Kingdoms of Amalur Re-Reckoning - PlayStation 4

Some where in the past I missed the original release of this game. I am very picky on what makes a game good but this one has moved into my top 10 games ever! Keep in mind I am old and have played every system since they began releasing them. This is IMO one of the biggest games I have ever seen. It just seems to never end and keeps adding more and more and more missions. Very good variety of characters/enemies. It is endless on the amount of stuff you can do/create/ect. This would rate right up there with Witcher/Zelda/Dark Souls ect when it comes to the things you can do. The only thing that is very annoying is the load screens when leaving/entering buildings. If you are looking for a game that you cant beat in one day this is it.

You might have heard how this is a 'bad' remaster but imo people are being harsh. The game definitely looks better than it did in 2012, a lot sharper and more vibrant. They added another difficulty level which it desperately needed, increased item limit from 150 to 300 in your inventory. The previous DLC come with the game. They even fixed the level scaling so when you go back to older areas you find strong enemies and items that scale to your current level. What else do you want from a remaster? the actual game is very good as well, one of the best gameplay/combat system in an RPG and it's over 50 hours long, making it one of the bigger rpgs out there. If you are still not convinced this is worth a purchase, well.

[Time played: 112 hours] Ok, I’ve heard the name “Kingdoms of Amalur” somewhere in the past, but I didn’t pay it much attention (I was wrapped up in Darksiders 2 at the time). Fast forward to eight years later, and I stumbled upon a YouTube video centered around overlooked RPGs, and guess which one was on the list? It grabbed my attention, and I later learned that it was being remastered and set to release a little less than a month after I viewed the video. Now, my BIGGEST question was whether or not a game from 2012 could still hold up in 2020? The short answer is “sort of”, lol.[Combat]When people talk about this game, combat is usually the first thing they talk about, and rightfully so. The combat is without a doubt the star of the game. When I compare it to a couple of other games from that same year (the aforementioned Darksiders 2 and Dragon’s Dogma), KoA’s combat is ahead of the pack. You can take a melee approach, or you can stand back and do your thing as a Sorcerer or a Ranger. I’m a melee guy, so I’ll focus on that. Why do I think the combat is so solid? It’s a rhythmic style of combat that doesn’t require you to mash buttons nonstop (God I hate games that are button mashy). With most melee weapons, you’ll end your combo after the 4th press of the attack button. I need to mention there’s no weak/heavy attack that tends to be a fixture in today’s action games. I personally prefer a weak/heavy attack, but I remedied that by assigning a longsword to “square”, and a greatsword to “triangle”, therefore creating my own light/heavy attack. The dodge mechanic felt snappy as well, and I never felt like I took damage because of wonky hit boxes. If I took damage, it was 100% my fault, and that’s a sign of a well-made game. So yeah, the combat withstands the test of time, and is actually better than some games that debuted in 2020. gHoSt oF TsUsHiMa… That’s right, I said it.[Weaponry]I briefly touched on the longsword and greatsword in my previous paragraph, but please understand there are more weapons than that! Starting off, your choice of weapon will heavily depend on your class. There are three main classes: Might (longswords, greatswords, and hammers); Finesse (Bow & arrow, daggers, and fae blades), and Sorcery (staves, chakras, and staffs). You can most certainly mix and match weapons with different classes, but please understand your weapon may underperform early in the game. For example, I chose the Finesse class, but I used a longsword and a greatsword. I didn’t really start seeing what those weapons could do until I invested in a Finesse/Might hybrid build (yes, you can do that). Although I mainly played with two weapons, I tried the others out of sheer curiosity. They all felt quite different, and I honestly feel there’s a weapon for each and every playstyle. While abilities/skills are not necessarily weapons per se, I still consider them to be a part of the weaponry. By the time you get towards the end of the game, you’ll be able to map eight different skills for use in combat. I can only speak to the two or three that I regularly used, and I must say they got me out of sticky situations on several occasions (they all use a cool-down system, so you can’t spam them). My only real complaint about weaponry is I wouldn’t mind seeing a couple more options. You know, where are my spears and bow staffs!!! I think there’s DLC being worked on, so maybe then?[Enemies] I feel it’s good enemy variety, but it’s not great. This is a game that’s broken out into zones, so I’d expect to see new/different enemy types within each new zone. I don’t know, maybe I’m asking too much? Early on, I felt like I *was* seeing different enemies when I entered a new zone. However, I eventually started seeing the same types over and over, and even stronger types of basic enemies, and that’s always a bit of a cop-out in my opinion. I was surprised that enemies were pretty aggressive (I played it on hard mode). When surrounded by groups of enemies, they actually attacked me at the same time, and that’s something you don’t see too often in older games. I was expecting them to stand around and watch while I pounded on one of their friends, but that wasn’t the case! Boss battles were below average, and felt like something you might find in a MMORPG, such as Neverwinter. The ones I fought all followed the same pattern. You’ll have one boss who’ll serve as the focal point of the fight, and while you’re trying to deal with him/her, you’ll have minions coming at you from different directions. I’ve never enjoyed that style of boss fight in a single player game as I think it works much better in multiplayer games. Or at least games that give you an A.I. partner. Granted, I did not finish the entire game, so I guess there’s a chance the last boss was different, but I really doubt that.[Miscellaneous]Although I think KoA is a good game, the remaster could have accomplished so much more. The loading screens were horrendous, and they were the driving force to me calling it quits before finishing the game. You’re often going from zone to zone, and you’ll need to enter/exit a lot of dungeons and buildings. It is not ok to encounter a 40 second loading screen every time I exit a building or dungeon. This appears to be an issue on consoles only, and was not present on the PS3, from what I understand. I got the feeling the game was on the easy side, and that’s why I decided to play it on hard mode. For the most part, that went ok and I felt like it was challenging enough. However, enemies started to get a little cheap towards the end of my time with the game. Boy oh boy does this game need a mount!!! Ok, it’s not an open world game, but some of these zones are not exactly tiny either! KoA encourages exploration, but it becomes tedious when everything is done on foot. I had that same issue with another 2012 game called Dragon’s Dogma. I don’t really care about storylines in video games, but I found myself caring about some of the characters I encountered while doing side missions for them. There are a lot of sidemissions in this game. When I say “ a lot”, I’m pretty sure there are more than 100, especially if you include the faction quests and different tasks!I liked KoA Re-Reckoning overall, but I eventually ran out of gas. I kind of put this on myself because I finished the DLC first, then lost interest while doing the main missions. If I would have focused more on the campaign, maybe my interest would not have dwindled away? With that being said, I cannot complain. I bought this game in hopes of trying it out for 5 to 10 hours, and ended up playing it for 112 hours. If you’re a fan of RPGs, I recommend you give this a try because you could do a lot worse! AC Valhalla; you’re up next!!

