Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #4805 in Digital Video Games
- Brand: Electronic Arts
- Model: 40855: Reckoning2
- Released on: 2012-02-07
- ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
- Platform: Windows 7
- Format: Download
Features
- Uncover the secrets of Amalur in hundreds of hours of immersive gameplay, from the vibrant city of Rathir to the vast region of Dalentarth to the grim dungeons of the Brigand Hall Caverns.
- Rescue a world torn apart by a vicious war and control the keys to immortality as the first warrior ever to be resurrected from the grips of death. Turn your lack of a destiny to your advantage and harness fate as a weapon.
- Explore deep levels of lore in a universe steeped in 10,000 years of fiction created by New York Times bestselling author R.A. Salvatore.
- Customize your play in a dynamic combat system that delivers some of the most intense and responsive action ever seen in an RPG.
- Seamlessly integrate magical and melee attacks as you take on scores of enemies in grand fight sequences and finish them off with brutal Fateshift kills.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning [Download]
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
84 of 96 people found the following review helpful.
By Allison
When Big Huge Games announced they were working on an RPG, I was both skeptical and hopeful. I knew them for their strategy titles, and while they created quality games I was dreading another slow-paced entry to the genre. Well, it looks like all my fears were for nothing. While they don't deliver anything extraordinarily ground breaking here, every element they have pulled into the game are ones I have found fun in other games. And one point I feel I have to make early on: This is nothing like Skyrim. Many people have asked me if it's like Skyrim/Oblivion, and I'm assuming this has to do with the designer being involved in the game. Really, the only thing familiar was the lockpicking, the rest of the game plays vastly differently from Skyrim and it's a good thing. So on to the key points I get asked about:Combat--This is where Reckoning shines. The combat is slick and fun, and it's the first game I've heard touting the 'Play any style you want!' where it actually seems to work. Nothing like sneaking up, backstabbing someone, instantly throwing a fireball in the face of your next foe, and then switching to a two-hander and charging into the next group of enemies. If I had to compare the game to anything that would give you an instant idea, at first impression I felt like it was a mix of Fable and God of War. No, it's not quite as much of a slaughter fest as God of War, but the combat has that fluid, satisfying style that God of War brought to the table.Environment--It's big. It's not a sandbox, and you will find yourself in valleys and going down paths without any clear way to get to the other side (if there even is anything on the other side), and in this regard the world reminded me more of Fable. But there is a lot to explore and do here, and I never found myself thinking 'I really wish I could climb to the top of that mountain' because there was too much to keep me busy right in front of me.Sound--Aside from a few times where I just thought the environment music was a bit odd, the music is great and the voice acting actually surprised me. Though I've read Salvatore, I find him a bit cheesy and repetitive at times, and for some reason my brain associated that with terrible voice acting. Fear not, everyone you meet is voiced well, and while I did roll my eyes once or twice the reason I did so has been long forgotten. Also, there is a lot of voice acting here. Even NPCs who have nothing really important to do for the story have quite a bit of dialog for the purposes of lore.Graphics--The environments are gorgeous, but you know that from watching the trailers. There will be some who don't like the slightly cartoony direction that BHGs took with this, but I for one have thoroughly enjoyed it. I just got done putting in over a hundred hours with Skyrim (I know, I know, I'm running behind the rest of the pack), and I'm tired of looking at 'realistic' graphics. This was a refreshing change and one I thoroughly enjoyed. I will repeat what I've seen in other reviews because I agreed: As beautiful as the environments are, the character models are slightly lacking. They're not terrible, and probably would have done well in many other games, but in comparison to the environments they feel a bit underpolished. Given a choice between fluid combat and a fantastic looking model, though, and I'll take the combat any day. I know they had to make a choice here, and they made the right one.I suppose it should be noted that I'm playing this on Steam, as I'm a bit once-bitten-twice-shy with Origin registration. I've seen reports of bugs and glitches, but aside from the odd texture popping up where it shouldn't maybe five times during my play, I haven't encountered anything that would bring me to a halt. Really, though, if you're not sure if you want this game, play the demo. It runs you through the tutorial portion of the game and then gives you 45 minutes to explore--and while you'll only touch the tip of the iceberg in that time, it will either save you sixty bucks if you don't like the style of the game or it will make you crave more. Personally, I'm betting on the latter.
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful.
