Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Interview

The editors at Joystiq have returned from Comic-Con with an article-style interview with 38 Studios' Curt Schilling, R.A. Salvatore, and Mark Nelson, which you might have guessed deals entirely with Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. I don't mind the God of War talk when the guy heading up the entire studio is a fan of old school RPGs:
Schilling is as sincere as game executives come, and when he says he's tired of games that don't have the punch to back up their high profile creators, you believe him. "It doesn't matter how awesome and deep and rich our story is or how cool our animations and art are," he admits. "If it doesn't translate into kick-ass gameplay, it's irrelevant. We've all played those games."

Of course, suggesting that Reckoning will provide "God of War-level combat" combined with a polished RPG experience, as the panel did, seems like 38 Studios is crossing the border of hyperbole. "I don't know another way to explain it without treading on that slippery slope," says Schilling. "I don't know a way to tell you, 'Hey we're taking God of War and marrying it with Oblivion.'"

But he does want to say that 38 plans to put something great in the game for both RPG players and action fans. "Curse of the Azure Bonds, which is an SSI Gold Box game, old D&D game. I can remember that storyline like it was yesterday, playing through that. RPG players, that's what we want." Action gamers love pressing buttons for big hack and slash moves that leave them almost hyperventilating with intensity. And Schilling wants to see both thrills in Reckoning: "I've never played a game that had both of those. And that's the game I'm playing, that I see. I see these incredibly deep quests, this incredible combat, and I'm having fun doing both."