Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning(Released on February 7th)

[Chiropteran]

Played the demo for about an hour. A few game mechanics killed any interest I had in buying the game, except perhaps as a $9-$5 steam deal.

NPC dialog, annoying as hell. But some people seem to like big wordy dialog and it didn't kill the game for me, I just wish the "skip" button really skipped everything, instead of just skipping one line at a time. However, it was supremely annoying that the "F" key would start up talking to the little gnome following you, but was also required to loot items and open doors. Can't say how many times that pesky gnome got infront of me i was trying to loot and the game would start conversing with him instead of doing the action I wanted to do.

Inventory management hell. Menu after menu, why can't it just have an inventory screen like millions of other games with a paper doll you can drag and drop to equip? Too lazy to code it to make it more convenient for mouse users? Still, this did not completely kill the game for me.

Combat. It was fun. It reminds me a lot of the old arcade game "Goldenaxe" and it's various sequels. Was a little awkward getting used to controls but I don't consider this a fault of the game, if I bought it i'm sure I could adjust to it. HOWEVER...

Potions and "death". This is the problem. Ridiculously overpowered, and totally ruin any challenge in the game. Please please please tell me there is a cooldown on potions in "hard" mode and you can't just ressurect back to life at will infinitely, while in the middle of a fight. Because at least in the demo, in normal mode, you could do just that. A health potion would restore you from the brink of death to full health, and had no cooldown at all. And worst case scenario, if you did die, you could just ressurect right back on the spot and continue the fight exactly where it left off when you died.

To me, it kills a lot of the fun knowing that I am basically invulnerable.

If this isn't true on hard mode, or if this behavior is only in the demo, then perhaps I should reconsider the game, but as it appears to be, I just don't find it worth buying.

 

[zinfamous]

Potions and "death". This is the problem. Ridiculously overpowered, and totally ruin any challenge in the game. Please please please tell me there is a cooldown on potions in "hard" mode and you can't just ressurect back to life at will infinitely, while in the middle of a fight. Because at least in the demo, in normal mode, you could do just that. A health potion would restore you from the brink of death to full health, and had no cooldown at all. And worst case scenario, if you did die, you could just ressurect right back on the spot and continue the fight exactly where it left off when you died.

To me, it kills a lot of the fun knowing that I am basically invulnerable.

If this isn't true on hard mode, or if this behavior is only in the demo, then perhaps I should reconsider the game, but as it appears to be, I just don't find it worth buying.

that sounds insane, but I'm sure it's only in the demo...I would think. It was a rather early beta version, and is probably instituted to maximize playtime with the total time limit on the demo.

 

[Anubis]

it has to just be in the demo (or the first time you die as a tutorial) because you definitely die in the normal game

i just tested this by going AFK and taking a large crap, came back i was dead

 

[SLU Aequitas]

The demo bored me to tears with the dreadful voice acting, annoyingly forgetable NPC's (every single one of them), terrible quests of the "kill 5 deer" variety, and inventory management that was painful on every level.

Sure, the combat was fun and the graphics were pleasant. I wanted to like this game, but after 2 hours with the demo I didn't want to ever touch it again, let alone invest the reported 200 hours of content it apparently contains.

I'm glad they offered a demo since I originally intending on buying this game on the day of release. Now I don't see myself buying it at all. Really it comes down not to the price of the game itself but rather to the price of my free time. My free time is valuable and to spemd it on a game like this where everything is of no consequence... why would I do that? Why would I play a game where the NPC's and backstory are devoid of any interest whatsoever. They exist simply to be done, there is nothing invested in them and as a result, and also due in no small part to the insipid voice acting, I found myself more uninterested in helping out NPC's with their trivial quests than I have ever felt in any RPG, ever. Games with bad voice acting like Risen and Gothic 4 kept me more interested than this.

The fact IGN gave Amalur a 9/10 is an absolute embarrassment and the final nail in the coffin (what took me so long? ) as far as their credibility is concerned. Good grief.

