Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

[MomoElektra]

I find the game boring and the story generic. Nothing new and nothing exciting. I honestly thought it was a Skyrim clone for a while.

I liked the graphics and the design of the world, but even that is, again, pretty generic.

This is one of the common criticisms I've seen of the game while browsing the web for reviews. And honestly, I put this kind of feedback in the same camp as the "This game needs to be incredibly difficult or it fails.".

Why would you do that since nothing I mention has anything to do with difficulty?

New and exciting is definitely in the eye of the beholder. Unfortunately, true innovation rarely translates into profitability. Which is why we don't see more of it. Games that are truly unique and different usually fail to draw in a broad audience. Which always makes me want to ask, "What to you constitutes new and exciting?"

I will admit it is difficult to do something new and/or exciting.
It's fantasy game LLXXIII with the same lore you find everywhere else. The problem though I find not so much in just the lore but that there is little else. The side quests are boring, the characters stereotypes, the main quest is... unremarkable. It's not bad as such, it's just... generic. I really think it fails with storytelling though.

But again, this doesn't necessarily deter me from the game. It not being hard enough or innovative enough is common criticism aimed just about every single game out today.

Well if you like playing it that's just fine.

BTW, if not being hard enough or innovative enough is common criticism aimed at about every single game today maybe there is actually something to those claims.

 

[Something Amyss]

Hahaha interesting sidequests my ass. Kingdoms of Amalur is a 100% MMORPG when it comes to questing. Sure hope you like getting those 4 rat tails to awaken that one miniboss so you can get that one ring of slightly important color. That becomes rubbish 10 minutes later so you might as well sell it.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you haven't actually played the game.

 

[Something Amyss]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you haven't actually played the game.

What makes you say that? Replace rat tails with moose heads and you'll even understand which specific quest I'm talking about.[/quote]

You mean that...ONE instance is the sum of all quests?

Yeah, kinda my point.

 

[The Pinray]

I thought it was pretty good. I'm not the kind of guy that seeks challenge in my games, but even to me it was a tad too easy. So I'd recommend starting at Hard and lowering it as you see fit.

I didn't like the story very much, it was all too "Tuatha, Niskaru, Fantasy name, etc." for my liking, if that makes sense. Also, it feels so much like an MMORPG on a dead server... But to some that may be a good thing.

I honestly prefer Dragon Age II over it (GASP THE HORROR!). But it's still a very solid game. I'd say give it a whirl, but I believe you've already made up your mind.

captcha: case closed. Ha ha ha

 

[Joseph Alexander]

your getting more then your money's worth, thats for damn sure.
if you do ALL the quests, you'll think of skyrim as "a nice short experience".
another thing; the zones have level brackets, the mobs in the world don't level mach you(the ones in quest dungeons do).
the game world is MONUMENTALLY HUGE, think WoW's eastern kingdoms + kalidor ,or the whole of skyrim but with more types of areas... not just varying levels of rocks and snow.

 

[ckriley]

I find the game boring and the story generic. Nothing new and nothing exciting. I honestly thought it was a Skyrim clone for a while.

I liked the graphics and the design of the world, but even that is, again, pretty generic.

This is one of the common criticisms I've seen of the game while browsing the web for reviews. And honestly, I put this kind of feedback in the same camp as the "This game needs to be incredibly difficult or it fails.".

Why would you do that since nothing I mention has anything to do with difficulty?

New and exciting is definitely in the eye of the beholder. Unfortunately, true innovation rarely translates into profitability. Which is why we don't see more of it. Games that are truly unique and different usually fail to draw in a broad audience. Which always makes me want to ask, "What to you constitutes new and exciting?"

I will admit it is difficult to do something new and/or exciting.
It's fantasy game LLXXIII with the same lore you find everywhere else. The problem though I find not so much in just the lore but that there is little else. The side quests are boring, the characters stereotypes, the main quest is... unremarkable. It's not bad as such, it's just... generic. I really think it fails with storytelling though.

But again, this doesn't necessarily deter me from the game. It not being hard enough or innovative enough is common criticism aimed just about every single game out today.

