Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning

Damn fine post.

There was also a good post on the official forums that explained a bit of the top Jack of all Trades destiny:

Q: Hello, I'm planning to play as Jack of All Trades and my concern is the last tier destiny - The Universalist. I'd like to know what exactly Mastery of Arms do. Does it mean that all weapon masteries are 6/6 and weapons special moves? Or something different... I'm really curious. – By Gabbek

A: The Mastery of Arms bonus maxes out the Brutal Weaponry, Precise Weaponry, and Arcane Weaponry abilities, which effectively unlocks all special attacks with all weapon classes. It has no effect on any other player abilities. So, the only way in the game to have access to every weapon special is via this destiny, which is what makes it so cool. No other character build can freely switch between any weapon they find and be able to utilize it to its fullest capabilities. When coupled with the Jack of All Trades' equip requirement reduction, the only characters that can effectively use literally any piece of loot in Reckoning are The Universalists. – By Justin "perezidente" Perez, Systems Designer

Did my 45 min tonight. Fun.

Not day 1 because of the pile, but probably a pickup sooner rather than later.

The final ME3 unlock didn't specify what it was. Am I crazy or have they not announced it?

Aaaand, I've preordered it. Single player, mechanics-focused, action oriented just feels right up my alley.

The GT video sold me. I was already going to get it, but I'm really excited now. I could see the combat was deep, but some of the stuff in that preview looks totally badass.

As much as my initial reaction was that it's a vanilla RPG, I realized yesterday that I've played through the entire demo on all three platforms. When I started to fire it up again last night, I decided that it probably will be an early purchase for me after all.

Stele wrote:

The final ME3 unlock didn't specify what it was. Am I crazy or have they not announced it?

I thought the final unlock was the chakram gun.

Ah, this game was totally off my radar. But now that I stumbled on this thread... and watched the GT preview, I'm a bit enabled.

I know how much the first week or month of sales means to a new studio like this, but even with the GT preview, his forum post and me liking most of the demo, I just can't bring myself to add it to the pile at full price. Because with ME3 coming out a month after KoA:R, there's no way I will dive into another RPG with the potential to last me 100+ hours.

Two more things that bugged me and that I only just remembered today: I wish they would let me scroll the camera further away from the character and the game didn't recognize my middle mouse button (default for weapon switch) and when I mapped it to the thumb buttons of my 1 week old mouse, it would only switch weapons after 5+ clicks of that button.

Edit: on that note, how did it demo on the PS3? If I do eventually pick it up, might as well be something for the couch.

Luggage wrote:

I know how much the first week or month of sales means to a new studio like this, but even with the GT preview, his forum post and me liking most of the demo, I just can't bring myself to add it to the pile at full price. Because with ME3 coming out a month after KoA:R, there's no way I will dive into another RPG with the potential to last me 100+ hours.

Two more things that bugged me and that I only just remembered today: I wish they would let me scroll the camera further away from the character and the game didn't recognize my middle mouse button (default for weapon switch) and when I mapped it to the thumb buttons of my 1 week old mouse, it would only switch weapons after 5+ clicks of that button.

Edit: on that note, how did it demo on the PS3? If I do eventually pick it up, might as well be something for the couch.

You're not supposed to click the button, you're supposed to scroll the wheel to change between the weapons (unless when you say click you mean the "click" between the wheel positions though i don't think i'd describe it in such a way).

I played the demo a bit today and i didn't really see anything particularly special about the game though it looked pretty solid. It felt like Fable 3 but with less farting (and by that i mean a successor to Fable 2 as Fable 2 was to Fable 1 - Fable 3 was more like Fable 2.3). The combat was okay - nothing interesting as far as i got into it - the levelling system seemed to be fairly standard though i haven't gotten to any of those cross classes that people are talking about. I'll probably buy it on console as i wasn't really feeling the controls that much on PC.

I have the feeling this has the potential to be a sneaker hit this year, but a lot will pass on it at release.

Something I'm bouncing around in my head is what I would need to know to either make me want to buy it now, or to drop it entirely. Right now I think I could sum my feelings up as 'non-committal', the demo brought it's profile up a lot and they've probably won a lot of sales from that alone, but it just doesn't press all the buttons and I don't know what buttons it missed out on.

Scratched wrote:

I have the feeling this has the potential to be a sneaker hit this year, but a lot will pass on it at release.

Something I'm bouncing around in my head is what I would need to know to either make me want to buy it now, or to drop it entirely. Right now I think I could sum my feelings up as 'non-committal', the demo brought it's profile up a lot and they've probably won a lot of sales from that alone, but it just doesn't press all the buttons and I don't know what buttons it missed out on.

