[Manhunter71]

As today is the start of a week-long holiday from work, due to term-break, I decided that my time would be spent following my favourite pastime.
So, I have on my computer ready to play, Kingdoms of Amalur, Adams Venture 3, Scratches Director's Cut and Kings Quest/Police quest/Space Quest.
I just hope a week is long enough - I dont think it will be.

But to get back to the point, what I want to talk about and what is exciting me the most is Kingdoms of Amalur. Now I've seen some very average reviews of this game, talking about dull, uninspired graphics, heavily action based but light on story.
From what I've seen during my first 30 mins playing - those reviews are totally off
The graphics are pretty, almost cartoon-like, although maybe we may have expected more from Todd McFarlane?
The storyline so far seems like it will bhe pretty epic - it is written by the great R.A. Salavatore and a lot of detail has been put into it. There are many documents and books to read which add to the enjoyment and the voice acting is extremely well acted - as good as Skyrim I wouold say.

So far, this is looking like it will be an enjoyable open-world rpg with many quests and items to gather, very similar to Skyrim, just not as complex



Anyone else playing this, or have any opinions on the game?

[Schneckchen ^.^]

I played the demo and liked it a lot. I'll probably end up getting it when it's cheaper.

[Manhunter71]

Originally Posted by Schneckchen ^.^

I played the demo and liked it a lot. I'll probably end up getting it when it's cheaper.

All I can say is get it sooner rather than later - if you have the spare cash that is, and ignore all the bad/mediocre reviews of this game.
People have said that the quests just amount to killing/fetching quests - but isnt that the case with most rpgs?
This game has a myriad of quests - I'm only at lvl9 with about 5 hrs of gameplay and have hardly touched on the main story. In my quest log there are about 15 unfinished quests, and I havent even opened up all the areas yet. And the quests vary - yes, they are all pretty much kill/fetch/escort quests, but the same was true of Skyrim.

Also, the story has been criticised as poorly presented, but I don't see that. The only slight criticism I do have is that the voice acting tends to become a little annoying after a while.
As you can see, I'm quite excited about this game - in fact I haven't been this much into an RPG since I played Dragon Age:Origins.
This is well presented, the characters all have depth and have interesting things to say.

[Crunchy in milk]

I didn't enjoy how cobbled together the story felt. Even if you're willing to handwave it as homage it just happened too frequently for my tastes... Like a movie cast entirely with blockbuster actors and instead of letting the story wash over you, you keep going "oh he's from that show...".

In Amalur's case I was seeing Planescape themes, Revenant themes, stuff from Merry Gentry, a little LOTR, etc... I don't claim that the stuff I recognised 'went there first', just that Amalur went there yet again, over and over. Like they just picked popular memes up on some kind of popular fiction craigslist and stuck them together.

[Manhunter71]

Hmm, ok, but surely that's the same for all RPGs - you see the same concepts and themes rehashed but in slightly different ways?

Just out of curiosity, what similarities to Planescape did u see - as I said before, I'm only about 4 hrs into the game I think, and so far it seems just as original as any other rpg I've played.

I guess you see Merry Gentry references because of the elven storyline and the summer and winter court right? But really, did Laurel Hamilton create those terms?
Remember, this story was crafted by R.A. Salvatore and I'm pretty sure the elven heirarchy has been used in other novels too.
It just seems to me that people criticise new games too much - especially rpgs. The same happened with Skyrim, Dragon Age etc...
Would someone say the same thing about Half Life 2? "Oh, that was done in Doom already"?

Maybe I'm not looking into it too much - I guess I'm just happy to have another decent rpg to play

[Crunchy in milk]

Originally Posted by Manhunter71

Hmm, ok, but surely that's the same for all RPGs

How exactly is that an argument to queue up at the trough again?

Originally Posted by Manhunter71

Just out of curiosity, what similarities to Planescape did u see

You play an amnesiac revenant who's remembering past skills and throughout the story, begin to piece together the knowledge of who you where, and your convenient prior connection to certain major players and events.

Originally Posted by Manhunter71

I guess you see Merry Gentry references because of the [...] summer and winter court right? But really, did Laurel Hamilton create those terms?

As I already said in my earlier post, I don't claim the stuff I recalled 'went there first'. Even Hellboy visits the dual fey courts, their rivalry with one another and with humans.

Many stories retread old ground, covering a popular theme with their own spin. It just felt (to me) like Amalur was a grab bag of the best bits from too many popular fantasy settings, stuck together. It prevented me from enjoying anything unique about the story.

Originally Posted by Manhunter71

Remember, this story was crafted by R.A. Salvatore

I am familiar with some of his work, yes. This is not exactly a plus (for me).

