I guess Piranha Bytes was looking for a little diversity with their last title, Risen 2: Dark Waters when they went for the whole pirate theme. Although the game was decent, everyone expected much more from the creators of the superb Gothic games. When I first heard about the third installment in the Risen series I was a little skeptic to tell you the truth. The company is responsible for creating one of my all-time favorite series, so naturally I was really hoping for a new Gothic game.
My disappointment turned into hope though as I checked the website for Risen 3: Titan Lords and watched its first cinematic teaser trailer. The teaser itself is pretty good even though it doesn’t reveal much, props for the design of the warrior and the creature in any case. Piranha Bytes seems intent on bringing back the medieval setting with this one, a wise choice I say. The game really looks to have a Gothic feel to it, even more so than Risen. It’s almost like it’s taking place in very same universe, wouldn’t it be awesome if it did? Looking at some screenshots from Risen 3 brings back memories of familiar places like the ore mines, the human capital Vengard and the Fire Monastery.
One of the things that set apart the two series is the fact that in Gothic the story revolves more around your character, the Nameless Hero and you get to play as him in all three games. I don’t include Arcania: Gothic 4 as that’s more of a spin-off so it doesn’t count. In Risen on the other hand it’s more about the Titans. Your character is still crucial to the plot, but you will not get to play the same hero in every game. This time around the main protagonist is a young warrior whose soul was stolen, Risen 3: Titan Lords follows his journey as he tries to reclaim it.
Let’s hope that Piranha Bytes have learned from their past mistakes and will make this title much better than its predecessors. Don’t get me wrong, Risen and Risen 2: Dark Waters were good in their own way and I enjoyed playing them both, but they lack that special something that the Gothic series has. By that special something I mean: darker atmosphere, interesting characters and overall a more believable world and premise just to name a few.
Risen 3: Titan Lords will be released this August for PS3, Xbox 360 and Pc. We’ll keep you updated so stay tuned and in the meantime check out a couple of screenshots from the upcoming title. For more info you can also visit the game’s official website.
