Kingdoms of Amalur: a first impression.
Feb. 11th, 2012 12:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
misguidance I love this game! <3
Before I start, it's worth noting that I am still playing both Skyrim and Rift on a regular basis ('regular' being code for 'whenever I am not studying/sleeping/working'.... I actually spend very little time playing computer games, all told), and between those two I have a fairly wide scope of fantasy game experiences going on. Because of that, I was wary of picking up a new game, and to be honest nothing really caught my eye. Then by chance I saw a game trailer for 'Amalur' and had an 'OMG MUST HAVE' reaction, which I am not used to as far as games go. Skyrim was an exception because I love the whole Elder Scrolls series, but with everything else- even games I adore like the Silent Hill ones- I am usually quite slow to pick them up. With 'Amalur' I pre-ordered it the day I saw the trailer. I have no regrets.
I am about 3 hours into a game which the developers claim takes 200hours on a speed run, so I can't comment on the overall story as much as I might like.... but early quests and info are favourable. R A Salvator has a distinctive style, and I think I would know he had written it even if it wasn't written all over the box. Todd McFarlane's influence is a bit more subtle, but the more I play the more I see it. I was a huge Spawn fan back in the day, and I have a great fondness for his twisted fairy-tales. This game is a nice, non-comic book platform for his work.
The thing I really love, though, is the whole combined effect. 'Amalur' has a combat style like a more fluid version of 'Fable' but with a matching colour palette and score, and more interesting monsters. It is dark and weird, but also vibrant and far more in depth. There's something oddly nostalgic about it- especially in the music- and I can't quote put my finger on what it is. There is the opportunity to be good, evil, neither, or just a minor social menace. Like in Skyrim you build your own class, but unlike Skyrim the magic is bigger and brighter, the weapons more high fantasy, and the whole thing has a lovely gloss of old-fashioned D&D to it. Also, the elf races can have some pretty bad-ass beards. I approve of this; we have deprived them of beards for too long, and nothing is better than a willowy elf with mutton-chops the size of his ears. XD
It also has the bonus of being a one player game, which is always what I hanker for after a few hours on an MMO- much as I love Rift, I actually don't like other players that much. Nothing spoils game immersion like someone wandering up to you mid-quest and going 'lol noob' or wandering past with a name blatantly stolen from a current popular anime. >_<;
There are a few bad points that I've noticed, and I would be painting an overly rosy picture if I didn't mention them:
+The main one would be the graphics. They are good, but other games look better. It does have a nice cartoon-like feel to it which hides many of the problems, but some of the faces look awkward and the textures could be better quality.
+Some of the lip-syncing is off, which is a bit jarring.
+Female characters are often stuck with the traditional 'show as much boob and belly as possible' style fantasy outfits, some of which are just downright silly and none of which I especially like.
+The game is designed for an X-Box 360 pad, and even on the PC it is easier to play with the pad than the keyboard (luckily I have a pad, so I was ok....)
+You can only jump and swim in certain places, and there are a lot of unexpected invisible walls in odd places.
+Screen-shots are not an in-game function. You have to do it the old fashioned way, by pasting shots into paint or a similar program and saving them there.
+It has gnomes. Lots of them. With Scottish accents. >_>;
Overall, though, this game is exactly what I wanted: As involved as Skyrim, but less gritty. You know, for when I want some shining, mystic elf-y fantasy with vibrant fae-touched monsters, rather than hard, ice-cold mountains populated by angry dragons spoiling for a debate. ^__^.
Also, I have some silly pictures:
This is Dethius, my slightly half-assed eye-candy for the game. He has stubble. I nearly gave him an enormous ginger 80s porn-star 'stach too, but when I put it on him I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe and I thought asphyxia might make playing the game a bit too hard. You will probably be seeing more of Dethius as I play through the game.
Yeah.... from the look on his face, I'm not sure I want to know what kind of 'services' he offers.....
And an early joy from the beginning of the game:
Kill Rock Troll, loot it's butt? Seriously? XD
I'm going to try and get some nice shots of the scenery next time I play. For now, though, I need to go to sleep. I was on a night shift last night and I have only managed a few hours of sleep today, so I am wiped. >_>; Totally worth it, though!
