Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

 PlayStation 3
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 34 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 34
  3. Negative: 0 out of 34
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  1. Extreme Gamer
    Feb 15, 2012
    74
    Similar to Dragon Age: Origins, not everyone is going to bite. However those who do will be extremely satisfied with their meal.
  2. Play UK
    Mar 4, 2012
    70
    It's compulsive - as all good action RPGs need to be - but lacks the quality to make it a game for all tastes. [Issue#215, p.80]
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  3. TheSixthAxis
    Feb 27, 2012
    70
    Sporadic in pace and quality of content, this is the area in which Reckoning borrows too heavily from its MMO ancestry and it really doesn't pay off.
  5. Eurogamer Spain
    Feb 10, 2012
    70
    Not as good as we expected, but Reckoning will appeal RPG fans with many hours of fun.
  6. Metro GameCentral
    Feb 9, 2012
    70
    It might be allergic to innovation but there's no denying the enthusiasm and attention to detail that's been lavished on this defiantly traditionalist role-player.

Awards & Rankings

43
#43 Best PS3 Game of 2012
16
#16 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2012
25
#25 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2012

User Reviews

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User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 402 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 275 out of 402
  2. Mixed: 88 out of 402
  3. Negative: 39 out of 402
  1. InnerWarChild
    Feb 10, 2012
    8
    The dev team for Amalur get a decent amount of kudos from me for this title. There is a lot of work put into this game and most of it reallyThe dev team for Amalur get a decent amount of kudos from me for this title. There is a lot of work put into this game and most of it really does come off quite well. It's not god's gift to RPG's, so I do think anyone giving this game a 10 is a bit crazy (or maybe this is their first game played in their life). No, it's not a life changing experience (at least when you play it while not tripping on mushrooms). But it is definitely worthy of a buy if you like games like God of War and Fable or action-RPG's in general. Trust me the game has some meat to it, though to be honest it's probably NOT worth $60 whopping USD they are charging for the PC version. I don't understand why it's $15 more on the PC when as far as I can tell there is nothing specific to the PC version that would warrant it. I will do this review in a different way than most and list pros and cons an final thoughts

    PROS:

    -Nice art direction care of artist Todd McFarlane
    -Large game world
    -Huge amounts of lore. The game was written to some extent by world renowned fantasy author R.A Salvatore, and the lore comes from his novels as far as I know. Every PC you can talk to has a few dialog options to speak about to fill you in a bit deeper on the lore if you care about it.
    -Fun "God ofWar" like combat
    -Bajillion sidequests -Fully voiced NPC's
    -Armor/weaponcrafting, alchemy, gemcrafting
    -Just a good solid RPG. CONS:

    -Your character has no voice - Some people don't mind this, but I prefer my protagonist to have a voice of his own. It is just one more thing that adds character and charm. -NPC's are too stiff during dialog- In games like Mass Effect 2, the characters really feel like they are "there". Here, everything is very wooden, and I'd like to see the next game in the series do more with the "acting". -Graphical texture pop in is very annoying and no way to fix it on the PC since it is hard coded into he game cross platform. This was done to make developing for the PS3 easier and so they could launch all platforms at the same time. To me it's very annoying and my eyes are constantly being drawn to these graphical anomalies because they just pop in so close to the character and they are therefore distracting to my game experience. -No worthwhile camera control - The camera is in my and many other players' opinions way to close to the character and there is no way to move it back. They give you an over the shoulder option (think Dead Space) but it's pointless and I don't know why anyone would use it to be honest. In a game like this you need to be able to see all sides of you. -Some claim the game is "too easy" even on Hard mode. -Some of the skills in the skill-trees can be rather "meh", but to get the highest tier abilities, you are forced to take them making some levels seem like a waste.
    -No autorun key (Trust me you will wish for one, though on the official forums someone linked a tool that you can run while playing the game where you can set an autorun key)
    -No real easy way to scroll through abilities making it hard to use them in the heat of battle (PC version, I don't know how it is on the consoles) though the program mentioned above allows you to also scroll through them with the mousewheel if you choose. -No real use for gold. I have currently $500,000 and I barely buy anything. There's definitely items that I could buy that will be an upgrade to my equipment, but since I maxed out smithing, I keep waiting to find the "Master" parts to craft top grade items. So in essence I'm running through the game with a slight handicap, but I've invested in alchemy so I pop potions galore to keep me alive. I would like to feel like i NEED to buy these items and do something with this gold though. THOUGHTS:

