Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

[csb]

After wading through all the posts in this thread, I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. (Note: judging by the length of my post, 2 cents can still get you a lot sometimes!)

 

First, regarding the comparison of KoA:R to Skyrim and/or WoW and/or Fable -- it's apples and oranges. Skyrim, especially, is an open sandbox game, while KoA:R uses the same area approach seen in MMO games. It drew some comparisons here to WoW, which I haven't played, but the same could be said of similarities to EverQuest II, etc. Though Reckoning could have left the crate-bashing out, that is way too Fable-ish. And why must it be gold that gets dispensed? Why don't crates/urns/containers hold things like moldy cheese, the Castellan's lint collection or similar mundane treasures?

 

I highly suspect (despite protestations to the contrary) that Reckoning's world design was shaped by the once and future Amalur MMO. Pity, IMHO, Reckoning would have been much better as an open sandbox world. (What, I can jump down from this incredibly high desert butte, but I can't jump up (or down) onto a walkway two feet tall? O.O ) Some of the collision bounding boxes create likewise silly impediments to moving around. Insofar as in-game world navigation goes, Skyrim beats Amalur hands down.

 

As far as similar look and feel (especially with caves, etc.), that's true in most games. As much as devs might like, production cycles (and costs) don't allow for an infinite number of unique resources (especially textures). Which goes a long way in explaining the repetitive feel in some cases. The pieces are combined in some pretty interesting and unique ways nonetheless. My main issue was with traps ... even if you don't invest in Detect points, spotting them is pretty easy. I guess Boggarts and Faer Gorta haven't mastered Camoflage the Traps 101 yet.

 

It's also why modders thrive for games that allow modders ... go look at the contributions on Skyrim's Nexus. Reckoning is seriously curtailed (I agree that this is something EA seems to shun), even previously modder-friendly Bioware has knuckled (or thumbed) under EA's never-stated-but-all-to-obvious policy regarding community investiture and contributions. It's also why my gaming platform of choice is the PC ... far simpler to mod my games (even under the watchful evil eyes of Origin or Steam).

 

Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning is good despite itself. Its immersibility overcomes a lot of glaring flaws. Why anyone would just click through the conversations is beyond me ... it's where a lot of R.A's backstory shines through. It's why I am on a second play-through and seeing how long I can get by on my body-disposal garb and only what weapons, potions and gems I can craft myself. Even on Hard, I'm surviving so far... This brings up Reckoning's two biggest failings design-wise.

 

First, is leveling. It's unbalanced, and while some of the boss fights can be challenging depending on your build (my first was a mage/rogue sort), even on the Hard setting, most combat becomes ridiculously easy. Second is, I'll admit, subjective and aesthetic -- but why does my nifty unique armor/robe look exactly like some common similar armor/robe? Hmm, on second thought, that sameness of look extends from character creation on ... there just isn't enough variety. Though, to be fair, that sameness likely helps with performance, cutting down on unique meshes and textures.

 

We pause for some social commentary. Is it me, or is there a trend in games where it seems to be okay for NPC's to show some skin (*Gasp* Your calves are showing!) but the character is relegated to being swaddled head to foot. Maybe it's an ESRB thing, because it dang sure is aesthetically piss-poor. Not that I want to galavant around in a chainmail bikini, but I want enough "freedom of movement" not to be relegated to bad habits, running around looking like a convent reject. So it's either an ESRB thing, or there needs to be more female apparel designers. Mitharu! How long must I tread Amalur with these godsforsaken clodhoppers on my feet!? Ethene be praised, at least there are sandals to be had in the Teeth of Naros. Forgive my bared toes!

 

I agree with some others who comment on camera angles ... ugh ... and it can seriously mess up some combat (since you don't lock on to your target, unlike some games) ... wait ... my Meteor went there why? Oh, right, I see. Mr. Director got cute with camera again. Can we do Take Two now?

 

I could nitpick Reckoning to death, but I won't. Because despite it's flaws, it is a gem of a game. A gem, to be sure, that could have been a bit more polished.

