| Title | Your Daily McMaster: what I reckon |
| Author | Jason McMaster |
| Posted in | Games |
| When | February 14, 2012 |
Every time I get into the groove of Kingdoms of Amalur, something shoves a stick in my spokes. Just wandering through the world and discovering new locations is a thrill. The game is littered with enemies to encounter and places to explore. The combat is exciting..
Read the full articleYou're absolutely right - to put it the geekiest way possible, Amalur is like an android trying to be human; it can mimic the motions, the expressions, but there's no warmth or authenticity behind it. It is unquestionably a bag of parts, rather than a game designed to be an "experience". There's no vision, no focused ambition that is the the hallmark of great RPGs.
In my time playing on 'Hard' mode(a misnomer for what should be the proper "Normal" difficulty balancing), I have yet to perish either. I have come close on many occasions, but potions and the dodge roll are more than enough to keep me alive. As I progress, those situations of near-death are growing farther apart thanks to stronger loot and skills that boost my survival chances.
I want to like the game more than I actually am, as I am in agreement with your post. As a fan of the genre and the effort on display, the pieces are in place for me to effectively love this game; yet Amalur really trips at the starting line. Improved balancing and more engaging lore that doesn't suffer from such haughty naming conventions, and this could have been one of the best releases of the year.
I have to say, I really do enjoy Amalur, It's a fun game, but they definitely could have put more polish into the conversations between the characters, because they really are far too mechanical. Of course, TOR's spoiled me.
I'm playing on Hard and, while using a finesse class, died a shitload. After switching to might/sorcery and then pure sorcery, I die a whole lot less.
I just wish the side quests didn't have so much goddamn insufferable fast travelling in them. I dread doing new quests, even if they're interesting, because I don't want to stare at loading screens.
I'm nearly entirely sorcery, and I'm still dying a lot. Guess I'm gimping myself somehow. ;)
Agreed, and don't do that, respectively.