Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
is one of my most anticipated of 2012, and to much my surprise a demo
was released. And Resident Evil Revelations is a curious little game
that I, as someone with little experience in the realms of survival
horror, possess some interest towards So I went and downloaded both of
the demos, played them for about 90 and 25 minutes respectively, and
here are my first impressions of both:
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Demo Impressions!
Platforms: Xbox 360 (Demoed) , Playstation 3, PC
Final Product's Release Date: 7/2/2012
After
placing us in a newly crafted fantasy world, complete with intro and
all, you learn that your character has died before you even named and
crafted him or her. After being tossed down into a pit, you awaken due
to something call the Well of Souls. Which is essentially a pit of
reincarnation, however some blokes aren’t too keen on the idea of
eternal life, so they go in to mess up the dwarf occupied ruins you
found yourself in. During this you enter a combat tutorial of sorts and
you see how Reckoning is different from other RPGs. Right off the bat
you are shown what it’s like to be a fighter, rouge, stealthy character,
or mage. But, you get to choose what type of character you want to be
at any point in the game. There is also a 3 way venn diagram of
Destinies, which are not necessarily classes, just boosts for whatever
character set up you currently have.
However,
due to the demo just being the beginning of the game, you aren’t given
much time to make an actual character, but you can still enjoy the
combat system. You are able to freely switch between two weapons and
six abilities in combat, you have four abilities, a shield, and a very
handy dodge button. They all allow for unique fighting styles, even
within the tutorial. It all has a sense of flow to it, but can create
the feeling of being both too loose, and too stiff. It is a very odd
combination, with dodging being a stationary roll, and swordplay being
divided into three part combos, and magic not always aiming properly, it
feels somewhat sloppy. Although, I did manage to set my controls and
movement methods to a form of muscle memory afterwards, so it can’t be
all bad.
But,
back to the plot, you are then sent out of the ruins and thrusted into
the beautiful and nature filled fauna of Amalur. After stumbling around
and getting my ass handed to me by wolves, who were impossible to hit
with my longsword, I ran into a Fateweaver, a man who can tell what
one’s destiny is. And this is where the games mythology gets unique, it
creates an entire society of people who believe that they can’t do
anything that is not written in the already finished books of time. It
is a very other worldly and cult fear that boosted my immersion and
desire to talk with people by a significant margin.
Afterwards,
the game said that I had 45 minutes to run around and admire it’s
lovely world and animations. But, as I went into the one path that
would let me out of these woods, I encountered an invisible wall and a
bland landscape, so I went into a dead in cave three times in order to
get it too work. I finally entered he new area, the first town in the
game, and was asked to revive some sort of immortal, this sent me of a
multi-layered side quest, where I found treasure, fought enemies, and
had these wooden goblins burst into wood texture for some reason. This
was most likely something due to the demo, since other than with my
version, I did not see any thing that even resembled a glitch.
But, dispute my gripes, I still believe that Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
will be a very solid game, although not a game that will receive may,
if any awards. From fairly dry and dull lore, to combat that failed to
reach the sweet spot, and a few glitches. On the other side, the
amazing visuals and animations, the solid voice acting, variety in the
combat styles, and the promised 200 hours of possible gameplay, this
game could end up being fantastic.
Resident Evil Revelation Demo Impressions!
Platform: Nintendo 3DS(Demoed)
Final Product's Release Date: 7/2/2012
As someone who never played a Resident Evil game, I have nothing to compare Resident Evil Revelations
to. But without further ado, my impressions. I assumed the control of
series mainstay Jill Valentine, where I was told to wake up, explore
the area that had visuals nearly as impressive as Resident Evil 5. After
drain a bathtub to find a screwdriver, not unlike the puzzles I’ve seen
in playthroughs of the early Resident Evil
games. After that I encountered some kind of monster who had spiked
clubs for arms, took handgun bullets like a champ, and wiggled as if it
was made of jam. This is very confusing to me, because I assumed that
ammo preservation was a key aspect of the game, and that’s not easily
done when I have a very small redicle and dancing zombies.
I
then traveled through several small corridors, occasionally finding
more of these creatures, along with a helpful shotgun, which seems to
have a very small blasting area, but takes these guys out in about 2-3
hits as apposed to 8 handgun bullets. I then stumbled across a scanner
of sorts that found hidden items, which I believe ruins a bit of the
horror element, you never want someone to freely explore in an area that
you want them to fear.
You
want the player to cautiously go through the area with the fear of
encountering something scary. Although, the monsters do remain scary
since they try to eat your neck and you move like you have something in
your bum. Tension is helped by the lack of being able to move and
shoot, it’s a more realistic view, I suppose, but that does not make it
that good. If you base the main gameplay around the lack of an ability
to move like a normal human being with no explanation, then you’re doing
something quite wrong.
I
proceeded into a room with a new kind of monster, and another one right
next to it. I just received grenades, which seem a bit out of place in
horror, but whatever, Resident Evil 1
ended with you fighting a super zombie with a rocket launcher. It
required some quick reflexes, but I do not know how to make such rash
decisions with a control scheme like this, there is no dodge or run
button to speak of, which seems stupid, because then you need to
experience the monsters up close, and you’ll fear them less due to your
familiarity with them.
After
those two bozos felled, I fought another one and was sent into some
clear hallways, only to have some brief hints about what will happen in
the main game thrown at me. But I do not plan on purchasing this
product, while I did have some fun with it on my second playthrough, I
don’t think that this experiment of treading new waters justifies a $50
price tag, I might give it a whirl after a price cut or sale, but all I
can muster up right now is an underwhelming meh with a faint shred of
curiosity.
