NEW: Curt Schilling’s Video Game Debuts to Mixed Reviews
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, produced by Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios, was released Tuesday to mixed reviews in the United States.
Schilling’s company brought in R.A. Salvatore, Todd McFarlane, and Ken Rolston, three of the best video game designers in the business, along with the company, “Big Huge Games,” to create the game.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is expected to rival the likes of Skyrim: The Elder Scrolls, which has been a smash hit. So far, however, the reviews have been mixed, with gamers saying that it is simply a hodgepodge of recently released games and lacks its own identity.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTGamefaqs.com describes it as combining visceral third person action combat with deep exploration, expansive character development, and immersive storytelling in a high fantasy universe. Gamers mysteriously rise from the dead and are thrust into a bloody conflict between multiple races, factions, and alliances as they vie for the secrets of immortality and the ancient magic that threatens to destroy the world.
Jason Williams of Xbox Magazine, writes on gamefaqs.com that, “(It) feels like an old-school role-playing game, and at other times, even a bit like a massively multiplayer game. You can join five factions, while crafting potions, weapons, and ability-enhancing gems. He continued, “Though at times it may seem like Amalur has too much going on, it all weaves the experience into a fun, engrossing adventure.”
U.K.’s Edge Magazine comments, “Amalur’s problem, like so many ideas in Reckoning, is its refusal to ask too much of the player. Clarity should be championed – in interface, control and item management – but not to the extent that the world is laid bare. Part of the appeal of RPGs is losing yourself in a virtual place, which is impossible if the entire game is a deliberately beaten track.”
Gamingnexus.com added, “Amalur plays out as sort of a combination of Fable, an installment of the Elder Scrolls series, and any entry in the hack and slash genre of games… The gameplay in Kingdoms of Amalur is leaps and bounds above every other RPG on the market. You have complete control of your character both in and out of battle and the means of doing so are incredibly easy.”
