I chose to join the Don since I've heard many good things about the Don either from his wife, fighters, etc. that he is a fair man. I mean, when Rachel herself told me that, I don't think anyone tried to suspect her whether she could've been lying or not, especially me. But as I advanced further in game and reached the Harbour Town, feeling of suspicion started to grow in me. I felt like the Don is the bad guy somehow.

Just please don't post spoilers guys.

Having just completed a playthrough where I joined "the Don", I think it's safe to say that none of the "leaders" are straight-out "good guys".

But as you talk to various "townies" what you'll find is that some residents like him, and some don't. That seems to be the case for the other choices as well.

So there is no perfect choice. No horribly bad one either.

Hopefully you find that pretty weak spolier-wise; but maybe enough to help you decide which "path" is right for your character.

Oh I see, then there is really no such thing as a perfect choice. I guess you always find inequalities from both sides.

By the way, do the creatures never respawn after they are killed? Quite a burden for having to always find a different area where there are creatures populating it. Sorry, I don't play role playing games often. Is this how any typical RPG game usually be?

I don't know either how typical it is, but..

Yes - the mobs don't respawn.

HOWEVER - Risen is divided into "chapters", and new mobs spawn with each chapter. You'll know when a new chapter starts - the game tells you; and also has cut-scenes for each new chapter.

So you will have new (usually tougher) mobs to kill. I'm not sure if they get added to, or replace, any existing mobs you haven't yet killed in the previous chapter.

I'll try to use the least spoilers I can.

For me, Don Esteban and the Bandits always kinda resemble the Mafia (even the ranks: Don, captains - caporegimes...). Not exactly the "Don Calò" type, but not the "always horrible and cutthroat" type either. They are involved in drugs, burglaries, smuggling and blackmailing; they also have no remorse for fighting the Inquisition, but they usually don't harm or steal from the middle and lower classes and even have a sense of honor sometimes.

But if you join the Inquisition, you'll (after a while) find out that it's sometimes quite corrupt as well, so like Martek said, there is really no perfect choice, but no horribly bad one either. It's typical for this type of RPGs.

Some games have critter respawns and some don't. The Risens don't, nor do Gothic 1 and Gothic 2 which are the predecessors of Risen 1. It's also very typical of these games that the faction options are all morally fuzzy. There are no black-and-white good guys and bad guys. If you reach a point in the game and decide you'd rather switch sides, go ahead. I don't think you're locked in to The Don until you complete a certain number of quests for him in the town. Same goes for The Order.

BTW, if you find you're enjoying Risen, I suggest you try Gothic 1 and Gothic 2. They're great. Better than Risen even, I would say, although they're older and clearly dated as far as graphics go.

Considering "the Don" is an affectionate term for the leader of the mafia, he's not exactly a saint. :) He's certainly not one-sided, though.

Still playing through for the first time but gone with the Don. The game seems to point you that way for your first play through so possibly its the easiest/most entertaining?

Certainty being forcibly conscripted into one of the other factions suggests its one to avoid initially and the magicians look quite challenging.

Main complaint at the moment though is continually getting stuck on ledges and having to reload,

The Don's area has some good noob quests. I don't think he's supposed to be "easy mode" all the way through, but that is a good place to get exp for awhile.

Seems that you get stuck more than me, but jeez it's irritating to reload because you're twitching into a tree or something stupid.