Stinger
Arcane
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2011
- Messages
- 1,366
Well that's hardly surprising, if you have the same opinion about everything, whether or not you've played it, eventually you'll be right about something.
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Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning?
- Thread starter DarthBehemoth
- Start date
Well that's hardly surprising, if you have the same opinion about everything, whether or not you've played it, eventually you'll be right about something.
sea
inXile Entertainment
- Joined
- May 3, 2011
- Messages
- 5,698
For what it's worth: donk.
I'll have a review of the game done in a couple of days (I'd have one out now, but there were issues getting the review copy activated properly). It's been good to me, but not without its share of problems. I think the camera and user interface deserve to be chewed and spit out, because they have only got more frustrating as the game has gone on. Meanwhile, the story and characters, a major weakness cited in most reviews, actually develop interestingly as the game goes on, albeit at a very slow pace. It's interesting how I think the scores are mostly pretty accurate, but the reasons for them are quite different. I have a feeling a lot of reviewers ignored the main story and just played 30 hours of side-quests, which are occasionally pretty good but also showcase the worst of the game in many cases.
Unfortunately, as fun as the combat is, it just isn't enough to sustain the game. Enemy types and tactics aren't varied enough to be interesting after about 20 hours, quests offer options but no real long-term consequences (which is reinforced by the "finish and move on" MMO structure), and the loot grind is decent, but ultimately kind of empty for me. There is a lot about the game I want to love, but it's just got too many flaws and buckles under its own sheer size. Had this been a 40-hour game with a tightly-woven story, longer, more complex quests, and a world that I got to explore and really know over time, I'd have loved it... but instead it's merely a good, occasionally great, occasionally frustrating 100 hour game, and that's the biggest shame of all.
I'll have a review of the game done in a couple of days (I'd have one out now, but there were issues getting the review copy activated properly). It's been good to me, but not without its share of problems. I think the camera and user interface deserve to be chewed and spit out, because they have only got more frustrating as the game has gone on. Meanwhile, the story and characters, a major weakness cited in most reviews, actually develop interestingly as the game goes on, albeit at a very slow pace. It's interesting how I think the scores are mostly pretty accurate, but the reasons for them are quite different. I have a feeling a lot of reviewers ignored the main story and just played 30 hours of side-quests, which are occasionally pretty good but also showcase the worst of the game in many cases.
Unfortunately, as fun as the combat is, it just isn't enough to sustain the game. Enemy types and tactics aren't varied enough to be interesting after about 20 hours, quests offer options but no real long-term consequences (which is reinforced by the "finish and move on" MMO structure), and the loot grind is decent, but ultimately kind of empty for me. There is a lot about the game I want to love, but it's just got too many flaws and buckles under its own sheer size. Had this been a 40-hour game with a tightly-woven story, longer, more complex quests, and a world that I got to explore and really know over time, I'd have loved it... but instead it's merely a good, occasionally great, occasionally frustrating 100 hour game, and that's the biggest shame of all.
anus_pounder
Arcane
sea
inXile Entertainment
- Joined
- May 3, 2011
- Messages
- 5,698
That wasn't a review, just an article about the game's world design, structure and MMO-ish tendencies. I'm writing a proper review for GameBanshee that covers the whole game and won't be going into the same sort of depth about that particular side of things. As I said, should be done in a couple of days, but I want to finish the main story before I draw any definite conclusions.
And yes, I enjoyed RAGE. I was good, not great. The shooting was some of the most fun I'd played in years, but everything else needed work.
And yes, I enjoyed RAGE. I was good, not great. The shooting was some of the most fun I'd played in years, but everything else needed work.
Just played this for a couple of hours, seems to fit in somewhere between Fable and Div2. It does seem to be better as a 20-30 hour game than a 100 hour one, but is it really that long? I remember all the talk about how DA:O was at least 100 hours long and Fallout 3 being hundreds of hours long and yet taking my time and completing those with all the DLC took me half as long even being a completionist.