 

Now onto the other group of naysayers belaboring Skyrim.

 

Skyrim is good despite itself. Mostly because there is a tool set and modding community. Elder Scrolls lovers (I confess to being one!) have a die-hard modding community that makes up for Bethesda's rush-to-release flaws. This is true of other like games: Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas come to mind -- the modding community more than made up for the vanilla games' shortfalls. High resolutoin textures completely change the look of vanilla! Not to mention scads of other improvements that can make combat more difficult and change other game mechanics to make Skyrim playable your way and to suit your aesthetic tastes (though I really wonder at some of those Dolly Parton-esque mods...). As for those who complain about CTDs in Skyrim, are you using mods? If so, you need to learn to use mod-compatibility tools and load orders. If not, have you read the tweak guides? Are your system specs up to it? I've played 321 hours of Skyrim with only a handful of crashes (usually because of Alt-tabbing to another application). Here I must say I am impressed with Reckoning ... ONE crash in well over 300 hours (and it is running as I post this, nicely behaved even Alt-tabbed away).

 

You won't be seeing much modding in Reckoning, unfortunately ... unless you're really good at hex editing save game files (which is as dangerous as it is onerous ... back up your save first!), unpacking .big files, redoing the DDS textures and repacking, or working with Texmod and creating .tpf's to modify Reckoning. Unless some enterprising modder develops a standalone save editor (and allows for both XBox and PC endians ... psst Reckoning devs ... you can't release a tool kit? How about at least kicking in the complete file structure for the save files instead of letting the few modders out there stumble around in the dark?!) that can access the gamut of game settings, Reckoning is doomed to not having much in the way of modded content.

 

Here's a clue, EA ... people still play Oblivion. Why? Because modders are still releasing content (go check the Nexus site!). How's that for game longevity and shelf life? And we all remember how "flawed" Oblivion was purported to be on its release.. Speaking of Alt-tabbing ... Amalur awaits! Have Crude Birch Staff, Will Travel!

[Rastafariel]

I don't thinks it's about boycotting.

He just doesn't want Origin on his pc.

I've never dealt with Origin but there is no way I would tolerate my pc being invaded.

Same thing with Securom. My encounter with that is what turned me against any type of drm that implants itself in you personal computer and runs through it and decides what programs it believes you can have.

I don't even have Skyrim because of steam, and it's not near as invasive... supposedly.

That choice isn't about a boycott. It's about me controlling what I own.

I can see his point exactly and I totally agree.

 

Edit. My apologies. My wife was talking as I got to the bottom of the post. It is about a boycott.

If it's origins, I join you.

The state of pc gaming and drm is intolerable!!

Personally, I'm more than ready to give up gaming, period.

 

Rock on guys! DRM sucks and is ineffective for its supposed intended purpose. One should never have to give up an ounce of freedom for security.

[Halororor]

Why did you necropost just to basically say 'I agree?'

[naomis8329]

I agree and absolutely love the game. Hope it will be taken up by another company but with the same writers etc.... Don't change a winning formula is what I think :D

[hector530]

I agree and absolutely love the game. Hope it will be taken up by another company but with the same writers etc.... Don't change a winning formula is what I think :D

 

the story was a direct rip-off of dragon age no one will waste money for a sup-par IP like Amalur. EPIC got most of the employees and thats what really mattered. im sure EPIC wants to make a open world RPG due to skyrim's massive success and how much the EPIC talked about loving skyrim.

[Halororor]

Oh lol. You sings Skyrim's praises but think that Amalur was sub-par?

 

What a strange world we live in.

[hector530]

Oh lol. You sings Skyrim's praises but think that Amalur was sub-par?

 

What a strange world we live in.

 

an EPIC made rpg will be way better then amalur in everyway. only problem is EPIC doesnt care for the PC market. like i said before amalur has problems. the game was easy very easy. causal facebook game easy. having play some of the best action combat games ninja gaiden, god of war, devil may cry. amalur combat was boring because unlike those games, amalur was never challenging. action combat games have to be challenging. with the excitement of the combat side game gonna with the first hour amalur starts to drag with copy paste DA story and the MMO style quest.

