Awesome. I've been waiting for you to break silence on this one

EA as a publisher have been, over the last few years, really pumping out some interesting titles. I remember when all the produced was licensed shovelware. Even Fifa has been sorted out now.

Since Mirror's Edge I think they have become one of my favourite publishers.

The combat systems they talk about in the video are geniunely great fun and it's brilliant they are pushing this aspect of the game, it is definitely the strongest point. It's the risk/reward element they talk about which makes it interesting, I usually absolutely cannot stand the way in western games you aren't allowed to manipulate animation at all. But in this game you can - but only to a certain degree. So with those powerful attacks they talk about, you have to commit to them and you cannot cancel out. So your skill in this game is based on your judgement regarding when to use these attacks and how to manage crowds of enemies with safe attacks before going in for the kill with unsafe ones. It really does make you think and gives you a nice balance between playing strategically and being an OTT powerhouse.

The combat system is married with a ridiculously in-depth RPG, status effects and the masses of stat based attack/defence stuff is all in there. It may seem simple on the surface, but underneath it's like quantum mechanics. What I love about this aspect is that it's not purely down to RPG style probabilities, you can actually manipulate and 100% guarantee cause and effect in combat through your actions - it's like they've seamlessly shoved two completely different games together.

If the game delivers on the ambition it should be very impressive.

I'll take a proper look at the vid when I get home...

Let's hope they aren't just reckoning and it turns out to be good. It looks like in offline WoW with juggles and weighty combat.

I'm all for realistic weight, heft, and follow-through but given my recent discussions involving pure control in games this will likely be deemed as cumbersome and broken by some, from how I imagine/hope it to be anyway.

Is there any spell-casting in this game? I want this...

I don't understand what that is.

That's the problem I always had with Warcraft, it's extremely difficult to understand what's going on, and the people who play it expect you to know all these un-written rules despite the game giving you no clue at all as to how to play it.

I've been trying to explain to people that Reckoning is good, but people don't take my word for it - I've only been on it for 4 months after all, what do I know? There is spell casting in the game, and there's a good system behind it.

Ditto. Only ever played WoW for about an hour. OK I know that's crazy shortness, but I couldn't actually find what I would call 'a game' in there. What it does do really well is keep you playing by making the next cool item, quest or level tantalisingly within reach. I couldn't really see any system to the combat other than picking the right buffs and spells and having those all queued up ready to rock. I'm almost certainly missing something I suspect.

What really put the final nail in the coffin for me was when someone sat me down and went through the game's mechanics. I had been playing the game for around 3 months by that point, and I'd been playing it completely wrong. After this guy completely overhauled my UI and showed me what I was supposed to be doing, I cancelled my subscription and never touched the game again.

What they've managed to do with Reckoning is marry the ridiculously complex mechanics, mathematical formulas and dice rolls of an RPG with the accessibility of direct combat. All the RPG stuff is still going on in the background, but you are able to control and guarantee cause and effect directly through your actions. The attacks which guarantee an effect are high-risk, so careful judgement must be used in battle so that you are not locked in delay frames while an enemy attack executes. The combat system is better than every other western action game, it's better than God of War and the rest of the shit they pass off as action games. It's no DMC3 or Bayonetta, not by a long shot - but it's not trying to be. It's a new take on the RPG formula, and I'm telling you it works.

It sounds very interesting.

I've been wanting a game with good rpg underpinnings and some decent combat mechanics. PSO left me a bit cold as the simple combo shot system was just too basic. Guardian Heros on the other hand had a good combat system, but probably not enough RPG trappings to satisfy.

I've been tempted with some of the pseudo real time stuff like Resonance of Fate and Valkyria Chronicles (I'll probably get both of these at some point), but there's still a niche for a game that marries up a solid RPG stats fest with good combat mechanics. Looks like this might be the ticket.

Incidentally I've decided I'm only going to get stuck into turn based RPGs once my reactions have gone to shit and I can't play arcade games anymore. I'm saving them all up for my retirement....

The above clip is simply exploiting a power-up trinket simultaneously whilst casting a spell, so that the projectile (big fire-ball) also adopts the properties of the trinket, eventhough the initial 5sec long cast was initiated before the power-up.... pheww.. Basically it's an exploit within the casting/cooldown system.

Unfortunately, exploits such as this, and even harmless ones such as dancing/roaring emotes during casting are progressively being removed by the devs. So a lot of the fun is being removed constantly.

It's too bad you had someone ruin your experience by 'telling you how to play', You know you're playing correctly if you're killing 3-4 people at the same time with better gear than you, and I never understood the custom UI mentality, most of the top players play with the default UI as there is really nothing wrong with it and it does everything you need, unless you are a 'clicker' rather than a pure keyboard user.

