What will you be?
___________________
Almain (Human)?
___________________
Ljosalfar (Light Elves)?
___________________
Dokkalfar (Dark Elves)?
___________________
___________________
You have 4 choices from the three races. Two are human (Civilized and Nomadic Humans), the other choices, the Light and Dark Elves. They all come with their stat bonuses amongst things like Persuasion, Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Detecting Hidden Objects and Sagecraft. They all have a Diety they can choose to observe for further Bonuses like Extra Mana, Fire Resistance or Bonus Experience.
___________________
In typical Elder Scrolls style, of course, your characters are Customizable!
___________________
___________________
Once your character is created, it is time to decide your Destiny. Investing Points in the different Classes affects your Destiny. Maybe you wanna be pure Mage, Warrior or Rogue?
___________________
Wouldn't it be cooler if you could mix and match though... and create things like a Mage-Rogue, a Fighter-Rogue or a Fighter-Mage though?
___________________
Can't decide? Then be a Jack of All Trades...
...or a Fateless (Master of None)!
___________________
___________________
Although the different Destinies grant all sorts of differing Stat Bonuses and Skills, it would mean NOTHING if this didn't all blend well together into the GAMEPLAY, but I assure you, it DOES!
Differing Classes and Destinies are stronger or weaker in the different Weapon Classes. Check out this list of weaponry! You get: Great Swords, Long Swords, Daggers, FaeBlades, Hammers, Chakrams, Staves, Long Bows and Sceptres. Weapons, with and without Shields, have their own MOVE-SETS, a-la God of War. Spells and Skills do too. Just as Kratos needed to use various different weapons and skills throughout his adventures, so will you here too! As an aside, the Chakrams are magical weapons MOST like Kratos' Blades of Chaos!
The similarities don't stop there though! As you unweave the fates of (kill) your enemies, besides gaining experience, a meter builds. Just like Kratos' Rage Meter, once initiated (by pressing L1 and R1), you gain great speed and power. During this time, if you can dizzy your enemy, or a group of enemies, pressing "X" will begin a Button Mashing, QTE-Sequence where you will not only execute the nearest foe in brutal style, but get an Experience Multiplier as well! Yes, there are Boss Battles to boot, with their own QTE sequences too!
The beauty of Amalur though, comes into play when you realize, you can assign One Weapon to one Button, any other weapon to the "Sub-Weapon" button, and switch freely between them at any time. In another Kratos-like style, start a Combo Chain with one weapon, and switch into the other on the fly! This kind of gameplay is UNPARALLELED in an any other RPG of this kind!
___________________
___________________
So, you have Elder Scroll style Character Creation along with God of War style gameplay. What else? You might ask...
What about a HUGE world to explore? Yep, you can Fast-Travel!
___________________
Want to join different Factions? Amalur has SIX... all with their own Unique story threads and Quests!
House of Valor
House of Sorrows
Travelers
Scholia Arcana
Warsworn
House of Ballads
___________________
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!
- There's literally HUNDREDS of side-quests, having nothing to do with the Faction Quests you can partake in, in the world!
- You find all sorts of LOOT in barrels, crates, chests, mounds, and in people's homes. Be careful what you steal though, as Guards --WILL-- be called!
- Make your own Potions with Ingredients you gather in the fields and dungeons.
- Craft your own Weaponry and Armor.
- Insert Gemstones that you Collect or Design into your Armor, Weapons and Accessories.
Sounds like I could be talking about Oblivion or Skyrim, no? One of the founders of the Elder Scrolls series is on the Dev. Team, remember? Picture EVERYTHING I talked about above, in a world written by R. A. Salvatore, envisioned by Todd McFarlane, with gameplay like God of War (or Darksiders)...
Too good to be true? Nope! Better! The gameplay is fun. The game-engine is STABLE! What more CAN you ask for?! It's all HERE!
___________________
Forget the Reviews that say the game is too generic or treads too many well-worn RPG cliches! Think about it... How many games this generation have had this kind of HIGH-FANTASY setting? Dragon Age maybe... What else? If you read A LOT of Fantasy Novels, maybe this will be old news for you, but if you are looking for a GAME to get lost in with --GREAT-- gameplay, a fully developed sense of STYLE and a RICH story and extensively developed back-HISTORY to boot... LOOK NO FURTHER, your game has arrived!
___________________
Heh! There's SOOO much to talk about with this game, I almost forgot one of the BEST THINGS OF ALL! Does the freedom the game gives you to decide your own fate and build your character seem DAUNTING? What if you spend a few hours designing your character and playing, but then realize he/she isn't what you envisoned him/her to be? EASY! Visit a Fate Weaver and "Unweave" your Fate! What this means, basically, is: Pay some gold and you can reset your points spent on your skills and classes and reassign them all over again, however YOU see fit! Are you a level 12 Fighter, specializing in Hammers and Heavy Armor? Don't like the Melee-centric gameplay? Okay then, become a Level 6 Mage and a Level 6 Rogue, capable of slinging Spells and stealth-sneaking up on your enemies for one shot kills! THAT RIGHT THERE IS THE BEAUTY OF AMALUR!