It's a free roam rpg. It takes a little getting use to (for me anyway). Controls are slightly different, but you adjust easily! Graphics are fine, definitely not RDR2 Graphics, but its still good looking.If you like making your own weapons and armor and then enchanting your own weapons snd armor, you'll enjoy this!Pretty big open world too! Plenty to explore, new caves, treasure chests, weapons, armor, crafting material, and much more to find!Very unique skill leveling (to me).Overall, it's a solid game, very fun, interesting story line. Definitely loving this game so far!

enjoyed this on the ps3 until my controllers crapped out. was totally pumped when i saw this for the ps4. other than the long load times from going into a building then back out, game works fantastic. the upgrades from ps3 to ps4 i barely notice. but i also don't care. i loved the game before and i'm 30+ hours in now and loving it all over again....please note this is a stand alone single player rpg game. its not multiplayer and thank god its not. need more stand alone single player rpg's

If your looking for a new hobby. Or adventure,here it is. The great mystery and plot changes depending on what you chose to do. Or who you chose to save.Never the same twice

I loved the original and so took a chance and got this. It is still too slow between loading; the graphics are really not improved. There are some minor updates, but not worth the cost of a new game. I love the voice acting and the combat model/control is one of my favorites. If you've never played it before and like these kinds of games it might be worth a try for you, especially if prices come down or you get a used version. But I am disappointed.

I have enjoyed playing this game, the colors and graphics are great. I like the way it gives you so many different quests to do. You can take your time and explore and really immerse yourself into the game. If you like The Fall Out series and the Skyrim / Elder Scrolls you'll like this game, open world to explore.