Kingdoms of Amalur Vs. Dragon's Dogma

I've been looking at both of these, and here's what I see, i want everyones opinion.

I want a game with lasting appeal, I just decided to quit dark souls after its, what I believe to be, ineffective pvp system. But the pve in dark souls was amazing with the lore and massive amount of items.

Kingdoms of Amalur

Pros

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-Obviously superior Combat system

-Loads of side missions

-A story written by an actual selling author.

Cons

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-No multiplayer

-No leaderboards for competitive play

-The art style seems inferior (The combat may be great, but I dont want fantastic explosions of color when I attack, lets keep it in the realm of realism).

Dragon's Dogma

Pros

__________________________________________________

-Climbing combat

-Online events (so i've read).

-Fantastic spells

-Summoning allies

Cons

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-Seems shorter

-I heard the atmosphere feels very empty

-graphical gliches.

-terrible character models

If I'm wrong correct me, and what do you guys think I should get?

Good thread, I've been torn between these two games for the past month or so and not sure which one to get...

Couple things I'd like to ask those who have played both is...the music, does it constantly play in any of these games like it does in dragon age/skyrim? or does it just come in at certain key moments? and which one of these two games is closest to dragon age origins, in terms of everything besides combat, even though I know none of them are anything like DA:O, I'd just like to know which one is more similar to it?

Edit: mods, please don't close this and tell us to go to the recommendation thread since it's a "which one should I get" question...I think these two games deserve a VS. thread.

Have you played the demo? I'm downloading kingdoms right now. Dragon's Dogma was a pretty awesome demo, I just hope that it lasts. The thing that dark souls crushes these games on is its new game + offers HUGE replayability, which every game should have.

I've played both games, and I truly like 'em both. Kingdoms of Amalur is the only game (so far) that I've achieved ALL PS3 trophies. This game features a pretty decent-sized gameplay area and loads of side-missions. The combat is fantastic and one of the best action-rpg combat-system so far. The game does not feature any online functions. It is a really great game and the style (artwork) is pretty unique and enjoyable. I think I spent a good 30-40 hours to complete the game (mind; this includes side-missions and etc.). It has great music (@23jarek23), and it's something not alot of people notice. Mostly it is ambient music that works with the area you're at. Due to all these amazing PROS, I had a tiny "problem" with the game; ... it never felt... hmmm.. it is hard to explain. I guess it wasn't so immersive as I wish it could be.. BUT it is still a great game!

Dragon's Dogma is awesomly fantastic and I am currently playing it (the "campaign") for the third! time :) The world is pretty big (maybe slightly smaller/the same size as Kindoms). It also has a bunch of "notice board"-quests (side-missions) which increase in difficulty as you progress. It features a fantastic pawn system (online function) that allows you to "loan" other players main pawn and use them as a member of your crew. This gives this game a certain unique'ness and I love the pawn-system. You can access a Nexus of player-created pawns and add them to your squad. When you "return them to their maker", you can give them a gift, rate their pawn and tell them what you liked about that pawn. This is truly a key element with the game; and I think it works perfectly. I completed the game in 50'ish hours, but could've done so much more. The music consists of basic ambient music and two or three unique tracks (including the title track) that loops dependent on if it is night or day. During combat with the bosses, the music shifts to a more aggressive style and I really enjoy the music-shift as you tackle a giant beast to the ground; a heroic fanfare/tune is played. The fighting system is also pretty awesome here, and you can mix and match and discover new techniques to fight your foes. I really enjoy it! The grab-mechanic is also super-fun and gives you so much more options.

At this time, I favour Dragon's Dogma. This because I feel much more immersed in the world, and it doesn't give you any help; you are free to discover the world on your own, but the pawns will keep you informed on what is going on ("We're not yet ready for this area, arisen", "The beasts of this area will prove tougher, arisen", "'Tis weak to fire, arisen" etc. ). It feels like Dragon's Dogma ISN'T holding your hand throughout the game, but rather let you explore on your own, and honestly; this feels great. I still learn new things on my third playthrough, and learn new ways to fight beasts. I don't think the character models are weird-looking, and I haven't seen any graphical glitches yet. There are a lot of close-up shots of your characters and then there are signs of low-resolution textures, and that is it. Please feel free to PM me, or ask any questions about Dragon's Dogma or Kingdoms of Amalur; you can't go wrong with any of these games :)

Edit: Concerning post-game Dragon's Dogma has an interesting event after the game which I will not spoil ;) it also features a new game + which lets you more easily participate in the online-feature (without spoiling to much) :)
Kingdoms of Amalur is "open" after the main campaign to do side-missions and just run around looking for loot. BOTH games are HUGE ON LOOT!!

This was exactly what i wanted. I just have a couple questions.

Do either games featurea new game +?

I have read that kingdoms has much more lasting appeal then dragon's dogma, but you seem to enjoy dragon's more. Why is that?

