New Schilling Video Game Gets Positive Reviews
Thursday, March 17, 2011
In a preview of 38 Studios and Big Huge Games' soon-to-be-released "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning," GameInformer's Phil Kollar noted that it "has all the signs of a game worth watching," — a sentiment that bodes well for the future of the newly-Providence-based entertainment company as well as Rhode Island's economy.
The game — a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) focused heavily on combat — is the brainchild of 38 Studios founder and former Red Sox pitcher Curt Shilling, lead designer of popular RPG "The Elder Scrolls," Ken Rolston, fantasy writer R.A. Salvatore, and Spawn (an Emmy-winning HBO animated television series based the comic of the same name) creator Todd McFarlane.
According to Kollar, they have created "an interesting world and art style that could capture the imagination of jaded gamers burnt out on seeing the same fantasy trappings used ad nauseum."
"The most important thing to know about Reckoning is that... the game focuses heavily on combat. Big Huge Games' goal is to create battles as fast and satisfying as the average action game without giving up the depth expected of an RPG," wrote Kollar in his review.
Last year, Shilling promised that Reckoning would deliver "combat that keeps you doing combat" and a "deep quest narrative," — and it appears the game has delivered. After its first public demonstration at the Penny Arcade Expo East 2011 held in Boston last Friday, Joystiq's Mike Schramm wrote, "All of Shilling's promised were up there on the screen, and it seems more likely than ever that 38 Studios might just pull this off."
Though the game is set in a fantastic world of sorcery, massive, serpent-like monsters, and continuous rebirth, its success could have a real-life impact onRhode Island's economy. Just last year, the Rhode Island Board of Economic Development approved a $75 million guaranteed loan to 38 Studios, which promised to bring 450 jobs to the state by 2012. If the game — due out in November — lives up to its previews, Rhode Island may see financial returns ahead of schedule.
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