RPG Nerds Lend Me Your Ears!

I sure as hell can't wait for this game :D!! I've been following since I saw the first screen-shot :D!!
Sucks not being online though, I want to Play the demo :(!!!!
 
New Trailer.

[video=youtube;OIkYJtLMEjo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OIkYJtLMEjo[/video]
 
Once again I was able to beg an early copy of a game. This time I scored Kingdoms of Amalur. I’ve been playing it now for a few days and I am in love. I’m probably not supposed to talk about the game yet but I figured it would be much easier to ask for forgiveness rather than permission as the old saying goes.

I’m not incredibly far in the game and I don’t want to spoil anything but I do want to give my impressions. Yesterday on Twitter I said I thought it was better than Skyrim and I want to tell you why that is.


I’ve mentioned before that I have a problem with open world games. When given all these options I tend to get paralyzed rather than excited. for some reason Amalur is different and I think I know the reasons why:


The combat in Skyrim is miserable. If games like Bayonetta and God of War are on one end of a spectrum, games like Skyrim are so far on the other end that they have fallen off the spectrum and actually can not even see the spectrum from where they are. It seems like if you want to play a massive open world RPG you have to give up a fun,energetic combat system. The thrill of discovering a cave full of vampires in Skyrim is diminished by the knowledge that once I get in there, fighting them is just going to be a chore.


Amalur is the polar opposite. The combat system in Amalur is fast paced and incredibly deep. I’d say the way this game handles class choice is one of my favorite things about the title. There are three skill trees, might, finesse, and sorcery. As you level up you earn talent points and can invest them into any branch you like. So far pretty standard stuff. The twist is that throwing points into these trees will slowly unlock hybrid classes. For example, I started off in sorcery and chose a pretty standard wizard type class. I got a bonus to my mana pool and that sort of thing. Then I started putting points into finesse and I unlocked a couple of hybrid classes. Now I’m a spell casting rogue with magic blades! I get a bonus to blade weapons and a boost to magic damage. There are tons of these hybrid classes encompassing all the various combinations of talent points and trees. So as you play the game and shuffle your points around you can also be cycling through different class choices each with their own bonuses and special powers.


Having cool powers and a great class wouldn’t matter if the combat itself sucked though. thankfully Amalur delivers a visceral, smooth, flashy combat experience that I’d put up alongside games like Darksiders and Devil May Cry. I think that in Skyrim, story, exploration and discovery are the things that are supposed to keep you playing. Amalur has all that stuff too but it doesn’t sacrifice the game play to deliver it. This combat would feel right at home in an action game but they have combined it with solid writing and a massive open world.


The other big thing that keeps me in Amalur is the art. Skyrim is nice looking in its own way but I found the gray and brown to be incredibly boring after a while. The world felt procedurally generated to me rather than built by a designer. Obviously Amalur’s style isn’t for everyone. It has been compared to WoW and Fable which, honestly I think is fair. If that sort of style doesn’t turn your crank then Amalur isn’t for you. personally I lost interest in exploring Skyrim and Dragon Age 2 because I never saw anything that looked very interesting. A big part of the reason I play games is for “new art”. That is the thing more often than not that keeps me progressing. What will the next level or zone look like? Amalur in my opinion is absolutely beautiful. This world has been thoughtfully and artfully constructed. It is vibrant and unique in a way that makes me hungry to explore over the next hill.


In the end I just want to make sure this game doesn’t slip past your radar. I think it would be easy to look at it and think it’s a pretty standard RPG. In reality Amalur is a unique experience full of great ideas. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
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Source: Penny Arcade
 
Just replayed the demo and decided to make full use 45min game time. This is going to be epic! And right at the end of the allocated play time you unlock another Item. Come on Friday!
 
A Beginner's Guide To Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning

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Many eager RPG fanatics will be picking up Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning tonight, the new title from Big Huge Games that introduces 38 Studios’ new fantasy IP. While you’ll have to wait until later tonight to read my full review, a game this gigantic deserves some guidance. Here are a few tips to get you started on your journey through Amalur.


Installation


If you’re playing the PS3 version of Reckoning, you’ll note the forced installation at the beginning. If you opted to go with the Xbox 360 version, take my advice: Install it to your hard drive. Not only does the installation make some of Reckoning’s tiny bugs less frequent, but more importantly it decreases the load times. When you’re wandering around out in the open, loading isn’t a big issue, but once you start fast traveling everywhere or trying to explore all of the buildings in a city, you’ll be hitting loading screens all the time. The install makes a difference and is worth it in the long run.


