University Chronicle

Kingdoms of Amalur is the first game ever made by 38 Studios and it is also developed by Big Huge Games. KoA is set in a fantasy world created by R.A. Salvatore, who you may recognize from his Forgotten Realms and Star Wars novels. In addition the artwork was drawn by the creator of the “Spawn” comic, Todd McFarlane. There are a number of big names attached to Kingdoms of Amalur and they all come together to make a magnificent whole.
Graphics 8/10
The art of Amalur is somewhat cartoonish, and it reminds me of McFarlane’s other work constantly. The style works for this game however and the animations for the enemies look unique and fluid. The models for monsters are especially well done and each one is unique. The humanoid enemies all look vaguely similar and it would have helped to have their clothing styles be vastly different.
Story 7/10
The story of Kingdoms of Amalur is your standard fantasy fare with a larger helping of elves. A rogue faction of the Fae called the Tuatha Deohn has declared war against the mortal races of Amalur and wish to purify the world in the name of their new god. Their cause is helped by the fact that Fae never truly die and so with time they have whittled down their mortal foes and are winning the war. You play as a recently deceased mortal who has been resurrected by the Well of Souls and must take up arms against the Tuatha once more. The world of Amalur is governed by that eternal cop-out of lazy writers: “Fate.” The thing that makes your character special is that you have no Fate and are therefore the only free-willed person in the world. The interesting thing is the integration of this story element into the actual gameplay. Your superpower mode and even your talents are all determined by Fate and it gives an in-game reason for the ability to respecialize your character.
Gameplay 10/10
The gameplay is where KoA really shines through. The combat system is very fluid and at times feels more like a fighting game than an RPG. Timing blocks at the right time causes a slowdown effect that allows you to act faster and you can even do juggle combos with the right weapons and spells. The questing system is the tried and true style of every RPG from the past 10 years and it does the job without complaints. The talent system feels more like an MMO than a single player game but it works well within the system. The world feels like an MMO without all the people in it; it’s quite reminiscent of Skyrim. There are 5 different factions in the world with their own quests and rewards. They are your typical factions (Fighters, Thieves, Wizards, etc.) but they are fun nonetheless.
Replay Value 8/10
The replay value for KoA doesn’t lie in the story but in the gameplay. Trying out different combat styles and builds can be interesting and fun. Each weapon and class style offer different controls and completely different feels from one another. Though the quests have different ways of being completed which can make for enough content to justify another playthrough as a different class and personality type.
Kingdoms of Amalur is a highly addictive game that will draw you in with its combat and hours of gameplay. It’s a completely new series and if it gets some support I can see great things in its future. Kingdoms of Amalur was released on Feb. 7, 2011 and is available for $59.99 wherever video games are sold.

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