WAAAY too many confusing stats/10

Drakensang: The River of time is an exceptionally sub-par RPG. The game gives the player very little freedom to explore, locking them into preset paths through the rigid storyline. The story itself, as much as I have seen of it, is bland and utterly routine. Worst of all are the combat mechanics which are cumbersomely slow, nearly to the point of being unresponsive. Combatants will stand facing each other for 10-20 seconds before making an attack only to miss with frustrating regularity. There are too many worthwhile RPG's out there to waste any time or money on this one.

It doesn't have widescreen support so I basically can't play it without a big black bar on one side, or with everything out of a good resoultion. >:(

This is a good RPG. It has unique and unusually good skill progression system that let's you use experience points as soon as you acquire them instead of waiting to level up. Combat makes good use of real time with pause. There's crafting, alchemy, plenty of side quests, some challenging boss fights and even some moral choices to make that influence your options later in the game. Basically all the things you expect from a good RPG.

The main weakness of the game is that there are a bit too many routine "filler" fights, but there is still a bit of an improvement in this regard over the original Drakensang. The story is pretty much standard fantasy RPG rubbish, but that's fine with me, I generally don't play this kind of game for the story anyway (but of course when there is a good story, like in Planescape Torment, it does not hurt).

Recommended for fans of the genre.

Disclaimer: I have always wanted to get into the Dark Eye stuff and while I have the Arkania trilogy on my wishlist, this game serves as my entry into this sprawling fantasy universe.

That being said, I am really loving this game! I can see why they say that TDE is just as popular if not more so than D&D over in Germany (where it orginally hails from). The depth of the lore alone is quite amazing, but I also really respect the attention to detail in making the subject matter truly their own in such a bloated market (ie fantasy fiction).

Drakensang: Rivers of Time is the 2010 prequel to the original Drakensang (2008). For anyone familiar with that particular title - Ardo, Cano and Forgrimm play a central role in RoT as well. You play a nameless adventurer who earns in the anals of history alongside these three heroes.

What appeals to me most about this game is that, despite being a relatively modern game, it lacks the constant hand-holding of so many other current gen RPGs - which, to me, only ever translates to a plus! Game also features some great voice work and a pretty interesting plot. As with any good RPG you're given a large open world to explore at your leisure with plenty of side quests and other tasks to keep one busy when not pursuing the main quest line, as well.

A solid RPG experience. A deep, party oriented combat system and large list of craftable objects add depth to a well presented story and environment. Quests often have multiple paths to resolution giving you some choice in how you want to complete them. Well worth the price of admission, a real steal if you get it on one of the Steam sales.