Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Review in Progress, Continued

IGN has posted the second part for their review in progress dedicated to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, 38 Studios’ upcoming open-world action-RPG, slated for a release on February 7th in North America and February 10th in Europe. Judging by this piece, there’s much to look forward:

Reckoning’s superb combat mechanics keep me happy, however, leaving mild asides like the one mentioned in the previous paragraph in the periphery of my mind. Reckoning feels almost arcadey in its combat, something that seems totally out of place in a game like this, and yet something that remains utterly refreshing. Many other like-minded RPGs feel outright clunky and archaic compared to Reckoning, and I truly believe that combat may very well be this game’s strongest aspect.

Indeed, I’ve begun to realize the importance of strategy as I wage battle. The beginning of the game lulls you into a false sense of security, and Reckoning begins to feel like a button-masher. But it isn’t. When you start encountering enemies that are more difficult, more intelligent and more aggressive than ones very early in the game, you’ll start to understand the utmost importance of using your shield and the parry button.

Likewise, the use of items such as potions (called “consumables”) also carries tactical weight. The game quickly emphasizes the use of these items rather than stockpiling them. And I like that a lot when you consider how many RPGs over time give you all manner of items that are useless. Reckoning certainly has its own share of dubious items, but I find myself working the use of many items into the game’s greater strategy more often than in the vast majority of RPGs that I’ve played.

The article also contains a brief Q&A with questions asked by the readers, so here’s a couple of them:

brainxbang asks… Will we explore and find secrets/hidden dungeons? Find collectibles? Find quests that can only be found by exploring? That’s what I’d like to know.

Colin answers… Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a non-linear affair, just like some recent favorites of WRPG fans, like Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. And while the game certainly presents itself quite differently than those, Reckoning remains a sandbox waiting to be explored. The limit to your exploration is tied mostly to how strong you are and how far you can possibly get without perishing.

But to answer the question more specifically, yes, there are plenty of “secret” dungeons (I’d call them more “optional” than “secret”). There are collectibles in a sense, such as pillars you find hidden around environments that fill in a piece of a story and give you some experience points. And of course, in a game like this, there are scores of quests that can only be found by exploring.

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kaninekrunchie asks… I want to know if the quests are creative or tedious. Do they give you good context and purpose for playing the side quests, or do they feel like side quests just for the sake of ’em?

Colin answers… I haven’t encountered side quests or side quest-types in Reckoning that feel over-the-top in terms of being truly new. You’ll be doing some fetch quests, killing some monsters, saving some poor hapless fool from danger, and on and on. But Reckoning also gives plenty of context. Almost too much. The story is fleshed-out and thoughtful, but as I said in the first part of the review-in-progress, it’s also utterly dense. Some may consider the context and purpose almost too much when you’re running into the woods to kill some creatures.