Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning review

Man I really want this game, the demo was awesome and I love R.A. Salvatore.

I am not surprised by this (someone being mad at Cooper). I would have liked to see this review from someone else because I genuinely do not like him.

I'll win you over yet, talleyXIV!

I don't blame ya'll for bumping the art/graphics, but hey that's the industry perspective. Some people will like this game because it retains familiarity of their favorite life-stealer, others like me and in another comment I saw, never played WoW;I(for one)still liked the art though. Maybe they weren't very inspired, maybe it was intentional. Comparing it to Skyrim feels like a bit of a stretch though. I'm not saying you're implying this, but it kinda sounds like you're saying "we're gonna start bumping RPGs down if they don't live up to being able to jump over rocks and free-roam out into the fields!" Again; a matter of preference. I'm playing Skyrim on occasion, because it might be a little too big for me. I get on, I wander, next thing I know, it's time for bed. The Alamur world is still huge and nice to marvel at, but with "walls" to keep you from getting overly side-tracked. I think a better comparison to this regard would have been XIII-2, which has very similar (yet smaller) zone structure. Other than that, great review and nice touch on the game's unique points. Can't wait to get it today and shove my massive gaming queue further back!

This looks great, I will pick this game up

I agree, I found Amalur's combat to require as much finesse as Skyrim's. Of course, I was playing as a mage, so by definition I had to block and dodge as much as I could. Still, by the end of the demo I was fresh outta health potions. Can't rely on regenerating health either. In the end, I always liked Fable for its fluid combat and this was in the same vein. Then again, I liked the ES games for their in your face, first-person combat too. I think we have to chalk it up to 'each to his own'.

...Because they are not being made by the same companies at all, for starters? Also... It's you guy's opinions if you compare it to DA. But seriously? Aside from the fact that both are set in a high fantasy setting, how are they exactly similar? The combat is shraply different, with DA's being more akin to a strategy game, and Amalur's more akin to an action game. The vibe is different, DA is a far more bleak setting than Amalur. Not to mention that DA doesn't really provide a huge world so much as it mainly provide stages across a map. And likewise, Amalur features no party members and thus is less focused on character relationships. Also, no offense, but if you think this game is that much uglier than DA, you kinda need to remove the nostalgia googles. Amalur is by no means gorgeous, but DA was never known for it's beautiful graphics either, which were significantly uglier than even the first ME.

I actually love the fantasy style graphics and they don't look dated to me at all. The art style is way better than WOWs so there is no way you should compare the two.

/The demo was a 3 month old code. I have the actual finished game and it is way better.

PLEASE! Name one questline in Skyrim that didn't feel like a half-assed mess. I need to go play it now. Out of the one-hundred hours I've poured into the game, I didn't find a single quest that was the least bit exciting or at least made me think about after it was over. Everything I've encountered so far has made me go "Oh, well this is worse than my Daedric Warhammer. Time to move on." There are characters to care about in Skyrim. All of them feel like cardboard. You'd think a series with so much financial backing would put money to having decent writers on board with it. And another thing: "yes, I think Skyrim's combat is ten times better than the mindless button-mashing of Amalur" Are you fucking kidding me? You could not have been serious when you said this. It'd be impossible. I mean, I know there is preference, but the thing you called out was the "Mindless button mashing". It's like you've played neither game to me. Combat is brain dead, plain and simple. I understand the entire game isn't about combat, but enough of it is that it should be better than this. Melee is just hitting the attack button, and yes you can say that about any game, but man, is it true in Skyrim. You might backpedal, or strafe while you swing, but if the enemy is stronger than you there isn't enough skill involved for you to actually feel like you're doing something. You know, Fable: The Lost Chapters is technically a better game than Skyrim, it just doesn't look as pretty or have as much to do. It does have better characters, more memorable people, quests that are fun and rewarding, and when you save the world, people mention it for more than two or three days. Granted, there are no guilds to join and the map is considerably smaller, but at least you have actual boss fights. So fuck this noise, I'm off to fight Jack of Blades and marry Lady Gray

I wasn't entirely sure I wanted this game, but now I think I'm sold on it. I'll probably still download the demo first, just to make sure.

What? You mean purchasing a used game actually has you miss out on something compared to people who buy it new at full price? My god the absurdity!

The last "You'll Hate" bullet point was exactly what I was most worried about in the game based upon my impressions from the demo, though the second bullet point was a close second. The first bullet point was more of an annoyance than a concern for me but still, there it is. Unfortunately, it sounds a bit too much like Sacred 2 to me in that it is a game with solid game play mechanics and a somewhat interesting though unremarkable premise and lore hindered by being set in a dull,flat area which requires one to take the long way around everything due to the perplexing inability to jump or climb over anything and no real surprises to be found therein. As such, like Sacred 2, it will be a reliable time-sink until the next big RPG comes out at which point, it will largely be forgotten. Mass Effect 3 comes out next month, so that won't even take very long this time.

So you're saying Day One DLC that is on the disc locked out that cannot be accessed without internet is okay as long as you spend extra money to support it.

That's one way of completely twisting my words, sure. That response is rather vague to the actual issue. You make it sound like they're forcing you to pay for that DLC whether you buy the game new or used. No, they're forcing you to pay for that DLC if you bought a copy that they will not see ay revenue from at all. It's not even remotely important DLC, anyone who decides to purchase a used copy of the game will still be able to complete the story without the few extras. The only real issue I have with this is that even in today's world not everyone has the internet, the vast majority of gamers do but I don't doubt there are some without it and that's a downside. In the end it's no different than when games include a code to access multiplayer or whatever to their game that can only be obtained through a new copy. I honestly can't blame them for doing it, they should just sit back while retailers make money off of their games and cost them sales through used purchases that they will never see any revenue from? Is that what you're saying?

Actually, replace "forced" in my comment with "given the option" because like I said, this "DLC" isn't needed to enjoy the game. It's just an extra that people who actually support the developer get for free.

They take part of the game out and sell it back to you. Would you buy a cake with 7 out of 10 slices when the baker asks for extra money for the rest because you're "supporting a baker you like." Also it is in fact, they're fault, for having EA publish their game. I see no fault for them not to be blamed for being Right Hand of the Devil.

Characters of KoA's world are ironically more believable than skyrims, which is strange because skyrim prefers to cater towards believability. Anyway, i've just put some hours in with this game and actually found myself engrossed and role-playing, not just stat whoring like a few other modern RPGs. If you like games like fable you'll really enjoy this. Did i mention how beautiful the world is?

Oh my that is a horrible analogy... Would you honestly try and buy someones used cake? Or are you saying that the cake is brand new and they're asking for more money to get the whole thing because that is completely wrong again. Let me ask you this. Would you expect to buy a used car and have it work as perfectly as a car that is brand new? Of course not. What do a lot of people who buy used cars have to do? Spend extra money into them so that it can work as good as they want it to. It's the price to pay for getting something used. Nobody else buys something used expecting it to work like something new so I'll never understand how some gamers think they're the exceptional group in the matter. And as far as "supporting the baker you like" you have a choice, no one is forcing you to pay the extra, you can still get your used game, it just won't come with the extra little bonus you would have received for getting it new.

What coop is trying to say by "dated graphics" is the game is using a lot lower resolution textures and polygons. The style could look better with more color and an up res.