Madders, one hour? You're not going to see much in one hour mate. >< The levelling up and even gearing up at end-game is all superficial really. I'll never forget the fun I had in 40 vs. 40 Alterac Valley, or 3v3 Arena. Easily my favorite game of all time by miles above everything else, I just never officially announce that.

Anyway, back on topic, I want this to be good. That is all.

Yeah I know dude, but with 2 kids I just can't risk getting sucked in now, so I keep telling myself that WoW is not for me

Yeah, I know how that feels. It's not for me now either unfortunately. Also, its prime is well and truly cemented in the past. You can't style on opponents at all hardly, which is why I brought it into the discussion of this new game in the first place. I want an offline MMO with lush stylings, and this is looking close.

Even though I only played WoW for two years, I've now been away from the game for almost three... But, whenever I day-dream or have nothing to think about my mind will wonder into fantasizing about 3v3 set plays and strategies, then I get a craving for something that's no longer there. I doubt these cravings will ever go away. I'm not well.

The demo for this is up. I have to wait until tomorrow now though. Balls.

Hey, one second, you failed to mention Grant Kirkhope (Perfect Dark) did the soundtrack for this... You know how much this means to me?

My hype meter has just vapourised at this discovery.

I was working in the studio with all of these guys last October. I knew he was from Rare (was great to hear another English accent too), but I've never seen/played any of those games before. The only Rare game I ever played was Killer Instinct, I spent all my college years glued to that cab. XD

wait wait wait, is this the skils based semi-RPG I've been looking for for the last 20 years? Skills as in mechanic computer gaming skills, not pressing a mouse button/pad over and over?

@Jib, From Saur's description I think it is what you me and a million other gamers have been looking for. Demo GET!

What is the demo out on, I can't see it on xbox.com ?

It's like the bungie in Sega Extreme Sports all over again

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Kingdoms-of-Amalur-Reckoning-DEMO/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80245418983

I freaking searched for Kingdoms of Amular..... Grrrr Microsoft.

Yeah that's it!

It's no Bayonetta or Devil May Cry by any means, but it does have a fun system to it and it genuinely is a fun game to play. I've been playing this game since October and I'm still playing it now in order to get this project finished. It's not a chore. I'm in no way an expert in RPGs but any game which you can play non-stop for months without becoming sick of it must be a good one. I'm dealing with the strategy aspect at the moment and no matter which fight I jump into or which character build I experiment with - I still find I'm enjoying the game.

Enemies actually have attack patterns for you to learn and exploit, you can even negate damage from attacks with well timed Shield Parries instead of relying on behinds-the-scenes stats and maths.

I'm an absolute snob when it comes to combat systems, and this game does things which I totally do not agree with. Yet it's still better than every other western developed 3D action game.

Whoever worked on this are clearly massive WoW crackheads, just like me. The combat is nice, satisfying, and gives you plenty of creative options to entertain yourself with. Even when using magic... like the above .GIF I posted from WoW, that really was a prime example of weight being given to huge nukes. In every other game I've played magic feels far too airy and light, practically non-existent physically, here however, blasting enemies with lightning actually feels powerful and devastating, and shares the same slow-down choreography as the melee strikes, hell, even blocking with your shield at the last second does that just to emphasize how awesome you are. You can charge up pretty much all of your attacks for heavier 'NUKE' versions, and you certainly can't just get away with those like a mindless idiot like you can in other games, I tried that and got gang-bummed which didn't really kill me, it just made me look shit and broke my rhythm, which is worse in my opinion.

I created a cloth-wearing Rogue style character which opens big with stealth, then peppers in some melee to create space for myself before unleashing the 'good shit' (big spells and charge staff AoE). Tonight I'm going back to my mindless roots and seeing how pure melee fares. From the limited set of skills I managed to muster last night I could only do so much with the Reckoning mode - I'm hoping for upgrades later in the game which can either extend or give added potency to its destructive capability.

Quests are rewarded by items, gear, progression, and like WoW, a chunky experience points bonus. Now I have reason to do quests and clean-up, unlike Oblivion or Skyrim. Those games never inspire me to do quests.

Some negatives now, and beginning with a personal one, is that so far all the areas seem 'walled in' and given the expanded corridor approach. This is one of the reasons I slammed Fable and never went back to that series (as well as a plethora of other reasons). I favour some truly open areas and hopefully we're offered some more openness later on, although looking at the map I doubt it.

