I usually pay attention to new games coming out. In the weeks before this game came out, I read about it, and watched some videos. It didn't really seem like something I would want to play. When the demo came out, I played it but still wasn't very impressed. But after all the positive reviews and praise Reckoning received when it debuted, I decided to buy it. After all, I needed an epic adventure for my brand new gaming laptop.
The game is like many other fantasy RPGs. You are this messianic character who has defied death, and is destined to save the world. Not exactly original I know, but that's forgivable. You are able to choose from a few different races, each with slightly different stats, but not different enough to make any huge difference. After the introduction, where you learn the basics of combat and learn a little about the story, you are unleashed into the world. The world of Amalur is bright, colorful, and beautiful. After gaining a few levels, you kind of get a feel of what type of class you want to play. You can basically be a big weapon wielding warrior, a stealthy rogue with daggers and bows, a magic blasting mage, or a combination of each. Every level gained gives you points to spend in your talent trees. If you want to change your talents to try something new, all you need to do is see a Fateweaver, and they will reset your talents for a small fee.
One you start exploring different towns and areas, you will immediately be bombarded with quests. Lots of quests. The main story quest is about 25 hours, but you could potentially spend 100 or more hours doing the rest of the side quests. I initially decided to do every side and faction quest in an area before I moved on. After completing several dozen of these quests, I lost interest and focused on the main story. None of the side quests are particularly interesting. I eventually learned that the main story is not particularly interesting either. Each quest is more of the same: go here, kill this, explore this dungeon, talk to this person, etc. I even downloaded the first expansion, The Legend of Dead Kel, and it was just more of the same quests. Questing is very fast paced. There is no need to read the instructions for each quest, because the game will tell you exactly where to go, and when you get there, there will be an arrow pointing to what you need to do. There is really no feeling of exploration that you get from games like Skyrim.
The best part about Amalur is the combat. No matter what type of class you turn your character into, the combat will be fast paced and fun. After the first few hours of the game, I began to see why this game received such high praise. I decided to first play as a mage type class. After several levels I unlocked many abilities that made me unstoppable. But the problem with becoming too powerful is that the game becomes less challenging. I was relying less on health potions, and didn't require much strategy in a fight. I could run into a group of monsters, do my area of effect lightning attack, and most monsters would be dead instantly. So the combat grew stale as my character became more powerful. You also have an ability call fate. Its a meter that builds up as you fight. Eventually the meter will get full, and you can activate this mode where your attacks become much more powerful, and enemy movement is slowed. It can lead to some cool death animation scenes. But the fate meter also creates a problem of making the game too easy. For example, you can save your full fate meter for a boss fight. When the fight starts, activate your fate ability, attack the boss, and it will be dead in seconds. Not very fun.
The game also gives the illusion choice and consequence. During conversations will NPCs, it will often give you a few different ways to respond, much like Mass Effect's chat wheel. But in Reckoning, no matter what choice you make in the conversation, the outcome will usually be the same. You can also kill people and steal items. When you do so, the town guards will try to arrest you. You can either go to jail, pay a fine, or run. If you choose to run away, never fear, because you can just come back later and the guards will have forgotten all about your crime. Unlike Skyrim, where the guards remember you, and will even send bounty hunters after you.
The voice acting is pretty good, the sound effects get the job done, but the game's soundtrack isn't really all that moving. The graphics are pretty good, though the characters are kind of cartoony. Many people compare the graphics to WoW. WoW's graphics, though dated, have a certain charm to them. These graphics have no charm. The camera will also drive you nuts. This is a game designed for consoles, so I wouldn't recommend playing this with a mouse and keyboard. An Xbox PC gamepad is ideal.
So I labeled this review "From Meh to Yeah! to Meh." I wasn't very excited about this game at first. I decided to give it a chance, and for the first 20 or so hours it was pretty good. In fact it was great! After about 20 hours, my character got too powerful, quests were boring, and the story was not getting any more interesting. It felt like an obligation to finish the game. I paid $50 for this game, and at that price I wouldn't recommend it. But I see Amazon is now selling the PC version at about $28, and at that price it's worth checking out.
