Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a
single player Action Role-playing Game (RPG) set in the brand-new game
fantasy universe of Amalur. The game features an expansive Open World
game environment, the unique "Destinies" system that limits character
development only by the combination of equipped spells and items
carried, intuitive yet challenging combat, a robust crafting system and a
range of special attacks. Additional features include: the written and
design talents of R.A. Salvatore, Todd McFarlane and Ken Rolston;
dramatic special and metered attacks; as well as multiple in-game races.
Active combat plays a major role in the game as players explore the Open World environment of the game on quests that bring them into contact with all manner of creatures. Regardless of character paths, all characters have access to primary and secondary weapons as well as magic. Unique attacks are tied to your choice of weapons, armor and strategies. The game also features powerful slow-motion attack opportunities called "Fateshift Kills" triggered by specific situations and/or equipped items. These devastating attacks are measured out as players time moves to a separate "Fate Energy" power meter. Additional features include unscripted real-time battles against large-scale enemies, melee and ranged weapons and enemy tagging abilities for ranged or delayed attacks.
Amalur: a New RPG Realm with an Proven Pedigree
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning takes place in Amalur, an all-new game universe inhabited by various races of beings and filled with thousands of years of history. This deep fantasy based world is the brainchild of best-selling Fantasy and Science Fiction author R.A. Salvatore and the combined talents of Todd McFarlane, the creator of the Spawn series, Ken Rolston, the lead designer of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and the team at Big Huge Games. Reckoning bears the hallmarks of each of these visionaries, melding an epic, master-crafted storyline, rich graphics and heart-stopping animations, and compelling open-world exploration. In addition to being the setting for Reckoning, this rich world will also serve as a base for a future trans-media entertainment experience, including books, toys, comics, and a planned MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online RPG) video game yet be announced.
Gameplay
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a single player Action RPG that blends a new approach to character development with intuitive, yet challenging real-time combat. Characters enter the game as something of a blank slate after they are resurrected from death by the mysterious "Well of Souls" following a grand in-game conflict. Spurning the rigid character class systems commonly used in RPGs for the development of characters, the game instead focuses on player-shaped "destines" which hinge on the chosen combinations of abilities and equipped items and weapons attached to their character as the game progresses. With no traditional classes these are blended as the play wishes. This along with a large item inventory limit and a robust crafting system for creating new items, allows for a nearly limitless number of possible character paths, or destinies.Active combat plays a major role in the game as players explore the Open World environment of the game on quests that bring them into contact with all manner of creatures. Regardless of character paths, all characters have access to primary and secondary weapons as well as magic. Unique attacks are tied to your choice of weapons, armor and strategies. The game also features powerful slow-motion attack opportunities called "Fateshift Kills" triggered by specific situations and/or equipped items. These devastating attacks are measured out as players time moves to a separate "Fate Energy" power meter. Additional features include unscripted real-time battles against large-scale enemies, melee and ranged weapons and enemy tagging abilities for ranged or delayed attacks.
Additional Screenshots
Product Description
The minds of New York Times bestselling author R.A. Salvatore, Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston have combined to create Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, a new role-playing game set in a world worth saving. Build the character you’ve always wanted and continuously evolve it to your style of play with the revolutionary Destiny system. Choose your path and battle through a master-crafted universe featuring some of the most intense, responsive, and customizable RPG combat ever.Customer Reviews
By
California Surf Boy ""Today is going to b... (Great new RPG world to be lost in and explore)Background:
For those that do not know, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a new intellectual property and is the first in what is hoped to be a new line of RPG games. The game was created by 38 games/Big Huge Games and published by EA. There are quite a few properties that are out there populating the field that it wants to become part of. This game has quite an all star group that have helped to create the game and I believe it has earned its place in the gaming world. Also, for a while there, the RPG field was bare and dry especially on the XBOX and so I welcome the change to explore a new and interesting world.
