Kindoms of Amular: Reckoning

Hi all,
I just wanted to start a thread about this great game, and hope to get some interest and discussion going on the forums, (I know there is a really old thread out there but I thought I would start one with all the info for the game up front).

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is an open world single player RPG. It is set in the fantasy world of Amalur, which was created by R.A. Salvatore specifically for this Franchise. Salvatore wrote the framework for 10,000 yrs of Amalur history, which is going to be the basis of this single player RPG, as well as the future MMO code named Copernicus. The graphics are directed by Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, and the lead designers are Ken Rolston (lead designer of Oblivion and Morrowind), and Ian Frazier, (also a force from Oblivion and Morrowind).

It has been described by game reviews, as well as the designers, as a game with the Elder Scrolls open world and God of War like combat. The story line basically starts off in the middle of a huge war of two sides, where a gnome is able to resurrect a fallen person. That person is the fateless one, since he already died in accordance to his fate, (he no longer has another). Since he is no longer bound by fate, he has the power to alter Amalur’s fate in their time of need. Please watch the trailers for it on facebook or the web site, as I cannot begin to do it justice.

There is far too much information to write it all out here, so I will provide links to help people get started on digging if they are interested.

Release Date – February 7th, 2012 (xbox/ps3/pc) … Europe is Feb 10th.

Demo Release Date – January 17th, 2012 (xbox/ps3/pc).

Main Web Site: http://reckoning.amalur.com/

Facebook web site: https://www.facebook.com/Reckoningthegame?sk=wall

Pre-order Bonus FAQ: http://reckoning.amalur.com/en/r/faq...eral-pre-order

Collectors’ Edition site: http://limitededitions.reckoning.com/

Trailers and Video game footage, Dev interviews: http://reckoning.amalur.com/en/r/media

Hope everyone out there is as excited as I am. I have been watching this game since the company was created, and am extremely pumped about the single player RPG finally being released!

Dustin

Forgot to mention in the post above. Mass Effect 3 and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning are having a cross over promotion, where if you play ones demo you unlock items for the others full game. Really good way to get goodies for both!

http://reckoning.amalur.com/r/exclus...-mass-effect-3

Dustin

You could easily spend hundreds of hours in the game doing all of the factions and quests/etc, as well as playing different character types. The main story line is said to be 30-60 hours, depending on how the user goes about it. It does have an ending, but I believe you can play on after the main story as well if you choose to do so. You can also turn on and off quests to make it more or less cluttery.

One of the most appealing things for this game for me is that there are no classes. You put your points into might, finess, and sorcery, and it opens up destinies which you can pick for your character. The destinies are perks, which further add on to your specializations, (or lack there of for jack of trades). The coolest thing about it is that you can go to a fateweaver and respec at any time, for a cost. If you pick up a nice set of caster gear you want to try out, you can respec your rogue to a caster and give it a whirl...no rerolling and starting over needed! L)

I hope so too. With the star staff they have going, and all of the reviews from the critics so far, they have the potential to be a force. I, myself, am sucked into it being a huge Salvatore fan...I am going to lose myself in the lore, and I am afraid my wife might not be liking this game once it comes out.

DaverJ,

The loot has a Diablo feel to it, where it is randomized based off of your level and the mobs loot table. You also get prefixes and suffixes, and can add effects to your gear. A huge amount of effort was put into the loot system, and there are many possibilities.

Also,
The demo is taking an interesting approach. You do the tutorial at the starting of the game, and then you cross under an Arch into the first zone. At that point, you have 45 minutes to do whatever you want, and then the demo is over for that character. You can replay the demo as much as you want though...god, I can get into a lot of trouble in 45 minutes .

Correct. You can add enchantments to your weapons via shards/gems you find in the game.

I wish I was lucky enough to be a beta tester for the game. I have been following 38 studios since they were created, and the Amalur IP. I am always looking for new information on Reckoning or their MMO .

Salvatore's DE trilogy was great. I would recommend his Demon Wars series as well. That is his own world, where he has freedom to do as he pleases. With Drizzt and forgotten realms, he has to follow the D&D guidelines set by the company, and does not have as much freedom.

Dustin

Ouch, harsh! While I do not agree with your opinion, I do respect it. I do admit, there are some books in his Drizzt series that seem rushed and not as polished, but he has many outstanding works. Did you ever try his Corona series, with the Highway many series and Demon Wars? Those are great books. Also, if you missed the Cleric Quintet, they are a fun read as well.

Not to go too off topic here, but what writers do you like? I also enjoy Ed Greenwood, Richard Knaack, Robert Jordan, and Tolkien to name a few.

Dustin

I think it is the Fantasy feel that you are terming as the fable feel. IMO, there are two types of RPG's out there, ones that are in a fantasy setting with regards to graphics, (WoW, Mass Effect, EQ, DAoC, Dragons Age...Fable is one if you want to call that linear disaster an RPG), and ones that use more realistic graphics, (Skyrim). While I can see the Fable comparison, this should not be anything like it. An open world, rich story line, massive loot, and a fluid combat system have a lot of promise. I would definitely recommend the demo on the 17th if you are having second thoughts about the game .

Dustin

They do have weapons such as Huge hammers and "Great swords of Awesomeness", but many of the weapons are also proportional as well. Due to it being in a fantasy setting, with more colorful graphics, it is their job to pull you into their world and immerse you, which I think they look to be doing a pretty good job on based off of all of the footage and interviews they have done. If you watch some of the videos, they have footage with the huge hammer or sword you are referencing. They did a good job making the combat with it fluid. The sword takes longer to swing, the character actually looks to put more "back" into it. From everything I have seen, it looks and feels pretty polished to me.

Dustin

The only thing ME3 has to do with the game is that EA is distributing Reckoning, and did a cross promotion to help promote the new IP. The only thing ME related to this game is that you get a little personalized gear for it if you play both Demo's. Other than that, Big Games/38 Studios is completely independent of Mass Effect.

Whether you like Mass Effect or not, it has a huge fan base. It is a good way to get word out of your new game if you ask me.

The new weekly Q&A is up: http://forums.reckoning.amalur.com/s...-Team-01-11-12

Q&A Archives for older ones can be found here : http://forums.reckoning.amalur.com/s...-amp-A-Archive

Dustin

Try the demo if you can. If you like Skyrim, you will love the open world that this one has to offer.

Dustin

Not defensive at all. I just misread you, and thought you said you wouldn't give Reckoning a try because you didn't like ME3, and thought it was similar. I was just suggesting that you give the demo a try . On a further note, you get some free armor for ME3 if you play the reckoning demo .

New Giant Bomb podcast interviewing Ken Rolston about Reckoning : http://www.giantbomb.com/podcast/?podcast_id=274

IGN's partial review, they are still playing : http://ps3.ign.com/articles/121/1216...ggK-Do.twitter

Good review. Remember everyone, Demo goes live tomorrow!

Dustin

The Demo is up on XBOX Live now. Not posted on other platforms yet, but the PC and PS3 should arrive today as well, (delays are due to Sony/Orgin putting them up). I have it in the queue, but won't be able to play until ~9pm tonight....the wait is going to kill me!

Dustin

Been reading their facebook page for updates, and thought I would note one thing they mentioned. The Demo version of reckoning is not the release version. There are a few bugs in it being reported that are addressed in the release version. They encourage feedback on any issues you may see, but they are all likely already addressed. The common ones seem to be a few sound issues and dialog/text issues.

I will know more when I get to play with it tonight.

Dustin