Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning

Lance Uppercut

Out Feb 10th. Sounds very promising. Demo is up on Live and PSN. Downloading it at the minute.

Badunk

Yeah, let us know what it's like, Lance. Had my eye on this one for a while. Skyrim is starting to wind down for me.

Lance Uppercut

It's a big one. Nearly 3GB.

Badunk

I bet you say that to all the girls.

Badunk

Or boys. I'm not judging.

Lance Uppercut

I will now be telling everyone what this is like except you.

Minkaro

I played on the demo, and it didn't really do much for me. Mainly the controls feeling a bit off, my character seemed to go about three paces further than I wanted him to in most cases.

To be fair though, I didn't really get far enough into it to get a good enough idea of whether the story of it is for me, so I'll need another go just to be sure. Looking at the people involved in making it (R.A Salvatore and Todd McFarlane!), I should like it.

Also, maybe playing it at a time that isn't in the middle of the night would be a good idea.

Randall Flagg

played the demo a few days ago. I didnt like it at all

Badunk

Treating me different to everyone else? I feel special xxx

Lance Uppercut

You are special.

Badunk

Cheers, hun! x

Lance Uppercut

This is like beating up a retard.

Badunk

Don't call yourself a retard, Lance.

Lance Uppercut

God bless the ignore feature.

Lastwolf

Curt Schilling is the lead dev of the team, he's some sort of American sports star (baseball I think) turned MMO developer.

Since it's next to impossible to trick people into to funding first time dev houses building an MMORPG (i.e. a great way to burn 40million) anymore, they decided to ship this game to raise funds.

Didn't hold out high hopes for this.

Lance Uppercut

Huh?

Randall Flagg

What did you think of it anyway Lance? Controlls and the combat felt very poor to me

Only played it for 5 mins and in general I dont like demos. But I really think this will be below average.

The Darkness 2 on the other hand is also out on demo. Thought it was excellent

Lance Uppercut

I like it. The speed of your character takes a little getting used to, but I think it has real potential. It's kind of like Oblivion meets Fable, with a dash of God of War combat. I think I will be getting this.

I liked The Darkness 2 demo, too. I have the first one, it's pretty cool.

Lastwolf

Seems he's founder and chairman, not lead dev, my bad. He posts on all the forums, I figured he was more important than a suit.

Badunk

SmashedHombre

Apparently judging the game on the demo is not a good idea or accurate reflection. I think it looks just swell, personally.

GameSpy: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Developer Sorry for "Buggy" Demo - Page 1

Redlambs

That's still not a good sign.

Oh and welcome to video game publishers and the insane amount of interference, Curt.

Lance Uppercut

There is quite a lot of pop in on the PS3, and a few other graphical glitches, but it is a demo.

Still getting it.

Redlambs

It is. But the response from this guy isn't exactly great and it shows the whole thing is being rushed. Which I suppose is nothing new.

I'll try it myself tomorrow anyway.

Lance Uppercut

I think that guy is the money behind the venture, nothing more. I am not sure that he knows what he's talking about. Good at baseball, though.

Redlambs

The money men never know what the hell is going on. But from what I've heard through people I trust, the demo is a bit crude rushed or not. I'll reserve judgment until I've tried it, but the whole thing doesn't sound too promising development wise.

Lance Uppercut

The demo is a bit crude, there is no denying that.

Adzzz

I sort of enjoyed it in a this reminds me of WoW kinda way.

AVARiCE

I've been tracking this game for ages. It looks like it could be another DA:O (which I loved) with the added brilliance of a class-system that adjusts to your gameplay. That sounds brilliant to me!

Anyway, I've finally got round to trying the demo and it doesn't work... It sure as hell isn't my PC. That's really disappointing.

Lance Uppercut

Doesn't work at all?

AVARiCE

Cheers for the concern Lance (you going soft?!) but I got it to work. I checked the website and it's a common problem, I just had to turn off post-processing.

Alas, I've spent the last hour playing.

It's just like every other RPG but for some reason I really like it. I prefer this buggy demo to the polished Old Republic demo I played. I love some of the ideas in this game as well. I know achievement and unlock-based systems are frowned upon but the fact that I have multiple ways to build my character here look awesome.

My only reservations so far are visual style -- I'm not a big fan of the quirky, colourful thing -- and the all-round glitchiness of the demo.

I think the story has legs and I like the pace. I'm loving the way they've pulled combo moves from platform fight-'em-ups and made them work here.

Depending on how things go, I might buy this game. It looks like a standard RPG with some new twists. I never did buy DA2 so I feel like I haven't played enough RPGs recently.

Lance, it seems as though we have similar taste in games.

Lance Uppercut

Joystiq: 5/5 - Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning presents a world that is immaculately crafted and beautiful, yet still simple and accessible. Every corner reveals a person in need, a treasure to collect, a secret to uncover, a battle to wage. I don't know how much more time I'll spend in Amalur (dozens? hundreds?), but I plan on savoring every minute.

IncGamers: 9/10 - An excellent first outing in Amalur. Beautifully designed across the board with excellent combat and enough content to keep you coming back for more.