I'm about 10 hours in and barely touched the MQ so far. My post isn't to convince you so much as to compare my reactions in the beta as opposed to final retail product, and contrast them to yours

Firstly, and I really have to stress this, but the demo is such a ridiculously small portion of the pie it really isn't indicative of the game. Hell, nearly 1/3 of it is taken up by that tutorial dungeon, and you can easily cruise through the available content provided in well under the 45 minutes provided. You only get a small portion of the combat (higher levels really do translate to not only your abilities/attacks becoming more powerful, but *MUCH* more importantly, entirely new abilities/attacks/combos), and access to the really dry characters of that starter-town-still-cant-remember-the-name-because-it's-rather-boring.

To put it another way, the demo nearly killed my desire to purchase the game.

In comparison, the side quests really pick up, I'm finding the Fae faction quests fun, and occasionally you'll pick up this seemingly innocuous side quest that leads to some really cool stuff (like going from simple spider hunting to defending [or attacking!] said town from a bigger menace). Do the characters ever reach super-memorable status? Not really, but then again, I never had that experience in Skyrim either. However, they *do* become quite a bit more interesting...even the MQ oaf seems to be more interesting a couple quests in.

To be honest, there haven't been many simple "kill x enemies return loot kthx" quests, and the couple that I have done have not only made complete sense (I'm defending against poisonous creature...I need to collect some venom samples to help the village healer), but were also convenient (I need to go through those creatures anywho).

While the story line is picking up rather slow, and seems to be rather typical, the overarching theme of "screwing with fate" is interesting enough, and I do find myself being drawn slowly into the quest lines. I will say the pacing of the MQ is perfect for those who like to do side quests without breaking "IMMERSHUN"...something I've had serious problems with in Oblivion as well as Skyrim.

The strongest cards KoA holds are it's excellent combat system (really, I could keep gushing about it...it's not completely original, but it's just so well done), which ties into the character development--skills actually have an effect (it's essentially impossible to pass persuasion without points invested, cutting off additional rewards and alternate quest routes; not investing in detect means major loss of overall gold and hidden caches, secret passages, etc.; and the crafting systems actually are worthwhile, at least alchemy and sagecraft).

Long story short, IGN is actually right if they gave it a 9/10 (rarely worth following them for reviews anyway). It's a damn good game, somewhere between a pure aRPG and a RPG-lite, has excellent production values, and the amount of content in this game is just silly. Well worth the 50 quid I paid out for it.

 

[Rhezuss]

I'm about 10 hours in and barely touched the MQ so far. My post isn't to convince you so much as to compare my reactions in the beta as opposed to final retail product, and contrast them to yours

Firstly, and I really have to stress this, but the demo is such a ridiculously small portion of the pie it really isn't indicative of the game. Hell, nearly 1/3 of it is taken up by that tutorial dungeon, and you can easily cruise through the available content provided in well under the 45 minutes provided. You only get a small portion of the combat (higher levels really do translate to not only your abilities/attacks becoming more powerful, but *MUCH* more importantly, entirely new abilities/attacks/combos), and access to the really dry characters of that starter-town-still-cant-remember-the-name-because-it's-rather-boring.

To put it another way, the demo nearly killed my desire to purchase the game.

In comparison, the side quests really pick up, I'm finding the Fae faction quests fun, and occasionally you'll pick up this seemingly innocuous side quest that leads to some really cool stuff (like going from simple spider hunting to defending [or attacking!] said town from a bigger menace). Do the characters ever reach super-memorable status? Not really, but then again, I never had that experience in Skyrim either. However, they *do* become quite a bit more interesting...even the MQ oaf seems to be more interesting a couple quests in.

To be honest, there haven't been many simple "kill x enemies return loot kthx" quests, and the couple that I have done have not only made complete sense (I'm defending against poisonous creature...I need to collect some venom samples to help the village healer), but were also convenient (I need to go through those creatures anywho).

While the story line is picking up rather slow, and seems to be rather typical, the overarching theme of "screwing with fate" is interesting enough, and I do find myself being drawn slowly into the quest lines. I will say the pacing of the MQ is perfect for those who like to do side quests without breaking "IMMERSHUN"...something I've had serious problems with in Oblivion as well as Skyrim.

The strongest cards KoA holds are it's excellent combat system (really, I could keep gushing about it...it's not completely original, but it's just so well done), which ties into the character development--skills actually have an effect (it's essentially impossible to pass persuasion without points invested, cutting off additional rewards and alternate quest routes; not investing in detect means major loss of overall gold and hidden caches, secret passages, etc.; and the crafting systems actually are worthwhile, at least alchemy and sagecraft).