I'll definitely be getting it at some point - maybe at launch if i'm in the mood for another RPG. I think value for money-wise this thing has it all and, as i pointed out, it seems like a solid, dependable game.

It's a good question though. I'm not sure what it is about the game's essence that it lacks. Personally, on PC, the combat felt a bit like it was going to end up being a dodge-fest and after just playing 200+ hours of Skyrim with sword and board and not even picking up Fable 3 because I was *done* with enough of that in Fable 2 I'm not seeing anything new or exciting to pull me in, in this respect. I'm planning on heading back tonight to play some more and see what else the game has to offer.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet: Kingdoms of Amalur hides seven quests behind online pass

Here is the dev's PR spin in response to it: 38 Studios explains Kingdoms of Amalur online pass

"The House of Valor content is, for all intents and purposes, our first DLC content," said community manager Muse. "Instead of holding onto it for a month or more and charging everyone for it later, we opted to give it to those who purchase the game new for free."

I wonder how this applies to the PC version. Will PC players automatically get these 7 quests as free DLC on day 1, or will they be included in the "vanilla" game?

EA had the same thing a year ago with the single player Dragon Age 2. I'm looking at the flyer right now "Activate your Dragon Age II online pass." It unlocked a shop, a dog, and the ability to change your appearance. If you disagreed with it then, you probably disagree with it now, and vice versa.

Aristophan wrote:

EA had the same thing a year ago with the single player Dragon Age 2. I'm looking at the flyer right now "Activate your Dragon Age II online pass." It unlocked a shop, a dog, and the ability to change your appearance. If you disagreed with it then, you probably disagree with it now, and vice versa.

Pretty much this. IIRC, ME2 did this as well. Or at least, i think there was a code there somewhere in the box.

Duoae wrote:
Aristophan wrote:

EA had the same thing a year ago with the single player Dragon Age 2. I'm looking at the flyer right now "Activate your Dragon Age II online pass." It unlocked a shop, a dog, and the ability to change your appearance. If you disagreed with it then, you probably disagree with it now, and vice versa.

Pretty much this. IIRC, ME2 did this as well. Or at least, i think there was a code there somewhere in the box.

And Saints Row, Uncharted, Gears 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Rage, BF3. I could go on, but yeah. This is what happens now.

OK, way behind, but I couldn't rebind movement keys on PC, and the controller doesn't seem to work in the start when you're in the dark and it says hit "A" to pick up stuff and pull a lever.

Deleted. I'll check back when it's dirt cheap. I know they've apologized for the buggy demo, but that's ridiculous.

I was actually kind of interested in a big RPG with nice combat mechanics.

Blind_Evil wrote:

And Saints Row, Uncharted, Gears 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Rage, BF3. I could go on, but yeah. This is what happens now.

I'm not a console gamer, hence my lack of knowledge for this. That said, some of the games you listed have a multiplayer component, so an online pass is easier to swallow. Aristophan verified that for DA2, a fully single-player game, the online pass only comprised a shop (in-game I assume), a dog, and the ability to change your appearance. With KoA: Reckoning, they're taking out actualy gameplay content - a whole quest line - that could be an hour's worth of gameplay as far as we know.

Tieing cosmetic stuff to an online pass for a fully single-player game is bad enough, but taking out a chunk of actual gameplay seems very shady. I'm curious, did the online pass on those other single-player-only games you mentioned also unlock quests/missions taken out of the original game?

Blind_Evil wrote:
Duoae wrote:
Aristophan wrote:

EA had the same thing a year ago with the single player Dragon Age 2. I'm looking at the flyer right now "Activate your Dragon Age II online pass." It unlocked a shop, a dog, and the ability to change your appearance. If you disagreed with it then, you probably disagree with it now, and vice versa.

Pretty much this. IIRC, ME2 did this as well. Or at least, i think there was a code there somewhere in the box.

And Saints Row, Uncharted, Gears 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Rage, BF3. I could go on, but yeah. This is what happens now.

Batman Arkham City was the latest big controversial one on SP content. I think you don't get the Catwoman content if you don't have the pass.

MeatMan wrote:

I'm curious, did the online pass on those other single-player-only games you mentioned also unlock quests/missions taken out of the original game?

That's going to be unclear, unless you know what the plan for the 'whole' game was in the first place. Essentially the whole game is what they say it is, furthermore, pretty much every game has content cut from it, and it's not a new thing to pick up cut content after release and sell it as an expansion.

