KoA: Reckoning - Preview @ GameBanshee

[Dhruin]

GameBanshee has a new preview of Reckoning, saying "based on our extended hands-on time with the game, it's looking to be one of the best games of its type in the last couple of years":

One thing that we did get a sense for based on our time with the game is the style of the writing and the quests. Reckoning, while never really straying from traditional RPG quest design (go here, collect an object, kill a few monsters), also manages to wrap them up in entertaining ways. Almost all quests have some sort of interesting twist or tie-in to the game world (such as one where a disciple from a monetary is convinced he'll be granted great powers, and constantly debates his future "wizard name" even as he depends on your help), and very few play out exactly as expected. At the very least, it seems most quests involve some dialogue options, or a dungeon crawl, and several have a couple of different outcomes based on choices made. After playing hours of Skyrim, it's nice to see the designers and writers having some fun with the usual RPG tropes, rather than following them to the letter without even a hint of self-awareness.

More information.

 

[Dhruin]

I played this quest in the demo...I thought it was a bit predictable. Hopefully the other "twists" will be better.

 

[basharran]

I played this quest in the demo…I thought it was a bit predictable. Hopefully the other "twists" will be better.

Well you might have seen all tricks by now... For me it doesn't really matter, as long as the story arcs are meaningfull and add a sense of urgency than I'm happy.

 

[Twotricks]

Quote:"Combat is fast, fun, responsive, and driven by a fairly extensive combo system... and frankly, it makes games like The Witcher 2 feel downright clunky in comparison."

I actually felt the combat resembles Witcher 2 combat, And is perhaps just a bit more responsive. (actually whole control system is similar to Witcher2)

But Witcher 2 takes it on area of player movement that is done better.

And you do move quite more than you fight...

 

[JuliusMagnus]

Very noob of me, but the standard mouse sensitivity was way too sensitive. I know you can change it, but I have seriously never had to change it for any game.

I'm actually thinking of changing the controls to a Skyrim type layout. Inventory, character and main menu are rolled into one. Having the main menu on ESC is no problem since I don't have to use it so often, but I like to have the skill and inventory in range of my left little finger so I might change it to tab. That leaves the 'radial menu' which I'll move to z, since I'm used to the similar thing there in Skyrim.

I can see me doing alot of rolls since they are faster than running.

I also played with the X360 controller, which because of the above comments felt. more intuitive. Especially the special move/fateshift felt awkward with keyboard but natural with the controller.

The Witcher 2 character animations are more realistic and therefore can feel sluggish. Reckoning is not out to be realistic and goes for a less-taxing animation style so that makes it feel more fluid.

I'll definately buy this, but based on the demo it isn't a Skyrim beater, it's not even the type of open world Skyrim is but feels more like the worldbuilding of Arcania and Two Worlds II and as I said previously like an off-line version of a typical mmo world. But since it's so big I might be proven wrong, and in particular because this is just the starting area, to stick with the mmo theme.

 

[JuliusMagnus]

Well you might have seen all tricks by now… For me it doesn't really matter, as long as the story arcs are meaningfull and add a sense of urgency than I'm happy.

I don't think Dhruin is tired of 'the tricks' he just disagrees with the gamebanshee article that touts twists in this quest as some revolutionairy unpredictable storyline choices that makes a joke about genre tropes.

But in all seriousness, there is no genre that makes as much jokes about the genre tropes, like the RPG genre does, that it has become a trope itself.

 

[sakichop]

Wow.

Story on par with planescape torment.

Quests better than skyrim.

Combat better than the witcher 2.

This must be the best rpg ever made then.

Typical pre release hype. A month after release we will get the articles about linear dungeons, repetitive fed ex quests, easy combat etc. etc.

Skyrim and tw2 Were universally praised pre-release. Then post release they have tons of flaws. The witcher 2 and skyrim do have their fair share of flaws and I don't have a problem with them being pointed out.

My problem lies in the fact that they either don't see, ignore or downplay these flaws pre-release then devote full articles to them post release or use them to compare to other games.

I'm not talking just previews either they do they same with reviews where they've had a chance to play the full game.

this is in no way a knock on koa I think it will be a good action rpg.This is more a rant on gaming media. With the list of games he mentions to compare koa with you would think wow this will be one of the best rpg's ever released and he figured all that out based on a small pre release portion of the game.

 

[azarhal]

Very noob of me, but the standard mouse sensitivity was way too sensitive. I know you can change it, but I have seriously never had to change it for any game.

I have to do that in every games that I buy since I bought a gaming mouse last year, but KoA:R was ok with the default setting. I did lower the camera sensitivity in my second demo trial though, just to see the difference.

