ÿþ<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning PS3 Preview - FUTURE GAMEZ</TITLE> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META NAME="KEYWORDS" CONTENT="Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning PS3 Preview, 2012, RPG, EA Games, 38 Studios, Big Huge Games, Todd McFarlane, Playstation 3, PS3, Future Gamez, Futuregamez, Sony, Playstation Vita, PS Vita, PSV, Blu-Ray, BRD, PSP, Playstation Portable, PS2, Playstation 2, Games, Gamez, Australia, SixAxis, Dual Shock 3, Playstation, PSOne, video games, gaming, SCEE, SCEA, PSN, Playstation Network, Playstation Store, PS Move, Killzone, Uncharted, SOCOM, Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, Singstar, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Grand Theft Auto, booth babes, Nintendo, Wii U, Microsoft, XBox, Interviews, Movies, Sega, Capcom, Konami, Electronic Arts, Rockstar, 2K Games, Namco, Activision, News, Previews, Reviews, Interviews"> <META NAME="DESCRIPTION" CONTENT="Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning PS3 Preview. Australian Playstation 3 (PS3), Playstation Vita (PSV), Playstation Portable (PSP) games and Blu-Ray's are reviewed, previewed and digested here at Future Gamez."> </HEAD> <BODY BACKGROUND="../../pictures/bground.jpg"> <TABLE WIDTH="610" ALIGN=CENTER CELLPADDING=0 CELLSPACING=0 BORDER=0> <TR><TD> <TABLE WIDTH="100%" CELLPADDING=2 CELLSPACING=2 BORDER=0> <TR> <TH ALIGN="LEFT"><A HREF="http://www.futuregamez.net" TARGET="_top"><H5>Return To Home Page</H5></A></TH> <TH ALIGN="CENTER"><a href="http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-251q-71-bm-49-en-15-Kingdoms+of+Amalur-84-p-43-bm-18-2.html" target="_BLANK" title="Order now from Play-Asia.com" onmouseover="window.status='http://www.play-asia.com';return true;" onmouseout="window.status=' ';return true;"><IMG SRC="../../pictures/playasia.gif" ALT="Click Here To Purchase Item from Play-Asia" BORDER="1"></a></TH> <TH ALIGN="RIGHT"><H5>January 31 2012</H5></ALIGN></TH> </TR> </TABLE> <CENTER><FONT SIZE="+3">Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning - PS3 Preview</FONT></CENTER> <TABLE WIDTH="100%" CELLPADDING=2 CELLSPACING=2 BORDER=3> <TR BGCOLOR="#B9A7B9"> <TH>Release Date</TH> <TH>Distributer</TH> <TH>Publisher</TH> <TH>Developer</TH> </TR> <TR ALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR="#F9F7F9"><TD>9/2/2012</TD><TD>EA Games</TD><TD>EA Games</TD><TD>38 Studios<BR>Big Huge Games</TD></TR> <TR BGCOLOR="#B9A7B9"> <TH>Offline Players</TH> <TH>Online players</TH> <TH>Price</TH> <TH>Anticipation</TH> </TR> <TR ALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR="#F9F7F9"><TD>1</TD><TD>None</TD><TD>$99.95</TD><TD><IMG SRC="../../pictures/star.gif"><IMG SRC="../../pictures/star.gif"><IMG SRC="../../pictures/star.gif"><IMG SRC="../../pictures/star.gif"></TD></TR> </TABLE> <TABLE WIDTH="100%" CELLPADDING=2 CELLSPACING=2 BORDER=3> <TR> <TH> <TABLE WIDTH="205" ALIGN="left" CELLPADDING=1 CELLSPACING=1 BORDER=0> <TR> <TH><A HREF="kingdomsoa1.jpg"><IMG SRC="kingdomsoa1a.jpg" ALT="Click To Enlarge Image"></A></TH> </TR> <TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD><FONT SIZE="-1"><B>Battling a Bolgan in Kindoms of Amalur: Reckoning.</B></FONT></TD></TR> </TABLE> </TH> <TH> <TABLE WIDTH="205" ALIGN="right" CELLPADDING=1 CELLSPACING=1 BORDER=0> <TR> <TH><A HREF="kingdomsoa2.jpg"><IMG SRC="kingdomsoa2a.jpg" ALT="Click To Enlarge Image"></A></TH> </TR> <TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD><FONT SIZE="-1"><B>The games hero in Rathir.</B></FONT></TD></TR> </TABLE> </TH> </TR> </TABLE> <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><TABLE WIDTH="205" ALIGN="right" CELLPADDING=1 CELLSPACING=1 BORDER=0> <TR> <TH><A HREF="kingdomsoa3.jpg"><IMG SRC="kingdomsoa3a.jpg" ALT="Click To Enlarge Image"></A></TH> </TR> <TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD><FONT SIZE="-1"><B>Battles in this game are fast and fluid.