Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Reviews

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Written by WorstUsernameEver on February 26th, 2012

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I have to commend the folks at 38 Studios for making their first game as ambitious as Reckoning is. In a time when most new IPs are Call of Duty or God of War rip-offs, Reckoning harkens back to a time when games were supremely immersive. Yes, it may not bring much new to the table and the plot and characters may feel hackneyed at times but in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning we have a game done right. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is now available for the PC and it requires EA Origin installed on your PC to run. It has also been released for the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3.

38 Studios has made a triumphant debut with Reckoning, but there is a long way to go before the Amalur IP reaches its full potential. The combination of an MMO open-world structure with hack n' slash combat mechanics works well if a little patchy in places; weapons are in dire need of more combos, and the block/dodge system also lacks the finesse of its contemporaries.

These are issues that can easily be ironed out however, though the same can't be said about the game's underpinning lore. Sporadic in pace and quality of content, this is the area in which Reckoning borrows too heavily from its MMO ancestry and it really doesn't pay off.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning has a solid 20 to 25 hours of gameplay on tap, depending on how many side quests, crafting recipes and general roaming you plan on doing.

Fans of Skyrim who are hoping for another Skyrim will undoubtedly be let down, but those with more realistic expectations will certainly have them met and possibly exceeded.

In a nutshell, even with all its flaws, I quite like Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. It grows on you the lore, the vast maps, the action-oriented gameplay.

If you want your RPG to be a deep storytelling experience, I don't think you'll find it here. The game practically hand holds you and tells you exactly where to go to complete your quests.

But if you want a fast-paced, graphically gorgeous action-oriented RPG, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning definitely serves up the goods. I've had tons of fun frying foes with a flaming staff.

Despite having a compelling storyline and an enviable combat system, Reckoning comes across as a copy-and-paste or a mash-up of other RPG titles and has frustrations that may put purists off - but so does Skyrim. However, this is well worth a look and gets much better than the dull first level on display in the demo.

While the fighting and action of (Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning) (as well as the variety of fighting styles and creatures in the game) are nice, the game does hit its faults in its drab world and its lackluster storyline, as well as the lack of difficulty created by the ease of having powerful items or using your Reckoning Mode. As an RPG, the game does fail to create exciting backstories and a completely engaging narrative, but it is still very hard to hate this game. While it may not be the strongest fantasy-RPG ever made, it is still full of tons of action, great variation, and some exciting fighting styles. There is definitely a fair share of lull points, but they are countered with some very entertaining battles and awesome looking foes that you must face. It may not be the best, but (Reckoning) is worth the price of admission.

While Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning isn't the best game I've played in this genre, for a first outing I must commend them on being so ambitious and trying new elements that appeal to many different players on the hopes to hook in a nice variety of gamers rather than just one. On the whole, I think Big Huge Games has accomplished this and they will find their audience or audiences as the case may be. I look forward to seeing what they have up their sleeves in the next go round.

The bottom line, though, is that if you are even remotely a fan of RPGs, you should give this game a try. Its addictive gameplay, interesting stories and near-perfect combat will grip you for hours and refuse to let go.

Amalur is a richly detailed kingdom, with each area featuring its own colourful foliage. Not unlike your avatar, Reckoning is the quintessential jack-of-all-trades, capable of doing just enough to satisfy that Skyrim itch should you be ready for a new fix. It's also a suitable replacement for Fable or Jade Empire as your action-RPG of choice. While Reckoning's familiar ideas make the learning curve non-existent, after a few hours the world of Amalur, with its many forgettable people and place names, never fully asserts itself. There are more than enough quests available, but individually speaking they don't stand out, and the dialogue trees seem mostly inconsequential. Try as you might, Amalur is a vacation kingdom from your real fantasy addiction: a light-hearted world with an impressive collection of weapons to test out, but not somewhere you'll stay for the long haul.

Even with the acknowledgement that a game is not just the sum of its parts, and that the combat in particular is above and beyond what we've seen in an action RPG before, Kingdoms of Amalur simply lacks genuine inspiration. The game has unfortunately come in a post-Skyrim age, which can partially explain the game faltering when met with my own expectations but asking a slick, simplistic combat system to shoulder the interest of the player for the duration of the story simply won't do. Amalur is a world you can pick up and play very easily, but can also put down and drop out of just as quickly. This is role-playing for the casual crowd; a shame, considering the quality of the talent on board with the games development.

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