Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Reviews

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Written by WorstUsernameEver on February 8th, 2012

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There are plenty of really great things to see and do in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, and that stuff--the main quest line, the faction quests, and the interesting combat--makes the game fairly easy to recommend. But it's hard not to be at least a little disappointed when you start seeing the various spots where the game doesn't live up to the high bar set by its best content. If you finish it fast enough to prevent those doldrums from setting in, you'll have a much better time than the person who digs through every nook and cranny to finish every single side quest.

I have to be perfectly honest, I was very skeptical going into this game about how well it was going to turn out. There was so much promised with this game that many, including myself, were concerned as to whether 38 could deliver. Well, they have, and in a major way. Kingdoms of Amalur is everything that RPG fans could have hoped for and so much more; everything you want from a good RPG is here. There is deep character customization, completed freedom of choice, as well as an unprecedented focus on actual gameplay and total control of your character. This doesn't feel like an RPG, but it is and its one of the better ones. This isn't just for RPG fans either; the game is so focused on action that it could easily draw in fans of that genre as well, as it did with me. If you are looking for a game that will keep your occupied and entertained for hours on end, this is definitely it.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning's wholly undiluted overview of Western RPGs often amounts to a beige concoction of a thousand blended fantasy worlds, but it's also a testament to 38 Studio's inherent knowledge of the genre. It's a workmanlike interpretation of what makes an RPG tick, placing a spotlight on all the right mechanics and features that most titles struggle to perfect. Regardless of the game's bland exterior, Reckoning is considerably well crafted.

While it's great to see a developer take a new (and very welcome) approach to spicing up combat in an RPG, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is purely mechanical where the soul and inspiration should be. Players who can content themselves with massive amounts of loot and an endless series of simpleminded errands may be in heaven, but RPG players craving depth and the ability to make real choices or play a role will be out of luck. It might be a great game if the goal is to kill hundreds of hours of free time, but Amalur doesn't have much to offer otherwise.

How much you love Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning depends on what you look for in a role-playing game. Let's say you long for a pervasive sense of time and place, for a great story featuring memorable characters, or for varied quests given weight by superb context. If that's you, then Kingdoms of Amalur will disappoint. Then again, you might want wonderful battles against cool creatures, terrific looting and leveling, and lots of ways to customize your skills and equipment. If so, then this is the world you should inhabit. The context is hardly inspired, but you'll be having so much fun that you may not care.

'˜Reckoning' is content to slip into the Elder Scrolls-style path, matching the game in stunning visuals and storytelling while falling a bit short on the game play side. The controls and hit detection can be iffy, so expect to talk to a dwarf-like dude rather than pick up a bow on the ground. You may also encounter bugs, but there's nothing game-breaking and hopefully most of the problems will be ironed out in an update. All in all, '˜Reckoning' is a heater that paints the corner for a called strike.

The championship ring may elude it for now, but that sort of thing has never stopped Schilling before. RPG lovers, get ready to meet your mistress.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning just isn't fleshed out enough to be the product of the three visionaries behind it. The story isn't concrete enough for anyone to feel engaged in it, the art design falls flat due to the handful of repetitive enemies and the combat is halted by strange choices in enemy AI and attributes. In the end, I wanted to finish Amalur because my character and I deserved some answers, but even that fell flat. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning just doesn't live up to the hype.

I almost wish I didn't have to review Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. A game like this isn't meant to be powered through. Instead, you are encouraged to take your time, get to know the world and the inhabitants of it, and savor the universe surrounding you. This is a game that I want to be playing when not playing it. I wanted to see what new weapons I could get, what new equipment would show up, and see where the storyline would go to. The combat really sets the game apart, and once you play Reckoning you'll notice how stiff the combat in other RPGs is. I have to hand it to 38 Studios and Big Huge Games with their first RPG attempt. They have not only hit a home run, they hit it out of the park.

Before long, "Reckoning's" combat is dishing out a kitchen sink's worth of ways to play, and doing so at the same fast pace at which it began. It's always been fun to find a rare, absurdly powerful weapon in a role-playing game, but being able to wield it with abandon - as "Reckoning" gleefully allows - takes that fun to a whole different plane.

So is there anything wrong with the game? Well, a couple of minor niggles. There were a couple of graphic glitches but nothing terminal. There were a couple of times (in 80 hours of gameplay) an enemy glitched and refused to die, however a quick restart solved that. The only frustration I had was in the inventory system. Trying to find a salvaged item in a bag with 40 items in it results in a lot of scrolling; more sub-menus would have been helpful.

This is a must buy for anyone interested in fantasy RPGs. I love it, and will be playing it for many months to come.

Deep RPG elements combined with the intuitive action mechanics immediately establish 38 Studios and Big Huge Games as a duo to be reckoned with (sorry, couldn't resist). Like its reanimated main character, Reckoning starts slow and creaky, but give it a chance. Once you start sampling its many action-role-playing flavors, you'll discover a new franchise that delivers like a series that has been polished and tweaked for years.

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