IGN: 9.0 - Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning isn't the perfect game. Its random technical hiccups and inconsistent art style certainly holds it back from even higher levels of greatness. But no matter what you're looking for, whether it be amazing gameplay, immersive storytelling or perhaps a riveting new world to explore as you fully customize and re-customize your character at will, Reckoning has it all. And after I jump back into my own game to clean up all of the optional stuff I didn't do, I sense I'll want even more. And yes, so will you.

1UP: B+ - Reckoning stands as a triumph; it's a first-time RPG from a studio known for RTS games, and a new property from a new company. It's a bold and audacious game that impresses me enough to wonder what its follow-up will be like. And, to circle back, it reminds me of the first time I heard The College Dropout: I can trace its roots and identify what he's sampling from, but overall, it's a damn good first effort.

GameTrailers: 8.2 - Though it leans a little too heavily on well-trod genre conventions, there's no denying that Reckoning has a whole lot to offer in terms of sheer breadth. Similarly, though the challenge tapers off dramatically toward the end, its combat is welcoming, gratifying, and hypnotic. There's been no shortage lately of all-consuming RPGs that span dozens upon dozens of hours. If you've got room on your plate for one more, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is definitely worth a look.

Games Radar: 8/10 - Amalur does a lot of things better than some of the best out there. The combat is stronger than Skyrim's by a long shot, and the world feels more alive than games like Fable. It tells a good story well, and lays the foundation for a series we hope to see more of in the future, fate be damned.

Eurogamer: 8/10 - It's an unglamorous kind of success story, admittedly. And perhaps it's worrying for 38 Studios that the bland fantasy world it's hanging its future on is the least enticing aspect of its debut game. But it's not all elbow grease - Kingdoms of Amalur adds a splash of colour and a lick of polish to the open-world RPG, and they couldn't be more welcome

Game Informer: 8/10 - Despite its problems, Reckoning is a good game with a lot of stuff worth checking out. But even with all of the talent backing it, it's just on the edge of being something much greater than it is. For a game that's all about breaking out of the confines of fate, it's a shame that so much of the content feels stuck within such narrow conventions.

OXM US : 8/10 - It's a great RPG - one that gives you an almost Bethesda level of freedom - and it has so much content that you could be playing the game for a couple of months (thankfully, you can continue adventuring after the credits). It's a fantastic first effort from 38 Studios, and it'd be a shame if we didn't get a return trip to Amalur.

GameSpot: 7.5/10 - Kingdoms of Amalur's combat and character advancement are fantastic enough to overshadow how bland everything else is.

OXM UK: 7/10 - Amalur could certainly use a new set of clothes. Its finer qualities are somewhat lost beneath the forgettable trappings, which is bad news for a game that hinges on exploration. It rivals Skyrim's scope, but as a genre piece (albeit a smart one), it lacks the other game's mystery. There's no craggy elusiveness, no glacial hinting at secrets beyond comprehension, to help you overlook the more familiar elements. It's less a world you discover, ultimately, as one you revisit, and that's a failing no amount of fancy footwork can disguise.

G4TV: 2.5/5 - Reckoning, in trying to be so much at the same time, seems to have lost that essential identity necessary to drive this franchise. I hope another game will be forthcoming; however, until then, Amalur is awaiting its actual reckoning.

Cina

Not bad. I'll give this bad boy a go.

AVARiCE

For anyone interested, you can get the game for £23 here if you use EA's Origin platform. Origin is free and it's similar to Steam so there's no reason not to!

Getting excited for this game.

Dr. Dwayne

I agree, will likely get this one as it has enough potential. Might be a little too like Oblivion and the like for me but the occasional God of War style combat stuff makes up for it. Plus, the chicks are hot and you can get some nice close ups of cg rack.

I'm interested to see exactly how "open" the world is.

Hal9000

Apparently the main quest line is about 40+ long. All side quests add another about 200+. Thats without exploring areas, or finding locations etc etc.

JezChan

I'm halfway through the opening quest and the gameplay is quite good. Combat feels very natural, though there isn't much skill required yet (I haven't even leveled up). The menu interface could do with some improvements, though I'm saying this after playing Skyrim with the SkyUI mod.

Richter

The world is very open, I have played several hours and so far no restrications. This might be the first game I really enjoy since Skyrim. The FOV(field of view) is a bit messed up, if people easily get dizzy playing games they might make a pass on this since it's a roller coaster ride at times. Heard it might be fixed in a patch though. Overall a very solid game and I haven't experienced any bugs and stuff yet common in games with a large world(*cough Skyrim cough).

JezChan

Now that I've played some more of it I can say that I agree with Gamespot's review of the game. The combat is excellent, but everything else feels quite generic. I haven't ventured much into the main quest, but doing side quests feels too much like ticking off boxes; the atmosphere of the game isn't as immersive as Skyrim and it doesn't have the ability to pull me in like Dragon Age Origins. Still, it's a solid game but not too spectacular by my... reckoning. Oh yes I went there.

AVARiCE

30 minutes until I'm good to go! Getting excited now, should be awesome. The big question is whether I cut down on my BF3 time or cut down on my "life" time to dig in.

For those of you who've played a lot, any tips for a newb?