Regardless I'm enjoying it 'for what it is(tm)' at the moment, no point raging at an overlooked first effort from a RTS making company. I save my rage for those that should know better and are responsible for the general mainstream RPG situation in the first place.
Regardless I'm enjoying it 'for what it is(tm)' at the moment, no point raging at an overlooked first effort from a RTS making company. I save my rage for those that should know better and are responsible for the general mainstream RPG situation in the first place.
Multi-headed Cow
Guest
Giantbombdotcom man said it was 60 hours after he did all/most of the side quests, and felt that was way too long as the sidequests are apparently pretty boring.
Game sounds like it'll be fun for $15 or so on The Steams.
Game sounds like it'll be fun for $15 or so on The Steams.
Giantbombdotcom man said it was 60 hours after he did all/most of the side quests, and felt that was way too long as the sidequests are apparently pretty boring.
Game sounds like it'll be fun for $15 or so on The Steams.
Seems that the side quests are just filler to make the game more 'epic' in scope and for grindan. I blame Bethesda for this need to fill a game with shitty side quests every few metres to make their worlds seem less empty because their main quests are so short and ordinary and then brag about 100's of hours of content. Others have to keep up otherwise they get the 'game too short' complaint. Frankly I'd rather the main questlines be three times as long with just a few well crafted sidequests. Who cares if the game is then 30-40 hours rather than 60+ hours in length if there's interesting stuff all the way? Fallout may have been a bit too short, mainly because it was such a great ride that you didn't want to stop but isn't that the point? There was nothing redundant in that game, something interesting to do every step of the way.
kris
Arcane
I tried it a bit yesterday and my overall impression was mostly negative and I ain't someone that just complains. Note that I played very little and probably won't play more.
- First I had to fight with the camera and often even wanted first person, because my character filled up half the screen and I had to move wierdly just to see things. And it was hard to see... pretty much anything, enemies, where I should go, peeps. In fact it was easier to just check the mini-map.
- Ranged combat. Here the camera is at fault again and instead of actually aiming the game autoaims for you and you can't miss. And you got a autofilling quiver. All about ranged combat just feels wrong.
- Melee. That is at least pretty okay, unless you roll to much and start a battle with the camera.
- Art. When I saw some screenshots I was cautiously impressed by the art, playing the game this far I have not been that. Feels very WOW and with bright colors, but nothing that feels unique or special.
- Setting. It isn't to shabby when it comes to backstory, but otherwise lacks anything original. I just started and I got elves, gnoes, humans and blackclad evil people. Right and trolls. the moral/immortal divide might be interesting though, if nothing else.
- I miss character sheets.
- First I had to fight with the camera and often even wanted first person, because my character filled up half the screen and I had to move wierdly just to see things. And it was hard to see... pretty much anything, enemies, where I should go, peeps. In fact it was easier to just check the mini-map.
- Ranged combat. Here the camera is at fault again and instead of actually aiming the game autoaims for you and you can't miss. And you got a autofilling quiver. All about ranged combat just feels wrong.
- Melee. That is at least pretty okay, unless you roll to much and start a battle with the camera.
- Art. When I saw some screenshots I was cautiously impressed by the art, playing the game this far I have not been that. Feels very WOW and with bright colors, but nothing that feels unique or special.
- Setting. It isn't to shabby when it comes to backstory, but otherwise lacks anything original. I just started and I got elves, gnoes, humans and blackclad evil people. Right and trolls. the moral/immortal divide might be interesting though, if nothing else.
- I miss character sheets.
The Boring Incarnation
Educated
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2012
- Messages
- 111
Kind of a tangent, but Bethesda did a pretty savvy business move to coincide with the release of this game. Well played.
Well, maybe it just leaves EA to reek in that sweet and plentiful money through Origin.
Well, maybe it just leaves EA to reek in that sweet and plentiful money through Origin.
Yeah. Bethesda clearly targeted this release.
Amalur seems a bit exposition heavy for me. I don't need to know your life story if you don't offer me quests, right?
