Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Review

It seems like Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning’s first non-magazine review has hit the net, courtesy of IGN, and for anyone who has been following their review-in-progress articles it shouldn’t be surprising that they award the title a 9.0/10. A couple of quotes from it:

Reckoning proves once and for all that great role-playing experiences don’t have to sacrifice what matters most in any game — gameplay — while still remaining true to all of the minutiae that makes the best RPGs great. And while Reckoning certainly has its own flaws, I still found myself utterly satisfied with my experience and anxious to parlay the good news to fellow fans of the western RPG. Reckoning certainly isn’t a game you should sleep on. Quite the contrary: Amalur demands your attention.

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Lending to the feeling of exploration, Reckoning’s high quality (yet inconsistent) art style will give you a true feeling of discovering the unique and unknown. Environments are beautiful, and locations feel truly different from one another. You’ll work your way from ancient forests to wide open plains, from sandy deserts to murky swamps. Amalur exudes topographical and geological diversity. Unfortunately, characters and monsters alike don’t quite live up to the lofty heights set by your surroundings, though everything still mixes together nicely.

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I’ll come right out and say it: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning will be discussed when Game of the Year 2012 rolls around. It has brought the conversation about what combat can be in the role-playing genre to the forefront and sets the bar exceptionally high for its future contemporaries in the genre. But don’t let its competition-shaming gameplay lull you into think that that’s all this game has to offer, because that’s just gloss on an overall package that’s bound to impress the RPG faithful.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning isn’t the perfect game. Its random technical hiccups and inconsistent art style certainly holds it back from even higher levels of greatness. But no matter what you’re looking for, whether it be amazing gameplay, immersive storytelling or perhaps a riveting new world to explore as you fully customize and re-customize your character at will, Reckoning has it all. And after I jump back into my own game to clean up all of the optional stuff I didn’t do, I sense I’ll want even more. And yes, so will you.