Well if you like playing it that's just fine.

BTW, if not being hard enough or innovative enough is common criticism aimed at about every single game today maybe there is actually something to those claims.

I think it honestly says more about the players today rather than the actual games being produced.

However, I do see your point about it maybe feeling too generic and derivative. Like I said in my OP, I immediately saw Fable, Rift, and Skyrim in the first few minutes of playing it. So, I see where you're coming from. I was just pointing out that it's really hard to be unique and innovative in this day and age when pretty much everything has already been done. And games that are usually different don't make the developer money. Same exact thing happens in film, television and music. Generic is what sells.

And my point about the challenging aspect of games was, I wasn't necessarily saying you said that - but I do see a few posts in here talking about how easy the game is. And to me, that echoes a common theme around so many games released today. I really see this in MMOs. That if the game isn't really hard, then it fails. As a casual player, this doesn't bother me at all.

 

[Weaver]

the ability to dodge mid-attack

This drives me CRAZY in games. It drove me nuts in God of War, it drove me nuts in Darksiders (not to mention the dodge in Darksiders that couldn't dodge things), and I'm glad you mentioned this before I touched Amalur.

It's like DMC and Bayonetta are the only games that care about how responsive their combat is.

Which is completely true, since dodging mid-attack is the ONLY measure of combat responsiveness to go by.

It's very important to me. I don't really care what other people value in their combat.

 

[MomoElektra]

I think it honestly says more about the players today rather than the actual games being produced.?"

Certainly it does that, too.

However, I do see your point about it maybe feeling too generic and derivative. Like I said in my OP, I immediately saw Fable, Rift, and Skyrim in the first few minutes of playing it. So, I see where you're coming from. I was just pointing out that it's really hard to be unique and innovative in this day and age when pretty much everything has already been done. And games that are usually different don't make the developer money. Same exact thing happens in film, television and music. Generic is what sells.

I know, and it's sad. But then, a generic story can still be good. ME is a generic story, but with interesting elements. And the boring part in Amalur I find not to be the generic lore or side quests itself, but as I said, there is little else (the world may be huge but it feels empty because places and people seem the same).

And my point about the challenging aspect of games was, I wasn't necessarily saying you said that - but I do see a few posts in here talking about how easy the game is. And to me, that echoes a common theme around so many games released today. I really see this in MMOs. That if the game isn't really hard, then it fails. As a casual player, this doesn't bother me at all.

I get you, I don't mind if a game is easy at all. I play it for the story.

But then, if someone likes to play games or a specific game for the beating-it-factor, then they are not wrong to call a game too "easy". Because then it is.
Just as when I want to play a game for its story and it is generic and boring, then it is generic and boring. Doesn't matter if it has great combat moves. I only want to use maybe 5ish keys plus AWDS on my keyboard, no more.

So while it is still possible to enjoy such a game the complaints are not invalid. There might be no solution to this problem, but the complaints are valid.

 

[ckriley]

I think it honestly says more about the players today rather than the actual games being produced.?"

Certainly it does that, too.

However, I do see your point about it maybe feeling too generic and derivative. Like I said in my OP, I immediately saw Fable, Rift, and Skyrim in the first few minutes of playing it. So, I see where you're coming from. I was just pointing out that it's really hard to be unique and innovative in this day and age when pretty much everything has already been done. And games that are usually different don't make the developer money. Same exact thing happens in film, television and music. Generic is what sells.

I know, and it's sad. But then, a generic story can still be good. ME is a generic story, but with interesting elements. And the boring part in Amalur I find not to be the generic lore or side quests itself, but as I said, there is little else (the world may be huge but it feels empty because places and people seem the same).

And my point about the challenging aspect of games was, I wasn't necessarily saying you said that - but I do see a few posts in here talking about how easy the game is. And to me, that echoes a common theme around so many games released today. I really see this in MMOs. That if the game isn't really hard, then it fails. As a casual player, this doesn't bother me at all.

I get you, I don't mind if a game is easy at all. I play it for the story.

