The fort!

Though by all accounts, AC4's multiplayer is pretty fun too.

I am still playing Kingdoms of Amalur. It has some big flaws, and most of them incredibly simple little things that the devs for some reason decided to ignore. My guess is because it was obviously made for the consoles and then only absentmindedly ported to the PC (and if you think Skyrim was half-assed ported to the PC, then you have not seen anything yet).

For example, you cannot change the distance of the camera. You can rotate it, but it remains far away as it feels like, and moves back and forth whenever the mood takes it. You cannot remove the hud or change its layout or elements. You cannot back up or sidestep, though you can turn around or turn sideways. When you hit the dodge button, it makes you go straight forward, into what you are fighting. There is no command console for tweaking the game. So far as I can tell, there are no mods either. You cannot drop anything, though you can move items to your stash in a bought home, and you can junk items in your inventory. There are no clutter items at all, so you cannot decorate your house, or just pick up ordinary stuff, or move it around. You cannot wait. While time passes between day and night, there is no clock you can reference to see what time it is. This actually can make a difference, as there are weapons that do more damage whether it is day or night. As I said in a previous post, there is no manual that comes with the game, and ingame help is so vague that it is no help at all. After you create you character, you can look at your stats and such, but nowhere does it say what race you are. Hardly something that breaks a game, but if you come back to play a character after a few months hiatus, you might be wondering what you are.

The graphics are not bad, but OTOH, still dated, and plainly made to support the low amount of ram and cpu power of consoles (which granted, you can say about every PC game made in the last five years). There is an FXAA injector that works with the game which can brighten it up though. I started using it a few days ago, and it is an improvement. The art direction itself is also basically cartoonish. I am not completely opposed to this. It does give the game a flavor to it that an ultra-realistic design would lack. But I also cannot help to think that it is a sign that the game was meant more for children than adults.

Add to that the combat, where you cannot hold a shield and a sword at the same time. You cannot stand with a sword or bow or other weapon out, even in the middle of a fight. Yet it is filled with uber combination moves that are performed by acrobatically mashing buttons in a specific order. It often feels like I am playing Mortal Kombat. As a spellcaster or archer, you cannot hit anything that is not close enough to detect you and start combat mode (when it pops up on your radar and attacks you). So no sniping from long range. You cannot aim either. At least not where you want to aim. Instead the game decides what it wants you to aim at. My character can be looking directly at a 20 foot tall troll bearing down upon her. I hit the fire button, and I watch her turn 90 degrees and blow up the crates beside her. Probably about half the time I miss what I am aiming at because you cannot really aim.

Then you have the basic encounter philosophy. Time and time again, you will find monsters magically appear all around you, literally poofing out of nowhere to all rush at you at once. I suppose that is really exciting to twitch gamers, but for someone who actually likes to think about what they are doing, and plan how to approach an enemy, it is disappointing. Combat is more about mashing buttons quickly, and in the proper order for those special combos, than it is about using any sort of strategy.

Finally you get the handholding on a monstrous level. You literally see glowing arrows and question marks floating over every character that has a quest or other sort of important plot point attached to them. Gee, think I should talk to her? Likewise, every chest or other container you can loot has glowy wisps of light floating up from them, so you cannot miss them. Which again makes me think this game is aimed at children, rather than adults.

OTOH, for all of that KoA has its high points. I find the world they created to be interesting. It takes a lot of inspiration from Celtic/Irish mythology with a little Norse sprinkled in for extra flavor, and it not shy about owning up to it. You have the Fae, baddies called the Tuatha, one of the first people you meet is named Fomorious, and there is a place called The Sidhe. The Fae confused me at first, because I kept thinking they meant elves. But the Fae are actually separate creatures, immortal spirits of nature, who while they can be killed, simply reincarnate again later. The elves OTOH, are called Alfar, which was a nice nod to Norse mythology. I also like how they look. For all of its cartoonish feel, I have to say I like how all the characters look much better than Skyrim.

Something I like is that while it is a game that does have three basic classes (mage/fighter/thief), there is a lot of fluidity between the three. You are not locked into anything at any point. Every time you level up you get points to buy abilities with, and you can choose them from any of the three categories. So hybird characters are just fine. The basic class idea (called Destinies) lay over top of that. After you spend a specific amount of points in a certain category of skills, you can choose a Destiny. That Destiny gives you bonuses based on your class category. For example, the mage Destinies all give you extra magic points, quicker magic regeneration, etc... There are six Destinies per basic class, and some more for hybrids of the three. So as you go up in levels you can move to an improved Destiny with better bonuses.

The main quest actually interests me, which is something I have never said about an ES game. The game world is heavily invested in the power of fate, which is plainly not just an idea, but a real force that does indeed spell out an entire person's life (and death), before they are even born. There is even a bunch of folks called Fateweavers who have the ability to read the fates of others. I am reminded very heavily of Norse Mythology here, which likewise had that idea that your wyrd was something you could not escape.

Enter the protagonist. Its another Chosen One, which initially made me groan. But I like this Chosen One concept, because the character is not fated to succeed, or to do anything in fact. Your character has been brought back from the dead by a gnome mage/scientist, who is trying to find a way to save the people lose in the terrible war with the Big Bad that is going on. You are the one and only success, and you come back to life a literal blank slate. You are completely outside of the power of fate. You have no fate in fact. And because of that you can not only make your own fate, but remake the fates of everyone and everything you touch. Nothing is set in stone anymore, which is a wonderful way of turning the whole Chosen One trope on its head. I always hate the CO, because being Chosen by Fate, they cannot fail at their appointed task. The world will rearrange itself to make sure they succeed. Because they are the Chosen One after all. But your character can fail. They can do anything in fact. They can do things they aren't supposed to. If anything the protagonist is the Unchosen One.

