Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (Video Game Review)

Growing up I was trained by my brother in the ways of RPG's (Role-playing Games); from the infamous Final Fantasy series and Secret of Mana on the Super Nintendo to The Elder Scrolls and Mass Effect for the PlayStation 3, role-playing games have been engraved in my DNA from an early age.

So when I heard that the fantasy guru Todd McFarlane and 38Studios founder Curt Shilling were working together on a game that was considered to be "God of War marrying Oblivion" (1) my curiosity was piqued to say the least.

The beginning of Kingdoms starts you off with creating your own unique character. You can choose between four playable races; Almain (Civilized Humans), the Dokkalfar (Dark Elves), the Ljosalfar (Light Elves), and the Varani (Nomadic Humans). You essentially begin the game with no class chosen, but afterwards you can choose one of the three available in the game. These are Might, Finesse, and Sorcery (or more commonly known as fighter/warrior, rogue/thief, and mage classes).

The mage (Sorcery) class

Once you've created your avatar you soon find yourself, ah, quite dead and on your way to the morgue. And by morgue I mean a pile of decaying cadavers. You don't stay dead for long, however, and you can thank the Well of Souls for that.

Now alive and kicking you must battle your way out of your would-be tomb and back to Fomorous Hughes, a gnome scientist that experimented with said Well of Souls and essentially your "creator". Congrats. You are the first and only success of the Wells experiment and have thus been dubbed "the Fateless One".

Later on you will meet a Fateweaver named Agarth. All Fateweaver's are said to be able to read and predict all beings fates. However, having already been fated to die (mark that quest off the list!), the Fateless One's (that's you) return from the death has taken them out of "Fate's weave."

It is decided that the only way you can uncover the truth of your death is by locating Hugues, who went into hiding following the Tuatha attack on his laboratory at the Well.

The warrior or "Might" class battling it out with a serpent

Whew, that was a long summary. I seem to have gotten sidetracked with story! Now, onto the juicy game play.

Like any true RPG you are your character. You level them, design them, how they look, how many tattoos and/or piercings they have, sometimes even the way they sound. What's unique about KoA is that you can do all of the above plus more.

Most action RPG's only allow you to choose one class. This is true with KoA but their leveling system lets you add some pretty nice twists. I'm currently building my human as a rogue under the Finesse tree. However, you are given the option to experiment in the other leveling trees as well. What this means is I can be a lock picking rogue with the cunning of a cat and yet still be able to wield powerful magic like a mage. Oh yes ladies and gents, you can have your cake and eat it to.

The combat system is also fairly unique with its occasional quick time cut scenes like those in the God of War games. The combat includes a new rage system in which you collect fate from enemies that allows players to enter a berserker state called "Reckoning Mode." During this mode time slows to a crawl and your attributes double, allowing you to easily decimate a number of enemies while earning an experience bonus. You can also "Fateshift" a single enemy during this state which will allow you to perform a brutal fatality, following the rapid pressing of a random button. This will kill all other enemies weakened during this time(2).

Several enemies succumbing to the "Reckoning" Mode

Overall the battle and combat system is pretty amazing, and I find myself going out and looking for fights. The environment is simply stunning and the character and enemy creations are, well, pretty damn cool in my opinion. And again, this is just one gal's opinion. I've heard mixed things about Kingdoms of Amalur, and having already played (and fell in love with) Dragon Age 1 & 2, I was skeptical at first. But with so many options for leveling your character and how his/her fate turns out, the replay value is definitely high up there. I need to give Dragon Age a little break anyway.

Overall Rating: 6 out of 10 

Game Information
Release Date: February 7, 2012
Reviewed for PC
Website: http://reckoning.amalur.com/



(c) 2012: Meghan Schubert