 

[crpgnut]

My download took forever off steam, so I might finally get a chance to at least look at it tonight. I'm still pretty addicted to Skyrim, so I may not play a bunch of Amalur until I burn out on Skyrim. I gotta see how much the graphics turn me off. The rest of it sounds okay, but I really hate weapons that are bigger than the person wielding them. It's like every character has one of the Giants clubs from Skyrim...

 

[skavenhorde]

@sakichop Just FYI, Gamebanshee is known for the quality of their reviews. At least as far as I'm concerned.

There are three websites I trust to not be "bought" or over-hype something just because all the cool kids are doing it. This one, GameBanshee and RPGCodex. However, I don't think the dialogue was on the same level as Torment(I highly doubt that any game will ever be that good again), but I agreed with everything else he had to say.

I will have to play on the hard difficulty though. I didn't die once in the demo. Mostly because I was racing through the game as fast as I could to finish quests and bypassing a lot of enemies.

 

[rune_74]

@sakichop Just FYI, Gamebanshee is known for the quality of their reviews. At least as far as I'm concerned.

There are three websites I trust to not be "bought" or over-hype something just because all the cool kids are doing it. This one, GameBanshee and RPGCodex. However, I don't think the dialogue was on the same level as Torment(I highly doubt that any game will ever be that good again), but I agreed with everything else he had to say.

I will have to play on the hard difficulty though. I didn't die once in the demo. Mostly because I was racing through the game as fast as I could to finish quests and bypassing a lot of enemies.

You want another good site check out colony of gamers. I`m not worried about the game getting overhyped...it does what it does well, and thats great for a new rpg dev...should make a lot of you happy...not sure why some of you are not.

 

[TheMadGamer]

I just finished playing the demo.

What I liked:

I like the compare item in the UI

I like that I can get 'more info' on Items

I like how I can equip items right from the loot container

I like how the game puts alchemy ingredients, crafting incredients, and keys into their
own respective containers (why so few games don't have a 'keyring' concept is mind boggling).

There was a cave behind a waterfall! Seems like that is typical in a fantasy setting but can't remember the last game that actually did it

The map is useful, both the local and world maps

The troll fight in the starter dungeon was fun

Character customization appears to be interesting

I like the art direction

The 'well of souls' sound effect was creepy (a good thing)

Seems like there will be a lot of differing kinds of loot and differing stats

What I Didn't Like:

Camera FoV is too zoomed in. I wish I could zoom in and out with the mouse scroll wheel

Too many invisible walls

Inventory, Skills screen, and general UI stuff I think would have been better as an overlay to the gameworld instead of blacking it out

Occasional stutters - they seem random

Occasional graphical glitches

Demo Comments

The Devs get a big thumbs up for providing a pre-release demo

I don't like having to watch all the stuff when I quit the demo - let me ESC out

At leaset give a one-time save ability or let me save a game outside the starter dungeon. 45 minutes is a short amount of time for many gamers. But for me, getting even 20 minutes of uninterrupted game time is a Christmas miracle.

 

[sakichop]

@sakichop Just FYI, Gamebanshee is known for the quality of their reviews. At least as far as I'm concerned.

There are three websites I trust to not be "bought" or over-hype something just because all the cool kids are doing it. This one, GameBanshee and RPGCodex. However, I don't think the dialogue was on the same level as Torment(I highly doubt that any game will ever be that good again), but I agreed with everything else he had to say.

I will have to play on the hard difficulty though. I didn't die once in the demo. Mostly because I was racing through the game as fast as I could to finish quests and by passing a lot of enemies.

Maybe, I don't really go to gamebanshee that much. I don't think they were bought or anything.

I don't like reviews with a lot of opinions because, well they are opinions.

Just give me the facts. Describe gameplay, combat, features,touch briefly on story ,etc. etc. Then let me decide if I think it's good or not.

It did seem like a lot of hype to me though. Look at the names he drops, BG, IWD, Ps:t, skyrim, diablo 2, the witcher 2, fable and so on. Most of these games are considered to be the best of their genre at one time or another. To associate these games with a game he only played a snippet of is high praise indeed.

Why bring up BG, IWD and PS:T if not to generate hype? I know I get excited still about those game. I understand the R.A Salvatore connection but KOA is nothing like those games.

"Combat is fast, fun, responsive, and driven by a fairly extensive combo system... and frankly, it makes games like The Witcher 2 feel downright clunky in comparison."

Why not stop after the word system? Why did he have to add his opinion after? Better than witcher 2 combat? Sounds like more hype to me. I like more realistic combat. Not only did I not find the witcher 2 combat clunky I enjoyed it more than KOA.(the limited time I spent with the demo, anyway.) Does that make me right? No, just means I have an opinion.