Long story short, IGN is actually right if they gave it a 9/10 (rarely worth following them for reviews anyway). It's a damn good game, somewhere between a pure aRPG and a RPG-lite, has excellent production values, and the amount of content in this game is just silly. Well worth the 50 quid I paid out for it.

All of this.

Played 3 or so hours yesterday evening and got to level 4 IIRC. The combat was fun with only your simply left click attack but now with some combos and skills unlocked, woah!

The first village offers lots of side quests and they're all fun. Sure theres the known formula like "Escort this guy to this dungeon and help him get this" or "Destroy/kill 10 of those things and bring back the good news" but, that's my opinion, they're all really well done and implemented in the game.

Love KoA so far, it's a nice change, refreshing and fun.

 

[you2]

Is the pc interface in the final game better than in the demo ?

All of this.

Played 3 or so hours yesterday evening and got to level 4 IIRC. The combat was fun with only your simply left click attack but now with some combos and skills unlocked, woah!

The first village offers lots of side quests and they're all fun. Sure theres the known formula like "Escort this guy to this dungeon and help him get this" or "Destroy/kill 10 of those things and bring back the good news" but, that's my opinion, they're all really well done and implemented in the game.

Love KoA so far, it's a nice change, refreshing and fun.

 

[Rhezuss]

Is the pc interface in the final game better than in the demo ?

It's pretty much the same. Not world-class but you get used to it by the time you get to the first village.

The thing I don't like is the bonus items they gave us for playing the demo...a full set of armor with a ME3 theme...look pertty ridiculous in the KoA setting.

I wear it for now but might end up wearing lesser armor but better looking/fitting.

Other than that, love swinging my slow as hell 2 handed marteau!!!!!!!!!!

 

[cytoSiN]

It's pretty much the same. Not world-class but you get used to it by the time you get to the first village!

I agree with this, but I also found the menu navigation to be a lot snappier than it was in the demo. And you can hotkey to specific areas too. For exmaple, you can hit "i" for inventory just like in all RPGs instead of having to hit escape, then click inventory. Honestly the interface isn't perfect, but neither is Skyrim or Diablo or most other RPGs. I'm enjoying the game so far and interface isn't slowing me down.

I also got used to the spell-assignment system pretty quickly too, and combos come off pretty seamlessly once you get used to it, which didn't take long.

 

[Anubis]

the only way to really improve the UI for a game like this is to just mimic what WoW does, but not all game engs are designed for the overlay like WoW, it also has a compleatly different camera setup

TBH after playing the game for ~4 hours the only thing that annoys me is the camera and its pretty minor. and thats mostly because im so used to WoW and using a mod to set the camera distance to massivily far away

 

[Aikouka]

I only played the demo, but while the menus were certainly clunkier than other games, I didn't find them to be downright awful. My largest problem were just how slow they felt. I also had trouble navigating with the mouse. I would click on an option and nothing would happen. It would end up taking a few clicks to get into the menus at times.

 

[you2]

Well i found the inventory system very clunky for a 'loot' game (i.e, you have to drill down one too many levels to see the items)
-
In this game is the player's impact on the world more like DKS where things evolve over time or like Skyrim where you complete a quest and it is quickly forgotten in the world ?
-

 

[thespyder]

I kind of want to know how someone can be 10 hours into a game on Launch day. that makes no sense to me. or maybe they just don't have responsibilities like I do.

Either way, I am curious now that some people have played the game. When I played the demo, I really did not like the Kb&M setup for combat. It felt very clunky and tacked on. What are others finding in this area? Does it get easier over time? Are people using Console controllers to any effect? Particularly when the new combat moves become available, does it get progressively more complecated?

 

[cytoSiN]

I kind of want to know how someone can be 10 hours into a game on Launch day. that makes no sense to me. or maybe they just don't have responsibilities like I do.

Either way, I am curious now that some people have played the game. When I played the demo, I really did not like the Kb&M setup for combat. It felt very clunky and tacked on. What are others finding in this area? Does it get easier over time? Are people using Console controllers to any effect? Particularly when the new combat moves become available, does it get progressively more complecated?

