Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning

I bought into the hype and pre-ordered through Steam as that version is Steamworks and comes with TF2 hattes.

Blind_Evil wrote:

I haven't been following the development of Torchlight 2, but my expectation after playing about half of the original leads me to believe Reckoning brings a lot more in terms of variety, quantity and scale to the table.

In a way, KoA falls between TL2 and Skyrim on the RPG spectrum -- pure hack and slash action RPG on one end and epic role-playing on the other. I guess what I was trying to express above is that, from the demo, KoA feels like it falls closer to TL2 than to Skyrim. I do see your point, though: KoA will have more narrative, presumably more quest types, and more things to do outside of killing everything that moves (crafting and alchemy, for example) than TL2. At the same time, KoA is nowhere as "deep" in terms of role-playing as Skyrim and, as I already said, won't have the same kind of living world to explore. Also, the focus of KoA seems to be the combat -- the action -- which made me think of TL2 in the first place.

So I guess my question is: Will the narrative, scale, and variety of KoA make it worth three times more than a Torchlight? Going by the demo alone, I'd have to say no. On the other hand, TL1 got repetitive and boring rather quickly for me and who knows if TL2 won't be more of the same.

Anyone know if your save game carries over from the demo, or will you have to start fresh with the full game?

LobsterMobster wrote:

Anyone know if your save game carries over from the demo, or will you have to start fresh with the full game?

At least the PC demo has no save function, so nothing to carry over there. Not sure about consoles.

I've already preordered the game but, having played the demo, I'm concerned about one thing. The running. There's far too much running around in this game.

I already spend a lot of time trying to distract myself from my daily commute. I don't want to have to commute in-game as well.

LobsterMobster wrote:

Anyone know if your save game carries over from the demo, or will you have to start fresh with the full game?

According to the game's FAQ, you have to start fresh with the full game, sadly. :/

Ok, this is admittedly really shallow, but I gave the demo a second run-through and played as a female and refused to wear any armor. Quite entertaining/humorous.

LarryC wrote:

I've already preordered the game but, having played the demo, I'm concerned about one thing. The running. There's far too much running around in this game.

I already spend a lot of time trying to distract myself from my daily commute. I don't want to have to commute in-game as well.

Eh, fast travel is an option once you find a place. Does that not help? <,<

Semi-related, there's an option to switch the run button from "hold down to run" to "press once to run", like you would in a FPS or something. Pretty helpful.

Blind_Evil wrote:
LarryC wrote:

I've already preordered the game but, having played the demo, I'm concerned about one thing. The running. There's far too much running around in this game.

I already spend a lot of time trying to distract myself from my daily commute. I don't want to have to commute in-game as well.

Eh, fast travel is an option once you find a place. Does that not help? <,<

Semi-related, there's an option to switch the run button from "hold down to run" to "press once to run", like you would in a FPS or something. Pretty helpful.

Yeah, one of the first things I did was change it from "Hold A" to "Click left thumbstick."

garion333 wrote:

youtube vid

I saw that earlier. I think it's just the phrasing used in her script, but it really sounds like Claudia Black is just bored reading from a first draft marketing release.

Scratched wrote:
garion333 wrote:

youtube vid

I saw that earlier. I think it's just the phrasing used in her script, but it really sounds like Claudia Black is just bored reading from a first draft marketing release.

"Exciting ... *yawn* ... sidequests."

I simply liked how it showed a bunch of locations. The hyperbole was whatever.

Gave the demo a shot. Going in I expected a lot of WoW-ish questing and action, but to me it feels more like Fable (well, Fable I anyway, I didn't play any of the sequels). I will probably play it at a discount, but I don't think I can justify a full $60 purchase here... especially when I haven't even cracked the lid on Arkham Asylum yet.

garion333 wrote:
Scratched wrote:
garion333 wrote:

youtube vid

I saw that earlier. I think it's just the phrasing used in her script, but it really sounds like Claudia Black is just bored reading from a first draft marketing release.

"Exciting ... *yawn* ... sidequests."

I simply liked how it showed a bunch of locations. The hyperbole was whatever.

I think that's it. Don't tell me it's exciting, tell me the reasons why it'll be exciting and I'll make my own mind up. Show, don't tell.

The interesting thing was that there were maybe a grand total one or two environments shown, that I couldn't right away associate with a zone, city or dungeon in WoW. Not a bad thing per se, since Blizzard is pretty great at creating diverse environments.

Played the demo a third time and I made a beeline for the chakrams. (They can be purchased in the Inn, but not at the main item store apparently.) Had a lot of fun the third time around, I will definitely get this in a month or two.

Still can't dispel a ward to save my life though.

Oh, huh, haven't even gone into the Inn yet. I should try that. And yeah, I can dispel wards either, damn them.

This seems like it could be really fun, but with Skyrim, Saint's Row The Third, and Arkham Asylum still unfinished, it seems like a game I'll wait and check the reviews on.

Squee9 wrote:

This seems like it could be really fun, but with Skyrim, Saint's Row The Third, and Arkham Asylum still unfinished, it seems like a game I'll wait and check the reviews on.

Yes, it seems that way... but is it really?

LobsterMobster wrote:
Squee9 wrote:

This seems like it could be really fun, but with Skyrim, Saint's Row The Third, and Arkham Asylum still unfinished, it seems like a game I'll wait and check the reviews on.

Yes, it seems that way... but is it really?

I predict the reviews will be 85-87% (averaging). Something good and solid but nothing spectacularly special. i.e. in the real world* - 65%

*i.e. not gaming magazines.

The running I'm referring to refers to fetch quests. It seems like there's a whole bunch of them in the game. I'm not a fan of the "Go there, read through reams of boring crap," sort of fetch structure.

I've been using the sprint function. It doesn't help much.

Yeah, sprint doesn't seem to make you go much faster.

And Lobster: I enjoyed that.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Yeah, sprint doesn't seem to make you go much faster.

And Lobster: I enjoyed that. :lol:

I tried the demo for this last night and really liked it. I don't know about $60 liked it, but I had fun. The colors do make it look like a unicorn vomited on it though.

It seemed to have a very appealing balance of RPG and Action RPG for me, and I liked the controls and the feel of combat. Multiclass character development is very appealing to me, too.

I am probably repeating myself but I really enjoyed the combat as well. I don't think there are many branches to explore within a given tree, which will encourage cross-class characters. I think the meat of the game will be in the combat mechanics and which weapon(s) you choose.
I liked the feel of just about every weapon I came across, which is a great sign in my eyes.

Ken Rolston did an AMA on Reddit

Ken Rolston wrote:

What I'd really like to see... though I have no clear idea how to produce it... is an open-world Call of Cthulhu RPG set in a world like GTA or LA Noire.

SQUEEEEE!

Scratched wrote:

Ken Rolston did an AMA on Reddit

Oh holy crap! He's the guy behind Paranoia!? Not that it makes me any more inclined to buy Amalur at full price, but that's still kinda awesome.

BadKen wrote:
Ken Rolston wrote:

What I'd really like to see... though I have no clear idea how to produce it... is an open-world Call of Cthulhu RPG set in a world like GTA or LA Noire.

SQUEEEEE!

That would be completely awesome. I really feel like open-world games have broader application than they've gotten so far. Red Dead Redemption was a great step in the right direction. One of the best games and stories I've ever played.

What I wouldn't give for the team who made RDR to do the game that Rolston is describing there.