Taking out the trash


Reckoning’s menu and inventory system isn’t particularly new or groundbreaking, but it is fairly elegant once you get used to it. Every time you loot a treasure chest or a fallen enemy, you can scroll through the list and quickly compare any armor pieces or weapons to what you currently have equipped. If it’s not an upgrade, a simple button press will send the piece to your trash list. The next time you’re at a vendor, you can auto-sell all of your trash with a single button press instead of needing to sell each item individually. You’ll be picking up a lot of non-upgrades throughout the game, so making a good habit of using the trash feature early on will save you time and annoyance.


Window shopping


Every time you enter a new town, be sure to check in with every vendor in the area and do a thorough look through their goods. In addition to crafting recipes, specific vendors throughout the world of Amalur sell backpacks that will permanently upgrade your inventory space, which becomes increasingly important and helpful as the dungeons get bigger. While you’re at it, don’t be afraid of buying armor or weapon upgrades. The deeper into Reckoning you get, the more you’ll find that money is not at all a concern thanks to huge quest rewards and piles upon piles of loot to sell.


Searching for secrets


In addition to traditional skill points, you’ll be able to power up one of your non-combat skills with every level – stuff such as lockpicking, blacksmithing, and enchanting. All of these are helpful and by the end you should have a fairly well-rounded mix, but I recommend focusing on pumping points into the Detect Hidden skill early on. This priceless ability allows you to find hidden treasure caches around the world and even passively increases the amount of gold and loot you find at all times. It also eventually lets you detect traps and the Lorestones hidden in each zone.

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Playing your role


Like an Elder Scrolls game, the quests in Reckoning generally break out into three categories: the main story quest, a handful of faction quest lines, and a seemingly endless number of smaller stand-alone sidequests. Also similar to Elder Scrolls, the factions – such as the melodic House of Ballads or the roguish Travelers – provide some of the most interesting quests and plot twists in the game. More importantly, completing them unlocks huge, permanent stat bonuses called Twists of Fate. I highly recommend focusing in on finishing up each faction line as you uncover them.


As for the tons of sidequests, play as many as you want, but feel free to save them. You’ll be able to jump back in and finish them up when you complete the game, and you don’t want to burn yourself out trying to check off everything before you hit the ending.


Mix and match


Reckoning puts players in control of a hero who can change his fate in a world where everyone else is bound to it. That freedom extends to the gameplay. In other RPGs it’s usually in your best interest to focus on a specific path of character development and drill down to the best, high-level skills. Not so with Reckoning. While it’s totally feasible to spend all of your skill points on warrior, mage, or rogue/archer skills specifically, you’ll find just as much fun mixing and matching to figure out what you like. I spent most of my game with two-thirds skills in the warrior tree and one-third in magic talents, but that balance changed greatly throughout the 60-plus hours I spent playing. That’s because you can reset your skill points at any time by visiting a Fateweaver and paying a small amount. The game wants you to try out every combination possible, and all of them are fun in their own way, so give it a shot.


Don’t be afraid to sneak


I can’t speak for everyone, but I will generally go far out of my away to avoid the stealth mechanics in most action-RPGs that offer them. They’re usually flimsy and frustrating. Because of this tendency, I didn’t discover until way too late into the game that the stealth in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is actually pretty enjoyable, especially once you sink a few skill points into it. Add on the bonus of satisfying instant-kill animations, and this is definitely a part of the game worth experiencing.


Maximizing the experience


Early on in the story you'll be introduced to a combat mechanic known as fateshifting. You may be tempted to save up this powerful slow-motion ability and only use it in boss encounters, but fight that urge. Your fateshift meter fills up relatively quickly and allows you to receive huge XP bonuses when used correctly. I recommend taking advantage of fateshift any time you run into a relatively large group of enemies and have it available. Use it wisely, and you'll be gaining levels faster than you can shout "Ding!"


These tips should be enough to get you started, but there's plenty of amazing secrets waiting to be discovered in the mystical realms of Amalur. Share your tips and thoughts about the game in the comments.
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Source: GameInformer
 
Thanks, will download the Gametrailers review and check it out when I get home. For now I'll read the GameInformer one.
 
I soooo want this game but I don't think I'm going to be gettin this for a while... Unless I can get some extra money from somewhere.. I'll just HAVE to find a way..:D
 
The Escapist gave Kingdom's 4 out of 5 stars. - http://www.escapistmagazine.com/art...iews/9393-Kingdoms-of-Amalur-Reckoning-Review

Its also one of the only reviews I've read who mention that this is a brand new ip from a brand new developer and a great game. Considering how desperate some are for some new flavor in games i think everyone with even a passing interest in Action RPGs should pick this up. Also the Darkness 2 only scored 7.5 so there isn't really anything else to play till Mass Effect 3 rocks up.
 
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