Kingdoms of Amalur

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by magikot, Apr 1, 2011.

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  1. magikot

    magikot Well-Known Member

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    Finally, 38 Studios is releasing their first game and it looks to be promising. A story written by R.A. Salvatore, art design by Todd McFarlane, and the world designed and brought together by the lead designer of both Morrowind and Oblivion, Ken Rolston. Lead play tester is (I'm assuming) company president and avid MMO and fantasy gamer, Curt Shilling of the Boston Red Sox.

    Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is to be published by EA and is set to launch on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 in Q1 2012. It is to be an epic open world RPG the likes of the Elder Scrolls series, with the action elements of games like God of War.

    Cinematic trailer looks pretty good. And I think is voiced by Cate Blanchett since it sounds like Galadriel from the Lord of the Rings movie.

    Though not much has been revealed on the official site yet, it looks very promising. I especially like how accurately they adhered to the concept art when creating the models in game.

    Boston Globe Review
    Escapist Review
    Cheat CC Review

    EDIT: Removed the screen shots and concept art because the images were huge.
     
  2. Jungle Japes

    Jungle Japes Well-Known Member

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  3. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    Uh oh.


    It will be shit.

    I hate this game already.
     
  4. magikot

    magikot Well-Known Member

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    They weren't that big on the website :(
     
  5. Zanza

    Zanza Well-Known Member

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    When I saw EA, PS3, XBOX 360 I immediately tuned out.
     
  6. Jungle Japes

    Jungle Japes Well-Known Member

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    Yeah. You lost me at Oblivion. Sad sad sad to see good role playing experiences go the way of the dodo in favor of big-money blockbuster bullshit. What a wouldn't give for another RPG the likes of Baldur's Gate 2. I'll tell you what I think part of out problem is: graphics. They have replaced imagination. Part of what made older games so fun was filling in the gaps with your own imagination. It was easier to accept them as merely a representation of something rather than the thing itself. When I see a vaguely detailed, zoomed out isometric image of a character in a game, I get to imagine what he looks like, how he walks and talks, etc. But when I see a fully animated 3d closeup image of a character complete with annoying voice-over, it's no longer a representation but a fully realized thing. And it will never be as epic as my imagination can be.

    It's a similar problem to watching a favorite old movie like Star Wars on a high-def TV with anti-judder technology, and being able to clearly see all the cheaply built set pieces for what they are. Let's leave the graphical immersion to the FPS's, and get back to real role-playing.
     
  7. Zanza

    Zanza Well-Known Member

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    Couldn't agree with you more Japes.
     
  8. Grossenschwamm

    Grossenschwamm Well-Known Member

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    Imaginations are being phased out with technology. It's time to get back to basics and destroy what's making our society so successful.
     
  9. Viktor_Berg

    Viktor_Berg New Member

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    That seems more like a Hack&Slash than an RPG.

    I don't think I am interested.

    Oh, and the multiplatform bit killed the whole impression.
     
  10. magikot

    magikot Well-Known Member

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    I find it amusing that everyone is hating on the multiplatform thing, yet DAO was on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 and that didn't seem to bother anyone...
     
  11. Zanza

    Zanza Well-Known Member

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    DAO was made for PC and ported to the consoles, DA2 however was made for consoles and ported to the PC. I don't care what anyone says I'm not listening lalalalalala!
     
  12. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    Another problem caused by the evolution of graphics is the abandonment of the isometric view and the resulting departure from turn-based combat to real-time combat (to which I include the disgrace that is real-time with pause).

    Not that I see why this had to happen. Cool graphical effects and havoc physics (or whatever the kids are playing with nowadays) would have been an awesome addition to any TB RPG. Of course, it is easier to create RT slugfests than to devise tactical combat systems...
     
  13. Viktor_Berg

    Viktor_Berg New Member

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    I never played DAO.

    Although I did enjoy Divinity 2, if only for its amazing writing in terms of dialogue and sidequests.
     
  14. Kaitol

    Kaitol New Member

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    When technology advances to the point where it can tap into my brain matrix-style for my games, I might forgive it. Till then, its nerd rage. RAAAAAGE. Daggerfall had hookers. HOOKERS. The closest thing in Oblivion? Professional cock-teases. Fucking technology.
     
  15. TheDavisChanger

    TheDavisChanger Well-Known Member

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    I've said it before and I'll say it again: video gaming peaked with 16-bit technology. The best gaming system ever created is the SNES. Making the SNES portable by creating the Gameboy Advance only made gaming better. The farther away we've gotten from 16-bit technology, the worse gaming has gotten. The N64 brought the the thumbstick to the table, and that had a profound impact on gaming, but the 3D capabilities of the N64 killed gaming.
     
  16. Grossenschwamm

    Grossenschwamm Well-Known Member

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    No, the reliance upon the 3D capabilities of the N64 killed gaming. Conker's Bad Fur Day was a great game, if only for the swearing and platforming combo. Super Mario 64 was a great game, and one that occupied many gaming hours of my life. Starfox 64 was also a great game, in that it played just like the original and looked even better, plus it had a multiplayer mode. Super Smash Brothers was a great game, in that characters from across all of nintendo were combined into a simple, enjoyable fighting game that was easy to pick up and hard to master. I'll admit that technically, the release of the N64 ushered in the age of graphics over gameplay, but there were still good games on the system. however, you're right; none of the games that came to the N64 had the depth of Final Fantasy 6 or the replayability of Chrono Trigger, and surely none of the systems that came after the N64 had games that could hold a candle to Yoshi's Island. I love emulators for this reason, in that they extend the age of 16 bit games to those too young to have grasped the simple beauty of 16 bit during its heyday. To those with an eye for videogame quality, emulators can reignite the spark of youth. However, children are being raised these days to appreciate how good a game looks, rather than how a good game feels. We're being dumbed down by technology, forced to accept something that looks more like a simulation and plays like shit than something that looks like a cartoon and plays like a symphony. There are still good games out there, but they are few and far between the pieces of crap passed for quality games these days. Ah well. I'm ranting, I'll let you people go back to your lives.
     
  17. magikot

    magikot Well-Known Member

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    Best game to release on the N64 was, IMO, Shadow Man. (was also released on Dreamcast, PS1, and I think the PC as well)
     
  18. Grossenschwamm

    Grossenschwamm Well-Known Member

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    Ah, I forgot about Shadowman. Unfortunately, I was only able to play it as a rental, never got around to buying it. It was very well done, from what I saw of it. Very interesting story, good voice acting, and great character designs.
     
  19. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    What killed the N64 was Nintendo's arrogance. Because of contract-breaking dumbfuckery, stubborn idiots were stuck with cartridges whilst Sony and the rest of the competition went on to use CD's. Between the SNES and the Wii, Nintendo was a fucking joke on the console market, their only field of dominance being handheld devices.
     
  20. magikot

    magikot Well-Known Member

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    Nintendo will always dominate the handheld market. Their only competition are smartphones for Robot Unicorn Attack, Angry Birds, and emulators of older systems.
     
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