Todd McFarlane, the genius behind Spawn and other adult themed comics has provided inspiration for the artwork. The storyline was written by R.A. Salvatore who has published 20+ books in the field of Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Executive Director was Ken Rolston, the lead designer of the Elder Scrolls III Morrowind and Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion.
Graphics:
The graphics on this game are beautiful and colorful. Over the past few months I have finished playing Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Dark Souls and it is refreshing wandering a world that is bright and colorful. It reminds me of some portions of World of Warcraft such as the Blood Elves on the Horde side. You can see Todd McFarlanes influence on the art department in the multitude of characters you encounter.
Combat:
The trend for RPG's have aimed for the hybrid of Action-RPG with most falling on RPG elements and action as a second thought. This game has chosen to put Action in the forefront. The combat resembles the God of War: Collection series. When you are at a certain point, a lot of button mashing is required to score the kill and extra experience that comes from it. After the extreme difficulty of Dark Souls and continuous dying, it was nice to be able to enjoy combat that I felt I had an actual fighting chance of winning.
World:
The game originally was going to be an online MMO. You can sense that in the way that the world is created and interactions with the characters. It feels like an online MMO in a way but without the interaction of other players. The world is a liner sandbox world. It resembles somewhat a game such as Fable: The Lost Chapters or some of the Final Fantasy X games. There is a lot to explore in the world around you, though, so there is plenty to keep you busy.
Other:
Communication is a lot like Mass Effect where you rotate to the conversation choice. You can have negative or positive communications but I have not really seen many that affect the outcome or interaction with my character too terribly much. I may find more later on.
There is pre-order download content. I received the game in the morning. Unfortunately, the codes for the DLC (mainly items to help you start off with) did not arrive via email until around midnight which made their use moot.
Overall Impression:
I am an old school RPG player ever since I received my first free copy of Final Fantasy 1/Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest) with my paid subscription to Nintendo Power back in the day. The trend for RPG's has to continue to the action-RPG hybrid element which I feel it has successfully achieved. With todays world, simplicity is the key. The character creation and leveling I feel has been watered down. Not at the level that is the Fable series or other RPG's but it has been simplified. You really cannot go wrong in how you create your character and you can truly customize the character to your playing style. The bugs that were present in the demo have been cleaned up quite a bit although there are still technical issues here and there (not on the same level as the demo)
I highly recommend this game. There are simply not enough good RPG's out there even if the field seems to be filled with them. There are a lot of mediocre titles that dot the landscape in-between Elder Scroll and Final Fantasy releases. I believe this Game, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a worthwhile RPG to invest ones time and energy into and is a world that truly deserves to be lost in. I wish someone would re-visit Betrayal at Krondor (Enhanced CD-ROM)
By
C.E (A day of RECKONING indeed!)I play games for a variety of reasons. I play them to relax, to get lost in a world, to hear/play a good story, and I play them as a way to escape. This game fits the bill on all of those accounts perfectly. As a mature (read: over 30 years old) gamer, I have a different set of expectations that have grown and changes as I have gotten older.
This game first appeared on my radar as word of R.A. Salvatore being involved trickled out onto the web. I have played another game he was involved in, "Demon Stone" for the PS2. As with that iteration, this one is well written- the story takes the cake. Intrigue, plot twists, friends, foes, allies, and antagonists all take center stage in a tale that is fun and engaging here. The main quest is a good yarn in and of itself, but veering off the well beaten path takes you to other villages, characters, problems, and areas that you would just as easily miss if you don't look around. Superb writing, plotting, and setting. The story might seem kind of contrived and a mash up of genre staples...but Salvatore weaves it all together into something wonderful. I would have to say this game is like "playing" a very ambitious fantasy novel.
