Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is an upcoming open world action RPG. Developed by Big Huge Games and published by 38 Studios in 2012 for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The combat in Reckoning is action-based, with a heavy emphasis on hack and slash. Some of the common hack and slash elements include juggles, dashes, and slow-motion finishes. If hacking and slashing aren’t necessarily a player’s thing, there are also chances for stealth kills.
The Beginning of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
At the start of the game, the character is resurrected from the dead in the Well of Souls. While this sounds pretty neat, it comes with some consequences. The worst drawback is that the resurrection process has left the character without a fate. From a gameplay standpoint, however, this is the perfect place for a character to be. Having no fate means that players will forge their own path, and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is definitely designed with this in mind. When players begin the game, they don’t select a class.
Skills and abilities are the player’s choice, but they are influenced by the decisions made throughout the game. There is the equivalent of a skill tree, divided into three sections: might, sorcery, and finesse. Gamers get to choose how their character advances up this tree, completely unhindered by the class restrictions that normally come with the skill tree structure.
More Than Just Combat
Aside from combat skills, there are skills that help accomplish various things throughout the world. For example, there is the persuasion skill, and a more roguish skill that lets players open locks. Since some of the treasure chests they’ll encounter are locked by magic, players will need to learn to dispel them. Dispelling a lock opens up a minigame, similar to the way hacking works in BioShock.
The character’s appearance is also completely up to the gamer. Reckoning features, a fairly deep character creation menu, where they can modify things like hair color, and even add tattoos and piercings.
Open World Mania
The real meat of the game, though, is its open world. And this thing is enormous. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning has over 125 dungeons, 4 major cities, and countless smaller villages scattered across its five regions. No matter which aspect of role-playing games enjoyed most, players are going to have a lot of content to play with. Of course, with such a large area to explore, there will be vast amounts of loot to collect. This will translate to some elite gear, and we were even told there would be armor sets that give players set bonuses. Having multiple pieces of armor in the same set will give various stat boosts.
Features of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
There will be crafting as well. Some of the options include blacksmithing and sage crafting. There is a special state the character can go into called “reckoning” where time slows, and attacks become more powerful. One recurring theme stands out: the choices you make matter. Whether it’s strategy, gear selection, skill tree advancement, or morality, every decision you make will affect the way this game plays out. In Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, world-renowned game designer Ken Rolston delivers the open-world exploration, vast narrative, and character customization he’s famous for, including hybrid character classes that reward player choice at every turn.
Last Words
Due to the enormity of the open wildness of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning combined with the graphics it is a whole treat to play this game. Just to give a final sense of what the game is like, picture this. A scene within the game involves an enormous Cyclops entering the fray smashing soldiers left and right. As impossible as the fight may seem, the game’s protagonist stands atop a cliff and attacks the creatures one eye whenever open with ease. Of course, this is just barely scratching the surface of this enormous game, but the rest is for gamers to figure out.