Piranha Byte's latest single-player action RPG Risen hits store shelves this week, with the PC version dropping in North America on October 2nd, and the Xbox 360 scheduled for sometime in the beginning of next year. The title refers to a series of ancient ruins that have recently risen from beneath the tropical island where your character finds himself washed up following a nasty shipwreck. You know, as opposed to those pleasant shipwrecks. with all the candy.

Risen will be available on Steam Friday for $44.99.

But nope. All you get is some guy saying the name of the game right at the end. I guess that's why they call it a "teaser" trailer.

Actually, I'm not as excited about the voices of Serkis and Rhys-Davies as I am about Lena Headey's addition to the cast. I hadn't heard of her 'til 300, but now that she's cast as Cersei Lannister in the upcoming pilot of HBO's Song of Ice and Fire adaptation, I can't get enough of her. (Though I say she was wasted on Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles — wasted!)

Risen is out on PC October 2 and will hit the Xbox 360 sometime early next year.

No stranger to portraying digital creations, Andy "Gollum" Serkis will be portraying someone named The Inquisitor in Risen, which sounds fairly ominous and perhaps a bit dire. Meanwhile, John "Gimli" Rhys Davies will be stepping into the shoes of Don Esteban, a role he's prepared for by appearing in everything from Sliders to the Indiana Jones franchise. Joining the two Lord of the Rings stars is Lena Headey - Sarah Connor of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - as Patty.

Perhaps publisher Deep Silver could have provided a bit more background information on the characters along with this announcement, as we really have no idea who The Inquisitor, Don Esteban, and Patty are. They seem to think we should be excited, so woo!

Rather than go over the rest of the cast one by one, I'll go ahead and post the paragraph from the official release below. It's mainly British television actors, and aside from the guy who plays Owen in Torchwood I find myself at a complete loss.

Serkis, Rhys-Davies and Headey are joined by a lineup of some of the most recognizable British TV actors; Fincher is played by Torchwood actor Burn Gorman, Larkrise to Candleford star Brendan Coyle takes the role of Commandant Carlos, Damian O'Hare who starred in medical drama The Royal plays Olf. I'm Alan Partridge regular and Star Stories narrator Simon Greenall plays Luis. Oscar is played by Grange Hill actor Donald McCorkindale while fellow Grange Hill actor and Secret Diaries of a Call Girl star Stuart Organ plays Brogar. The Archers actress, Louiza Patikas represents Sara and Timothy Watson who has starred in countless TV dramas from Eastenders to Casualty takes the role of Romanov.

No reasons were initially given why the game has been banned Down Under. Kotaku Australia contacted Risen's Australian distributor Madman Interactive and were told that the country's Classification Board felt the game contained "sexual activity and drug use related to incentives or rewards."

Madman Interactive has yet to decide whether it will appeal this decision or release an edited version for a 15-years-old-and-up rating.

RPG Banned In Australia, Sex And Drugs To Blame? [Kotaku Australia]

I'm sure there's a large symphonic/gothic metal band scene that I am completely unaware of. In fact, the comments section could potentially fill up with arguments on which of those bands is the most successful, but as far as Deep Silver is concerned, Nightwish here is the end all and be all. Listening to it a few times, my definition of symphonic/gothic metal has transformed from 'huh?' to 'music most likely to be included in future Twilight movies to try and make them appeal more to the poor boyfriends who get dragged along to the theater. This is sure to make me a pariah among the symphonic/gothic metal purists out there.

Announced less than a year ago, Risen sees the player washed up on a mysterious volcanic Mediterranean island, after which they will be caught up in an epic tale involving inventory management and combat of some kind. If you want more details they have a website. The point here is the game is now scheduled for release on October 2nd, and I find the fact that they've come so far so fast is either extremely heartening or extremely worrisome.

"We're excited to be able to announce the release date for Risen this far in advance," said Cathy Tische, VP Sales and Marketing for Deep Silver. "We've been in beta for a few weeks now and are focusing on stamping out the remaining bugs and optimizing gameplay."

Well, they certainly do seem confident. Here's hoping for a great RPG epic to help pass the time during the slow holiday season. *gulp*

The Gothic developers have made so many roleplaying games at this point that they could make them in their sleep and still have them turn out looking slightly like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. One of these days I'm going to write about Risen without mentioning Oblivion, I promise. It's just...well, look!

First they set the mood with the more wild areas of the volcanic island on which Risen takes place, and now the developers take us into the more populated areas. Children play and adults go about their business in a stone city that looks like something straight out of Bethesda's Oblivion. That's not a bad thing, of course. If your game is going to be reminiscent of another, it might as well be reminiscent of one of the best.

Risen takes place on a volcanic tropical island, which explains why one could easily confuse the opening of this "Mood" trailer with an old Far Cry video. The similarities soon end, however, as Far Cry didn't have those birds they keep showing off or those mutant porcupine things. It certainly didn't have little goblin creatures sitting around a campfire. Do you think they timed that one little critter's standing up to coincide with the whispering of the word "Risen", or was that just a happy coincidence for dorks like myself to giggle at?

