Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Previews
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The thing Rolston keeps coming back to is combat, he says that Reckoning is (an RPG with a vast narrative and open world but it's real special virtue is the kick-ass combat that will take place in a master crafted world). It's hard to disagree with the suggestion that it will be master-crafted when Rolston lists the impressive names involved with the game.
On top of a world created by best-selling author R.A. Salvatore, Todd McFarlane is providing his years of experience in animation and art to the game. McFarlane isn't noted for being a gamer which is something that Rolston credits as being a positive. (Todd will point out flaws that we take for granted. He brings new eyes and everything is amped to eleven), that Rolston says this as he mimes elaborately overdrawn sword swings and parries speaks to the style and feel the team is aiming for with Reckoning.
Then we stop by Dealspwn for a bit more preview-like content:
Things start out fairly simple, with one-button combat the order of the day. But it's not long before the addition of a shield allows for enemy attacks to be blocked and parried, the latter opening up enemies to counter-attacks, but requiring timing. Amusingly, the mage parry sets people on fire. There's an evade move thrown in there as well the mage character we were shown teleporting short distances rather than using the roll associated with the brawler we were also shown that will no doubt allow for the odd backstab as well as neat defence. It's not long before multiple weapons get mapped to the face buttons and awesome combos start unfolding before us involving, as Nelson marked earlier, launches, juggles and smash attacks.
The absence of predetermined classes means that magic-oriented characters can mix it up in battle too. '˜Look at Gandalf,' says Nelson. '˜Gandalf was a melee mage!' We got to see some of the ranged magical attacks that you'd normally associate with the mage class including Meteor, one of the most powerful moves in the game, which allowed for targeted torrents of fire and brimstone but Nelson's mage also leapt fearlessly into the fray, the standard mage accessory now swung vigorously about like a quarterstaff. At the touch of a button, though, the mage was requipped with a couple of ring blades that could be swung about manually and flung around the area like boomerangs. It felt a bit wrong at first, but then as the mage swept the ring blades in several circles about him, feeling foes with each circuit, it suddenly felt very right.
And then we round things off over at VG247:
Rogues sneak and stab from behind, but they also have very cool close-quarters combat animations. The warrior has a sword and a hammer equipped simultaneously, and switches between them for finishers. There's a sword that's on fire. The loot system and the combat feed off each other each new enemy might drop a weapon that's even more fun to use than what you're currently sporting.
Rather than an action game with RPG trappings, though, Rolston positions Kingdoms of Amalur as a detailed RPG in an action-game wrapper. (This can't just be an action game. It has to have all those charming RPG conventions, even the burdensome ones. But I want to be able to celebrate those, and also let you have fun with your new toys that Uncle Kenny has wrapped up in the skill tree.)