At first, it's just right click (rc) and left click (lc), but it quickly became more like this for my sorcery/finesse character as I gained more abilities:

rc, 2, rc, lc, lc, lc (hold/release), 1, rc, lc, lc, lc (hold/release), 3, rc, 1, rc, etc etc etc.

For me, having played several MMOs with lots of "rotations" to memorize and play around with, kb/m is WAY less clunky than a controller would be. It seems like it would be a pain in the ass to use a controller to switch between 3, let alone 10 bound abilities in realtime, multi-foe combat. I'm finding the combat to be really fun so far. Granted, I only played for like 2 hours last night, but I'm looking forward to more tonight.

 

[thespyder]

At first, it's just right click (rc) and left click (lc), but it quickly became more like this for my sorcery/finesse character as I gained more abilities:

rc, 2, rc, lc, lc, lc (hold/release), 1, rc, lc, lc, lc (hold/release), 3, rc, 1, rc, etc etc etc.

For me, having played several MMOs with lots of "rotations" to memorize and play around with, kb/m is WAY less clunky than a controller would be. It seems like it would be a pain in the ass to use a controller to switch between 3, let alone 10 bound abilities in realtime, multi-foe combat. I'm finding the combat to be really fun so far. Granted, I only played for like 2 hours last night, but I'm looking forward to more tonight.

But what about the movement? I play both PC and Console (though no MMOs cuz I hate them) and for me, having to remember to hold down the Shift (?) while moving left or right to dodge just seemed counter intuitive. And to add on top of that the need to remember that on top of what attacking you are doing and blocking etc.... It just felt like a controller probably was the original template and would be more intuitive.

Maybe I just need to plug in my controller for the PC and try that out. I am sure I can get used to either way, just need to get over the learning curve.

 

[cytoSiN]

Maybe I just need to plug in my controller for the PC and try that out. I am sure I can get used to either way, just need to get over the learning curve.

^ This.

I'm pretty comfortable with WASD + shift/space. Here, space is dodge, which is a thumb key, and my thumb isn't doing much of anything else so far in combat, so I'm fine with that. Block is shift, a pinky key, and my pinky is also pretty much unused in combat, so I'd be fine with that too if I ever bothered to block. My play style is to attack from range with magic, then stun and knockback (also with magic or my staff or chakrams) when enemies get close, so I do a lot of dodging to get some distance, and almost never use my pinky unless it's to hold control to run away, which is also rare.

Then again, I'm sure that I could get used to the controller too, but I think I would find myself using fewer abilities than I do using the keyboard since it's so easy to switch 1 through 0 on the keyboard.

 

[Aikouka]

I thought the rolling was a bit odd, because I think the default is space bar (I can't remember for sure though) in combination with a movement key. Personally, I would prefer a simpler double tap of a movement key (WASD).

I talked about it before, but playing games like Diablo or WoW, I prefer a spellbind to actually cast the spell and not equip it. WoW is a bit different because spells are either (targeted/conal) AoE or target-based, but KoA only uses targets for ranged attacks.

I was watching Part 1 ( out of... I think 12 ) of Day9's KoA stream, and I found it amusing when Felicia Day seemed rather bummed that there was no jumping in the game. Ahh... I'm glad to see I'm not the only one.

 

[Glitchny]

Well i found the inventory system very clunky for a 'loot' game (i.e, you have to drill down one too many levels to see the items)
-
In this game is the player's impact on the world more like DKS where things evolve over time or like Skyrim where you complete a quest and it is quickly forgotten in the world ?
-

I'm only around 3 hours in but it seems to be more like Skyrim where your quests are completed and not much changes overall.

Loving it so far though, playing as Finesse/Sorc at the moment, it's fun, just wish one of my Finesse special moves did more dmg, seems weak at the moment. But gives me a ton of Fate so it's a trade off.

 

[CPA]

If I'm remembering correctly, GMG is offering 20% off KoA right now. I assume it would register with Origin in this case.

I don't show GMG even carries the game.

 

[thespyder]

I was watching Part 1 ( out of... I think 12 ) of Day9's KoA stream, and I found it amusing when Felicia Day seemed rather bummed that there was no jumping in the game. Ahh... I'm glad to see I'm not the only one.

