By Heinreich T. Sioson
Since my PS3 is dead in the water I bought Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning on PC through Steam. Before starting the game proper we find out that the land has been plummeted into war by the Tuatha, a race of evil elves who can’t really die. You play a character who has been miraculously resurrected by a device called the Well of Souls. After some introduction I was given the option of creating my character: I ended up with an attractive Varani female rogue named Isolda. The Varani are a group of nomadic humans who are experts in covert and short-range tactics.
After a few battles that served as tutorials I was thrust into the open world of Amalur. From what I’ve seen during the time I’ve played it the world is large, expansive, and teeming with lush foliage and all sorts of creatures, both neutral and hostile. As one can expect of a Western RPG with open world elements, I was free to roam the world and take on whatever missions I wanted. This playthrough I plan to be a straight-up good guy – or girl, in this case. Taking up a just cause has netted me some friends and a nice amount of gold in my pockets, as well as some neat loot.
I don't suppose that sword is made of plastic...
Besides the large world in which to play around in the combat system is easily my favorite part of the game and is very unique to the Western RPG genre. Played in 3rd-person, you can actively attack, defend, cast spells and such. What makes this great is that the combat system is fast-paced without being too button-mashy and requires careful consideration on when to attack, defend, or dodge. The enemies are smart and will attack you from all sides and take advantage of any lull in your defenses. You can upgrade your stats, equip items, create potions, cast spells and more. You are free to play your character any way you want without feeling locked into it forever.
Beautiful environments.
I’m only about 5 hours into the game and I’m already enamored with it. Considering how rich the world is and how much content is in the game I’ll be playing Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning for quite some time.
Possibly Related Posts:
- Suprise! Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead is a Smash Hit
- Battle-Freud: The Link Between Personality and Gameplay
- Retro Revisits: Bushido Blade
- Diablo III Login Error 37 Killing Gameplay Time
- Behold Screens & Info for The Last Story