Before I start, it's worth noting that I am still playing both Skyrim and Rift on a regular basis ('regular' being code for 'whenever I am not studying/sleeping/working'.... I actually spend very little time playing computer games, all told), and between those two I have a fairly wide scope of fantasy game experiences going on. Because of that, I was wary of picking up a new game, and to be honest nothing really caught my eye. Then by chance I saw a game trailer for 'Amalur' and had an 'OMG MUST HAVE' reaction, which I am not used to as far as games go. Skyrim was an exception because I love the whole Elder Scrolls series, but with everything else- even games I adore like the Silent Hill ones- I am usually quite slow to pick them up. With 'Amalur' I pre-ordered it the day I saw the trailer. I have no regrets.
I am about 3 hours into a game which the developers claim takes 200hours on a speed run, so I can't comment on the overall story as much as I might like.... but early quests and info are favourable. R A Salvator has a distinctive style, and I think I would know he had written it even if it wasn't written all over the box. Todd McFarlane's influence is a bit more subtle, but the more I play the more I see it. I was a huge Spawn fan back in the day, and I have a great fondness for his twisted fairy-tales. This game is a nice, non-comic book platform for his work.
The thing I really love, though, is the whole combined effect. 'Amalur' has a combat style like a more fluid version of 'Fable' but with a matching colour palette and score, and more interesting monsters. It is dark and weird, but also vibrant and far more in depth. There's something oddly nostalgic about it- especially in the music- and I can't quote put my finger on what it is. There is the opportunity to be good, evil, neither, or just a minor social menace. Like in Skyrim you build your own class, but unlike Skyrim the magic is bigger and brighter, the weapons more high fantasy, and the whole thing has a lovely gloss of old-fashioned D&D to it. Also, the elf races can have some pretty bad-ass beards. I approve of this; we have deprived them of beards for too long, and nothing is better than a willowy elf with mutton-chops the size of his ears. XD
It also has the bonus of being a one player game, which is always what I hanker for after a few hours on an MMO- much as I love Rift, I actually don't like other players that much. Nothing spoils game immersion like someone wandering up to you mid-quest and going 'lol noob' or wandering past with a name blatantly stolen from a current popular anime. >_<;
There are a few bad points that I've noticed, and I would be painting an overly rosy picture if I didn't mention them:
+The main one would be the graphics. They are good, but other games look better. It does have a nice cartoon-like feel to it which hides many of the problems, but some of the faces look awkward and the textures could be better quality.
+Some of the lip-syncing is off, which is a bit jarring.
+Female characters are often stuck with the traditional 'show as much boob and belly as possible' style fantasy outfits, some of which are just downright silly and none of which I especially like.
+The game is designed for an X-Box 360 pad, and even on the PC it is easier to play with the pad than the keyboard (luckily I have a pad, so I was ok....)
+You can only jump and swim in certain places, and there are a lot of unexpected invisible walls in odd places.
+Screen-shots are not an in-game function. You have to do it the old fashioned way, by pasting shots into paint or a similar program and saving them there.
+It has gnomes. Lots of them. With Scottish accents. >_>;
Overall, though, this game is exactly what I wanted: As involved as Skyrim, but less gritty. You know, for when I want some shining, mystic elf-y fantasy with vibrant fae-touched monsters, rather than hard, ice-cold mountains populated by angry dragons spoiling for a debate. ^__^.
Also, I have some silly pictures:
This is Dethius, my slightly half-assed eye-candy for the game. He has stubble. I nearly gave him an enormous ginger 80s porn-star 'stach too, but when I put it on him I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe and I thought asphyxia might make playing the game a bit too hard. You will probably be seeing more of Dethius as I play through the game.
Yeah.... from the look on his face, I'm not sure I want to know what kind of 'services' he offers.....
And an early joy from the beginning of the game:
Kill Rock Troll, loot it's butt? Seriously? XD
I'm going to try and get some nice shots of the scenery next time I play. For now, though, I need to go to sleep. I was on a night shift last night and I have only managed a few hours of sleep today, so I am wiped. >_>; Totally worth it, though!