Mass Effect2 is another one where there's a online pass mission. Dragon Age Origins had Shale as it's online pass, and Warden's keep as day one DLC included with the deluxe edition, DA2 had Sebastian bundled if you pre-ordered two months in advance, or to buy day one. But, I'd argue all those games work well enough without that content, it's not stripping away something vital.

Different companies are going to take different approaches, but it's not something that's going away.

I personally don't mind them protecting new sales with "passes". My beef is the preorder by X date or don't get a bunch of good content unless you pay us $15 more money. (BF3, ME2, DA2)

MannishBoy wrote:

My beef is the preorder by X date or don't get a bunch of good content unless you pay us $15 more money. (BF3, ME2, DA2)

Ditto, that's slimy in my book. What makes it worse is when they don't publicise the price of the content they're bundling, so it turns into a fairly significant gamble if you want to wait and see. And in the case of multiplayer games it separates out the playerbase.

I think there are big issues there between companies wanting to make money, versus what's best from a gamer's point of view, and not just "I want stuff for free".

Scratched wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:

My beef is the preorder by X date or don't get a bunch of good content unless you pay us $15 more money. (BF3, ME2, DA2)

Ditto, that's slimy in my book. What makes it worse is when they don't publicise the price of the content they're bundling, so it turns into a fairly significant gamble if you want to wait and see. And in the case of multiplayer games it separates out the playerbase.

I think there are big issues there between companies wanting to make money, versus what's best from a gamer's point of view, and not just "I want stuff for free".

Tritto. I almost always buy new, but not always day one. I hate the pre-order bonuses as well.

Duoae wrote:

(and by that i mean a successor to Fable 2 as Fable 2 was to Fable 1 - Fable 3 was more like Fable 2.3). .

Uh, you are wrong! Fable 1 is Fable 3 while Fable 3 is Fable 1.

ZaneRockfist wrote:
Duoae wrote:

(and by that i mean a successor to Fable 2 as Fable 2 was to Fable 1 - Fable 3 was more like Fable 2.3). .

Uh, you are wrong! Fable 1 is Fable 3 while Fable 3 is Fable 1.

Haha! This made me laugh

Duoae wrote:

Haha! This made me laugh :D

Heh, yeah, I have always felt as though the Fable series is regressing with each iteration and that Fable 1 is the most advanced of the three.

Scratched wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:

My beef is the preorder by X date or don't get a bunch of good content unless you pay us $15 more money. (BF3, ME2, DA2)

Ditto, that's slimy in my book. What makes it worse is when they don't publicise the price of the content they're bundling, so it turns into a fairly significant gamble if you want to wait and see. And in the case of multiplayer games it separates out the playerbase.

I think there are big issues there between companies wanting to make money, versus what's best from a gamer's point of view, and not just "I want stuff for free".

I agree entirely with this. It is one of the major things that has made me hold back on buying BF3. $15 for some pathetically small DLC that should be free and was free originally? And now they are doing the same thing with this game. Why are they trying to alienate their customers so much?

ZaneRockfist wrote:

$15 for some pathetically small DLC that should be free and was free originally?

As these things go, that's a pretty good set of maps for $15. It's about half the original set of maps, and IMO, some of the best maps in the game.

I don't mind little minor preorder bonuses like an extra Batman skin, or a single gun that's not really better or worse than some others in the game. It's annoying, but I don't really get upset. It's the big stuff that gets me, and makes me less likely to buy. Your BF3 is my DA2. Still haven't picked that up, even when it was about $12 on Amazon.

MannishBoy wrote:

OK, way behind, but I couldn't rebind movement keys on PC, and the controller doesn't seem to work in the start when you're in the dark and it says hit "A" to pick up stuff and pull a lever.

Deleted. I'll check back when it's dirt cheap. I know they've apologized for the buggy demo, but that's ridiculous.

I was actually kind of interested in a big RPG with nice combat mechanics.

That's weird as it worked perfectly fine for me. The PC demo was actually a hell of a lot less buggy to me than the PS3 demo. I was getting all sorts of weird graphical glitches on the PS3.

garion333 wrote:

That's weird as it worked perfectly fine for me. The PC demo was actually a hell of a lot less buggy to me than the PS3 demo. I was getting all sorts of weird graphical glitches on the PS3.

It showed the green "A" icon, but it wouldn't do anything to pick up a couple of items or it wouldn't pull the lever.

garion333 wrote:

That's weird as it worked perfectly fine for me. The PC demo was actually a hell of a lot less buggy to me than the PS3 demo. I was getting all sorts of weird graphical glitches on the PS3.

I saw quite a few glitches on the Xbox version as well, particularly after killing certain enemies (Boggert, I think?). They left giant triangular shapes on the ground which would only disappear when I walked on them.