Piranha Byte's Risen was revealed last August before the Leipzig Games Festival in German, and since then...well, we hadn't heard much. So far we know that the game takes place on a volcanic island filled with mysterious ruins and bizarre creatures, with the player character shipwrecked and forbidden to leave.

I suppose we know a bit more now that we've seen these screens. For instance, judging by the top picture, it looks like Piranha Byte's signature humor is intact, and a series of same shot, different time of day screens tell us that there will indeed be a day and night cycle. And trees. And a little blacksmithing.

Check out the full gallery below to get a better feel for Risen, rising on the 360 and PC sometime later this year.

They'll also be showing off a range of family-friendly DS titles, including their Let's Play line (Let's Play Teacher, Let's Play Vet...Let's Play Doctor, perhaps?), along with two pet sims from Game Life - Horse Life and Baby Life. Okay, so a baby isn't technically a pet. They'd just be much more enjoyable if you treated them as such. "Honey, did you let the baby out?" See? Much more entertaining. Hit the jump for more details on Deep Silver's line up!

Deep Silver & Partners at the Games Convention 2008

Larger exhibition spaces in the exhibition hall and the Business Center

Deep Silver & Partners are presenting a broad range of different games for every taste at the Leipzig Games Convention 2008. From long-awaited action RPGs to thrilling adventures, from the fantastic Japanese RPGs to dark RPG first-person shooters, from educational handheld games for a young audience to challenging strategy games – Deep Silver and its Partners will offer all of this to the visitors of the Games Convention 2008.

On each day of the convention, there will be live presentations with the game developers, trailers and video shows as well as numerous other surprises that will take place at Deep Silver's exhibition booth, on an area of over 440 sqm (approx. 4736 sq.ft), which is even larger than in the previous year.

Visitors can experience the following titles at the Deep Silver booth in Hall 3, Booth A02:

Cursed Mountain: For Wii™ only: The survival horror game that takes place in the Himalayas gives the ultimate thrill. The presentation at the Deep Silver booth will give visitors a chill – guaranteed! (Action adventure; Wii) Publisher: Deep Silver

Secret Files 2 – Puritas Cordis: The second part of the Secret Files series (Adventure; PC) Publisher: Deep Silver

Risen: The developers of the Piranha Bytes team will be on stage in several presentations to answer questions about their new RPG hit. Publisher: Deep Silver

Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel: The sequel to the most successful German role-playing game of all time (Action RPG; PC, PS3, Xbox 360) Publisher: Ascaron Entertainment / Deep Silver

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky: A unique blend of action-packed first-person shooting and complex role-playing against the backdrop of the contaminated zone surrounding the Chernobyl power plant (FPS; PC) Publisher: GSC Game World / Deep Silver

X³: Terran Conflict is a brand new, stand-alone game set in the universe of X³. It is the culmination of the X trilogy, with a grand finale that takes us all the way back to Earth's own solar system. (space strategy; PC) Publisher: Deep Silver

Deep Silver will be presenting exciting new games for young gamers at a separate booth in the children's area, Hall 2, Booth K12:

Let's Play range: Titles such as Let's Play Teacher, Let's Play Vet, and Let's Play Fashion Designer (Nintendo DS) Publisher: Deep Silver

Horse Life 2: The sequel in the horse simulation series, exceptional in both visuals and game-play (Nintendo DS) Publisher: Game Life / Deep Silver

Baby Life: In Baby Life the player takes care of its own, unique baby. As a parent your task is to help the baby grow from 9 months until it is 15 months old. (Nintendo DS) Publisher: Game Life / Deep Silver

More information and current news on Deep Silver and its partners is available from the website http:/live.deepsilver.com.

″Piranha Bytes have already proven their enormous talent for creating both enthralling and profound role-playing worlds. With Risen, the team presents a new exciting scenario providing a great variety of adventures, which will keep players glued in front of their monitors.″ says Dr. Klemens Kundratitz, Managing Director of Koch Media.

Right now the official site for the game features everyone's favorite suspense generator the countdown clock, ticking off the seconds until the game's really revealing reveal at the Games Convention in Leipzig. We'll let you know how that turns out.

Risen: The new video game by Piranha Bytes

Deep Silver announces game title

Deep Silver, the video game label of Koch Media, a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products, and the Piranha Bytes team announce the name of their joint role-play project: Risen.

With Risen, Piranha Bytes introduces a fresh, new setting. The game’s protagonist is shipwrecked after a storm and finds himself on a mysterious island. An active volcano dominates the scene. Ancient temple ruins have recently risen from the ground, and bizarre creatures infest the island.

″Piranha Bytes have already proven their enormous talent for creating both enthralling and profound role-playing worlds. With Risen, the team presents a new exciting scenario providing a great variety of adventures, which will keep players glued in front of their monitors.″ says Dr. Klemens Kundratitz, Managing Director of Koch Media.

Further information about Risen will be presented at the Games Convention.

The new teaser site provides a close up of the glowing volcano. A newsletter provides readers with the latest news. The website is located at: http:\\risen.deepsilver.com

The working title of Risen has been ″Project RPB″.