By Uber Geezer
I am going to give KOAR a thorough review, but the skinny version is this: KOAR is a great old school RPG. It took me 80 hours to get through it the first time, and I will definitely play it again.As an old school RPG, it has features that are traditionally good, and some that are traditionally bad. Let's start with the bad first.1. Severe inventory space issues. People all over the Web gripe about this. There are, in my view, too many different kinds of potions (among other issues). Even when I purchased extra space from 5 merchants, there were times when I had to run outside of a dungeon and warp back to a merchant to do a sell-off, and then go back down into the dungeon. In Torchlight you could load up your pet and send your pet back to town, and in Sacred 2 you could summons an imp with your large loot chest from town. Something like that would have helped.2. Ugly gear. This is very common to western RPGs. If you want great looking gear or gear that is customizable in appearance, you must play Asian RPGs and MMOs. (Or, if KOAR releases a tool kit, someone will make good looking gear on their own time, as has been done with DAO, Skyrim, and Torchlight, for example.) As with many western RPGs, the NPCs often wear better looking gear than you will ever have.3. Ugly hair. Equivalent to Dragon Age and Skyrim. The 10 year old plastic hair design cannot be dumbed down to accommodate console players, because we know hair can be done correctly...even on the consoles (for example, the blonde female in Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom). If KOAR releases a took kit, someone will make better looking hair on their own time.4. Randomness. I played as a mage. When I completed the Battle Arena quest, 7 unique (purple) pieces of gear had dropped. I could not wear a single piece of it. When I killed an end boss named Cur, he dropped six pieces of matching gear. I could not wear a single thing he dropped. Also, there is no relationship between how hard a chest is to open or get to, and the quality of loot you find. As a final example, even when my blacksmithing skill was raised to the maximum level, when I salvaged loot, the results were all random. I could save the game, and then have to reload it several times to salvage anything other than "common" quality components. These kinds of issues made a friend of mine stop playing the game prior to getting half done. I understood his pain, but the next section explains why I recommend the game anyway.5. NPC AI. The mage could summon a Faer Gorta, as a sort of melee NPC who was supposed to help you a bit. You can read the various forums on the Web about the widespread disappointment with Faer Gorta. For me, he did was he was supposed to do 50% of the time, and stood still as a statue and let me get wailed on 50% of the time. The best NPC AI in any RPG I have ever played was Dragon Age: Origins. Nothing else has come close.6. Level cap is 40. This isn't as significant as it sounds, because I had plenty of power to take down the final boss in a single attempt at level 40. I only mention this limitation because some RPG players like to go overboard leveling up, so they can stroll in and one-shot the boss. Even if that is how you have fun, there are plenty of other things that make this game worthwhile...a subject to which I now turn.Now for the good stuff.1. The game has different difficulty levels. This is critical for me. After a challenging 10 hour day at work, I do not want to come home to another challenge as much as I want fun that comes from nuking mobs.2. You can save the game anywhere (unlike LOTR: War in the North). Again, critical for me.3. The story is great (it lived up to its expectations for me).4. The game is huge. Colossal. Gigantic. It is on the scale of Skyrim, Sacred 2, or Dragon Age: Origins. It is definitely NOT rush-to-market-small like Dragon Age: Awakening or LOTR: War in the North. In KOAR, there seems to be as much space under ground in dungeons as there is above ground. I do not know how they can put that much game on one disk.5. You can hide your head gear. I cannot understand why any RPG lets you create a custom head, and then forces you to wear a 5 gallon bucket (i.e., helmet) for the duration of the game. If you are forced to wear a helmet and be totally covered in ugly gear, your toon could look like the international bathroom boy and girl stick figures and it wouldn't matter.6. Graphics were what I expect on a game released in 2012. The meteor spell was particularly fun to watch, as the nuke would send bodies and weapons flying all over.7. Good quest system, and elegantly combined with the map system. KOAR was very clear about who had a quest for you. Other recent RPGs are a bit more obscure about the questing process.8. A restriction of arcade elements. Arcade elements (incredibly rapid response and hand/eye tasks) are continually encroaching into RPGs. Some found their way into KOAR, but in very limited amounts. (The worst two examples are warded chests and the experience percentage earned in Reckoning mode.) Even as a person who avoids arcade games 100% of the time, those two elements did not ruin KOAR for me. I appreciated a very limited number of arcade elements.9. You can change many of the features of your toon's facial appearance throughout the game. I don't know why the game limited the changeable features, but at least you could change some. Not many RPGs let you change your toon's appearance...EVER.10. When you unlocked a new skill on the skill tree, a feature called "Moves" showed you exactly how to use it. Good job!11. You can easily compare new armor and weapon drops with what you have, to determine in an instant whether the new item is better than the one you already have.12. When you use your blacksmithing skill, you can make armor and weapons that are better than anything that drops in the game. I love this feature, because I love going into boss battles and handing them their bu***s in a brown paper bag.13. Replayability. Well, I am going to play it all the way through at least one more time, perhaps more.I recommend the game. It isn't perfect by a long shot, but well worth your time and money.
