I recieved an email for this yesterday and decided to try out the demo after watching a bunch of videos recorded at the PAX East convention. It looked pretty sweet until I started playing it. It's too arcady and 100% geared towards consoles. It was referenced that this would be an Elder Scrolls killer--no. That is not the case. For those that are interested in Fable type games, you'll probably really enjoy it. And it seems there's a lot that goes into character customization. But the game seems very much on rails. They talk about a huge world to explore, but during the demo, it seemed very similar to the Dungeon Siege series. The game also appears to have copied a lot from other games in lore, races, and the locations they live. The cartoony graphics don't help much either. 

While I think it would be a fun console RPG, this does not at all cater to the PC crowd or the crowd here at Wargamer. Plus, it's not a wargame. 

I felt the same way about the demo. I was going to pre-order, but it felt like Fable with less to do.

I'm downloading now. Some of the previews were quite favourable, so I had hopes. The demo means you get some silly extras in ME3 when it is released as well :-)

Anyway, I am holding out for the start of February and Final Fantasy XIII-2...

It bills itself as having a vast and open world. Truth is, it feels a lot like a linear game on rails.

It really lacks in everything in order to properly compete with Skyrim, Dragon Age, or any other modern SP RPG.

So far that have played, it is clearly the tutorial area - which often enough is very linear (for obvious reasons) so maybe it becomes more open world later. It (apparently) is supposed to have a fairly detailed background and history to the world, not just slung together for an action RPG. I'll try some more tomorrow and see if it "warms up".

I'll admit though, so far not overly thrilled. As said above, tends a bit to Fable. And so far, not so good. Action and mechanics are OK, but not cause for vast excitement.

talking of which, I got Fable II on Xbox and didn't enjoy it at all.  Last week was lent Fable III and actually it is a good improvement (for all that reviews ranked it well below the widely lauded II). Not my favourite RPG by a long shot, but fun enough.

*Sigh*

Another cons-hole-ized RPG? 

Shhhhh!!!....you'll wake up Ghostryder!!!

Originally Posted By Hartford688

So far that have played, it is clearly the tutorial area - which often enough is very linear (for obvious reasons) so maybe it becomes more open world later. It (apparently) is supposed to have a fairly detailed background and history to the world, not just slung together for an action RPG. I'll try some more tomorrow and see if it "warms up".

 

I'll admit though, so far not overly thrilled. As said above, tends a bit to Fable. And so far, not so good. Action and mechanics are OK, but not cause for vast excitement.

 

talking of which, I got Fable II on Xbox and didn't enjoy it at all.  Last week was lent Fable III and actually it is a good improvement (for all that reviews ranked it well below the widely lauded II). Not my favourite RPG by a long shot, but fun enough.

I played beyond the Tutorial, until I got bored with the demo.

It's still very linear. May not be as ultra-linear as Dungeon-Siege 1 was, but still very linear.

Also, Fable 3 is actually quite an interesting game (with a nice twist) as opposed to this one.

Well has anyone jumped on board and bought this?  Any comments?  Seems the reviews have been pretty positive.  I guess I really need to try the Demo but wondered if anyone is playing it and wondered if the impressions given by the Demo still held true.

I picked it up and have about 6 hours in it. Nice big world, side quests everywhere, solid character customization. Very much action game combat, so if you don't like that this is NOT the game for you. It does one thing I've never seen before in an RPG system, where your character class isn't anything permanent. You can (and might) change your class every time you level up, just to tweak whatever buffs you gain, with classes available opened by the total number of points you've invested in the Might, Finesse and Sorcery skill treees (with those also opening up new abilities and special attacks/spells).

Arctic Blast:

May I ask are you playing on a console or PC? 

Not sure why but I don't like the grahics and arcade lighting effects when you swing a sword. I might have liked that more years ago maybe, now I prfer it a liitle less bright and in your face. If it's going to fo a comic\cartoon look than I'd rather they go for 300 (the graphic novel\film) kind of look. Rather than a kids cartoon. Just not for me. Even Skyim wasn't enough in realism stakes, The Witcher 2 looked better thna most. Still one day we will see a real dark fantasy with suitable looks\visuals.

I played the demo and found it ok but bland, before it crashed- it felt like playing single player WoW, but with arcade style combat.  I may pick it up at some point if it goes on sale for £5 - possibly £10 if I feel the need for a semi open world RPG and I've played Skyrim to death.  I too found the visuals outdated and off putting.  That said, I can see a lot of people buying it due to the hype and it being fairly successful.

A review from RPS that I thought well done:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/02/09/wot-i-think-kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning/

Or go to IGN for a "best game in the world" review.

I liked the demo well enough, and even like the art style.  But not $60 worth of like.  I'm sure Steam will have it on sale for $30 or $40 by Summer.

Originally Posted By Hartford688 (10 FEB 2012 11:33am)

A review from RPS that I thought well done:

 

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/02/09/wot-i-think-kingdoms-of-amalur-reckoning/

 

Or go to IGN for a "best game in the world" review.

Yes, the guy who wrote that review was almost a bit too gushing!  It's funny that he highlights the gameplay as being a lot better than Skyrim.  Personally, although I am well aware there is not a lot of skill to Skyrim, I like it that way (allows me to play the game and explore rather than worry about combos, yet giving a satisifyingly visceral feel at the same time).  My impression of KoAR is that it is also a button masher for the most part. 

On a different note.  I HATE QUESTION MARKS AND EXCLAMATION MARKS ABOVE PEOPLE'S HEADS!!!!!  This was fine for WoW, where the facade of immersion was ruined anyway by the fact that the game felt like a theme park at times - queue up for this quest then the next one, but for single player games it feels like a total absence of imagination, and a belief that the game's audience wouldn't want to waste a second of their time talking to non quest giving npcs.  I like the fact in Skyrim, and many other good games, you have to speak to people to find out what they want. 

Originally Posted By Steveski (10 FEB 2012 9:41am)

Arctic Blast:

 

May I ask are you playing on a console or PC? 

I'm playing it on the PC.

And yeah, it does have a bit of a cartoony art style. Personally, I find it a bit refreshing amidst the onslught of 'realistic' use of various shades of gray and brown seen in a lot of other games.