Drakensang: TRoT - Review @ GameBanshee

GameBanshee has posted a review of Drakensang: The River of Time, penned by Brother None.  In general, the game is praised for the myriad of minor improvements over the original, saying the game is a "steal" at $20 for those in NA.  Here's a snip:

The River of Time's main plot is linear, but that doesn't necessarily mean the game is. Where its predecessor locked off most areas after you visited them, in The River of Time areas stay unlocked once you find them (primarily done in the main plot), and not only can you travel back to any area, you're supposed to do so regularly, as new quests unlock as you progress along the main storyline.

Like Drakensang: The Dark Eye, The River of Time is not a particularly challenging game, but this open approach means that you're free to search out challenges if you want them. The Dark Eye had one such instance – the infamous rat basement – but The River of Time is full of them, and does not appear to have any level scaling. This may be frustrating to gamers not used to this mode of design, but it is an absolute delight for RPG gamers who like having to plan and think to take on a monster that is way beyond their abilities. It can make the ending areas a bit of a letdown as they do not scale either, and can become very easy if you spent a lot of time on sidetracks, but this is something I personally can live with it, it feels like the game is rewarding you for your character progress rather than character progress being made meaningless by level scaling.