Ah, finally we're changing gears! Risen 3 is less than two weeks away from release, and so far we've only gotten tiny glimpses at what the game is going to be like. But a couple of days ago, Deep Silver threw up a one-hour livestream of Risen 3, showcasing some inventory management, the level-up system, a bit of exploration and lots and lots of combat. Just skip ahead to the 5-minute mark for the fun to begin.

To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised to see how little of a fight the enemies in this video are putting up. While the original Risen had arguably some of the best enemy combat behaviours and AI in any action-RPG I've ever seen - enemies responded realistically to your attacks by dodging away and flanking around you, grouping up and taking turns attacking you from multiple sides - it seems somewhat toned down in Risen 3. Your human and humanoid foes mostly seem to go all Assassin's Creed on you, attacking you one at a time while the rest of the mob strafe around you with no real interest in engaging you at all. It doesn't look very difficult - or for that matter, natural. Hopefully, that's something still in the works. I must say, though I'm impressed by the animations. It seems we might be getting the very first Piranha Bytes game that offers fluid and realistic combat animations with Risen 3. Oh, and solid voice acting too, for once!

Risen 3 is set to release on August 15, and you can naturally expect a review from us shortly after.