___________________
By the way, like I said before, this game is SOOO huge and intricate, I am SURE there are things I overlooked in this topic! You have to visit the dedicated site for this game to see just how much work went into creating it and what details I may have missed out on here! The very fact that they developed a 10,000 year history for Amalur shows that this is NOT a one-time, flash-in-the-pan project for Schilling and his team. This is the birth of a whole new franchise! Read more about it HERE!
I fully admit that the burn I felt from Skyrim still hasn't healed and this is my rebound game; I may be seeing Amalur through rose-tinted-glasses --BUT-- I have sunk 8 hours into the game between yesterday and today (completing only ONE Story Quest in that time, BTW) and I have enjoyed EVERY. LAST. MINUTE! There's nothing wrong or broken about Amalur, unlike Skyrim. I frankly DON'T understand the tolerance of reviewers to look past the unforgiveable flaws of Skyrim (how's that PS3 patch coming?) and give it a near-perfect score, right next to the utter apathy they have been displaying towards Amalur. It makes NO sense at all! Could it be the case of Reviewers looking at the balance in their bank accounts, anticipating the inevitable onslaught of DLC for Skyrim and the assured GOTY version, not wanting to upset their benefactors...? It just might be!
Great posts as always, will play one day.
I'm looking forward to getting to this one as well. I've heard a LOT about it it, plus and minus, sounds like if you are going to play it like an Elder Scrolls game (80 hours) its doesn't hold up, but if you play it like Fable then it's the best Fable ever made.
I've heard lately, now they dust has settled, that it's greatest appeal is in the loot and the combat. Does that sound right Leo?
I'm so happy you are here to even ask the question! 
aspro said:I'm looking forward to getting to this one as well. I've heard a LOT about it it, plus and minus, sounds like if you are going to play it like an Elder Scrolls game (80 hours) its doesn't hold up, but if you play it like Fable then it's the best Fable ever made.
I've heard lately, now they dust has settled, that it's greatest appeal is in the loot and the combat. Does that sound right Leo?
Remember, one of the original developers of the Elder Scrolls series designed this game! It is --MUCH-- closer in execution to an Elder Scrolls game than Fable. Like an Elder Scrolls game, you have a lot of stats and skills. You have looting, lock-picking, pickpocketing and stealing. You can obtain a home, you can craft and forge. You can attack innocents if you want. You have Factions, TONS of side-quests, Persuasion skills in conversations, Fast-Travel... and so, so much more!
The only way I see it compare to Fable, really, is the ease of combat and switching between Magic and Melee attacks. I know Fable has a good amount of the things I just said above --BUT-- it just feels more like a Bethesda game (that actually runs) than a Fable game. Fable was floaty and almost comical in combat. This is high-fantasy and plays like a GoW style game, meaning it controls WELL! I've just put another 3 hours into and I was completely transfixed and lost in the world the whole time!
I guess that didn't directly answer your question though, huh? I --CAN-- see myself spending A LOT of time in this game --OVER-- 80 hours and not getting bored by it. I've spent 10 already and have only done 2 of the Main Story quests! The way the world looks (Todd McFarlane meets World of Warcraft), the way the game plays (Skyrim meets God of War + Darksiders), its Stability and TONS of Quests, LOOT and Skills to tinker with... The very fact that you can roll and re-roll your character to try different things... The possibilities are endless for me!
I've already refined my Character twice; Once to put more points into One Particular Weapon as a Rogue/Magic-User, then AGAIN to become a PURE Magic User to focus on the Chakrams, the most GoW like weapons in the game! I thought I wanted to be more stealthy and go for the sneaking kills, but then I found myself using some of the more creative Spells more than the Stealth, and wanting to use the Chakrams, so I decided to go the Mage route. All three Classes are fun though. I can see myself going all Rogue, stealing, lockpicking, and causing all sorts of mischief --JUST-- as easily as I can see myself going full on Might & Melee based and taking all the enemies Head-On like a full action game!
The spell that made the decision for me (besides the Lightning that eventually becomes Chain Lightning) is a Fire based spell where you can "Tag" your enemies and then detonate them with the holding of a button! So cool! I also have the ability to bring up a Force Field/Shield and summon a Familiar to fight along-side me. All that plus the Chakrams... AWESOME!
*Can't you just see Kratos in that same pose?*
To answer your question even more, here's a link to the GameSpot Topic (not made by me). People seem to go into it expecting Fable, but the more and more they play, the more they describe it as a colorful Skyrim!
