Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was first showcased at PAX 2011 in Boston, MA on March 11th. The concept of Amalur and it's history and lore were created by R.A.Salvatore and the artwork is being done by Todd McFarlane. With those two powerhouses as part of the storyboard & design, we can no doubt expect a beautiful, engaging game with a compelling storyline set in a rich, detailed world. From the videos and trailers I've seen thus far, the game already looks beautiful. The release date is currently February 7th, 2012 for U.S. and February 10th for Europe. I've already got my pre-order at GameStop. I figure right about the time I'm done with Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and mostly played out on Battlefield 3, this game should be ready to release. I'm looking forward to it, especially when I heard Salvatore had created the world. I've been a fan of his writing for something like 18 years, when I bought my first ever Campaign Setting for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons called Menzoberranzan. I was instantly hooked on Salvatore, Drizz't Do'Urden and D&D in general. For now, I'm living it up in Tamriel, but come February, you can find me in Amalur.

Game On, Brothers & Sisters

-Keredain-

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

So, Skyrim has been out for 7 days now, and I figured it was time to give ya'll a rundown on how the game is going for me, so far. Honestly, if there's anyone still left on the fence about this game, I'd be pretty fucking surprised. I've already put well over 40 hours into this game, with no clear end in sight. There is so much to do, so many options available to you, it can be daunting, even a bit overwhelming. There are hundreds of caves, mines, ruins, forts, towns, camps and oddities to explore around the world. It's so freaking huge, but holy shit, is it beautiful. I'm constantly finding myself in awe of things I come across. The attention to detail is bloody amazing. From the strange things you'll find to the random comments people around you will make. There are numerous large questlines to follow, similar to previous TES titles. Skyrim has it's own versions of the traditional Guilds. Mages, Fighters and Thieves, the return of the Dark Brotherhood. Tons of other questlines of varying length, Radiant Quests that you can quite literally do forever. Tasks you can pick up in town or out in the wild. Easter Eggs everywhere, keep your eyes open. Honestly, when I first heard the Strategy Guide for Skyrim was over 650 pages long, I was stunned, but after spending a brief amount of time in-game, I'm not surprised anymore.

The game has a few bugs, I'd be lying if I said it was perfect, but I will say they're relatively few. Save often, and save in more than one slot. You'll thank yourself for it later. I've only come across a debilitating bug one time during a Quest where I could not complete my objective. I had to reload a much older game save and lose a lot of spent time & experience. I learned my lesson and now save more often. Autosaves can also save your ass. I've been playing the game on the lowest difficulty. I'm still having a great time and it is still quite often challenging. There are no benefits, aside from bragging rights I guess, to playing on harder difficulties.

The crafting is extremely well done. Smithing is brand new and amazing, while Alchemy & Enchanting have had a bit of an overhaul. The combination of all 3 can produce seriously powerful results. I still have yet to complete the Main Quest on either of my two characters, but I feel absolutely no reason to rush to the "End" of the main story. On my newest character, a very melee-oriented, heavily armored, Shield-Bashing Master Smith, I'm just running around the world doing random dungeons & caves, not really doing any actual quests unless I stumble upon them. And I'm really enjoying myself.

So, in the insanely unlikely chance anyone out there is still undecided for this game, I have this to say to you: If you like Action/RPG's at all, then you need to own this game. Period.

If I had a rating system, this would get 5/5 Stars or score a Perfect "10" purely for appearance, sound, music score and addictive gameplay.

Game On, Brothers & Sisters

-Keredain-

Lord of the Rings: War in the North

Bizarro & I snagged this game on the 2nd and, I have to say, we've played the shit out of it. Three back-to-back games on Normal, Hard & Legendary, and I honestly can't remember the last time I was able to sit and play a game start to finish, and then start right over again. The gameplay is enjoyable, the controls are tolerable, the storyline is decent, but often seems a bit off the mark from actual Tolkein canon. (Radagast seemed a bit too friendly for a wizard who wasn't overly fond of people, and a wizard who is extremely knowledgable about birds, beasts and creatures being caught unawares and kidnapped by spiders seemed a bit rediculous to me)

The game plays a lot like Diablo 2 or a dozen other Dungeon Crawl type games, I think they overstated the whole "Combo your attacks together with your friends for devastating effect", because as far as I can tell, it doesn't make much of a difference. After 5 or 6 days we earned almost every single achievement (Bizarro actually got them all, I'm only missing 2). It's a great game, but if I was being honest with you & myself, it probably wasn't worth the full $60. Rent, borrow or buy this game when the price drops for a good, enjoyable time sink.

I'm happily chewing up time now until (Dun dun dun!) Skyrim, which releases tomorrow night at Midnight, when I will be leaving work and heading to my local GameStop to snag my already fully-paid copy and then break speed limits to get home and watch with awe as 5-6 hours disappear and I force myself to sleep a few hours before cramming some more Skyrim time in before work on Friday. Until then, a measly 26 or so hours, I have Stephen King's On Writing and Battlefield 3 to occupy my time. See you in Tamriel.

Game on, Brothers & Sisters

-Keredain-