Amalur seems a bit exposition heavy for me. I don't need to know your life story if you don't offer me quests, right?
Playing around 10 hours with mixed feelings, art direction and setting feels shity, plastic and Disney like compared to Skyrim and Twicher but quest are somewhat more intresting (than former).... no go to other side continent for my lost spoon quests do far. Combat is as funny as in Skyrim.... too early to make any score though but so far it is good for what it is ARPG. Playing as Battle Mage as Rogue was feeling odd in game with such amount of combat you can't skip. OK back to game Fags. 
sea
inXile Entertainment
- Joined
- May 3, 2011
- Messages
- 5,698
But... the game tells you who has quests and which dialogue options to pick to get to them. All the extra stuff is unnecessary (and mostly not interesting). Even then, you can skip dialogue, so, what's wrong?
Stabwound
Arcane
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2008
- Messages
- 3,240
Vault Dweller
Commissar, Red Star Studio
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2003
- Messages
- 28,024
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/revie...action-game-in-an-empty-forgettable-world.ars
"Amalur presents the player with a ridiculously large fantasy world that would easily take hours to run across from one end to the other (thank god for a fast travel option to prior locations). But it's a world that largely feels empty. Not physically empty—there's plenty of lush scenery and amazing town architecture to satisfy your desire for eye candy, and there's a seemingly endless supply of hidden dungeons and sidequest-granting non-player characters to fill space and time. Rather, the world of Amalur feels emotionally empty.
Everyone in Amalur seems utterly obsessed with the idea of fate. I don't mean that people have a vague sense that they were meant for a certain role; I mean that everyone in Amalur seems completely committed to the idea that if something has been foretold by a fateweaver, there is absolutely nothing they can do to change it. This doesn't stop most of the characters from generally whining about their fate and wishing they could do something about it, however, which struck me as a little odd. I'd expect a little more resignation from a civilization that has fully accepted the idea of predestination.
Anyway, the idea of fate is used to justify your character's outsized importance in the game world. As a soldier in a decades-long war that has been miraculously resurrected by some magical Macguffin, the game goes to great pains to tell you that you are now unbound by the fate that traps every other whiny person in the land. Thus, you are the only one who can do anything meaningful to change the fate of the world, which is convenient, since no one else seems willing to even try without your help.
You'd think this would make all your in-game decisions feel really important, but your role in the main storyline feels as preordained as everything else in the world. While many scripted conversations give you a variety of response options, the overwhelming majority of those responses seem to make little to no difference in how the story progresses.
On top of that, the obsession with fate makes all the non-player characters seem especially impotent and meaningless. Like plenty of RPGs before it, Amalur makes the mistake of trying to get you interested in the lore of the world before you're interested in any of the characters that are in it.
Characters come off as cliched, one-note ciphers meant primarily to push the story along and throw out ridiculously comprehensive arcana about various races and locations and historical heroes. At no point is there any indication why the player should care about any of this backstory, or about the fate of any of the forgettable cast of cycling companions. It's telling that some of the sidequest-granting non-player characters pack more character development into their few lines than the main characters manage to show throughout the entire plot."
"Amalur presents the player with a ridiculously large fantasy world that would easily take hours to run across from one end to the other (thank god for a fast travel option to prior locations). But it's a world that largely feels empty. Not physically empty—there's plenty of lush scenery and amazing town architecture to satisfy your desire for eye candy, and there's a seemingly endless supply of hidden dungeons and sidequest-granting non-player characters to fill space and time. Rather, the world of Amalur feels emotionally empty.
Everyone in Amalur seems utterly obsessed with the idea of fate. I don't mean that people have a vague sense that they were meant for a certain role; I mean that everyone in Amalur seems completely committed to the idea that if something has been foretold by a fateweaver, there is absolutely nothing they can do to change it. This doesn't stop most of the characters from generally whining about their fate and wishing they could do something about it, however, which struck me as a little odd. I'd expect a little more resignation from a civilization that has fully accepted the idea of predestination.
