Curt Schilling baseball hof just discovered gaf yesterday..and well he's already in love...

he also has a long post about kingdoms of amular...

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=459187&page=53

His username is Gherig38 and you can see the long post at the bottom of the thread.

It looks like an ok game, though it's completely average and unimpressive in every single area. It's pretty much Fable with the Dragon Age inventory system.

Writing and voice acting are subpar, corny-sounding character babble something about a dark lord and a lady of light and how you're the chosen one... yadda yadda and that's when I started rolling my eyes and skipping dialogues.

Combat is like Fable, you slash with X and shoot your auto-targeting ranged weapon with Y. It works, I guess, but it's just trite, you've played this a billion times before. Something that botehrs me to no end is the character puts his sword away instantly if you don't keep slashing, meaning he'll do it in the middle of combat if you just as much as back away from the enemy for a second. He also does that whenever he's hit, which looks dumb, just as when he pulls a huge shield out of thin air.

The camera doesn't work right either, it just feels off when you're moving and turning.

I don't know guys, I like fantasy but this doesn't appeal to me at all. I may pick this up for 10 bucks a couple months after release.

Black_Knight_00

Well I like Fable's combat, and the movement and camera feel fine for me. But honestly, yeah it's not exactly innovative but there's something really awesome about a fantasy rpg done right. And that's what it feels like....and besides Skyrim, Dragon Age 1 (not the 2nd), and Fable how many games (for the consoles) are out there like this?

It's meant to be a game where casual gamers who like fable, and hardcore gamers like elder scrolls can alike enjoy a game like this.

Alright, let me start by clarifying that those of you interested in getting the Mass Effect 3 extras that are either not interested in Kingdoms of Amalur or don't want to spoil anything for yourselves are in luck as the ME3 extras are awarded for simply booting up the demo. Well, not all the extras but the armor is. Also, a few extras for Kingdoms of Amalur are given to you at the title screen too.

This demo is incredible, as far as demos go. You start in what I'm guessing is the game's introductory dungeon where you can customize your character, including sex and race. From there you play through and the game introduces you to the different kinds of play - by first giving you a sword and shield, then a bow, then daggers where the teach you to sneak and stealth kill and then finally a magic staff and robes.

The game plays smoothly and the controls are extremely responsive. It plays more the Fable did and less like Fable II and III, which is a huge plus to me. This game truly feels like it is what Fable was supposed to be. And not retail release Fable either. It's like what Peter Molyneaux built it up originally to supposedly be, except 10x better. The graphics have a nice fantasy look to them with a almost animated quality. It's hard to explain what I mean. The best way I can think of to explain it is that the characters and their clothing/armor have that graphical flair that the TimeSplitters games had.

Combat is easy to mix melee and magic on the fly and is very intuitive. You block with the left trigger and attack with the right one. You have 2 weapon slots, a primary and secondary weapon. It's cool because you can mix and match what you want where you want it. So you could have a sword as your primary and a bow as your secondary or vice versa.

Story wise, the demo offers quite a lot. There are multiple characters to talk with in the dungeon, each with branching conversation options and various parchments scattered around to read. The dungeon is also littered with breakable objects containing gold and chests, in addition to bodies to loot. By the time I finished with the dungeon, I had like clothing/armor in like 4 or 5 different varities for each of my chest and legs and a few for my feet, hands and even a couple mage robes too.

Now this is where the demo gets impressive; at the end of the dungeon is a appropriate boss fight (complete with finishing move). After you finish it you have to escape the dungeon as it's under attack and falling apart. When you leave the dungeon you expect the demo to end, but it doesn't. They let you run around outside in this beautiful outdoor area very remeniscent of the Kingdom in the beginning of Kameo. You talk with this guy who is a Fateweaver, which as far as I can tell is a fortune teller/oracle. This is where the game lets you make some of the more signifficant choices, like which path you want to actively pursue such as warrior, mage, rogue or the undecided -This choice carries a lot of weight to it as it feels like a permanent choice but you can change it if you want later. After you do all that you fight a little more and they teach you about special attacks.

Now this is where the demo gets REALLY impressive. After all that I've explained to you, which easily took me over an hour, the game says that you have 45 minutes to freely explore the game world and do whatever the hell you like. The timer stops when the game is paused or you are talking to someone. That's pretty freaking awesome. You can go into town and talk to everyone, explore the shops, etc.