I have also heard that the lore of dragon's dogma is pretty empty, but you also seem more immersed in that, why?

I just quit dark souls cause i was having trouble with the pvp (after about 150 hours was into it). Which game do you think a dark souls fan would enjoy more?

When it comes to getting items and looting, which game has a wider variety of items to get and do they matter? (EX: In dark souls there was a ring that let you run through water without hindering your movement, or a shield that regenerated your stamina quicker).

Are the spells in dragon's always so fantastical, like the glacier and the tornado, or are those final level spells?

Haha well I need an rpg to play and idk what...

This was exactly what i wanted. I just have a couple questions.

Do either games featurea new game +?

I have read that kingdoms has much more lasting appeal then dragon's dogma, but you seem to enjoy dragon's more. Why is that?

I have also heard that the lore of dragon's dogma is pretty empty, but you also seem more immersed in that, why?

I just quit dark souls cause i was having trouble with the pvp (after about 150 hours was into it). Which game do you think a dark souls fan would enjoy more?

When it comes to getting items and looting, which game has a wider variety of items to get and do they matter? (EX: In dark souls there was a ring that let you run through water without hindering your movement, or a shield that regenerated your stamina quicker).

Are the spells in dragon's always so fantastical, like the glacier and the tornado, or are those final level spells?

crimsonhawk47

This was very good. I think I would like Dragon's Dogma a lot more for exactly what you said about immersion. It's just not a good feel for KOA. It's too fantastical and almost childrens book like, and I need a dark world. I have ONE more question.

Is there free killing? As sadistic as it sounds theres nothing more fun then killing an annoying merchant or npc. Is their a jail system to accompany that?

Remember how you would be close to beating dark souls and you needed to finish by slaughtering everybody?

Is that possible?

Not to mention the combat looks better then dark souls, though dark souls did look good (You cant just block like a panzy, they will break it or work around you). It seems like the climbing mechanic does add a HUGE depth to it.

Haha awesome. And in a way i like having only one save, it feels more hard core. I think its pretty obvious that from where i am coming from i would prefer DD. You've been a tremendous help.

Well it's funny how life works out.

My dad came home and asked me how my day was and I said I was trying to decide what game to get between these two. Then he said OMG I forgot i brought you dragons dogma (Cause his company reps for capcom).

I love my dad.

Judas, thanks so much for the very detailed replies...so I guess I'll be getting both games eventually because they both sound awesome, but I may as well get KOA for now since I can get it cheaper.

One more question about the music in KOA if you don't mind, you said there is ambient music playing throughout different areas and most people don't notice...which is a huge plus for me...but I've read in an old thread that the majority of time there is no music playing at all...just sounds from the world/your actions,/footsteps etc...so you can confirm that there is in fact ambient music playing the majority of the time? which is what I would prefer to be honest.

I loved that demons souls had no music, because you needed to listen to the environment to avoid getting killed...but in big looting games, I like music to be playing as much as possible, lol...even if it's ambient and subtle.

Funny you mentioned the Dark Souls PVP problems I made a youtube vid of me getting instant lag killed this week. Anyways like you I have had my eyes on both those games so thanks guys/gals who gave input on both games in this thread.

"Amalur" would be my vote, but that's because it reminds me more of what I love in fantasy gaming ("Drakan: Te Ancients' Gates" was my all-time fav). "Dogma" looks more like "Dark/ Demon's Souls", which turned me off. I like the more colorful, fantastic settings of "Amalur", not to mention the smaller game focus and general "To-Do" list that doesn't go on forever.

:)

Go with DD.

Another con of KoA is the level cap. Your character cannot level up past 40 or so. Very disappointing. It has fun combat, but gets repetitive pretty quickly (for me anyway) It can be a very long game, and has a lot to offer. Just that stupid level cap ticks me off.

DD seems more interesting, and seems like the combat is better with the grab mechanics and pawn system.

Judas, thanks so much for the very detailed replies...so I guess I'll be getting both games eventually because they both sound awesome, but I may as well get KOA for now since I can get it cheaper.

One more question about the music in KOA if you don't mind, you said there is ambient music playing throughout different areas and most people don't notice...which is a huge plus for me...but I've read in an old thread that the majority of time there is no music playing at all...just sounds from the world/your actions,/footsteps etc...so you can confirm that there is in fact ambient music playing the majority of the time? which is what I would prefer to be honest.

I loved that demons souls had no music, because you needed to listen to the environment to avoid getting killed...but in big looting games, I like music to be playing as much as possible, lol...even if it's ambient and subtle.

23Jarek23

Thanks ^^^ really appreciate it!

Ya. I've been playing for a day and that became clear when i went into the area below the pawn guild and got owned without a mage, even though my guy said they were weak against magic and holy. This game is pretty damn fantastic. And ya, the pvp in dark souls sucks. But this game is pretty **** awesome. Especially the hybrid classes. You would expect them to have just random spells from both classes combined but they have their own kind of spells (Example, the mystic knight can stick a sword in the ground to make stone pillars coming out).

