Risen 3: Titan Lords PS3 Review

Fed to the sharks? Risen 3 Titan Lords review

Risen 3: Titan Lords, is the follow-up to 2012’s Risen 2: Dark Waters. In the latest RPG adventure, you play the son of Captain Steelbeard, a pirate who must reclaim his soul from the underworld after being killed and having it stolen by an evil shadow demon while hunting for treasure on a remote island.

After your death, you are laid to rest on an island by your crew, only to be brought back to life by a mysterious character named Bones and his Voodoo magic. Bones informs you that your soul has been stolen, but he is willing to help you get it back. However, to regain your soul, you must complete a number of quests, scattered across various locations. So is Risen 3 a swashbucklin’ adventure, or does it deserve to be fed to the sharks?

Risen 3 opens with two pirate ships engaged in battle, with cannons firing and enemies swinging in from different directions and boarding your ship. This scenario sounds exciting, unfortunately, though, the sequence is executed poorly. Risen 3's presentation is quite simply, a catastrophe.

It's not only the presentation that is an abomination, with the gameplay fairing no better. Risen 3's combat system consists of pressing R2 to block and X to swing your blade. All of the combat is very one dimensional and unimaginative. Added to that, it is also unresponsive, glitchy, and incredibly frustrating to master. However, there is a good chance you won't notice how unresponsive the combat system can be as you probably won't be able to see what you're doing anyway, thanks to consistent frame rate issues and persistent screen tearing. Sadly, these issues don’t improve throughout the adventure and in some instances become worse.

After the unspectacular opening, you begin exploring an island with your sister Patty. Together you traverse the island while coming face to face with some of its inhabitants. Giant rats, crabs, and an alligator provide you with the chance to practice your fighting skills though none of it gets the heart pumping. The majority of the time the best option is to simply roll on the ground while picking the right moment to strike. If you are hurt in combat (which will happen often), the easiest option to regain health is to drink rum, which coincidentally I found to be the easiest option for me to drink, to help make the game slightly less painful to sit through.

Each enemy you pit your combat skills against seems to be much faster and stronger than you are, regardless of what it is you are fighting. You can fire your gun at the enemy, but there is no crosshair for aiming, and when you fire at point-blank range and miss, you begin to wonder if all the rum you've been downing has not only regained your character's health but also made him completely drunk. As for the AI, Patty being the perfect example, it isn’t particularly good either. There were several moments in combat where she just stood there and watched me get pecked to death by a giant ostrich-like creature.

Side quests offer a distraction, for example, you can follow an arrow on your map to a location marked ‘X’ where, you guessed it, a treasure is there for you to dig up if you feel like it. Additionally, you acquire new attributes completing these quests through an experience system called ‘Glory'. Gaining ‘Glory’ allows you to upgrade your character and become more 'effective' in combat. Also, trainers situated throughout each island help you learn new skills. The upgrade system is a plus as you begin to notice differences in your characters’ abilities and combat becomes a little less routine. Later in the Risen 3, you gain access to magic and spells, which again are a welcome addition. There are many unique spells to learn depending on which faction you decide to join: Mages, Demon Hunters or Natives, and you can also create your own weapons and potions if you wish.

The Risen 3 world is a decent size, and the islands are worth exploring, although there is a distinct lack of imagination in their design. Some areas bear a striking resemblance to the previous instalment, Risen 2, which may make Risen fans feel like they're parting with $50 for just an update of the last game.

Graphics / Audio

The graphics are woeful and do not compliment the PlayStation 3 at all. They wouldn't even pass for PS2 visuals either. Pretty much all the voice acting is of a terrible standard, with each actor sounding rather unenthusiastic towards each line of the script they communicate. One scene in particular – when our hero dies – is meant to be a powerful and emotional set piece, but instead, you can’t help but cringe at how bad the whole thing is implemented. Arrr! Indeed.

The verdict

Risen 3 Titan Lords is not the dynamic, exhilarating game that it should have been. After Bones resurrects you, he says if you do not regain your soul you will live a “painful existence that will end in damnation”.

That line sums up my experience playing Risen 3: Titan Lords. Some of you will enjoy it, especially if you are fans of the Risen series. But, if this is your first time experiencing the Risen universe, you may wish to spend your money elsewhere. There are some good aspects to the game, (the open-world environment and the character upgrade system being examples), but they are few and far between. The story should keep you busy for around 20 hours, depending on how involved you want to be with the side quests.

Overall the bad points, outweigh the good points meaning that Risen 3: Titan Lords deserves to walk the plank.

4/10