Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Demo Impressions

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Written by BuckGB on January 24th, 2012

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Combat is a subtle timing-based affair, using X and Y for primary and secondary respectively. Tap X for your opening blow, tap twice early in the first swing for a easy three hit combo, tap later for other attacks or tap at the very end of a swing for a pop up attack into a juggle. Melee and ranged combat feel good, with some weight in swords, even more using hammers, speed and malice show with the daggers, wiz and bang with staffs and staves, and at range some fun magic spells, and venting minions with bow and arrows. Nothing really gets in the way here; if you use magic and outfit for it mana doesn't seem like much of an issue. There is no endurance meter for weapon combat, and even arrows auto-magically regrow after a very short cool down. Doing cool things in combat as well as just killing enemies fills a meter that allows you to go into ULTRA SUPER BLUE MURDER TIME, also known as (Fate Shifting) which also gives you the option to land a fate shift finisher on baddies, very cool and flashy.

After a brief cut-scene, the game kicks off with a standard RPG character customization screen where players are allowed to adjust details such as facial structure, hair and eye color, skin color, etc. During the combat tutorial, you'll be exploring the basic traits of each available class in the game. The best part is that you can combine combat styles any way you like. You can wield a bow as a primary weapon and a magic staff as a secondary weapon or you may swing two daggers as primary weapons while using a bow as a secondary weapon. This allows for diverse combinations when fighting enemies. Once the tutorial is complete, gamers have the option to explore the world of Amalur for approximately 45 minutes - the timer stops every time you trade or chat with NPCs.

After you clear the initial dungeon, you exit into a gorgeous and spacious forest area, which you can spend time exploring. The quest itself takes you to a certain NPC that calls himself a fateweaver, and he explains much to you about how to determine your destines through his drunken haze (which are referred to as classes in most other RPGs). After that encounter the demo announces that you have 45 minutes to explore the area and do what you will. Unlike more linear RPGs, there are huge areas to explore. Sure, you could go from quest marker to quest marker, but what's the fun in that?

The Fate system in Reckoning makes for some very cool character building. You aren't stuck as one archtype or advanced class throughout the game. You can mix and match and switch at any time you want. Mages who want more protection can opt for the Might/Sorcery combo and can at one point become a Champion class, master of strength and intellect. Sneaky people who enjoy the look of heavy armor could get into the Might/Finesse class category for some noisy armor subtlety.

After you're done trying to make a more dashing replica of yourself with the character customization tools, your journey begins. You wake up amongst a group of rotting corpses and commandeer a rusty sword from a nearby skeleton. The beginning sequences mostly serve as a tutorial for the game's combat system, teaching you how to attack, block, evade, etc. You'll come across an inviting little Gnome named Encel after saving him from two Tuatha guards. He was one of the Gnomes dumping you into the corpse pit, so you have him to thank for having to wake up next to that. Encel informs you of what you already know: you were dead just a few minutes ago, and suddenly you're now standing in front of him. He then tells you to locate Professor Hughes who will examine your (coming back from the dead) situation further. You must then fight your way to his laboratory, slicing through Tuatha soldiers as well as giant spiders. In Hughes' laboratory, you learn that you are the first success of (the Well) experiment a project initiative to recreate the dead. The Tuatha have apparently learned of it and wish to shut it down, which is why they are storming the tower when you first come to. After defeating one very aggressive rock troll, you eventually escape the tower to a lush glade area where you are prompted to talk to Agarth, a '˜Fateweaver' who Hughes believed would be of help.

Combat: Within my first fifteen minutes of actual gameplay I was already disappointed with the way combat was going. It wasn't due to a lack of fun, moreso, it was that I was unprepared for the sort of experience that Amalur was trying to deliver. Being able to swap between casting, melee, and ranged is something the Fable series has made us all fairly used to, but the finesse that Amalur brings to the table is fairly impressive. It made me really regret selecting a melee race, as I found out that using an archery/caster combo was rather neat. After that, my initial disappoint was dissipated.

'¢ Equipment (wears) and must be repaired or replaced
'¢ Different mechanics are of differing importance to different approaches. (i.e; Melee players will find (blocking) to be a hugely important mechanic to master, whilst ranged characters need to learn how foes move and target priority early on, and magic users must understand elemental effects)
'¢ Carry capacity is limited, but can be expanded by buying more (packs)

I completed as many quests as I could in the time allotted and leveled up a few times. Leveling up is a mostly standard RPG affair as you have 3 overall trees to choose from with focus on magic, might, and finesse. In addition, you have fate cards you can choose that boost a particular area. These cards are switchable as you level up and the skills are as well. Since your character lives in the world where he is the only character that's fate isn't written in stone it makes sense you can experiment with play styles, or mix and match to make your own unique class. I haven't made it far enough in the game in my 45 minutes to see switching skills but I have tried out each tree and all of them are fun, balanced, and unique.

Big Huge Games has put a lot of time into their universe and it shows. This is another reason I believe this game deserves your attention. Back story and lore is there for those who want to delve deeper. Books, notes, and monuments that cue audio clips fill in the gaps of what is already an interesting fantasy world. The art style serves to augment one's desire to explore this world. In what can best be described as (Blizzard-esque,) the art direction of the game makes for some truly beautiful environments to explore.

Combat is straight forward, with magical abilities, skills, some outstanding finishing moves at your disposal. You may find yourself overwhelmed by the number of enemies, and if they back you into a corner, you need to get out quick. Keep those potions handy, and use your skills to their fullest advantage. The classes are a bit nebulous, early on while a NPC is trying to foretell your future, you learn that you have no destiny but that which you create for yourself. This is a fancy way of telling you that you can unlock skills with points earned through experience that allow you to focus on multiple styles of gameplay. If you want to hack and slash, buy those abilities, but if you choose hurling spells or picking locks is your thing, work on that.

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