My opinion on this game was pretty high going into the demo as I already have it preordered but to play it really got me excited. I will be astounded if ign gives this game less than a 9/10. It has everything going for it; smooth gameplay, enjoyable combat, gorgeous graphics and art direction and the game world feels huge. I already prefer this to Skyrim in every way. My one complaint I have with it is that even though the conversations play out exactly like Mass Effect, your character has no voice. That hurts the immersion to me. Obviously, it's nothing that will ruin the game and in the grand scheme is a minor complaint but there it is.

Also, for those interesed, the demo is nearly 2 gigs.

Also, one last note the first review score is in as well. It recieved a 9/10 from OXM Italy

If the demo is any hint of what's to come then I could see this becoming a big hit. Loved the fable/elder mix personally. Can't wait! What's your impressions guys?

Alright, let me start by clarifying that those of you interested in getting the Mass Effect 3 extras that are either not interested in Kingdoms of Amalur or don't want to spoil anything for yourselves are in luck as the ME3 extras are awarded for simply booting up the demo. Well, not all the extras but the armor is. Also, a few extras for Kingdoms of Amalur are given to you at the title screen too.

This demo is incredible, as far as demos go. You start in what I'm guessing is the game's introductory dungeon where you can customize your character, including sex and race. From there you play through and the game introduces you to the different kinds of play - by first giving you a sword and shield, then a bow, then daggers where the teach you to sneak and stealth kill and then finally a magic staff and robes.

The game plays smoothly and the controls are extremely responsive. It plays more the Fable did and less like Fable II and III, which is a huge plus to me. This game truly feels like it is what Fable was supposed to be. And not retail release Fable either. It's like what Peter Molyneaux built it up originally to supposedly be, except 10x better. The graphics have a nice fantasy look to them with a almost animated quality. It's hard to explain what I mean. The best way I can think of to explain it is that the characters and their clothing/armor have that graphical flair that the TimeSplitters games had.

Combat is easy to mix melee and magic on the fly and is very intuitive. You block with the left trigger and attack with the right one. You have 2 weapon slots, a primary and secondary weapon. It's cool because you can mix and match what you want where you want it. So you could have a sword as your primary and a bow as your secondary or vice versa.

Story wise, the demo offers quite a lot. There are multiple characters to talk with in the dungeon, each with branching conversation options and various parchments scattered around to read. The dungeon is also littered with breakable objects containing gold and chests, in addition to bodies to loot. By the time I finished with the dungeon, I had like clothing/armor in like 4 or 5 different varities for each of my chest and legs and a few for my feet, hands and even a couple mage robes too.

Now this is where the demo gets impressive; at the end of the dungeon is a appropriate boss fight (complete with finishing move). After you finish it you have to escape the dungeon as it's under attack and falling apart. When you leave the dungeon you expect the demo to end, but it doesn't. They let you run around outside in this beautiful outdoor area very remeniscent of the Kingdom in the beginning of Kameo. You talk with this guy who is a Fateweaver, which as far as I can tell is a fortune teller/oracle. This is where the game lets you make some of the more signifficant choices, like which path you want to actively pursue such as warrior, mage, rogue or the undecided -This choice carries a lot of weight to it as it feels like a permanent choice but you can change it if you want later. After you do all that you fight a little more and they teach you about special attacks.

Now this is where the demo gets REALLY impressive. After all that I've explained to you, which easily took me over an hour, the game says that you have 45 minutes to freely explore the game world and do whatever the hell you like. The timer stops when the game is paused or you are talking to someone. That's pretty freaking awesome. You can go into town and talk to everyone, explore the shops, etc.

My opinion on this game was pretty high going into the demo as I already have it preordered but to play it really got me excited. I will be astounded if ign gives this game less than a 9/10. It has everything going for it; smooth gameplay, enjoyable combat, gorgeous graphics and art direction and the game world feels huge. I already prefer this to Skyrim in every way. My one complaint I have with it is that even though the conversations play out exactly like Mass Effect, your character has no voice. That hurts the immersion to me. Obviously, it's nothing that will ruin the game and in the grand scheme is a minor complaint but there it is.

Also, for those interesed, the demo is nearly 2 gigs.

Also, one last note the first review score is in as well. It recieved a 9/10 from OXM Italy

If the demo is any hint of what's to come then I could see this becoming a big hit. Loved the fable/elder mix personally. Can't wait! What's your impressions guys?

AA is much more memorable to me. I remember much more of the plot and areas of AA.

I just completed AC yesterday and am having trouble remembering everything that happened let alone trying to figure out the confusing ending.

