Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Previews

We have rounded up a few more previews for 38 Studios’ upcoming action-RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, the first coming from Tom Chick on GamePro who tries to “overrule” five “objections” to the title:

2) Eww, the World is All Corridors.

This is certainly the case with some of the areas, particularly early in the game. The first few lands between loading screens are definitely canyons, even though they’re supposed to be magical forests with magical forest type names. But if you push eastward far enough, you’ll come to a place where the landscape opens up considerably. A town called The Wold is actually a town, and not a set of canyons. This was the first place I felt like I wasn’t in hallways anymore. North of here is The Foresaken Plains, which are definitely plains, albeit pretty modest. Don’t expect gorgeous vistas, but don’t worry about being hemmed in the entire time.

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4) Aren’t We Too Old for Cartoony Graphics?

The graphics stand out in Kingdoms of Amalur for not being afraid to be World of Warcraft colorful and stylized. But I wouldn’t say it’s a limitation so much as a choice. Skyrim, Diablo III, and Mass Effect 3 all have a very serious, not-fooling-around, we-embrace-Peter-Jackson’s-gritty-Lord-of-the-Rings-production-design look to them. You will never look at Kingdoms of Amalur and see something that looks as if the artists were given notes featuring the word “photorealistic”.

GameSpy instead offers some impressions:

As stated earlier, combat in Reckoning is closer to that of the God of War series than Ken Rolston’s previous efforts in The Elder Scrolls. You’ll not only have a wide array of ranged, magic, and melee attacks and combos readily available, you’ll be able to freely switch between the mage, rogue, and warrior weapons and equipment on the fly, enabling you to sneak up on two unsuspecting enemies with the dual daggers of the rogue and pull off a one hit assassination before switching over to the staff of the mage to set your remaining target ablaze, and then finishing things off with a crushing blow from the warrior’s warhammer.

And those are just the beginning of the options available in Reckoning’s combat system. Blocking with shields and stunning/knocking back opponents is a must when swarmed by enemies, bows and magic add a wide array of ranged options, and the game’s Fate meter mechanic allows you to absorb foes’ mystical energy until you have enough to unleash a time slowing, uber powerful Fate attack which typically concludes with a gratifyingly gory quick time event finishing move.

With kills come experience and eventually coveted experience points that can be spent in the game’s robust character development system. And that’s where Reckoning seamlessly melds its hardcore RPG and action-game elements into one. The Warrior, Mage, and Rogue classes each have their own multi-faceted skill trees, and players can spend experience points in them as they please developing a single distinct class or a hybrid of two or even all three classes. And when you do spend those points, you’ll see real changes in how your character performs during combat. For example, funnel your points into the Warrior’s Warhammer skill, as I did during my time with the game, and you’ll unlock various stun, area, combo, and weapon-linked magic attacks that create all new ways to approach combat.