I'm playing Risen as well. I love it. After the mess that was Gothic III, they went back to Gothic II-type Risen. It's awesome. It really appears like they started from Gothic II, learned from their mistakes making Gothic III and made Risen as an updated, improved version of Gothic II. I for one, LOVE the melee combat system. There are a few downpoints, namely: no dual-wielding and the using a twohander in one hand is a bit contrived (even though it doesn't look too silly from a visual aspect). Shields are also very powerful, but I think they were going for "You NEED a shield if you're not doing magic", which is why staff fighting is reserved more for mage classes. The combo's are very nice and when you get used to it, you can really get powerful. The silly multiple-enemy combat system of Gothic III has been changed, meaning your foes will cut you down mercilessly if they surround you, and it's up to you to keep them from surrounding you.
Its minor points are some problems with synching dialogue to their sound files, and some collision problems when you've been playing for a long time (easily solved by rebooting the game; savegames are still intact). The content is generally very good, and bug free as far as I've noticed.
Pretty much, if you loved Gothic II, you're bound to love Risen, 'cause aside for better graphics and different story, it's Gothic II all over again.
And don't knock the combat system. It's actually been since Gothic II that I've enjoyed a combat system so much in a game, and that's saying a lot. May take a little time to get used to, but once you figure out blocking, dodging, and timing, you will love it. It's not innovative like ED, meaning no battle tower or dragons or mindreading or stuff like that, they chose to keep it simple this time around. And I commend them for it.
