Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

By Reardon Jones

Films and books such as The Lord of the Rings and Eragon have always left me feeling the desire to do battle in these magical worlds. To one day pick up a sword and take up the quest to save the world.

Obviously that would cause some chaos amongst the local police and let's face it swords are hard to come by. So luckily in todays age we can take up the controller and partake in the quest from our own living room.

Having recently tried my hand at Skyrim, the idea of a massive open world with in depth interweaving storylines and vibrant characters has set a benchmark in RPG gaming. 

So having been blown away with Skyrim I whacked on Amalur: Reckoning, sat back and thought what could a gaming development team do to match the greatness that was Skyrim? 

38 Studios and Big Huge Games have answered that.

First step in achieving a great storyline: Get a 22 time New York Times best selling Author in R.A Salvatore to write your story. A story of a world, Amalur, under the oppression of a tyrannical group that believes might is right.

Gamers take charge of a warrior, resurrected from the grips of death and ultimately becomes the predestined “anomaly” in Fate.

The game kicks off at the Well of Souls, a device that gives life to the player at the very beginning of the game and from here the gamer has a clean slate to fulfill destiny.

And a clean slate is exactly that, you as the player are able to create your hero or heroine. Choosing a race and ability to suit your gaming styles (Much like Skyrim).

Reckonings revolutionary new Destiny System unlocks powerful new Destinies based on how you choose to play out the game. Constant character evolution helps you shape and alter the way you play the game, keeping it fresh and entertaining.

Ok, so being the “One” and harnessing "fate" as a weapon has its advantages and disadvantages. The story is so intricately woven that you’re friends and enemies are often blurred and indistinctive.

You can make good decisions or selfish decisions, be a true blue hero or achieve your goals via fear.

The one thing Amular has over Skyrim is that the combat mechanics are better. A dynamic gaming system combines magic and melee combat flawlessly to create intense battle scenes.

A vast array of weapons and magic are at your disposal for some smooth looking fight scenes. A combination of dodging and combo moves will build up Fate power. This allows for some impressive "Fateshift" finishing moves.

Like most RPG games, a large variety of side quests are available. Encountering different enemies is sometimes challenging. While there are plenty of bad guys roaming about, they are very territorial. The story doesn’t allow you come up against the bigger villains until you have enough power to take them on, when you do however it’s pretty full on.

The side quests are what makes this game so incredible for so long. This game has a ridiculous shelf life, with hours upon hours of game time (estimated 60+ Hours) in the campaign alone, less hardcore gamers will still spend countless hours in front of the flat screen.

Reckoning was meticulously built from the floor up by the artiscally gifted Todd McFarlane (Creator of Spawn) and Ken Rolston (RPG Guru of Obvlivion and Morrowind). Immersive environments, cities and characters combine to make a breathtaking, beautiful game. The scenery, while occasionally inconsistent, is stunning. The forrest's and swamps look like they have come straight out of a scene from Avatar.

Amular: Reckoning looks and feels like a fantasy worth escaping into.

Combine that with a soundtrack fitting of a heroic journey and Amular is going to be one of the best games of 2012. Hours of gameplay, characters that leap off the screen and make you feel like you are changing the fate of their world. 

What more can you ask for in a game with a story as rich as this one?

Game: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
System: Sony Playstation 3 ; XBox 360 ; PC
Developer/Co-Developer: 38 Studios & Big Huge Games
Publisher: 38 Studios & EA Games

Rating: 90%

(Ratings Key/Explanation)