Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning Review :: An MMO For Misanthropes
First, A Little Bit Of History
When Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning first released back in 2012, it was sadly overshadowed by what are now considered some of the modern classics in the RPG genre: Mass Effect 2, The Witcher 2, and of course, the phenomenon that was and is Dark Souls. Over the years, Amalur has morphed into a cult classic and has come to be considered the quintessential underrated game. The overall consensus of the industry seemed to be that the title wasn't done justice because of the troubled production cycle and its aftermath (an understatement if ever there was one!)
I mean, it's not hard to see why. With the hugely popular veteran fantasy author RA Salvatore as lead writer, comics icon Todd MacFarlane (creator of Spawn) serving as Art Director, and the lead designer of Oblivion & Morrowind Ken Rolston helming the project, it seemed destined for not only success but true greatness. It's ironic then that a game heavily themed on destiny was just not destined for greatness.
Developed by Big Huge Games (very subtle) & the now-defunct 38 Studios, and published by Electronic Arts in 2012, the game released to pretty good reviews, and even sold a respectable 1.2 million units in its first 90 days. Though many didn't believe it lived up to the hype and it was criticized for technical issues like awkward UI, the lack of challenge, and disparities in volume between different in-game dialogues, it was still reasonably well-received.
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Verdict:
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning is a single-player RPG with the generic, pointless questing and narrative padding of an MMORPG, but with pretty excellent freedom in combat. That's pretty much all you need to know. If you find 150 hours of a fun, constantly fresh gameplay loop appealing, or if you find yourself cursing everyone you see in an MMO, wishing it was a single-player, I reckon this is the game for you, no question about it. And especially if you're into podcasts, I re-reckon you'll have fun with this title.
If you've already played it through though, or you're still on the fence about it, there's not much new in the remaster, so I suggest you wait for the new Fatesworn expansion due out next year.
Score: 7/10