</B></FONT></TD></TR> </TABLE> Electronic Arts has been talking up the somewhat strangely titled <B>Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning</B> for some time now, and it's clear to see why. Even on paper the thought of a game being executive designed by Ken Rolston (who was lead designer on <B>The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind</B> and <B>The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion</B>), having the games universe and lore written by fantasy author R.A. Salvatore and Todd McFarlane contributing to the games visuals. So what's the storyline in this open- world RPG then? <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Actually we can't help you too much here with the storyline. What we can tell you is that this is a large open-world RPG in which you are the first being to ever be resurrected after dying. Along your travels you will unravel the mystery of your life, while aiding people in hundreds of quests. <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><TABLE WIDTH="205" ALIGN="left" CELLPADDING=1 CELLSPACING=1 BORDER=0> <TR> <TH><A HREF="kingdomsoa4.jpg"><IMG SRC="kingdomsoa4a.jpg" ALT="Click To Enlarge Image"></A></TH> </TR> <TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD><FONT SIZE="-1"><B>Having a look at the Well of Souls.</B></FONT></TD></TR> </TABLE> As 28 Studios founder Curt Schilling has stated <B>Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning</B>'s gameplay is like a cross between <B>God of War</B> and <B>Oblivion</B> and now having played the game for a couple of hours we can't disagree with quick, fluid action gameplay as well as plenty of RPG styled conversations, equipment and leveling-up. Even upon starting up the game you will be able to select your race, and then customise your characters looks and abilities. Once in-game battles take place in real-time with the timing of attacks and blocks critical to success while the game also throws in the occasional QTE (Quick Time Event) to keep you on your toes. <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><TABLE WIDTH="205" ALIGN="right" CELLPADDING=1 CELLSPACING=1 BORDER=0> <TR> <TH><A HREF="kingdomsoa5.jpg"><IMG SRC="kingdomsoa5a.jpg" ALT="Click To Enlarge Image"></A></TH> </TR> <TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD><FONT SIZE="-1"><B>Kingdoms of Amalur is out in Feb 2012.</B></FONT></TD></TR> </TABLE>Visually this game is quite impressive indeed. Admittedly some of the NPC's we've interacted with in the demo weren't the most detailed characters we've ever seen, but the range of character appearances is impressive including the customisation of your main character with new items and clothing. More impressive though are the slick visuals which impress with a (from what we've played at least) with a solid frame rate and wonderful variety of locations to explore with hundreds, if not thousands, of NPC's littering the game world - but with whom you can interact. While each of the NPC's is voiced and conversations are held with a similar dialogue wheel as in <B>Mass Effect</B> unlike Bioware's title the main character in <B>Kingdoms of Amalur</B> is not voiced (or at least not in the demo at least). <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><TABLE WIDTH="205" ALIGN="left" CELLPADDING=1 CELLSPACING=1 BORDER=0> <TR> <TH><A HREF="kingdomsoa6.jpg"><IMG SRC="kingdomsoa6a.jpg" ALT="Click To Enlarge Image"></A></TH> </TR> <TR ALIGN=CENTER><TD><FONT SIZE="-1"><B>The games hero in Rathir.</B></FONT></TD></TR> </TABLE> In what could be seen as a somewhat disturbing and disappointing move, despite the fact that this is a single player game Electronic Arts have included an online pass code which must be entered in order to "unlock" seven faction quests in the RPG called the  House of Valor . While this is only a small percentage of the game it means if gamers purchase this game second hand they will need to "purchase" an unlock code online to access these quests. It's clear that these online passes are no longer to financially support online games and services, but simply for the developers to reap some cash from secondhand sales. It's not something we disagree with either, just something that gamers need to be aware of. <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Until I played the demo recently (which is available on the PlayStation Store now and gives you over an hour of decent game time) I was a little skeptical about the quality of <B>Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning</B> and whether developers 38 Studios (a new company) and Big Huge Games (most notable for the RTS series <B>Rise of Nations</B>) could really pull it off. After our play through though we're almost certainly convinced that this will be a fantastic title when it hits shelves in a couple of weeks. <HR><BR><BR><BR> </TD></TR> </TABLE> </BODY> </HTML>