the first - complex, being an RPG in 3rd person with a pirate theme. The characters have a good micro-management features and complexity of items and good weapons powers and abilities that can be used. The character has several items that can be equiped in various parts of the body and arms, and all change his appearance.In the menus we have the following choices: Character, Inventory, Sea Chart, and Logbook. Within Character we see the detailed work on the character: it has tabs as Atributes (Blades, Firearms, Toughness, Cunning and Vodoo) that controls acting skills of struggle and negotiation, Talents (skills related to various Atributes as throwing knives, musket, etc.), Skills (eg Parry, musket marksman, etc.), Crew (extra hidden NPC) and Collection (with secret artifacts, which along with weapons and Glory points are used to modify the Atributes).The game has the 3 basic difficulties, and the character have other parameters, such as Blood (his life), Glory (which is used for attributes is its reputation and general) and Gold. The action takes place in broad scenarios connected in the free world, and battles with monsters and characters that appear in the localities, primary Quests and side-quests, which are passed to you in dialogues (these are listed and shown maps, with the Logbook). The sequences of dialogues have several lines of text with different attitudes and responses that can be selected, each with one result, and that sometimes influenced depending on the character's Cunning.As previously mentioned, the game has some problems, despite the depth of gameplay, such as robotics and clumsy movements, problems of detection, graphical glitches, problems of continuity and a bizarre AI at times.Summary: The game ends up being a good action-RPG, with a pirate theme, and with a good complexity and story, and it would be advisable for those who enjoy complex RPG, without bothering with details like better and polished graphics, and with problems in the gameplay (cited above) . It would be comparable to the first Risen in his time, but with better graphics and more depth and the games I mentioned above as graphical comparisons, which serve as a comparison of general aspects of gameplay indirectly, because they are similar in qualities and defects. Finally, a good option for those who like a more serious and complex RPG, but not for those who care with games with other better overall aspects.… Expand
  5. JabbaTheSlush
    Aug 20, 2012
    3
    I rented this a couple days ago. I haven't played such a broken game since trying the first Two Worlds on 360. Annoying screen-tearing. Tiny text (I sit ten feet away from a 42" set) that makes me squint. The bloom/brightness whatnot in the game can get amazingly bright. The menu system doesn't make sense, and drags the game down even further.

    The sad thing is the basic things in the ga    me I love, such as the setting and not too serious storyline. It is just weird the developers pushed the game out the door like that, and even more weird the publisher didn't give them more time to polish it. Unplayable.… Expand
  6. Kietz91
    Nov 5, 2012
    6
    Implement the dodge mechanic you brought to the pc version, fix the stun-lock that a number of enemies can keep you in when in groups, implement a longer cool down for enemy's ranged attacks and you will truly have a stellar game, easily deserving of a solid score. A fair bit of balancing would improve this game to an amazing extent. As it is, however, it's more or less just wasted potential. There is a true quality game here, and it's easy to see. However, just a few questionable design choices, a long with a severe lack of support, leaving this game a fair bit broken, which is incredibly sad.… Expand
  7. Zero99i
    Aug 5, 2012
    10
    Risen 2 is still a great game. But Piranha Bytes should look for another developer for their console-ports. I am not a graphics freak, but a bug free and lack free game is recommended for a good score.
  8. Rizaloo
    Aug 9, 2012
    7
    If you enjoyed the first Xbox 360 port of Risen, there's no reason why you wouldn't like this game as well. Wizardbox have done a much better port this time, and while not perfect, it's certainly better than the first. In terms of gameplay, if you've also played the original Risen, then you have a good idea of what to expect. I am a big fan of the first game (shoddy port and all) and I'm about 15 hours in Risen 2 now. I have yet to experience any bugs or crashes, and load times are actually fairly decent. There's an initial load whenever you start (or reload) a game but after that, the engine does not have to load often, even when you fast travel to different points on the same island.

    Our good folks at Piranha Bytes have obviously taken Risen 2 into Pirate-themed territory. I    … Expand
  9. Cesar
    Sep 11, 2012
    3
    I will love to say that this game is great, because I like the Pirates Of The Caribbeans plot. But after 3 hours of play the game slowly dies to *something* that could been good. The graphics are bellow average, the history line in the plot is week and hollow, and the game play is poor and annoying. But I'm not that surprise about it. Deep Silver have the ability to destroy games, and Risen 2 is the latest victim in a long list of games that were killed by Deep Silver incompetence.… Expand
  10. partyintheback
    Oct 14, 2012
    8
    I really, really like this game. The graphics are much better than the first Risen, the story's more interesting, the pirate theme is nice, the environments are great to explore, etc. However, it has one big drawback, which is the combat, and sometimes the difficulty will make you want to pull your hair out. So let's go a little more in-depth on Risen 2.

    Risen 2, much like the first Ris    en, is a new RPG built with a budget and team well below that of a big Bethesda RPG or something. People who say this game's "crap" aren't the most trustworthy. If you've played and enjoyed games like Risen, Divinity 2, or any of the other RPGs like those, you'll certainly get your money's worth out of Risen 2.

    First, let's address the graphics. Some will say that the skybox looks like pixelated blobs, and you know, they're not wrong, but clouds do typically look like blobs, though just not so pixelated. However, unlike some higher budget games that forgo this graphical feature, the clouds do move, so at least you're not stuck in this static world that feels a lot like a game world and thus kills immersion. Otherwise, Risen 2 is a pretty big step up from the first Risen in the graphics department. Characters are more detailed, environments look more lush and impressive, etc. Yeah, the animations aren't cutting edge, but neither are the animations in Bethesda's Fallout and Elder Scrolls, so I don't think slamming the animations is entirely fair. This is a massive game built on a smaller budget with a smaller team, yet their animations are mostly on par with Bethesda's work.

