Full Title: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Developers: 38 Studios, Big Huge Games
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, 3 and Xbox 360
Release Date: February 7th (NA) 10th (EU) 2012
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning has the potential to be one of the best RPG’s released this year, and among the very top tier of RPG’s released this generation. The stars are aligning for this to be one of the grandest and most engaging experiences the genre has ever seen, combining elements from a wide range of games into one seamless experience. The story is epic enough to take place over the span of multiple novels, the gameplay is intuitive yet complex enough to be placed in any action-adventure game, and the RPG mechanics are detailed enough to make any gamer happy.
I have spoken about this game on Turn Based many times before, and it is one of my most anticipated games of the year. Thankfully on January 17th the demo has finally been released, and I have to say that my excitement is as high as ever. Combat is fluid and responsive, and the graphics look even better in motion. I downloaded and played the PC version of the demo, but it is identical across all three platforms. You play through the opening story sequences, then once you hit the main world you are allotted 45 minutes of gametime to explore and do some questing. Additionally, playing the demo assigns a ton of bonus content you can acquire upon the games release, as well as some special bonus content for Mass Effect 3 (also published by EA.)
Now for the main reason this game has so much exctiement surrounding it: the big names involved. The developer itself is relatively new, but it is headed up by former MLB star Curt Schilling, New York Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore, award-winning artist Todd McFarlane, and finally the Lead Designer from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Ken Rolston. All in all everything is in place for this game to be truly fantastic. Just like the main character, I guess the only thing left to decide is the game’s ultimate destiny!
