Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Review

[Hungry Donner]

There are several ex-Bethesda devs working on this that I like, and flipping the "hero with a heroic destiny" trope on its head is quite interesting. However I'll admit the involvement of Salvatore, the somewhat cartoony aesthetics, and the combat mechanic have put me on the fence. I really need to get around and play the demo. I downloaded it when it was released but I've had a hard time convincing myself to try it.

Still, it's nice to hear that the philosophy underlying the story is more than a hook. Hopefully my concerns over the mechanics are unnecessary - if I enjoy playing the game I'm not going to care if the story or graphics are a bit silly.

 

[Keava]

If You are really curious just google Day of Reckoning (there was also news post on their webstie),which is initiative by Day[9] (SC2 caster/maker of wonderful teaching videos), TotalBiscuit (WoW, game journalist/critic), djWHEAT (Quake, Guild Wars, SC2) and few other internet peoples doing stream marathon of the game today.

Might show you how the game handles better.

 

[antipunt]

it's funny how most of the main complaints from people about this game are about its lore/story.

Wasn't this written by like, some famous/prolific writer? Epic FAIL (lol)

 

[Keava]

it's funny how most of the main complaints from people about this game are about its lore/story.

Wasn't this written by like, some famous/prolific writer? Epic FAIL (lol)

I think it's mostly the case of people only playing demo and being sick of "yet another fantasy game". For me, I like the lore, I like that Faerie stuff is used which is uncommon for fantasy really, it reminds me a bit of Changeling, which is probably the least known part of World of Darkness.

 

[GonzoGamer]

it's funny how most of the main complaints from people about this game are about its lore/story.

Wasn't this written by like, some famous/prolific writer? Epic FAIL (lol)

Yea, RA Salvator who was one of the only authors who could write compelling "Forgotten Realms" books. I loved the Dark Elf Trilogy as a kid. I also love Todd McFarlane.
However I hate QTEs and I hate when they try locking gameplay content for new buyers. It's too bad, if this game didn't have those two factors holding it down, I would definitely pick this up; just to see what happens when you mix RA & Todd in on an IP. I'd imagine their styles work well together.

 

[Calcium]

Ah, have been waiting for this review since hearing it was coming today on one of the podcasts. Good to see it still stays strong outside of the demo (though even better you recognised the accents as only pseudo-scottish - kinda awkward listening to the accent and actually being it... )

I so almost pre-ordered this, though of course Skyrim has just gone on sale today. Gah, no matter what I do I'll be having to get this game.

Oh, and it seems like you can use 10 abilities at once on the PC version, flicking between them with the number keys.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

I'll buy the game when it does something to impress me. So far, I'm not seeing anything. Lacquered style elf armor, Fable like visuals only worse, and pretty poor looking animations don't sell me on this.

Why does all fantasy have to be Dark Ages or Medieval? Hell, Warhammer is derided for being generic, yet it manages to stand head and shoulders above the vast majority of fantasy settings because it takes after a primarily Renaissance visual style.

Where's our Elizabethan fantasy for that matter?

 

[TJ Johnston]

I'm looking forward to getting this. The demo was fun.

 

[SgtJon117]

Before anyone of you rush to a decision the guys who made the game wrangled up a bunch of dudes to stream the game over at http://www.twitch.tv/team/Reckoning

I've been watching TotalBiscuit for a bit now and I've got to say the game looks like a lot of fun.

 

[Shjade]

I'm really conflicted about this one. I disliked the demo...

In the same boat. I wouldn't say I'm so much conflicted as wary, though. I like the concept, I like the art style (more or less), but the demo just felt so sloppy that it immediately turned me off. I don't know if it was a console port issue or if (as I've heard) the demo was just put together poorly compared to the actual game, but it makes me leery of making a $60 purchase.

Probably going to pick it up when Steam gives it a sale slash, though.

 

[Tanis]

I'm waiting on my copy to arrive later today.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Already ordered my copy.

Contrary to popular opinion it seems, I really like the aesthetic of this game.

Nice and colourful.

 

[TheCakeisALie87]

I don't usually complain about this sort of thing, but the one question I really wanted answered in this review was pertaining to the sidequests. In any huge RPG like Amaleur, sidequests are going to take up a lot of time. In early reviews (as well as the aforementioned streaming) the sidequests all seemed to be basic fetch quests, with no depth or originality. I will stress that I only watched 5 hours of gameplay but still it seems to be a major issue for me. Does anyone know if the sidequests get better?

 

[Moffman]

Please video gaming critique do not go the way of theatre and describe everything as "organic"! I have had a four year hate affair with that word please don't extend it

 

[DustyDrB]

And I've got the game now. About to start. One minor quibble: No manual. So I guess I don't get to learn about the game mechanics while I'm on the john...

Please video gaming critique do not go the way of theatre and describe everything as "organic"! I have had a four year hate affair with that word please don't extend it

Organic chemistry is fun!

 

[Greg Tito]

I don't usually complain about this sort of thing, but the one question I really wanted answered in this review was pertaining to the sidequests. In any huge RPG like Amaleur, sidequests are going to take up a lot of time. In early reviews (as well as the aforementioned streaming) the sidequests all seemed to be basic fetch quests, with no depth or originality. I will stress that I only watched 5 hours of gameplay but still it seems to be a major issue for me. Does anyone know if the sidequests get better?

The sidequests are not all fetch quests. Most of them point you to a new dungeon and have an interesting story to tell. There are the mundane "Find 10 of these books" type of quests, but they are even relegated to a separate part of your quest log called "Tasks" and are more about exploring and finding the items than killing X dudes.

Greg

 

[Alma Mare]

1 whole star below Dragon Age 2??? Damn, what a horrible game this must be Oo

 

[That PC Guy]

Yeah, i guess Salvatore phoned this one in. Like so much of his work.

 

[Jumwa]

I played the demo (3 times). I've read all the 'hail a new era of RPG has arrived' reviews plus the vomitous name dropping and 'hey, look what we did better than Skyrim' PR churned out by, I guess, EA. But I'm still totally unconvinced. There's nothing original here. It's looks and plays like Fable and has a levelling system straight out of Torchlight. Which is fine. And I'm sure it will be a fun game to play and I will pick it up sometime in the future when it's nice and cheap. But all this, re-defining of the genre nonsense is just laughable. There are so many fantastic RPGs available now and coming soon which strive to be original and defining in their own sense. KOA just isn't one of them.

I agree pretty much entirely based on my time playing the demo.

I mean, the game itself seems fine on its own, but all this raving about it, and comparing it to Skyrim seems totally off the wall. It's a Fable clone, which is fine, Fable is a good series. Though neither Amalur or Fable really has a lot in common with Skyrim, except superficially. Both Amalur and Fable don't even really quality as open-world in my book, which isn't to sling an insult at them, just to point out that the worlds are just very much not open.

 

[Beryl77]

This is a game, where I'm really not sure whether I should buy it now. When I played the demo, I like the art style and the combat seemed fine to me. However, overall the game was a bit dull. At the end of the demo, I wasn't really interested in continuing to play. Maybe it gets better later on but as long as I'm not sure, I'm not going to buy it. Maybe when it will be on a Steam sale.