    In regards to story, it's handled a lot better in Risen 2 than it was in the first game. I find a lot of characters really fun and interesting to interact with. This game seems a lot more cinematic than the first game. It's definitely an interesting and slightly different tale for an RPG.

    Now, for the part that'll frustrate many people, which is the combat. Not only does this version lack the enhancements that they made to the PC version to make the combat flow better, but you start off this game very weak, which seems standard for an RPG, but there are battles early in the game that feel like pure luck, so get ready to reload you save and wait through a lengthy loading screen to try it all over again, and you'll likely do this many times over before getting lucky. It's really a shame that the combat is so stilted and frustrating early on, because I feel the rest of the game is a sheer joy to wander around in. But perhaps, if all you look for in a game is combat, maybe you should just buy a hack & slash game instead.

    It's odd, then, that Risen 2 is still really neat despite the core gameplay bit being so frustrating. This isn't a bad game, I promise, but the combat needs some serious work. I really like everything else in Risen 2.    … Expand
  11. Hamyy
    Feb 5, 2013
    8
    I bought this game the other day (I no late) on a wimm. Took it home played it for a while and went to bed. Next day in work i checked the reviews and they didnt sound to impressive. I was defo gutted about the lack of sailing Since then I cant put this game down for all its many many flaws there is something addictive about the world and pirate theme. Not all games you play will meet your expections, but remember when you were young and played 2d games and loved them, not all games can nbe like AC3 and BOPS. Bring out the kid in you and relex you will enjoy the open (kind off world of pirates, happy hunting… Expand
  12. brockowski
    Feb 28, 2013
    7
    Risen 2 is a game which in todays market would be considered graphically obsolete. Also can be a little buggy sometimes. On top of that the camera orientation during fighting scenes was outrageous at times and difficult to control. Outwith all of the above if you are able to forgive these flaws you will find a gem of a game. Storyline and characters are great you will find yourself immersed in your own little world playing this game. The leveling up system is rewarding and really allows you to build the character of your choosing. On top of that there is plenty of loot and weapons specific to how you want to play the game. If you like your old school rpgs this is a game not to be missed. As your companion gnome in the game would say. YES.… Expand
  13. owen1218
    May 3, 2013
    9
    I am a big fan of Piranha Bytes' work, and have enjoyed every game they have yet produced. Going into this game, I was not sure what to expect, because I felt the first Risen was the weakest game PB had yet produced. Not to say it isn't a good game, but for the most part it felt like a Gothic clone, like I was playing a rehash of the original Gothic franchise in a way that indicated a severe lack of creativity. I also heard that the island approach of Risen 2 destroyed the openendedness that made the earlier games enjoyable.

    But this new game has given me a renewed faith in Piranha Bytes and the creative energy they possess. In many ways, this is their best game. The characters are fantastic, and they interact so brilliantly with one another. One review said that the title character is "hardly recognizable" in Risen 2, which is true to an extent, but that's in part because he has actually developed some character in the interim from the last game. Such a great pirate protagonist has not existed in a video game since Guybrush Threepwood. And even better still is Patty, whose interactions with the protagonist are always so brilliant. Not even to get into the many other characters I love in the game, including Steelbeard, Chani, and of course, Jaffar.

    This is a role playing game of choice for anyone interested in immersing themselves in a new world peopled by characters who are worth getting to know. In some sense Risen 2 feels somewhat less openended than the Gothic games or the original Risen, but I don't feel this structured approach is a weakness, especially as they were able to apply it in a way that continues to avoid linearity. It reminds me a bit of the planetary exploration of an older RPG called Planet's Edge.

    Most critics I've seen appear to have criticized Risen 2 either because it wasn't another Gothic clone, or because it wasn't as good an action game as the Elder Scroll series. But if your primary enjoyment in role playing games is to role play, then this is an excellent choice.

    However, that isn't to say I don't have problems with the game. I think the first is its blatant sexism and racism. While Patty makes up somewhat for the former with her feminist-like approach, but the "savages" are stereotypical headhunter sorts with strong patriarchal rulers, voodoo magic, and a language that appropriates words from existing languages (for instance "aloha" is used for "hello"). I also felt that the voodoo elements were not well applied. I had many of these skills but by the time they were developed they were useless. I was also moderately annoyed finding very difficult chests for instance on a jungle in Tacarigua, near the beginning of the game. By the time I could open it, it was hardly worth making the trek there to do so. Finally, some elements of the game which could have brilliantly integrated simply weren't. Actions that should have had sweeping changes often did not. (Although admittedly still more so than in most games of this type.)    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
60 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 18
  3. Negative: 2 out of 18
  1. GameCritics
    Sep 24, 2012
    65
    While the developer is on the right track, Risen 2: Dark Waters feels choppier than the last game, and will test those with little patience.
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  2. X360 Magazine UK
    Sep 23, 2012
    50
    It might be better than Risen, but Dark Waters is constrained by its PC roots and hampered by inconsistent design and a truly awful engine. [Issue#89,p.84]
  3. GameOver.gr
    Sep 18, 2012
    60
    The Xbox 360 version of this western RPG suffers from all the syndromes these games have when they find their way onto consoles. Bugs, glitches and stubborn choices by the developers that can't seem to understand the nature of console gaming too well.
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