LogFAQs > #947407818

29. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Genre MMO-style ARPG

Gameplay: 3
Rest of Game: 7
Engagement: 7
New to Me: 5
Playtime: 5

Total score: 27/40

Song selection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-Uqmy02XJ8

KoA is simultaneously a brilliant work of art and a repetitive piece of trash. Given that I gave it 27/40, obviously Im erring more toward the former, but it definitely reminds me of my time playing Sacred II, an enormous open-world adventure full of mostly empty spaces and filler. KoA isnt nearly as bad as that, but its definitely a grind for the completionists of the world.

In Amalur, you play as a human (or similar race) who has died and then had your soul returned to your body. The other races are in a perpetual conflict with the drow, who are gradually winning because when a dark elf dies, it eventually revives. A gnome inventor was trying to invent a contraption that would replicate this for the other side, and managed to get it to work once before the drow came and smashed it to pieces. As a result, not only do you have the ability to rewrite the inevitability in the fates, but you can die and come back as often as necessary. Theres also room to define your character on a very open-ended basis with Diablo-like skill trees that can be completely reset if you decide youre done being a warrior and would like to try magic instead.

But the biggest draw is the size and scope of the world. Theres so much to do, so many places to explore, so many monsters to kill. This ends up being KoAs greatest strength and its largest weakness. In trying to move from map cell to map cell, clearing everything, finishing the quests in each section, and fully uncovering all of its secrets, youll be crawling along at a snails pace. I played for 28 hours and I finished one of the main map areas. There were at least three more regions like it.

And combat gets a bit repetitive after a while. Although you do unlock new skills in the talent tree, by the time youre level 20, youve probably got all of them and are just working on maxing out the bonuses. Thus, combat tends to turn into a cycle of A-A-A-B, A-A-A-dodge!, A-A-A-B. Sure, maybe that means I should reset my skills and try playing as a rogue for a while, but I didnt have the impression that I would necessarily find the game all that different just because I was now shooting a bow.

The game scenario was written by R. A. Salvatore, designed by Todd McFarlane, composed for by Grant Kirkhope, and financed by baseball player Curt Schilling. I used to think it was cool Schilling started a video game company until I realized he was a political asshat. Leaving that aside, KoA was intended to be part one of a series; alas, 38 Studios filed for bankruptcy long before they could do much more than release the game. Recently, EA remastered it, which changed astoundingly little, but I was playing the original.

Was Ellen right?: Fun game if youre fine with mindless button mashing to pound enemies into the ground for dozens of hours. Dont expect it to be all that intellectually stimulating after the first few segments, though.

Next: A vertical platformer?

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Video Game Music Contest 14 champion: Idola Phantasy Star Saga - Endeavour