Risen 2 will have true 3D support!

Yes, yes, it’s a 3D action-RPG, made with a 3D engine. That’s not what this news concerns.

No…this news concerns the fact that Risen 2 will fully support Nvidia’s 3D Vision technology! So if you happen to have that on your gaming rig, you’ll be able to enjoy some piratey RPG goodness in a somewhat more immersive way.

Risen, on Steam, no longer has Tages copy protection.

Piranha Bytes (or, at least, I assume it was them) quietly stripped the Tages copy protection out of the game. The activation limit for the game has also been removed.

Ain’t that nice of ’em?

The release dates for Risen 2 have been announced.
And guess what…the console version has been delayed!

Risen 2: Dark Waters will be available on April 27, 2012 for Windows PC, on May 22, 2012 in the USA and Canada and on May 25, 2012 in European countries for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3.

Risen 2: Dark Waters will be available via digital distribution for PC, and for both PC and consoles as a retail version, as well as a Collector’s Edition in certain territories.

RPGWatch calls the delay, which is basically a month in duration, “small”. I’d argue that a whole month exceeds the definition of “small”, but that’s just me.

Building pirates for all platforms.

INCGamers sat down with Pete Brolly from Deep Silver to discuss Risen 2. A couple notable excerpts worth mention here include his comments on the nature of Risen 2’s open world:

IncGamers: How would you describe the way Risen 2 is set out? It’s not open-world in the same sense as Skyrim, but it’s certainly not linear either.

Pete Brolly: It’s definitely open-world. The difference is, though… in Risen 1 you start the game and you’re free to go anywhere, and we got a lot of complaints that there wasn’t enough explanation. We didn’t want people to get lost at the start of Risen 2 so it’s a bit linear early on as you play through missions that introduce you to the world.

Then, on the second island, it’s all opened up and a bit more is explained. And then on the next island you get your own ship and you’re free to travel anywhere you like. So, no matter what the mission, you can go anywhere at any time.

Risen 1 was a like a funnel, where it started out open world and got more linear. In Risen 2 that’s reversed.

And here’s a rather intriguing comment on how skills in the game work:

PB: If you choose the Voodoo option then you’ll lock yourself out of some Inquisition missions, as well as some skills that you could potentially learn. You will still be able to use your pistol and ‘dirty trick’ skills if you choose Voodoo, but you won’t increase your firearms abilities enough to use rifles, muskets or shotguns.

On the other hand, you will get the Voodoo skills and missions.

IG: What are some of those Voodoo skills?

PB: New dialogue options open up where you can actually manipulate NPCs, so you can pluck a hair from their head and make a Voodoo puppet based on that person. You can then use that to take on a quest.

For example, one mission might involve a ship that needs to be taken over but is guarded by enemies. You could fight them yourself or you could take over the commander and use him to dismiss the troops.

On one hand, they’re opting for the rather hard-core approach of locking you out of whole skill trees if you choose to side with one faction over the other. But not, or so it sounds, in a way that makes you feel like it’s a punishment.