Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Review:

What comes to mind when you think RPG? Epic fantasy adventure, character customizations, choosing your own destiny, and more bang for my buck are usually what flows into my head when I think of the broad spectrum of RPG games on the market. A lot of games promise so many things, but fail to deliver the experience that gamers lust for in a total package. When EA announced Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (KOAR) and a star studded cast of some of the best visionaries in fantasy from different mediums, the game became something that any RPG fan had to keep an eye on. Could this be the crown jewel we have all been waiting to pop into our disc trays only to suck away months of our lives into a fantasy realm like no other, or is this just another of the imposters promising so much just to pull the rug out from under you after making your purchase?

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Resurrected from the dead and thrown into battle against a dissident Fae faction called the Tuatha, the player starts their journey by selecting one of four unique races that have their own custom bonuses that help mold the character's development. After the intro of the game and narrowly escaping with your newly restored life you find out that you are without a predestined future and have the ability to shape the fate of all those you come into contact with during your travels. Along with the main quest to thwart the Tuatha from gaining control of all the Faelands there are hundreds of side quests from townsfolk and five different factions that will occupy hundreds of hours of your time and take well over a month if you go at it like a full time job. As your character levels up you'll be able to build upon generic abilities ranging from blacksmithing to persuasion as well as branching skill trees from 3 classes (Warrior, Mage, and Rogue) that give players special abilities that expand their battle prowess and attributes. Customization of your player is further enhanced with choosing a destiny that is based off your current levels of the 3 classes and gives your character bonuses until you choose another card when you level up next. There are tiers within each of the destinies that evolve with player progression Players will love how they can tailor their character to their playing style without feeling forced to follow a certain direction and if at any point you're unhappy with the choices made, you can visit a fate weaver to respec your character levels. Equipment and weapons also help shape your character's customization as each piece has unique attributes that enhance your abilities making it much more than a cosmetic improvement.

Combat seemed very "hack and slash" at first, but as you level up, gain new equipment and weapons, and are confronted by enemies that attack in groups you'll learn to adapt and use all your skill sets. Strategy and potion use are key when facing more than one powerful enemy even though it is possible to hack them to bits while spamming minor health potions that are hot keyed. Fighting is very action oriented and happens at a much faster pace than normal RPGs making KOAR a distinctive game within the genre. Besides combat, crafting becomes a significant addendum that allows players to create new potions, equipment, weapons, and gems to augment and enhance attributes.

Stealth has always felt like a tacked on feature for most RPGs I've played in the past and it really didn't make me play the game any different. KOAR has changed all of that and brought the appeal stealth has with games like Splinter Cell and Metal Gear to this action RPG. You can sneak past a group of enemies that are going about their daily business, whether it's a group of Brownies ravaging a corpse or bandits working out in their makeshift camp, and they will be none the wiser that you passed by unscathed. There is also the ability to perform assassinations with daggers or critical hits with other weapons if you sneak up behind a foe undetected. It also plays a role in pick pocketing and looting stashes as you're given a probability of success. If you're caught you go to jail, resist arrest or bribe your way out of trouble, but if you get away with it you are that much richer if you can find somebody to fence your stolen goods for some extra gold.

While KOAR seems like a massive world to explore you'll find that quests are very much funnelled into a certain area rather than strewn across the map making you trek to and fro to complete them. This is both a blessing and curse giving it less of an open world feel and making exploring something you have to do on your own instead of passing something by chance. Incorporating fast travel to places you have visited in the past reduces the amount of time spent in the open world, but gives you a great way of jumping to a merchant when your inventory is overflowing, or reverting to an unfinished quest. Fast travelling is a nice convenience, but players will miss out on the exceptionally rendered environment. KOAR's visuals are highly stylized giving it a unique fantasy appeal with its bright color palate and varying locations. Players can travel from dark swamps teeming with little buggers to expansive mountain passes that will keep you evading attacks from massive enemies. While the landscape has an appeal that will keep you relishing exploration and combat, character models aren't really on the same scope. They just don't have the same attention to detail and at times just look out of place with their choppy appearance. Animations are fluid when moving around the environment, performing assassinations, casting spells, and fate shifting adding to the charm of the game flowing seamlessly from exploring to combat.

Combine the massive world with an ever evolving musical score and you'll find yourself quickly absorbed into the world of Amalur. The dynamic orchestra is what you'd expect from AAA fantasy movies, so having it as part of the game is a true gem. Voice acting is just as stellar providing deep conversation lines with a plethora of different voices, not just your same 4 or 5 voice over actors you find a lot of games doing. Sound effects during spells and combat, as well as the ambient sounds of the environment aren't quite as spectacular, but they do a decent job. Sadly a lot of what KOAR does with its audio is cancelled out by terrible little bugs that can drive you mad. Whether it is the footsteps of a NPC that is following sounding like a herd of galloping horses in sync or the voices of characters becoming increasingly loud even when you are on the other side of the room, these small audio faults add up to bring down what is one of the better voice acting and musically adept games for the 360.

Name tossing doesn't usually really peak my interest that much, but when I heard the likes of Ken Rolston helped design the game, Todd McFarlane instilled his artistic genius into the world of KOAR, and the story is from R.A. Salvatore I was chomping at the bit to see if this combination could pull off a game to rival all others. There are some huge shoes to fill considering a game like this will draw comparisons to the best in the genre, but all this does is put blinders to the masses unwilling to experience all KOAR has to offer. The game is unique because of the variety it offers players with character customization, exploring a vast world, and an almost flawless combat system that puts a lot of pure action games to shame. Environments visually stimulate your senses as you traverse across a game that contains hundreds of hours of gameplay. Small fixes to audio bugs, better character models, and a more fleshed out looting system could have made KOAR the unicorn of games. Even with these flaws it is hard to deny that the game is an addictive pleasure and rare combination of elements that make this a must have RPG for anyone.