40 of 48 people found the following review helpful.
By Blake Thorne
I usually pay attention to new games coming out. In the weeks before this game came out, I read about it, and watched some videos. It didn't really seem like something I would want to play. When the demo came out, I played it but still wasn't very impressed. But after all the positive reviews and praise Reckoning received when it debuted, I decided to buy it. After all, I needed an epic adventure for my brand new gaming laptop.The game is like many other fantasy RPGs. You are this messianic character who has defied death, and is destined to save the world. Not exactly original I know, but that's forgivable. You are able to choose from a few different races, each with slightly different stats, but not different enough to make any huge difference. After the introduction, where you learn the basics of combat and learn a little about the story, you are unleashed into the world. The world of Amalur is bright, colorful, and beautiful. After gaining a few levels, you kind of get a feel of what type of class you want to play. You can basically be a big weapon wielding warrior, a stealthy rogue with daggers and bows, a magic blasting mage, or a combination of each. Every level gained gives you points to spend in your talent trees. If you want to change your talents to try something new, all you need to do is see a Fateweaver, and they will reset your talents for a small fee.One you start exploring different towns and areas, you will immediately be bombarded with quests. Lots of quests. The main story quest is about 25 hours, but you could potentially spend 100 or more hours doing the rest of the side quests. I initially decided to do every side and faction quest in an area before I moved on. After completing several dozen of these quests, I lost interest and focused on the main story. None of the side quests are particularly interesting. I eventually learned that the main story is not particularly interesting either. Each quest is more of the same: go here, kill this, explore this dungeon, talk to this person, etc. I even downloaded the first expansion, The Legend of Dead Kel, and it was just more of the same quests. Questing is very fast paced. There is no need to read the instructions for each quest, because the game will tell you exactly where to go, and when you get there, there will be an arrow pointing to what you need to do. There is really no feeling of exploration that you get from games like Skyrim.The best part about Amalur is the combat. No matter what type of class you turn your character into, the combat will be fast paced and fun. After the first few hours of the game, I began to see why this game received such high praise. I decided to first play as a mage type class. After several levels I unlocked many abilities that made me unstoppable. But the problem with becoming too powerful is that the game becomes less challenging. I was relying less on health potions, and didn't require much strategy in a fight. I could run into a group of monsters, do my area of effect lightning attack, and most monsters would be dead instantly. So the combat grew stale as my character became more powerful. You also have an ability call fate. Its a meter that builds up as you fight. Eventually the meter will get full, and you can activate this mode where your attacks become much more powerful, and enemy movement is slowed. It can lead to some cool death animation scenes. But the fate meter also creates a problem of making the game too easy. For example, you can save your full fate meter for a boss fight. When the fight starts, activate your fate ability, attack the boss, and it will be dead in seconds. Not very fun.The game also gives the illusion choice and consequence. During conversations will NPCs, it will often give you a few different ways to respond, much like Mass Effect's chat wheel. But in Reckoning, no matter what choice you make in the conversation, the outcome will usually be the same. You can also kill people and steal items. When you do so, the town guards will try to arrest you. You can either go to jail, pay a fine, or run. If you choose to run away, never fear, because you can just come back later and the guards will have forgotten all about your crime. Unlike Skyrim, where the guards remember you, and will even send bounty hunters after you.The voice acting is pretty good, the sound effects get the job done, but the game's soundtrack isn't really all that moving. The graphics are pretty good, though the characters are kind of cartoony. Many people compare the graphics to WoW. WoW's graphics, though dated, have a certain charm to them. These graphics have no charm. The camera will also drive you nuts. This is a game designed for consoles, so I wouldn't recommend playing this with a mouse and keyboard. An Xbox PC gamepad is ideal.So I labeled this review "From Meh to Yeah! to Meh." I wasn't very excited about this game at first. I decided to give it a chance, and for the first 20 or so hours it was pretty good. In fact it was great! After about 20 hours, my character got too powerful, quests were boring, and the story was not getting any more interesting. It felt like an obligation to finish the game. I paid $50 for this game, and at that price I wouldn't recommend it. But I see Amazon is now selling the PC version at about $28, and at that price it's worth checking out.
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