Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

I was expecting this to suffer by comparison with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PS3) which has been taking up my time for the last few months. At first, this game seems a bit clunky and not up to those standards - the graphics are "cartoony" - but once you get out out of the tower and into the open air - then things start to look up considerably.

The world is beautifully realised and is light and airy - a pleasure to explore and you are left to go where you like - although there is always a main quest that you can follow and which will drive you forward. However from menus, you can choose to follow which quests you want (as in Skyrim) and all this means is that the quests show up on your map.

So, the game has a lot of features in common with Oblivion and Skyrim - like the Maps with the ability to fast travel; picking ingredients in the wild and using alchemy to create potions; shops with the possibility to buy and sell etc. But this is no surprise as the game was developed under the leadership of Ken Rolston, lead designer of Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

This is not just a clone hoewever and it looks and feels very different to anything else. The graphical style is unique and is recognisably that of Spawn creator Todd McFarlane - the drawing of chracters is very much like a graphic novel in classic fantasy territory - elves, dwarves goblins etc.

The drawing and backgrounds give this its own atmosphere and your character moves very differently from Skyrim - I chose the Elf-like character and he moves very quickly and rolls about all over the place. You choose from 4 basic classes and male/female - then go on to choose a destiny, which is only 3 types - but these can be mixed and as you level up - the path becomes more complex. You can also customise you character's appearance in a limited fashion.

So this game is more about action - hack and slash - than Skyrim and the battles are quite realistic and feel more natural - you can really move! As with any good RPG though, the game is about finding stuff, building up your skills and learning things like magic, alchemy and blacksmithing to improve your standing.

For me, this game was quite refreshing and a joy to play - no glitches and once it gets going properly, you are free to do what you like. The level at Normal, seems about right - not too hard but challenging. And while you start with nothing, you soon pick up stuff and there are chest hidden everywhere.

In terms of fun it's amongst the best of the RPGs I've seen - quite straightforward and uncomplicated, but with enough of the RPG elements to make it interesting. Quests are what you expect and maybe this is a bit lacking in originality - but the graphical style and playability in battles makes up for this.

Some people might see this as lacking in the graphics - they are not flashy, but they grow on you. The conversations can be dull and the game stops while you just see static images of you without any helmet and the person you are taking to. But the interface is easy to use and intuitive - easy to get into.

I see it as a good mix of action and RPG - maybe not quite up to the level of Skyrim - but certainly close - worth having and an enjoyable gaming experience.

Amalur is an excellent and well paced hack`n slash rpg.

If you enjoy fast and colourful combat, picking up big, bristling, bulging bags of loot and eventually becoming so empowered you can swat the greatest monsters a fantasy realm has to offer as if they were a miniature version of Tinkerbell then you should certainly check the game out.

Combat is the backbone of Amalur and it is immediate, fluid and fun. A combination of any primary and secondary weapon, shield (or much cooler looking talisman), along with magic and special attacks give the battles a frantic, explosive look and more importantly gives the player a lot of option in how they want to grab their next bag of XP points. Attacks are strung together on how you time them and combine one with the other rather than having to learn a bunch of preset button sequences. A `Reckoning' bar fills up as you fight and can be activated once it is maxed out which slows time (for your enemies), greatly powers up the player character and allows up to double the XP for a battle following a final slo-mo kill. More than just the mechanics of how it hangs together though, combat is full of great little moments that reveal themselves the more you play.

Tied into the combat is character progression which allows for any custom design across three spheres advancement; might, finesse and sorcery. Fate cards are further unlocked during play which in turn can be used to supplement your playstyle. Outside of combat a single point each level can be spent on typical adventuring skills and it is here Amalur shows it's whole (Fate) card.

Most hack n' slash rpg's are happy to provide exactly that. Fight, earn loot and pick a skill tree and get back to the hacking. Amalur also has one eye on providing a solid rpg experience. There are mini games in the form of picklocking and dispelling treasure chests plus useful skills including detect traps, item forging, magic gem crafting and potion making. The crafting is fun and deep and like the combat it gives the player a lot options to play with and whilst picking locks is far too easy the dispelling mini game is a nice little challenge with the added sting of picking up a curse if you keep screwing up. And then there is the `Persuasion' skill and it is here Amalur stubs its big fantasy toe.

The world of Amalur is drenched in history and lore, wonderful snippets of which can be discovered by unlocking lore stones that are strewn across the land and provide poems, anecdotes, and famous tales, all nicely voice acted. That quality and character does not stretch to many of the npc's that populate the world. Too many of the quest givers you encounter are exactly that. A sign post to your next quest. They usually have many lines of dialogue but are more like dry encyclopedia's of game history than personalities. Combined with very stiff facial animations, all too similar character models, flat voice work and stale writing it does take the bounce out of Amalurs step. Having the option to `persuade' them during dialogue is unfulfilling and ultimately worthless because there is no personality to care about. There is also a lack of dialogue trees which can create a great atmosphere in feeling an interaction with a character could have gone one way or the other had you played it differently or had a `persuasion' skill to lean on. Instead there a list of options that lead nowhere but to another history lesson or piece of exposition. The quests themselves are a mixed bunch and too often they resort to nothing more than `kill the wabbit' for the quest completion XP bonus.

The other downside of Amalur is the rather unambitious art direction. The graphics are big, chunky and bold and do a fine job of bringing the world to life with the fantasy side of things definitely pushed forward. Motes of blue fairy dust filter through the air, oversized colourful plants grow just off the road side and where other games go for muddy realism Amalur adds a splash of peacock colour. It is a shame the races that populate the world don't look a little more fantastical or at least different to so many other games out there. Elf-like races and Fae have pointy ears, humans have well muscled bodies and big chins and gnomes are small and enjoy rich facial hair. A little more flair and distinction from Amalur's peers would have been nice. The monsters you fight do fare better however once you move away from those rpg stalwarts the giant spider and his cousin the giant rat.

Those criticisms of Amalur do come with one caveat. They tried.

The combat, crafting, character advancement and tons of loot you are rewarded is well designed and fun. The game world has a rich backdrop of history and event, looks great and is full of reward and activity. There are a lot of cool looking weapons and powers to wield and some great looking monsters to slay. If the populace sharing the world with you had more spark and substance, some of the side quests genuinely twisted, turned and held some surprises then Almalur would have had the lot. As a first effort from a new IP Amalur shows a lot of promise and is a blast to play.

Great fun, easy to play, and endlessly involving!
The combat is great fun, the side missions generally feel worthwhile, and even the simple collection type tasks lead you into new areas and dungeons that are great fun to explore.

I'm 40 or 50 hours in and still thoroughly enjoying it :)