Anyway, the idea of fate is used to justify your character's outsized importance in the game world. As a soldier in a decades-long war that has been miraculously resurrected by some magical Macguffin, the game goes to great pains to tell you that you are now unbound by the fate that traps every other whiny person in the land. Thus, you are the only one who can do anything meaningful to change the fate of the world, which is convenient, since no one else seems willing to even try without your help.
You'd think this would make all your in-game decisions feel really important, but your role in the main storyline feels as preordained as everything else in the world. While many scripted conversations give you a variety of response options, the overwhelming majority of those responses seem to make little to no difference in how the story progresses.
On top of that, the obsession with fate makes all the non-player characters seem especially impotent and meaningless. Like plenty of RPGs before it, Amalur makes the mistake of trying to get you interested in the lore of the world before you're interested in any of the characters that are in it.
Characters come off as cliched, one-note ciphers meant primarily to push the story along and throw out ridiculously comprehensive arcana about various races and locations and historical heroes. At no point is there any indication why the player should care about any of this backstory, or about the fate of any of the forgettable cast of cycling companions. It's telling that some of the sidequest-granting non-player characters pack more character development into their few lines than the main characters manage to show throughout the entire plot."
Vault Dweller
Commissar, Red Star Studio
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2003
- Messages
- 28,024
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/07/kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning-review/
Joystick says it's best game evar and gives 5/5 to prove it, because the gameworld is bristling with quests:
"It sounds like heavy stuff, but in practice our hero's fate-changing abilities boil down to something far simpler: taking on quests and gaining new skills. The world of Amalur is bristling with quests. While wandering about to finish a main quest, you will undoubtedly encounter a village on the way. Villagers, naturally, will ask your help slaying beasties or recovering items from caves. Should you make for said cave, you will meet a weary traveler with yet another quest."
Yet another quest? More monsters to slay and items to recover? Can this game get any better?
Joystick says it's best game evar and gives 5/5 to prove it, because the gameworld is bristling with quests:
"It sounds like heavy stuff, but in practice our hero's fate-changing abilities boil down to something far simpler: taking on quests and gaining new skills. The world of Amalur is bristling with quests. While wandering about to finish a main quest, you will undoubtedly encounter a village on the way. Villagers, naturally, will ask your help slaying beasties or recovering items from caves. Should you make for said cave, you will meet a weary traveler with yet another quest."
Yet another quest? More monsters to slay and items to recover? Can this game get any better?
Andyman Messiah
Mr. Ed-ucated
I like the way they emphasize how you absolutely WILL meet a weary traveller with yet ANOTHER quest!
That's all I like though. I'm edgy like that.
That's all I like though. I'm edgy like that.
Of course, what other thing could a villager worry about? Improving their agriculture with crops rotation?
Vault Dweller
Commissar, Red Star Studio
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2003
- Messages
- 28,024
Who needs agriculture when:
"While not all quests bestow exciting rewards (more gold? Gee, thanks) the world is so littered with loot and goodies that almost every journey is worth the effort."
"While not all quests bestow exciting rewards (more gold? Gee, thanks) the world is so littered with loot and goodies that almost every journey is worth the effort."
DraQ
Arcane
If every journey is worth the effort, no journey is worth the effort.
Vault Dweller
Commissar, Red Star Studio
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2003
- Messages
- 28,024
Not if you like money.
I would love to see a quest making fun of that. The King ask for a Fedex/Monster killing quest, but when you go back to him he just say good job servant, and gives no reward or Xp. You can then either lower your head and leave or go XTREME colar-grabing Shepard on him, which will only get you arrested.
Saxon1974
Prophet
Just played this for about an hour last night. Don't care for it much so far.
Things I don't like:
horrible camera that you can't adjust
the world doesn't feel that open as its lots of corridors linked together
the combat feels like a goofy kung fu movie. I prefer more realistic.
the art and graphics are about as generic as you can get. Feel too disney like.
game feels like a console game and inventory does too
ranged combat has auto aim! Horrible!
