Is Amalur Fun?

NOTE:  THIS POST INCLUDES SPOILERS!  Don’t whine and cry if anything gets ruined for you.  A fair warning’s been given.

To start, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a newly released game that was fairly hyped prior to release.  It was elevated to the lofty heights of a title like Skyrim, supposedly offering an alternative to the massively engaging world of Tamriel.  I had the pleasure of playing Amalur’s beginning and immediate end.  Take this however you may, but I feel that is enough to judge this game’s entertainment value.

As Kingdoms is looking to go toe-to-toe with Elder Scrolls, it’s only justice to rank one against the other.  Concerning the player selection and customization screen, the options are quite limited for Amalur; there are at most a dozen or so different, predetermined options for each major facial and body feature.  If a want is present to fine-tune a nose or an eye or a color, that want is neglected.  Skyrim doesn’t have this problem at all, as there are, shall it be said, many, options for every physical trait.  The selection for a general player are also skimp; with only 3 paths of performance available, a player is forced into choosing a career path very early on, lest every move made is rendered useless.

After selecting a character, the classic amnesia mechanic takes over.  You know nothing, everyone around you knows more than you, and the player is victim to good intentions and malevolent purposes both.  The narrative is nothing that a semi-versed gamer of the fantasy genre will not have seen before – predictable, cliché, and generic.  Only hope for the bedraggled good-guys?  Check.  Only overpowered super soldier that can use everything without any training?  Check.  Black-and-white world morals?  And check again.  For a game to act as a competitor to Skyrim, a cookie-cutter story is in no-way an asset.

Now, though what some might call the “meat” of the game was skipped, the conclusion of Kingdoms of Amalur is possibly the only bit more of the game a player may wish to play all the linear way through.  During the inevitable climax with the emperor boss, who has an army of many thousands, fights you on his own.  The battle is OK, though the pattern of attack is easily figured out.  However, the war isn’t over; a twist is that the emperor isn’t the main threat.  An imprisoned dragon is the power behind him, but is hardly any more of a challenge.  In short order, the world is saved in a classic good-vs-evil wrap-up.

To tell the truth, Kingdoms of Amalur ‘s simplicity in execution is refreshing.  Usually such play is not nearly as polished as this game, but once that fresh breath is taken, Amalur leaves something to be desired.  The experience is further trounced by the hype the game had prior to release that wasn’t delivered.  Oh well.  I’d personally judge this as an average game.  Play it yourself if nothing else is around, but don’t expect a world-shaking experience.  Remember, life is too short for tasteless things!

• + Colorful composition.
• + Responsive controls.
• + Uncomplicated decisions.
• + Refreshing simplicity.
• - Linear level layout.
• A fix: loop sections of the world together in a branching-path design.
• - Too familiar enemies and environments.
• A fix: Invest in increasing the visual asset library.
• - Lacking drive in the narrative.
• A fix: Give room for writers to implement some truly original ideas.