Kingdoms of Amalur: A surprisingly pleasant surprise.

[Zhukov]

Downloaded and played the demo on Steam a few days back.

I'll be honest, I went into Kingdoms of Amalur (which I shall now refere to as KoA because I keep forgetting where the "u" goes) with decidedly negative expectations. The presence of a clumsy made up word in the title got my cynical juices flowing nicely and it only got worse when I saw the cover art depicting some burly dunce in over-designed armour toting two weapons that no sane individual would ever try to fight with posing for photos in front of an epic, expansive and utterly forgettable landscape.

The game opened by informing me that the evil King Gomborf (or something like that) and his evil army Thunids (or something... this is why you don't start making up words without a linguist on staff) were engaged in a wholesale wrecking of the shit. It then transpired that I was of course the Chosen One who inevitably gets saddled with the task of telling the local designated evil overlord to pack it in. This was followed by a great deal of meaningless waffle on the subject of fate and destiny.

Suffice to say, things weren't going terribly well. I was all set for KoA to end up being to fantasy action-RPGs what Dead to Rights: Retribution was to third person shooters. (If you have no idea what Dead to Rights is then consider my point made.)

But, y'know, I'll be damned if that little sucker didn't grow on me.

Once I had struggled free of the linear tutorial cave and emerged blearily blinking in the sunlight I found that the landscape was large, abundantly colourful and not without a certain breezy aesthetic appeal. It actually looked like something that might just be worth exploring just for its own sake.

The combat is a better than average button-mashy affair that requires at least a bit of effort and offers a degree of finesse for those who desire it. Admittedly, it is hampered somewhat by controls that aren't quite as responsive as they could be and occasional camera-related shenanigans, but nothing crippling.

Also, for all it's colourful presentation and simple charm there is a decent character-building system that had me carefully considering where to stick my skill points right from the outset.

However, make no mistake, the game has its fair share of flaws on show. In addition to the aforementioned niggling camera and control issues, the interface contain more layers than is strictly necessary and what I saw of the story did not exactly have me in rapturous excitement. Also, KoA take the KoTOR approach to dialogue, which involves your non-voiced character standing about with all the expressiveness of a fence post while you click your way through the conversation.

In summary, if you like the idea of a game that is basically Fable-but-good, check out the demo. It's free after all and you may just be surprised.

 

[InsanityRequiem]

I rather enjoyed the demo overall. My problems were with the shield use/dodge rolling bits of the combat mostly. But I loved the sneak attack kill animation when you rogue it with daggers. Suitably assassin like.

The dialogue stuff was rather simple and easy to deal with for me. I liked it more that the DA/ME way of continual wheels of dialogue. I liked that for any side dialogue, such as the area or the enemies in the area, is put into a small box out of the way with anything in a more important aspect is left on the wheel.

My most favorite part was the interactions with some of the quest givers. A few of them actually had reasons to not do the quests themselves. I'm torn between the cowardly warden and the wolf-turned-human.

 

[darkcalling]

I loved every second of the demo and can't wait to play the full game. I'll be happier if they make some adjustments to the camera and make the shield/dodge a little more responsive.

 

[Verzin]

Aye. I can't wait for it to come out. so excited!!

 

[soren7550]

I had fun enough with it (only downloaded it for the Mass Effect 3 goodies), and may get the full version when it comes out. Really reminds me of Fable 2 and Dragon Age: Origins.

The only problems I really had with it was the graphic glitches and that character movement felt a bit weird, kind of like I was moving a bit too fast while hopping about.

 

[ms_sunlight]

In summary, if you like the idea of a game that is basically Fable-but-good, check out the demo. It's free after all and you may just be surprised.

Fable was good, you meanie! It implemented archery really well, and who doesn't love a game with hats?

Anyway, I've also played the demo of KoA. I found it to be surprisingly enjoyable, given that I'd heard very little buzz about it beforehand. The combat was varied and fast-paced, the lore and setting looked like it would grow on me if I spent a bit of time on it, and I really liked the colourful, cartoony world - a bit Dragon Quest-y and a nice change from grey rocks and snow in Skyrim!

I build a dark elf rogue / mage and had a lot of fun trying the different abilities, enough fun that I pre-ordered the game from Amazon.

 

[daveman247]

It seemed like an MMO-ified Dragon Age 2 to me

A lot of people seem to be saying this. What makes this game MMO like exactly? I certainly dont see it.


I pretty much had the same reaction as the OP. Started out thinking it was meh, but then once it lets you wander around a bit it was quite enjoyable.

Maybe its because i came into it with zero expectation? Didnt even know what it was until the demo showed up.

 

[Wolfram23]

I found it almost excruciatingly boring. And there was several gameplay aspects that I decidedly did not like.

 

[veloper]

Agreed. At the very least the combat doesn't suck and that's what the player will be doing most of the time. It's okay, not just for rotten action-RPG standards, but real gaming standards.
The game also has interesting character progression and non-combat skills.

On the negative side the dialogue seems to be written by a person who can never remember the previous line he wrote and the QTEs are just stupid.

KoA is at the very least Fable++, but it's more like a mix of Darksiders and Elder scrolls.

 

[tendaji]

The camera frustrated me the most out of the game, also not being able to charge magic attacks fast enough. Curse you interrupts!!!

 

[Smertnik]

It seemed like an MMO-ified Dragon Age 2 to me, with the addition of fighting combos... Plus an undeniably WoW-esque aesthetic.

It was interesting, don't get me wrong, but it was also hoooorrriiiiffffiicaallly generic. I'll definitely get it at some point, but not before the price drops.

