Event Hands-On - Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

[Macstorm]

RPGamer was able to get nearly six hours of hands-on time with Reckoning. If you enjoy open-world RPGs, and this one isn't on your radar for early 2012, it really should be.

PS: I'll be checking this thread to answer any specific questions about the game that I didn't touch upon well enough in my write-up.

Event Hands-On Details

[GaijinMonogatari]

I had four races to choose from: the Almain, Varani, Ljosalfar, and Dokkalfar.

Already I can sense the Nordic/Tolkien influence.

[Macstorm]

That would likely be part of Salvatore's influence.

[Drav]

I guess that if you have a giant evil tree, it would make sense to use it as the hanging tree.

[Ocelot]

So how did the exploration feel? Did it seem like you could run pretty much anywhere like in an ES game, or was it a lot of branching paths?

[Macstorm]

Both. I could go anywhere and did. But at the same time, there were some places that were off limits until I got to a certain part in the story, or at least it seemed to be.

If you check the map here, I started on the west side of the map and had free reign to go anywhere west of Driana's Vein. I believe the east side of the map was off limits to me until I got to a certain point.

Here's the path I booked it through during my six hours.

[H.Akeley]

Not bad, I guess. Overall it sounds a bit like Dragon Knight Saga, only more open and less shaky. I was quite relieved reading the combatdescription...sounds like a free-flowing affair that won`t spoil the game for me. (I hope you didn`t mean that we need TPP combat in FPP games though ;)

So hopefully it will sell a lot of copies and prove to other devs/pubs that it`s ok & worthwhile to make original, triple-A RPGs...

[Macstorm]

Indeed. Original is OK! Not sure what you mean by "TPP combat in FPP games" though.

[H.Akeley]

Eh, just nitpicking/overreacting: "comparisons to other games, especially those in the Elder Scrolls series. It takes many of the appealing aspects of those games and adds in a third-person combat system that truly feels like the piece that's been missing in many open-world RPGs". That`s DE:HR aftershock - I`m quite hopeful that infusing first person games with third-person elements will not become a trend.

Screenshots so far look interface-less...I presume that`s because they`ve been handed out or is there really no lifebars/mana/etc?

Factions - did you manage to play with these? Dynamic, maybe? (hopefully, but that`s probably asking too much)
(I can`t watch videos because of &*(^) network so maybe missed that info)

[7thCircle]

The WRPG landscape definitely needs some new IPs or at least fresh ways of looking at old ones like Fallout 3 did in 2009. We're still far from seeing what BioWare does after Mass Effect 3 and Bethesda has in mind for a new Fallout game, and Obsidian prefers using established worlds. A big draw of open world games to me is exploring new areas, learning about the setting, and choosing what quests to do, so just having a solid WRPG in a new world will make me happy.

The biggest thing the feature left me wondering about is the quality of the writing and how interesting the quests and dialogue are.

EDIT: H.Akeley -- Nearly all WRPGs and nearly all action RPGs are in 3rd person. I wouldn't say making an RPG in 3rd person is infusing a first person genre with third person elements. Off the top of my head, I can't think of a single WRPG in the last 5 years with a first person, realtime combat system. Fallout 3 and NV had VATS so you ended up fighting via a pause menu. Alpha Protocol, Dragon Age 1 and 2, Witcher 1 and 2, Mass Effect 1 2 and 3, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and of course all action RPGs like Torchlight, Too Human, Bastion, DeathSpank, Darksiders, Dungeon Siege 3, etc., are all in 3rd person. Borderlands comes to mind, but it was never called a WRPG and the combat system was always labelled as a first person shooter.

[Macstorm]

Just to clarify. My comment wasn't that WRPGs needed to be in first person, it was that I enjoyed having an open-world RPG that uses the third person perspective.

[LegendaryZoltan]

Which is exactly what I enjoy as well.

Question: Out of all that world you saw, how much of it was beautiful earthly landscapes, how much dark or scary areas, and how much completely alien-looking areas?
I like forests and water more than anything else. I never need anything else. Oblivion and Dragon Quest 8 are my all-time favorite worlds because it's basically all forests. The travellers look like they'll be my favorite faction because they travel outside so much.

[H.Akeley]

I wouldn't say making an RPG in 3rd person is infusing a first person genre with third person elements.

Neither would I and so I didn`t. What I said tied to Deus Ex:HR - which of course is a first person game with (IMO unnecessary) third person elements. Regardless - it was an offhand, not-really-serious remark hence brackets & wink at the end.

Apart from DE (and let`s say FO3/NV - VATS is still in FP, pause or not), you correctly list all these wRpgs as third person games. On topic of (sort of) open worlds I would add Risen/Gothics and Two Worlds (maybe DKS too) which are also in TP. So it`s not like there`s a dearth of games using this perspective. FP is always my preferred choice and apart from Bethesda nobody really is doing it anymore which I find rather sad (ok there`s Dead Island & Dishonored on the horizon but do these really count as RPGs?). It`s not an argument, btw, just an observation.

Anyway - about the factions/interface?

[7thCircle]

In the last dozen years, open world RPGs were mostly exclusive to Bethesda and first person RPGs were mostly exclusive to Bethesda. The two mechanics don't require each other; Bethesda just designs games that way and open world games inevitably get compared to Elder Scrolls. I think if Mac wrote that sentence backwards -- saying Reckoning takes what's great about 3rd person action RPGs and adds in an open world as the one piece that's been missing in 3rd person action RPGs -- you wouldn't have had the same reaction. Reckoning is combining mechanics in a way that hasn't been pulled off well before; 3rd person RPGs tend to limit the world while 1st person RPGs tend to have bad combat. Saying it adds 3rd person to Elder Scrolls is just one clear way to explain it.

I prefer 1st person RPGs because they feel more immersive to me, so I'm with you on your main opinion.

And yeah Mac, what's up with the factions, interface, writing, and number of forests in the game?

[Macstorm]

Which is exactly what I enjoy as well.

Question: Out of all that world you saw, how much of it was beautiful earthly landscapes, how much dark or scary areas, and how much completely alien-looking areas?
I like forests and water more than anything else. I never need anything else. Oblivion and Dragon Quest 8 are my all-time favorite worlds because it's basically all forests. The travellers look like they'll be my favorite faction because they travel outside so much.

The world is beautiful. I started in a nice foresty area and there were plenty more, all looking different. The picture that I took of my character was in an area with lakes, waterfalls, and trees. Lovely...though deadly, too.

[Major]

Good info. The more I see of Kingdoms of Amalur the more I'm looking forward to it

[TG Barighm]

I'm liking the sound of the Destiny system so far and I hope it's implemented in more games. You rarely feel rewarded for going with the jack-of-all-trades route or going against the grain and not using established character builds. Sometimes I just want to pick the skills or talents that suit my playstyle.

It also sounds like it adds a lot of replay value. Not only will I have the regular class abilities to play, but there will also be these little perks to discover by mixing and matching different abilities. If they've gone that far, they may have tied more Destinies to races, in-game events, or items. The potential of this system is intriguing.

[LegendaryZoltan]

I would assume that we can get every single ability in the game in one playthrough. Or is that not the case?

[Ocelot]

I would assume that we can get every single ability in the game in one playthrough. Or is that not the case?

You can if you respec, but you can't have them all at the same time. The developers have said that you'll need to make decisions.

[Macstorm]

Right, you cannot get all skills in a single playthrough without respecing. You can get all the skills from a single tree if you focus on just one, though.