Loot glows so you can t miss anything wow we are all too stupid now
Way to easy even on hard
What I did like
hmm voice overs are ok so far
Dialog seems ok
the map looks nice
Maybe I will like it more if I play more but I am shelving it for now unto some patches
Also I like real stuff so don't like buying games digital but this game comes with the manual only on the disc. I hate no printed manuals. If I knew that I would have just bought from steam.
Things I don't like:
horrible camera that you can't adjust
the world doesn't feel that open as its lots of corridors linked together
the combat feels like a goofy kung fu movie. I prefer more realistic.
the art and graphics are about as generic as you can get. Feel too disney like.
game feels like a console game and inventory does too
ranged combat has auto aim! Horrible!
Loot glows so you can t miss anything wow we are all too stupid now
Way to easy even on hard
What I did like
hmm voice overs are ok so far
Dialog seems ok
the map looks nice
Maybe I will like it more if I play more but I am shelving it for now unto some patches
Also I like real stuff so don't like buying games digital but this game comes with the manual only on the disc. I hate no printed manuals. If I knew that I would have just bought from steam.
kris
Arcane
I forgot.
- Gnomes obviously talk with a horrible fake scottish accent, because that is whatmidgets dwarfs short inventive people do.
- Spells autoaim too. It is "saved" by mana going out quickly, otherwise magic would be really powerful.
- Gnomes obviously talk with a horrible fake scottish accent, because that is what
- Spells autoaim too. It is "saved" by mana going out quickly, otherwise magic would be really powerful.
Elrond Hubbard
Novice
James Clerk Maxwell - Scottish
Einstein - Jewish
Adam Smith - Scottish
Karl Marx - Jewish
"scottish accent, because that is what midgets dwarfs short inventive people do" - Seems apposite and a fair rule of thumb.
Einstein - Jewish
Adam Smith - Scottish
Karl Marx - Jewish
"scottish accent, because that is what midgets dwarfs short inventive people do" - Seems apposite and a fair rule of thumb.
Heresiarch
Prophet
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2008
- Messages
- 1,451
My main issue with the game (18 hours so far, though I play slow and often leave the game open while doing other things like lunch), is as mentioned above, way too many sidequests and too many backstory stuff in dialogues. It's like the game is forcing a whole book of background story into your throat so everyone can get acquainted to the game plot asap.
While TES and even PST do that too, by always trying to tell you how awful mudcrabs are or what is the rule-of-three, there is something not right with KoA that makes feels trying too hard on the background story.
Also, yeah, the game do feel play slow, and I definetly hope that the later locations have more awesome, less generic locations and enemies to see, because spending 20 hours in a big damn disney fortress fighting diablo-fetish-wannabes gets old.
One last thing, the game doesn't really "abandon" a location after you have finished most if not all the quests in it. For example, Gorhart is still my most visited place because the gnome alchemist there offered the best price to buy my stuff compared to everyone else. Also, as I visited one of the buildings in the mission there, I got a quest from a bookshelf to collect some porn books all over the world, including places in the far east. I think these early areas also contain secret doors and passages that you can visit only after getting a high rank in the detect hidden skill.
While TES and even PST do that too, by always trying to tell you how awful mudcrabs are or what is the rule-of-three, there is something not right with KoA that makes feels trying too hard on the background story.
Also, yeah, the game do feel play slow, and I definetly hope that the later locations have more awesome, less generic locations and enemies to see, because spending 20 hours in a big damn disney fortress fighting diablo-fetish-wannabes gets old.
One last thing, the game doesn't really "abandon" a location after you have finished most if not all the quests in it. For example, Gorhart is still my most visited place because the gnome alchemist there offered the best price to buy my stuff compared to everyone else. Also, as I visited one of the buildings in the mission there, I got a quest from a bookshelf to collect some porn books all over the world, including places in the far east. I think these early areas also contain secret doors and passages that you can visit only after getting a high rank in the detect hidden skill.
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