The combat is easy to master, but still presents a challenge as enemies scale to your level, the fighting can get intense, and there are several moves and tactics that unlock as you level up that make all the zipping around the screen fun and satisfying. The weapon and spell effts are nice, realized well, and graphically pleasing. Intense colors, good sound design, and a freedom of movement lends itself to combat that doesn't feel stale and challenges you to mix it up and see what happens. McFarlane's talent really shines through in the creature design and world art. From things that are creepy to silly- there a quite a few vistas, creatures, plants, and areas to look at. It is very pretty, vibrant, and busy. Other areas are appropriately dark, somber, and decayed. All in all- the game looks as good as it plays, and in may ways, the setting of Amalur is a character in and of itself.
Collectors of in-game stuff rejoice! As this game is packed with all you would come to expect from Rolston- the mad genius behind some "Elder Scrolls" games. There are scraps of paper, books, lore stones, items, journals, lockpicks, chests, loot, and tomes to collect, read, and discover. The info is doled out well and comes at a pace that encourages exploration. There are several times (as I am not done with the game yet) where I have been distracted with a side quest just because I want to know more about what is happening in the world around me. It lends itself to a very fleshed out feeling, a world fully developed, alive, and teeming with secrets to discover. Again, this game is superb in its presentation on all of those accounts.
Getting down to the technical details, there are systems that feel familiar, yet lend their own flair to the game. Crafting, weapon/equipment repair, and reagent gathering are all things that have been done before. They are integrated well with this game and the feeling of familiarity is helpful at keeps the learning curve from getting too steep. There is not a physical manual included with the game...it is added to the disc. I don't find that I miss it, as info in pretty easy to come by and the interface is user-friendly and easy to navigate. Taking the best parts of past games, throwing in new ones, and whipping up a recipe for something new is a welcome addition to both the genre and the world of video games in general. I haven't experienced a single glitch, hitch, or mess-up with the game on my system. Load times are forgiveable and don't take forever- but then again, with the amount of content and data I don't expect instant load times. The world is vast, expansive, and feels that way as well. With that, fast travel isn't a "must have" but is something that I use quite often, just to traverse the distances that soon become very apparent.
Others might say this game is too similar to "Fable" or some other megalithic MMO out there. While I see some of the similarities, I also see that 38 studios has crafted an entirely different, yet familiar feeling, monster. They have poured passion, heart, blood, sweat, and tears into this game- and it shows. Its massive, teeming with things to discover, and presented in a beautiful package. Combat, crafting, exploration, leveling, and play styles are all as fluid as you would want- they (the devs) have really tried to make an expansive and all-inclusive game- and they have come as close to perfection as is possible at this point in my opinion.
So- buy this game if you are looking for some amazing value for your dollars. Buy it if you want to see where I predict the next generations of RPG's will be going. Buy it if you want an awesome story, amazing playability, and some great art. Buy it if you are looking to really get into a game and not be finished in 10 hours. This is hands down- one of the BEST games I have every played. Simply amazing- worth every penny spent and then some.
By
Aaron Lee "calmik" (A great RPG in my opinion) Skyrim was the first "real" RPG I have played in years and the first
game I have ever played over 60+ hours. I played the original Paper
Mario and even Super Mario RPG on the SNES. But I usually stuck to the
likes of Diablo, Dungeon Siege and Action Games. I played Dragon Age
Origins and Dragon Age 2 a bit but not in depth.I have to say that I feel this game is a great mix of Skyrim, God of war and Diablo.
Skyrim - For the sheer size of the world. It may not be as "open" but it is still huge.
God of War - For the combat. This what I liken it to not that the combat is on the same level as GOW, but that the animations and feel is.
Diablo - For the sheer amount of loot that you find.
I have found I really enjoy the games graphics. They are not as detailed and real as Skyrim but they are amazing in a different way. I really liked Todd Mcfarlane's comics back in the day and I feel that some of his style has really rubbed off here.
Being about 10 hours into the game I find myself wanting to play it while I am at work and that has always been a key indicator if I really like a game.
Is it the best RPG ever, probably not, but I am having one heck of a time trying to find games (in my palette of games) that are as fun and with the amount of loot.
I can easily see myself playing this game for 70+ hours (that is where I was at with Skyrim).
0 komentar:
Post a Comment