Then he insinuates that Kao's Quests are better than skyrims. Again sounds like hype to me. Many people think skyrims quest are top notch so if KOA'S are even better then I need to get this game. In my 4+ hours with the demo I didn't find any quests that I though were any better than skyrims? Again OPINION.

So if I go by his opinion KOA has better combat than the witcher 2, better quests than skyrim and a story on par with PS:T. That would make it one of the best if not the best rpg ever. That to me is a lot of hype. Again he figured all this based on just a snippet of the game.

I really think as a game reviewer you have a duty to keep your opinions out of it because unless everyone reading your article thinks exactly like you do your opinion doesn't really matter.

Just my opinion though, yours may vary.

 

[rune_74]

All reviews are opinions though....it is hard not to give your opinion when writing on a game. Some people find it more acceptable if the reviewer shares there views.

 

[Deleted User]

Maybe Reckoning is one of the best RPGs ever. Of course, it's going to come down to individual opinions. My top RPGs of all time list will look different from yours. But if the game is appealing to some people enough that they are comparing it to all-time great games, then that says something. Their opinions are valid too. I'm off to read the preview now.

Read it, sounded fine to me, I didn't see them overly hyping it at all. As for the comparisons, they seem valid enough, but I wouldn't call other games clunky in comparison. Witcher 2 goes for a different style of combat, so the 2 really shouldn't be compared. It was also weird to see him throw PS:T in there out of the blue, but whatever. Something about the story must have compelled him to make that comparison, so that's probably speaking to how good the dialog/story is in Reckoning.

 

[azarhal]

At leaset give a one-time save ability or let me save a game outside the starter dungeon. 45 minutes is a short amount of time for many gamers. But for me, getting even 20 minutes of uninterrupted game time is a Christmas miracle.

If you restart the demo it let you skip the starter dungeon and give you all the loot (well most of it) that you will find in it. Although, that's the only "time" saver you will find here.

 

[TheMadGamer]

If you restart the demo it let you skip the starter dungeon and give you all the loot (well most of it) that you will find in it. Although, that's the only "time" saver you will find here.

I will check this out. Have played the demo 2 times but never noticed this on the second time through.

 

[Carnifex]

Yeah, if you play it again after clearing the tutorial, you get to start right where you exited. I've done a bit of exploring once I figured that out!!


-Carn

 

[Brother None]

Game's unplayable for me. Mouse smoothing camera, motion blur, motion sickness. Good job, Big Huge Games.

Story on par with planescape torment.

He said the story setup, as in the opening cutscenes/area, "to a degree recalls Planescape: Torment". How you transformed that to "story on par with" is beyond me. If you're going to accuse someone of making unreasonable comparison, it is good to at least be accurate about it yourself.

In fact, the opening of Reckoning very clearly feels like the opening of PS:T in the morgue, to the point where it's a rip-off. I would make a similar comparison, but express it in a more negative way. Eric kept a neutral tone about it.

Many people think skyrims quest are top notch so if KOA'S are even better then I need to get this game.

Many, maybe. Not us. We blasted Skyrim's quest design, so the comparison is hardly a flattering one.

I really think as a game reviewer you have a duty to keep your opinions out of it because unless everyone reading your article thinks exactly like you do your opinion doesn't really matter.

That is impossible. All you would end up with is a reviewer/previewer trying to hide his opinion. You have an opinion, you can't suppress it, it'll end up colouring your writing. Trying to hide it as if hiding it makes you less biased is not the right way to go. Instead, as a writer, it is your job to first present the facts, and then clearly construct for the reader how these gameplay elements led you to form a certain opinion. You're not telling anyone what they opinion should be, you're just offering yours for people to agree or disagree with.

 

[Bedwyr]

As I wrote on Aiera, I think the game has the gameplay style of Divinity II and art direction of WoW. The quests have some depth, but also suffer somewhat from WoWitis (smash 10/10 crates). The fate system may have more impact than I saw in the demo, but the mechanics didn't appear to be highly differentiated from other RPGs. The general fighter/mage/thief skill trees are all there. Scripting is competent but nothing to rave about. None of this surprises me given the cooks at the stove and especially the history of the company founder (a WoW fan).

Of note, the voice acting is on par with other games except for Lorestones. Those were a pleasant surprise. Maybe the actors had such a large block of text at once to read, they could just let loose with their skill. Maybe Salvatore simply got the space to cut loose with his pen. It showed. Maybe that demonstrates the limitations of interactive media that have to unnaturally split up a human conversation's flow.

In any case, I'm sympathetic to the game and rooting for it partly because it's a new studio and partly because its the home team (go Tibby!). We shall see.