But then, if someone likes to play games or a specific game for the beating-it-factor, then they are not wrong to call a game too "easy". Because then it is.
Just as when I want to play a game for its story and it is generic and boring, then it is generic and boring. Doesn't matter if it has great combat moves. I only want to use maybe 5ish keys plus AWDS on my keyboard, no more.

So while it is still possible to enjoy such a game the complaints are not invalid. There might be no solution to this problem, but the complaints are valid.

The criticisms are definitely valid. Part of the reason for me creating this thread were actually to get a cross-section of opinions about it, good and bad. And though I already seem pretty biased towards it (I readily admitted I was hooked by the demo) I did want to hear from people that actually didn't enjoy it.

It's hard to judge an entire game on just a small demo, so I was fearful that the end-game or the plot would fall apart later down the line. I take into consideration all the comments from people that just weren't really into it. It's just that the complaints I'm seeing - valid though they are - don't seem to be a big deterrent for me. But who knows, after I play it I might come back here and say, "Yeah, it was too easy even for me. And it got really tedious as I progressed farther into it." I've been known to do that as well

 

[Weslebear]

Pre-ordered it, loved the fuck out of the TF2 free hats given out for pre-order, put like 10 hours into the demo and then played it for 15 hours and could not be more bored with it. It didn't do anything more for me than I could of just got from playing the demo.

 

[Rawne1980]

Need any more sources?

Cheers matey, nope.

Glad to see it's done OK, you can never have too many sales. Buy this game!

I know there are quite a few people that don't like it. For instance if someone doesn't like vast amounts of side quests (and there are a hell of a lot).

But it is nice to see a brand new IP doing well.

Although I did hear rumours that they intended for it to be an MMO first now i'm not sure how well it would have done then.

 

[AbstractStream]

Ah, interesting. Thanks OP, you saved me from making a topic myself. I've been debating whether to buy this game for the last two weeks. Lots of feedback on here. I guess I'll wait a bit more to get it then.

 

[GoaThief]

Although I did hear rumours that they intended for it to be an MMO first now i'm not sure how well it would have done then.

Nah, not true.

That KoA:R was supposed to be a MMO is misconception that's been doing the rounds lately, basically the MMO is a completely separate game that will be coming out later (but shares the same universe).

Clicky [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdoms_of_Amalur:_Reckoning#Development]

 

[SargentToughie]

Maybe it was just me not really giving it the proper chance, or just sucking at my chosen class, but I ended up giving up on the game about 5 or so hours in. I picked a rogue type, shoveled all of my points into stealth, and I still get spotted a mile away by enemy NPCs before I can get in close enough for a stealth kill. The way the enemies are positioned when camping, there will always be one facing towards you no matter what direction you try to take, so there's no point to stealth at all.

That, and the combat just felt a bit too grindy.
"Stab, Stab, Stab, CAST A SPELL U DEAD"
"Stab, Stab, Stab, Decide to shoot a few arrows to mix things up"
"Stab, Stab"

You get the idea. Maybe I'll go back to it some day, since it did seem like it had a lot of potential, but I just got bored with it really fast.

 

[Joseph Alexander]

Although I did hear rumours that they intended for it to be an MMO first now i'm not sure how well it would have done then.

Nah, not true.

That KoA:R was supposed to be a MMO is misconception that's been doing the rounds lately, basically the MMO is a completely separate game that will be coming out later (but shares the same universe).

Clicky [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdoms_of_Amalur:_Reckoning#Development]

the fact is, is WAS going to be an MMO.
then big huge games bought 38 studios and then had it remade into the single player rpg.

 

[Hal10k]

the fact is, is WAS going to be an MMO.
then big huge games bought 38 studios and then had it remade into the single player rpg.

As the guy you quoted pointed out, that's a misconception. These are the events as they occurred: 38 Studios were working on a MMORPG called "Copernicus", and Big Huge Games were in the alpha stage of creating a single-player RPG. When 38 Studios acquired BHG, they retooled the previously mentioned single-player game to become part of the same universe as the MMO. It was always going to be a single-player game, they just changed the setting.