I had exactly the same impression from the demo. It plays like an MMORPG without the MMO part.
And yeah, the game's mediocre to the roots - it's all been done to the death before. And big nosed dwarves (gnomes?) with English accents? Some dark evil dudes invading the lands led by a manically laughing baldie? Really? The story looks like a parody, except it's dead serious.

 

[ms_sunlight]

It seemed like an MMO-ified Dragon Age 2 to me

A lot of people seem to be saying this. What makes this game MMO like exactly? I certainly dont see it.

Horribly generic fantasy setting, hotbar-style combat, your character's magnetic attraction to the ground (no jumping), dice-roll elements in combat...

C'mon. It didn't feel anything like an MMO when you played? Hmm...

No, it didn't. If anything, it harks back more to old-school action JRPGs like Secret of Mana or Terranigma. That's kind of why I enjoyed it.

Saying it's MMO-ey because it's got a hotbar is ridiculous. Lots of games have hotbars, single and multiplayer. Baldur's Gate had a hotbar.

If you don't like it you don't like it, fair enough, but I don't think it's MMO-ey. I don't really play MMOs though.

 

[Tanis]

Enjoyed the demo, but I don't see myself playing full price unless the combat is a bit better.

 

[Dandark]

I just played the 360 demo and really enjoyed it. I actully enjoyed the combat quite a bit. I think I may go and buy this game now which really surprises me since it didn't look that great.

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

The camera frustrated me the most out of the game, also not being able to charge magic attacks fast enough. Curse you interrupts!!!

I was really confused by the way the camera swings around instead of just turns, if that makes sense.. but once i got used to it i didnt mind it... Also i think there's upgrades to make you charge spells faster/be interrupted less.. I found the magic to be quite satisfying actually.

 

[Feylynn]

I sort of like the skill progression and some of he weapons styles are pretty cool but I felt completely unenthralled with quests, exploration, and what have you. Maybe all of this would change given the ability to play more then the intro-mmo fetch quests, but as it stands I'm missing something.

Also of issue was that no harder difficulty was selected and since that's the difficulty I would play on I would like to know how it feels since normal was a button mashing affair with a selectively useful dodge function.

Bonus complaint in the animations for blocking and attacking. I hated how your weapons and shield just manifest out of no where with absolutely no animation, not even some unexplained flash of void light or something. Just bam, shield. What?

 

[Puddleknock]

The demo was so buggy for me I wont buy it until I know the full release will be better. Ok I expect bugs in a demo as its not the finished product but the KoA demo could be the buggyest demo I've played in a long time. The sound just didn't work at times, that includes the music, sound effects and voice overs. They would pop in and out of working and its was very distracting. Also the floor would sometimes freakout and turn purple, I assume that was not meant to happen.

As for the game itself I didn't like the camera but could get used to it. I did like the aesthetics, the bright setting for most of the demo was pleasing. But the main strength to me was the potential in the actual combat, looking at the options it seems like the game will be a blast when you get a few meaty skills.

Will be a purchase at some point, just not right away.

 

[Tar Palantir]

I stopped playing after the tutorial cave, and I just can't bring myself to play more of it.

Someone skinned Fable alive, knitted the skin into the shape of a openish-world rpg and stuffed it with the Skyrim class system (limited by tiny WoW talent trees), a mousebreaking combat sys (hit *pause* hit again, repeat, zzzz), the Witcher's dodge mechanic (but removing the fluidity of engagement), Mass Effect's dialogue wheel, a UI designed by a toddler possessed by a demon and a generic villain with the standard maniacal laughter and racial prejudices.

I've seen ALL OF THIS ALREADY, only done much better.

So let's comment about what I played, the Intro...

It's a complete failure.

A good game introduction accomplishes several things: introduces you to the world and to the character you play, intrigues you and makes you want to play more of it. While teaching you how to play. Kingdom of Amalur doesn't do any of this, it's just a basic tutorial. I don't know anything about my race, my enemies (just their name and that they are evil for some reason), or the world I live in.

Remember the good intro stories of Dragon Age: Origins? (Dwarf Noble, Human Noble, City Elf)
They tell you who you are, what your race is, and present you a moment of normality and calm just before the shitstorm. After the Human Noble intro (on my 1st play) I had a VERY STRONG motivation to continue, I liked my mute character from the start.

But wait, what am I saying? Amalur is different because YOU HAVE AMNESIA and have just RISEN BACK FROM THE DEAD!!!

Well, let's compare it to another game with the exact same premise: The Witcher 1

Geralt is believed dead by everyone, he doesn't know who he is and neither do we. So why did I like Geralt so much? Well, probably because you are surrounded by witchers who can tell you everything about you, your mutations and a bit about the world you live in.

Every piece of dialogue in the Amalur intro refers to the stupid Well of Souls, who cares about that, they just had to say "you are back, horray". You can't throw me into the meatgrinder without any explanation. This is a mistake Dragon Age 2 also made, but we knew what was happening even better than the characters because of DA:Orig.

How about this: I get resurrected, the scientists go nuts and keep me in the cave for some days taking care of me, and explaining who our enemy is, who the other races are, the world I live in etc....then all of a sudden the Elf KKK arrives and the action sequence begins.
Instead, after 30 minutes or so, I still didn't know anything and most of all, I DIDN'T LIKE MY CHARACTER nor did I care about him.

EDIT: oh, and the camera sucks, no zoom, and the graphics.....it's just personal taste here, I hate cartoony Fably art, expecially when mixed with 5 years old technology.