Like every RPG, it has the usual war of Light vs. Darkness. Yeah, we all know it. This is a little interesting in that the Big Bad are Fae that have been somehow corrupted. The Fae, being creatures of nature, are split into two basic factions. The Summer Court represent the warmth of summer, and the phenomena of birth, growth, etc... The Winter Fae represent death, decay, and decline. All the not so nice things that are necessary in order for life to flourish without utter stagnation. In normal times they are not fun at parties, but not outright baddies either. They just have an unpleasant task to perform. Something bent them, and I have not gotten far enough to figure out what yet.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Dec 23 2013, 05:12 AM

Wow, SubRosa, thanks for the fabulous and detailed review of this interesting game. Since we are both veterans of Oblivion and Diablo II, I understand your perspective on the game - especially your take on 'fast twitch' reactionary combat like you have to do in DII vs the ability to stalk and plan your attacks like OB allows. Very interesting!

I read someplace before that it was originally being created as an MMO, which explains some of the design choices and issues it has if that is true. All around however, it is a pretty good hack and slash game with a good story and an interesting lore.

Starcraft Brood War. Classics never die!

Found an old favorite of mine on Steam: Age of Empires 2.

So simple, yet so addictive.

Unfortunately, years of playing Bethesda RPGs means my twitch gameplay is very rusty. If I want to hit the arena against other players, I need to get that together.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Dec 23 2013, 07:16 AM

Having played it for a wee while ourselves (I mean us as a family) I do know what you mean about that...I really love the design of the whole thing...

The thing about the combination of classes is how I've got my Mage-Knight thing...I love him, he's Proper Awesome™!!...Actually, despite his lack of talking, I think he's one of my fave characters that I've ever played... ...

Aaaaamywho, the reason I quoted that bit in particular, is that I agree that it seems a bit kiddified in places, and yet, over here, it's rated 15...*Shrug*...

It's an excellent game if you just accept its faults and just enjoy what's awesome about it... ...

KoAtR has it's upsides, for instance the destinites system and the way that you can actually choose how questlines end. I recall the House of Ballads, the only I remember with any real clarity, gave you a major choice about how to end it, but I don't know how much of an effect that hoice has.

I have to agree with you Subrosa when you say it's aimed at children. While I had fun when I played it, after a while the combat began to get tiresome, the unmissable golden glows got annoying, and the characters in the main plot pissed me off by having gear that looked much cooler than anything I could get.

@McBadgere: The game was only rated 15 to get it onto the shelves. But everyone knows that some parents will buy their kids any game they want, regardless of it's rating.

Half the time those same parents will started complaining about the content of the 18-rated game they bought for their five year old son.

That is something that really annoys me.

Quoted for truth.

Hey, I resent that!

Sounds like an interesting game and the pixie lookes nice ( in two ways ). And I do see the traces of it being made as a MMO

I'M GETTINF MY BUTT SERIOUSLY KICKED BY THE COMPUTER! OH NO, ANOTHER ZERGLING SWA-

Yeah...Me too...

Even things like Skyrim and Fallout...We've let the kids play well before the rating...

We winced a bit at the swearing, but...*Shrug*...I know they've heard worse in school...Not that it excuses, really...But...*Bad parent *...

Ummmm...

We've drawn the line at all the Call of Duty/Grand Theft Auto types...No way...I don't like that sort of thing, so while I have the choice, I'm going to exercise it and be a grumpy dad about things... ...

Why? What´s wrong with hitting people with your car and/or bat and hiring professional business women after dark?

I keep meaning to install this, considering it's age it should work on my laptop.

*launches into grumbling rant about integrated graphics*



I've got no problem with a parent choosing to let their kid play a game rated for a higher age, as long as they've actually looked at the thing first.

Heh, I imagine it's got worse since I was at school, but by the time I was ten I could swear in five different languages Never used any of them in front of my family of course, wasn't that stupid

I see it all the time in shops, some parent buying their excited kid the new GTA or something. Clearly they know nothing about the game, but have assumed that because it's a videogame, something they consider to be inherently childish, it's fine for kids of all ages.

As for the last bit... Parents perogative, banning things you don't like. Have to agree with the choice of games though.

Tis true,it was going to be an MMO.

Sadly no one at all has bought KoA's rights.

Sid Meier's Cvilization 4: Beyond the Sword.

And as soon as I can find an actual manual for the game; Starcraft Broodwar.

The one that came on the disc is just installation instructions and the license agreement.

The agreement everyone always reads?

You mean those things can actually be read?

I can't even look at one for more than 20 seconds without feeling sleepy.

But seriously, this is an RTS, which apparently provides no descriptions of the units and such in the game

The same with me. I am getting on in years, and my FPS reflexes are not what they used to be.



That is pretty much what I am doing. I like the setting, and I like the quests. I have been having a pretty good time with it.





I really like how the Destinies work in KoA. It is something that other gaming developers ought to take notes from. I also liked that you can pay a Fateweaver to reset your stats. I have already done it once. As often happens the first few times playing any game, I took a few abilities that I later realized I did not want. Being able to get rid of those and put the points back into the things I did use was nice. I do that with the command console in Skyrim with perks when I realize I do not like them. But it is better when something like that is a part of the game itself.




Says the guy whose avatar is a psychopomp!


I am not an MMO player, so what are those things? I just assumed it was made for the X-Box, and then ported to the PC as an afterthought to make more money.

I´m not an MMO player either but the screenshot has sort of a WoW look to it. You know, stuff cluttered around the screen and such. It only needs a little more to be an MMO