Given the positive reception of Rise of Nations, it was encouraging to see Big Huge Games having a large involvement with the title as well. From all accounts so far, neither 38 Studios nor their collaborators in Big Huge Games, are intending for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning to be a flash-in-the-pan. Not that any developer ever does, but that’s beside the point. Anyhoo, there are a couple of other big names behind the game; well-known Todd McFarlane is leading art direction and famed fantasy author R.A. Salvatore penned the story and created the universe. While there wasn’t enough time to chat with the producers and developers who came out to show the game, there was enough time to get through the first, intriguing hour of the game.
A couple of things stood out from the outset. Firstly, following the initial presentation before play time, if Reckoning were to somehow marry all if its proposed features into a comprehensive game, then it would indeed become the title that Fable tried (and failed) to be; a deep, challenging yet wholly accessible RPG experience. Secondly, it doesn’t immediately hit the player with the need to choose a ‘path’, but slowly weans them through each of the options, before allowing the player to make and informed choice. Sure, Skyrim did this recently, but the approach that the developers of Reckoning have taken is more direct.
It all begins under that sheet.
For those who haven’t been enlightened on the story yet, the premise is intriguing enough to warrant a look. Within a fantastical war, both sides are trying to gain control over realm of the dead. And one side (presumably the ‘good’ side) has been experimenting with a machine called the ‘Well of Souls’, and your character is the first successful product. Players will awaken on a pile of dead corpses (as a “blank slate”) having been assumed to be another experimental failure. After customising your character, race and appearance, it’s time to make your way out of the corpse-infested dungeon. Customisation options aren’t ground-breaking, but will allow you to make some hideous monstrosities and, during the play time, didn’t stutter and make you wait three years to see the next option.
Unfortunately, the ‘bad guys’ seem to have discovered your side's grip on the new technology and have infiltrated the research facility in search of your ‘creator’. You’re snuck out the back, where you’re then sent off on a journey to discover your ‘fate’. But before that, the game gradually throws most of the elements at you’ll encounter – such as combat, magic, steath – to give you a taste of the different play styles, which allow you to make a more informed decision about what path/class to take. Each path is referred to as a ‘destiny’, where one leans towards more of a melee class, one to a magic class and the final one to more of a thief class.
Ballet class is the best.
The impressive aspect was how sophisticated in each aspect these destinies were. Effectively, taking one path will boost certain aspects of your stats, but won’t prevent you from working towards other stats, as you grow and level up. What Skyrim did extremely well was that just about everything could be tackled using the specialites your chose, if you were smart about it. While all the ingredients are in place for Reckoning, the biggest challenge will be to see if it does manage to pull through. Also taking queue from the streamlined interface in Skyrim, Reckoning is (very welcomingly) jumping onto the clean menu bandwagon, with some smart interface options for sorting through all your RPG paraphernalia.
The whole ‘blank slate’ aspect of your character is being pushed as one of the most important things to the game. It is noted by an NPC early on that it’s highly unusual that the player’s fate cannot be read – meaning that your potential to control your fate (unlike everyone else in the world) makes you open to choices that others don’t have, and you will indeed have a role in shaping the outcome of the war. And this is what ties back into the ability to go back and choose your destiny, while also (supposedly) making sure you think about the consequences of your choices – of which there will apparently be many.
How do you cause that light?
Without splitting chips till the final version of the game is released, the impression so far is a few aspects of the core gameplay fit really well, while others may end up proving irksome. Described by Studio Head Schilling as a mix between God of War and Skyrim, some players might get turned off what seems like simplistic combat at first, though the developers are trying to reassure gamers that button mashing will not get you through. Furthermore, you’ll spend a lot of time in dialogue, so after playing the likes of Mass Effect and Skyrim, the system here little cumbersome, even if the dialogue itself and voicing were very good. Otherwise, everything plays pretty well and once you’ve learned what button does what, you’ll be seamlessly gallivanting around Amalur doing just as you please, when you please.
From the first hour of gameplay, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning showed that it was definitely on track to getting closer to realising what Fable should have been; the premier fantasy Western RPG that everyone could play. All the ingredients and intentions are there, and now it’s just left up to the final execution. There is no doubt that the game will be solid, that much is clear. However, it won’t be until the final release is made available, will it be known if all the ambitious elements of the game have come together.
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