The minor Points I Like and Dislike about Kingdoms of Amalur so far:
Like:
- Detecting Hidden Objects.
- Detecting Hidden Doors (and finding the rare loot behind).
- Watching Plants and Flowers spring to life around me as I walk by.
- LOOT, LOOT and more LOOT!
- I love, as a Mage, I can run into a group of enemies and decimate them with a spell or two (on Hard)!
- The ex-Geek-wanna-be from my youth LOVES the Elves and Gnomes, Sell-Swords and Seers, the Trolls and Dark Witches and the nearly indecipherable names of the Locations and Lands. I've never read an R. A. Salvatore book before, but this is making me want to!
Dislike:
- Playing on Normal is too easy. I switched to Hard and am enjoying it sooo much more!
This may or may not interest some of you --BUT-- did you know R. A. Salvatore wrote the Novels in the "Icewind Dale" and "Neverwinter" Forgotten Realms series? It seems as if this guy was responsible for the birth of what most Western RPGs are based on! Reviewers have the nerve to call his writing in this game "cliche" when he was the one responsible for starting it all! All of his writing in this game is original --FOR-- this game --BUT-- it's all going to seem intimately famliar to anyone with even a passing fancy in Fantasy books and/or games!
I really want to play this but am swamped with L.A. Noire and FF 13.5 right now, then by the time they're done Mass Effect 3 will be out. So its gonna have to wait awhile. Still, it sounds awesome man.
edgecrusher said:I really want to play this but am swamped with L.A. Noire and FF 13.5 right now, then by the time they're done Mass Effect 3 will be out. So its gonna have to wait awhile. Still, it sounds awesome man.
Same here, but this does look like something I'd want to play when I have plenty of time, just like I ddi with Skyrim....spring break? summer?
Great write-up, as always, Leo! I'm loving the Skyrim vibe.
____________________________
Alright, gonna put the scope of this game into a little perspective.
After 30 hours, I have Completed 36 Quests so far. I have finished ONE (of SIX) Faction's Quests. The Breakdown goes as follows:
- 7 Faction Quests
- 5 Main Story Quests
- 24 Side-Quests
All I have to say is D-A-M-N ! ! !
____________________________
The Developers have actually said they "might have overdone it with the amount of content."
"We recently had a content completion play through about two months ago… so, QA guys, they’ve been playing the game for years, they know all there is to know about it, it’s ins and outs, etc… their goal is to play everything. Do every quest, every dungeon, everything possible, but as fast as possible.
That means easy difficulty, skip all cut scenes and dialogue, sprint everywhere that’s sprintable, fast travel everywhere you can, don’t do any combat you don’t need to do… that all took around 200 hours, and that was a speed run."
I am reviving this topic since some of you guys have started playing recently! I gave up because the game became too easy --BUT-- I have friends that have devoted 100's of hours to the game --JUST-- because it was --THAT-- much fun! If any of you feel like posting impressions, please do in here... Maybe you'll convince me to give it another go!
___________________
Doesn't seem like all that long ago that I posted a little story in the news section about God of War + QTE + Oblivion = Kingdoms of Amalur. Truth is, it was around a year ago, but here it is, Amalur is out now! Does it live up to that original, assumptive blurb? You betcha! It's all that and more!
Former baseball pitcher, Curt Schilling, owns 38 Studios and originally had designs to make Amalur an MMO, but after acquiring Big Huge Games, he decided a different route. Amalur would become a single-player game FIRST, then the universe would be adapted into an MMO later!
To achieve this end, he recruited some of the biggest names in Fantasy gaming, writing and art, namely Ken Rolston, former lead developer of The Elder Scrolls series, R. A. Salvatore, Fantasy Novelist of Forgotten Realms novels (among many others) and Todd McFarlane, best known for Spawn and his Spiderman comic book work. So, they have the financial backing and the big-name talent, did the meeting of these mega-minds work out? Absolutely! See if any of this sounds good or familiar!
You start of Amalur, well... dead. You were killed in a "Crystal War" but your body was salvaged by Gnomes doing experiments with the "Well of Souls." This well was made to put an end to Death and War and bring prosperity to the Kingdom. There is currently a War raging between the Tuatha (Dark Fae, or Elves) and the Almains (Humans). The Winter Court (Dark Elves) is trying to usurp the Power from the Summer Court (Light Elves) and tip the Weave of Fate towards their favor.
You are killed in this war, but you are the first success in the Well of Souls. This is great, because of that whole "not being dead" thing --BUT-- being revived in this way has separated you from the Great Weave of Fate. In the Realm of Amalur all living beings have all of their fates interwoven into one great Story. Fate Weavers can read your place among the Weave, normally, down to the very day you will die. Exisiting outside of this weave can mean either very good things for the peoples suffering from the war, or very BAD things! In typical Elder Scrolls style, it's your place to decide where you want to fit into all of this!
___________________