Remember too that Amalur is/was intended to be an MMO with extremely broad appeal. Covering a large number of fantasy trope bases was undoubtedly a goal from the outset. Over and above the presentation of a unique narrative (with a beginning, middle & end). Salvatore was signed onto the team to write backstory fiction for the MMO (lore).

Originally Posted by Manhunter71

It just seems to me that people criticise new games too much - especially rpgs. [...] Would someone say the same thing about Half Life 2?...

Small wonder, really. RPGs generally require a significantly greater investment from the player. Having said that, shooters are no less immune to the 'done that before' argument & criticism.

I don't deny there are people who will love the familiarity of it all.

I just reached a point where I was hitting the same buttons and killing the same monsters, waiting for something unique to happen, and nothing in the story was making me curious.

[Balderduck]

It started off great for me...Although it's action oriented, the combat system was pretty good, and the world/graphic-design is very unique...

The story is a bit of a let-down, especially since Salvatore was involved

I was addicted to it for some time, but after a while it got a bit repetitious and there was nothing in the story to keep me going so I never finished it...

Overall I'd say it's quite good! You should try it.

[Schneckchen ^.^]

Originally Posted by Balderduck

The story is a bit of a let-down, especially since Salvatore was involved

I can't remember the last time I found the story of a non adventure game very compelling. Not even Skyrim had that. But I don't expect it either. I just want the game to be fun.

If I want a good story I play an adventure game or read a book.

[Balderduck]

*ahem*
Baldur'sgatefallout2planescapetormentknightsoftheo ldrepublic
*ahem*

But I agree, can't compare anything to adventuregames storywise...

[Manhunter71]

Originally Posted by Crunchy in milk

How exactly is that an argument to queue up at the trough again?

Ok, but how is it that an argument to not play it? You know that there are no unique stories, but just because its been done before, does that mean you shouldn't play it?

Originally Posted by Crunchy in milk

I just reached a point where I was hitting the same buttons and killing the same monsters, waiting for something unique to happen, and nothing in the story was making me curious.

And that wasn't the case with Planescape? Or any other rpg of the past 20 years? Pretty much with all games you end up doing that.


Ok, lets agree to disagree.
I realise when looking back at my posts that I may be coming off as an Amalur fanboy, so please feel free to chastise me and bombard me with frying pans galore.
I just wanted to get my point across that its not such a bad game, and who cares if things have been done before? You'll either enjoy it, or you won't

[Crunchy in milk]

Originally Posted by Manhunter71

And that wasn't the case with Planescape?

I despise the DND combat system, especially 2e. I would race through it to get to the next nugget of story. Fantasy staples are often subverted or given a heavy coating of planescapes special sauce.

Originally Posted by Manhunter71

I just wanted to get my point across that its not such a bad game, and who cares if things have been done before?

If It seems like I hated Amalur, I didn't. I will probably go back and finish it some day. I enjoyed the look and play of the game, enough to level up 3 different characters to try out the different class mechanics. Had I followed the main story and just let my character evolve as an aside, rather than putting it off to go level, I might have stuck with it longer and been pleasantly surprised.

[Manhunter71]

Originally Posted by Crunchy in milk

I despise the DND combat system, especially 2e. I would race through it to get to the next nugget of story. Fantasy staples are often subverted or given a heavy coating of planescapes special sauce.

When you say you despise the D&D combat system, do you mean you prefer it when the combat results are based on player skill, rather than character skill?
Generally I'm the opposite

Originally Posted by Crunchy in milk

If It seems like I hated Amalur, I didn't. I will probably go back and finish it some day. I enjoyed the look and play of the game, enough to level up 3 different characters to try out the different class mechanics. Had I followed the main story and just let my character evolve as an aside, rather than putting it off to go level, I might have stuck with it longer and been pleasantly surprised.

I think thats a problem with long rpgs, I know it was a problem for me with games like Skyrim and Gothic. There's an immense world with sometimes pretty much endless quests to do, if you're not careful you spend so much time wandering the world doing sidequests that you forget about the main story. Then when you do come back to it, whatever pulled you in at first has kind of been forgotten and then you start to lose interest. Really, the only reason I completed Skyrim was because of the sidequests, of which some were absolutely hilarious -but following the main story was a little disappointing.
We never had this problem in the good old Planescape and NWN days - yes there were sidequests but there was no veering off and getting distracted.

In fact, I hate to admit it, but I'm getting that feeling now with Amalur
I've been running around do sidequests and occasionally coming back to the main story - and yes, its starting to feel disjointed.