Yeah, the exclusion of something as basic and fundamental as jumping in a game like this just seems extremely out of place. Skyrim has it, and this game is significantly more focused on mobility and dynamic action making it all the more unusual for it's lack.

Considering that your average FPS has zero gravity etc, you would think that it would become pretty obvious it is time to make RPGs have it consistently. If for no other reason than Flying and levitate are Staple Magic abilities.

 

[cytoSiN]

I read somewhere that they left jumping out to avoid clipping and "stuck character" issues, which admittedly can break a game, but I can't remember where now.

I agree it's a little weird, but you get used to it. You can't jump in Demon's Souls either, but that game had pretty cool combat as well (imho, I know a lot of ppl will disagree with me), and after getting used to the controls, you just stop thinking about it.

 

[Rhezuss]

I don't know why some of you crying over jumping...

FF7 is crowned one of the best games ever and it has no jumping...same for Baldur's Gate, same for Diablo series...

BTW you can jump in KoA...you just have to be over a ledge or a cliff

 

[cytoSiN]

I can see why people want jumping, considering how much focus there is on fast-paced, action-packed combat. But it doesn't ruin the game for me. Far from it.

 

[zinfamous]

I don't know why some of you crying over jumping...

FF7 is crowned one of the best games ever and it has no jumping...same for Baldur's Gate, same for Diablo series...

BTW you can jump in KoA...you just have to be over a ledge or a cliff

I don't think jumping is really necessary--but FF7 is a bad comparison. it is a classic JRPG, and those mechanics don't compare well to western RPGs.

Anyway, my favorite RPGish game has no jumping (Guild Wars), and it is not lost.

Skyrim sort of needs jumping, simply because the game demands it at times.

The only thing I ever get from jumping is the OCD habit of jumping everywhere I go--just something to do as you're running around. There is rarely ever anything combat-driven or necessary for jumping (except in games like Devil May Cry or Dvinity II: DKS, where you actually have jump-initiated attacks). Even Skyrim wouldn't be broken if there were no jumping, because combat and progress in no way depends on that ability, just that it helps you to get around.

So, it really depends on the game. If you start jumping from the beginning, you're probably going to end up doing throughout, simply due to habit. If you can't, then you'll likely forget that it is missing.

 

[thespyder]

I don't know why some of you crying over jumping...

FF7 is crowned one of the best games ever and it has no jumping...same for Baldur's Gate, same for Diablo series...

BTW you can jump in KoA...you just have to be over a ledge or a cliff

Um, ????? FF7 came out in 97. Baldur's gate 2 came out in 2000. Diablo was late 90s. What part of "that was a long friggin time ago" don't you understand? Not saying they aren't AWESOME games and definitely the pinacle of gaming, upon which (certain elements) are rightly compared to games even today. But today's technology and physics engines are designed around these exact functionality inclusions.

Your comment would be analogus to saying "I don't see why people complain that the game doesn't use more than 16 colors. Zork was an awesome game." it was. But if Zork were released today the market would be much smaller than your average game. And even the best reviewers would find fault in comparison to more contemporary games with, oh say.... Graphics.

And no. Jumping (to me) means inclusion of a Z axis in the overlay of the map. Vertical movement rather than graphical trickery.

 

[Glitchny]

Um, ????? FF7 came out in 97. Baldur's gate 2 came out in 2000. Diablo was late 90s. What part of "that was a long friggin time ago" don't you understand? Not saying they aren't AWESOME games and definitely the pinacle of gaming, upon which (certain elements) are rightly compared to games even today. But today's technology and physics engines are designed around these exact functionality inclusions.

Your comment would be analogus to saying "I don't see why people complain that the game doesn't use more than 16 colors. Zork was an awesome game." it was. But if Zork were released today the market would be much smaller than your average game. And even the best reviewers would find fault in comparison to more contemporary games with, oh say.... Graphics.

And no. Jumping (to me) means inclusion of a Z axis in the overlay of the map. Vertical movement rather than graphical trickery.

Diablo 3 also doesn't have jumping, it's new. Guild Wars, also newer game with no jumping. The ability to jump is not needed when it wouldn't be useful for the game.