    I don't understand how some people are hating on this game. In my opinion these people are very jaded gamers that have seen it all by now and expect games being released now to change their life or something. None of the cons written above even when all combined are enough to stop me from playing and enjoying this game. I like the combat, I want to see what is next in the story, I like the loot hunting, the world looks nice, the story is very competent, and I really don't know what else in this era of gaming an RPG can offer besides that sort of gameplay. I highly suggest you purchase it at some point and show EA that giving a new game franchise a shot is a lucrative investment, or else all we may see is the same old same old. I really want to see what these guys do in a second installment because I think it will be what the Witcher 2 was to its predecessor.    … Full Review »
  2. CrusaderForever
    Feb 10, 2012
    10
    @Doublecross
    If I were you I would never use your computer again. All though your screen name is perfect! You are ruining an exceptional    @Doublecross
    If I were you I would never use your computer again. All though your screen name is perfect! You are ruining an exceptional games metacritic rating because you didn't like a DEMO!!! That demo was 4-5 months old! Do everyone a favor and double slam your computer on the ground thus eliminating your stupidity from the internet.

    I am 13 hours in and I just adore this game. It's just FUN! I am going through KoAR on hard and it's challenging. So far I haven't experienced a hiccup of any kind, it's been technically perfect. Well, I fixed my camera woes by lowering the sensitivity so that doesn't really count as a technical problem since it is now fixed for me. It is truly the jack of all trades for RPGs. They really have created something special. Does it have problems yes, no doubt, but so does Skyrim. Skyrim is a great game. KoAR is a great. They cannot really be compared. They both stand on their own 2 feet.

    I love the combat, oh the combat is exceptional! The sound, graphics, control, story/lore are wonderful. The graphics are gorgeous to my eyes. You have beautiful colors and dark dungeons. The world map looks huge! I am reading more books and scraps than I usually do in an RPG. I am very interested in the history of Amalur. Salvatore has done a wonderful job. There is always something new going on. There are a ton of quests. The leveling system is great. I am really enjoying the Alchemy, Blacksmithing and world itself. The Fateweaver is a great idea for tying massive character fate alterations into the story. The loot is huge and prevalent. I have found many items that upgraded above what I was currently using. The enemy design is second to none. You can see Todd McFarlane's genius here.

    There are problems and they are in the design. I didn't like how the hero didn't speak. Reminds me of Half-Life yet I didn't mind that Gordon didn't talk. But seeing my character stand there with no real emotion reminds me of someone who isn't quite right or has some sort of deficiency. The NPC lip syncing could use some work as well. The magic shield appearing out of no where bothers me too. I also don't like how my warrior sheaths his weapon so fast after killing an enemy even though other enemies are around. Also, the camera needs to be adjustable so you can make it farther away from your character. I believe that these design decisions can be fixed in a patch if the Reckoning forums are any indication of how much it bothers players.

    I cannot wait to pour more time into this special game. I can only hope it sells well so that they can come out with a sequel. I won't be interested in the MMO offering. However I am so very impressed that this their first game! Unreal, that they could hit a grand slam like this with their first offering.

    If you are on the fence get off and give this a try. Right now this is my 2012 GOTY! I am not sure if it will hold up with Mass Effect 3 less than a month away.    … Full Review »
  3. Anarion25
    Feb 8, 2012
    10
    What an awesome game! I love Skyrim and that doesn't stop me from enjoying it! It is not an open world like Skyrim but it's certainly not aWhat an awesome game! I love Skyrim and that doesn't stop me from enjoying it! It is not an open world like Skyrim but it's certainly not a linear world like Dragon Age 2. Combat is fantastic and the freedom of character design is great.… Full Review »
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