That said, the gameplay has been vastly improved. I can see myself sinking much more time into the AC challenge mode and new game +

Cwagmire21

The mainplot isn't that hard to comprhend;

Batman purposly gets himself arrested due to the mumurings of activity inside Arkham City. He get's there, and soon discovers about Protocol 10. Eventually you discover what protocol 10 is, and that Raj Al Ghoul was behind it all. He wanted to create a perfect society, and eliminating Batman and Arkham City was why he teamed with Dr. Strage in the first place. In exchange Dr. Strange would be granted immortality, fortuntly his plans faltered.

Then you have the Joker side story; He had gotten ill from the titan in Arkham Asylum, and needed a cure. In the end Batman retreived the cure, but Joker stabbed him, making batman drop the cure...Joker dies.

The mainplot, and the ending are hardly to difficult to understand.

Yeah I agree with pretty much everything you said. I like the atmosphere in Asylum better too. AC had a great atmosphere too but it just didn't feel te same as the first one. Anyhow both are great games and deserve their scores. Oh and the ending in AC was awesome imo, just wish the story was a little longer.kweeni

Yeah. Arkham City definitely had it's moments. I personally loved the museum level and the City of Wonders level, and even Jokers Hideout level as well. Also roaming around the city, with the unique gotham decor, and neon lights with the giant moon and snow passing by is still a sight to behold.

But the think with Asylum was that from top to bottom it was soaking with atmosphere and flavor. In City, you have to go to certain spots to sort of get that asylum "kick" again.

But yeah, that's not to rag on City's atmosphere. Because it has a very nice atmosphere of it's own, but just doesn't really compare to the more tight and linear atmosphere of asylum.

I know some people want to go even bigger, and I'm sort of confused on where I'd like the series to go. On one hand the atmosphere of Asylum is something really special, and is probably something that can only be done in a more tight and linear fashion. That said, there's something really alluring to be batman in a open world city. If you mixed the atmosphere of asylum, and everything else from AC then you'll get a "game of all time" type games.

Driver San Francisco-The best racing game this year. Not only the best in the series, but a game that could end up on any top 10 goty list. It has a surpisingly great story, and the shift mechanic is just simply awesome.

Rayman Origins-So much love went into this game. The art direction, the music, the platorming levels. So much awesome packed into this, surprisingly, big game.

There's a few standout endings from my experience...

-Enslaved

-Red Dead Redemption

-Uncharted 2

-Arkham City

-Portal 2

-Kingdom Hearts

-Mass Effect 2

....Though I think RDR was the STRONGEST ending out of all them. Simply because of John's death scene.

So I just completed Arkham City...and I'm sort of debating which game was better.

Personally, I sort of liked the more linear structured approach in Arkham Asylum. The levels were much more memorable, ranging from Ivy's Green House to the sewers. There was more "atmosphere" I would say overall in Arkham Asylum.

With that said though, Arkham City does alot of OTHER things better than Asylum. What grabbed me initally was how much improved the music was! The main theme isprobably the best I've heard this year (and this year was no slouch either for music in games).

Also, it might be just me but I felt the narrative was much stronger is Arkham City. It felt very comic book like in terms of narrative structure, and I simply loved the twist at the end. Also dat ending. I know some didn't like the ending, but I felt it was 100x better than the Asylum ending, and the boss fight was an improvement as well.

The boss fights, especially with Mr. Freeze was very well done and again an improvement from Asylum. An the various cameos is very nice and not TO overdone...but I would maybe shorten the number of characters appearing in future games.

Also I love the side quests, and all the various stuff to do...and..honestly..it's just FUN to glide around. At first I was very put off by the sandbox approach, but the more hours I put into the game, the more I warmed up to it..now I love it.

Still. I feel AC improved SO MUCH over asylum, but that special arkham asylum atmosphere was sorely missing. It's a toughy.

I guess I would maybe put AC a INCH over Asylum, simply because of the better narrative and the sandbox approach. What do you guys think?

How many levels does it have, and how long to beat the game?

ristactionjakso

I'm not quite sure how many levels there are because the game is sort of seperated in hub worlds which has maybe 10 levels each. There's also hidden levels as well. I'd say all in all, there's about maybe 60+ Levels (or worlds) and each of them is gorgeous and fun.

Personally took me about 15+ hours to finish. Quite a lengthy game, especially if you want to obtain all the platoons and obtain all the characters and levels. It's a game I'd HIGHLY reccomend. I'd say it'd easily be in your top 5 goty list if you choose to play it.