And to Jarek, I really like the music. Don't listen to the opening theme, it's like a weird heavy metal japenese guitar thing. The rest of the game is like straight up Opera. It feels like lord of the rings.

KoA music is really great, I bought it but I never buy Game music. It's very good either for epic battles or tragic moments or medieval setting.

I'm also considering one, or both, of these games at some point.

Many thanks to Judas for the detailed and very useful posts above, they should help me make my mind up. I'm thinking I'll do the same as Jarek and pick up KOA firstly, as it'll be cheaper.

I'm also considering one, or both, of these games at some point.

Many thanks to Judas for the detailed and very useful posts above, they should help me make my mind up. I'm thinking I'll do the same as Jarek and pick up KOA firstly, as it'll be cheaper.

Azzurri22

Dragon's Dogma is a really good game

Both are good, but I would go with Dragon's Dogma if I had to choose. Neither have an interesting story nor any memorable NPC's worth caring about but DD's combat mechanics trumps KOA.

KOA cons:

Randomized blacksmithing. When you salvage items, you may have to save and reload to get items you actually want in order to make good equipment.

Level 40 cap. Lots of fetch quests, but soon you will gain no experience once you level up to the max.

Lack of challenge late in the game. Blacksmithing and sagecrafting will eventually make you invincible and you;ll have to handicap yourself for a real challenge.

DD cons:

Only one save file per character. Unforgiving auto saves. Rest at an inn right after you accept an escort quest.

Lack of a real fast travel. Doesn't bother me but you may tire quickly of running back and forth as quests are spread out from one end of the world to another.

Pawn inclinations constantly change. You'll set your pawn to behave a certain way and variables like hiring other pawns with different behavior or things you do will cause your pawn to mimic what they see and you constantly have to make sure your pawn's inclinations remain how you want.

i dont know about dragons dogma because i haven't played it yet. but Kingdoms of Amalur is a good game. the combat system is the highlight like you said, its great fun. some of the best this gen from an action rpg. plus you can mix and match different play styles and aren't limited to one the whole time. like say you wanna play as a pure mage, but you wanna switch to a mix, or just pure warrior. you can do that whenever you want. its got a great environment too, a nice open world and pretty scenery. but all that said, it feels really lifeless. theres isnt really any cutscenes or anything, its like skyrim just conversation after conversation and the NPC's just seem so dull. still a great game though, but playing it right after skyrim was a mistake which is why i ended up trading it.

"Amalur" would be my vote, but that's because it reminds me more of what I love in fantasy gaming ("Drakan: Te Ancients' Gates" was my all-time fav). "Dogma" looks more like "Dark/ Demon's Souls", which turned me off. I like the more colorful, fantastic settings of "Amalur", not to mention the smaller game focus and general "To-Do" list that doesn't go on forever.

:)

MonkeySpot

I think they are both good games, but I prefer Dragon's dogma. It's just a personal preference.cisco-king

[QUOTE="MonkeySpot"]

"Amalur" would be my vote, but that's because it reminds me more of what I love in fantasy gaming ("Drakan: Te Ancients' Gates" was my all-time fav). "Dogma" looks more like "Dark/ Demon's Souls", which turned me off. I like the more colorful, fantastic settings of "Amalur", not to mention the smaller game focus and general "To-Do" list that doesn't go on forever.

:)

jordonj

There's seem's to be this unwritten law among gamer's since the Elder Scroll's games became popular stating that 'No further RPG's shall contain vast amount's of colour and all must adhere to a strict code of realism' or something to that effect. I love Reckoning's bright setting and I can only hope to play another massive rpg game that look's similar, I've logged in over 200 hours in Reckoning and EVERYTIME I play it I always think to myself 'damn this is a great looking game'.

It's seem's because it's daring to do something different it's being punished, or maybe more people just prefer their rpg's to be more realistic or darker these days I don't know but to me this is one of the best games released this year. DD is also amazing but I got so sick of going back and fourth along the same paths again and again having to fight the same exact monsters having killed them already the first time and the pawn's spamming the same comment's over and over did my head in. Personally I'd pick Reckoning over DD but both games have their problem's though (Reckoning's camera angle in combat takes some getting used to) but also both are well worthy of being in anyone's collection.

Definitely Dragon's Dogma. The look, the feel, the atmosphere of the world you found yourself in, the visceral combat and epic encounters waiting for you over every hill and on every forest path - all this provided far more compelling reaons to stick around than Amalur did.

Which is not to say that KoA is a bad game. It does what it sets out to do competently enough, it's just all a bit My First WRPG. Colour-by-numbers adventuring in which a character I had no reason to care about set out on a quest that isn't very interesting while thwacking away at assorted baddies in moderately exciting combat. The game just didn't make a connection with me, something DD most certainly did.

thread is ancient

thread is ancient

PetJel