 

sorry but i find skyrim's simple combat to be better then amalur. playing in master where you can die in few hits was more exciting then any of the amalur combat ever was. i remember there was a video of the devs showing you how to get a 75 hit combo in amalur and thought to myself

 

"wow there's something in the game that takes 75 hits to kill!!!"

 

i prefer simple yet hard to master combat. like the witcher 2 or dark souls. see on dark souls landing a 2 hit attack on a boss then rolling the incoming attack is way more intense and exciting then a 20+ button 75 hit combo. if skyrim had a counter system and more enemy variety the combat would be close to perfect... for me at least.

 

also ciffly B said skyrim was one of his all time favorite games and renewed his interest RPGs, EPIC saw there chance to enter the RPG market by hiring the former 38 game devs and starting a new studio. EPIC didnt buy the rights to the amalur IP so they're already off to a good start. a new IP is better.

Edited July 12, 2012 by hector530

[naomis8329]

Nah don't agree with that, nothing like a facebook game. Beautifully rendered, well built and the storyline absolutely amazing. I would hope they stick with a winning combo and not forget about us PC players, I don't use consoles as I can't manage the controls. However, it was made before Skyrim and therefore not a rip off and to me not at all buggy like Skyrim. Only a few niggles but nothing game breaking like Skyrim. I can't play it for long as it crashes all the time. KoA doesn't and I'll keep going back as its easy on the eye and wonderful to run round in :D

[Halororor]

I just didn't find Skyrim to be half as good as everyone made it out to be. It was a generic RPG that had the potential to be great, but ended up being average. Not a bad game by any means, but nothing special. Felt like a highly modded Oblivion to me, not the next step in the Elder Scrolls series.

 

Also, you might not want to put too much stock in what CliffyB says. The guy's a moron. It's the same guy who said Mirror's Edge was a bad game because it didn't have enough shooty bits. :P

 

Edit: I disagree with you on the difficulty of Amalur, though. The game was pretty damn difficult on the standard difficulty settings. Skyrim, on the other hand, that game basically played itself. Unmodded, you'd have to be trying to stand a chance at dying in the game. With a warrior/archer hybrid I pretty much steam-rolled my way through the game on my first playthrough with almost zero effort. I died once or twice, but only due to laziness on my part.

 

Amalur was flawed, to be sure, but on the innovation front it came out why above Skyrim. It was something fresh and new, unlike Skyrim, which was something we've seen countless times before. I mean, Skyrim still runs on an engine that dates back to the era of Morrowind.

Edited July 13, 2012 by Halororor

[hector530]

@ naomis8329, its like a facebook game because of its difficultly not its quality. also i played the whole game on a 360 gamepad as i feel action combat games are better suited for gamepads. i dont think i ever tried keyboard and mouse in that game for more then 5 mins

 

@ halororor, if you ever looked at the official 38 games forum the major complaint people had was the easy difficulty. skyrim is easy on normal but i play skyrim on master where even with armor cap enemies will do damage and dragons will due 800+ damage if you dont have magic resist cap.

 

I thought the story and art style was lame. which was surprising because they hired todd mcfarlane who is known for his dark fantasy style and R. A. Salvatore who is the one of the best selling fantasy writer. yet both didnt they best work on this game. the story was from DA:O and the art style was a remade WOW.

 

ciffly B might be an idiot(cant really argue with you there) but the man does have influence over everything EPIC does. i like to think EPIC didnt hire a bunch of out-jobs RPG devs and start a new studio just to make a new FPS. problem is EPIC likes to make crappy PC ports and blame the poor sales on pirates but i think they'll still do better then amalur. Curt Schilling was way over his head and ran 38 into the ground. he seemed to hire todd mcfarlane and R. A. Salvatore based on only name sake alone. hired 400 employee for a new game studio to make 2 AAA games one of which was an MMO. amalur needed 3 million sales to break even which is insane for a new IP from a new studio.

 

if anything we'll get a spiritual successor to amalur from EPIC. hopefully.