Another is the voice-over audio when activating some of alters/sermon stones. A pop-up with some text would have been perfect, but instead we get some mindless, seemingly unrelated rabble which at times can be damn annoying and really break the mood. One of them started spewing out some bard song which totally insulted my ears, another had this daft bint that sounded like a shitty un-funny female comedian scoffing out a ton of nonsense that seemingly went on forever.

As for the voice acting in general, it's all quite good with no repetition so far. I think they actually put effort into hiring voice actors unlike... you get the idea.

Speaking of Fable, and even Oblivion/Skyrim, one of the BIG negatives is the fact that when there is some kick-off going down it's impossible to differentiate between allies and enemies. They all get mixed up in the fray and I end up coming out the bad guy because some cunt couldn't get out the way of me when I'm the one actually playing the game... In this, when allies are in proximity of carnage you have the option of toggling friendly-fire mode by pressing up on the d-pad. Brilliant. No more pissing people off or killing them by accident. I don't know if this was fixed in the later Fable games, but it's certainly an issue with Skyrim.

I know there are lots of comparisons here, but it's difficult to avoid when they've basically taken all the best bits from various games, taken all the shit bits and thrown them in the bin, then crafted this out of it all. It does work as a whole forgiving the few negatives, and the demo has sold me the game.

Bugs. So far just some shoddy texture pop up, and the shield equip preview in the inventory is totally ballsed up. The shield looks grafted into the torso of my avatar. When initiating dialogue with NPCs the audio can be all over the place if they were already mid-dialogue, it looks like they are removed from game-space and reloaded into their conversation position as well, meaning they instantly vanish then reappear. Another time during some heated action my camera got stuck underground and I couldn't budge it. I'm hoping these issues are with the demo, and/or it being read from my HDD. So far nothing totally game-breaking like in... you get the idea.

They really need to role out a console/PC MMO version of this pronto, or at least after the retail version performs, which I hope it does. I can see some great scope if you add a healer and tanking classes (or Destinies) into the mix. 3v3 Arena would be A.M.A.Z.I.N.G if the systems in this game were developed to cater for it. Just throw a GoW style lobby at it and it's away, then add a PSO/PSU/MH style setup for the PvE drones. Get me a job with these guys Saur, I'll direct their online strategy towards billions of dollars I shit you not. I don't even want a single cent in return, I just want my 'fix'.

If this does well at retail I can bet you that there will be an MMO released. This game introduces the world, the lore and the core mechanics of Amalur, it's like they're saying "here's a taste, support us and we'll go all the way with it".

I really hope this game sells significant numbers. The thing about Reckoning is does what it does really well and there really aren't any areas which are fucked up. It's been built by people who truly know what they're doing, they're an amazingly talented bunch with a passion for both RPGs, beat-em-ups and gaming in general. Contrasting this is Skyrim, which feels like it was built by people who aren't actually gamers and were hell-bent on hiding the fact that their game is an RPG.

I have contacts at BHG and I'm sure they would be very happy to receive your feedback or ideas.

Good. I keep going over ideas in my head on how great this could be if it went online. I hope I like the main game.

I'll dl the demo tonight and give it a bit of a critical eye

I've got it down, just need to unrelegate the Xbox from the room of denial.... And find a pad to charge. This due out on PC? If its up to snuff I may get "the rig" for it.

The PC version is great. It's like silk compared to the console version - 30fps on the Xbox/PS3, rock solid 120fps on my "rig" XD

It instantly recognises the control method too. If you plug in an Xbox pad it configures itself automatically and switches the UI over to the console version. Same way if you move the mouse or press a key, the whole UI switches over to a PC specific format and all controls remap automatically.

Lets hope I don't like it, or else this will be a seven hundred quid game.

Eeek. I've not invested in PC components for about 10 years, just living on other peoples hand me downs.

I only have a 2 year old laptop that happened to have a relatively meaty ATI GFX card in it.... Not up to much now though, Anno 2070 struggles.

Surely you'd want to dabble with Diablo III as well? Nothing wrong with playing both at once, until this maybe goes online then you'd probably have to make a choice which one to stick with, unless you are willing to totally throw your life away.

I have an exceptionally low threshold for stat and item management... I close my eyes when I am tidying up the gear in Xenoblade, but some games make it more interesting than others. As for Diablo 3, having played 2 for about 3 hours in total, the mechnical skill level was non-existent, I get the tactics and that, but the physical input needs to be more involving for me to be involved.... Unless it involves battleships, spaceships or 3dimensions.

Had Saur not been pushing this, I'd not even take a look. I got as far as getting out of the temple well of souls building thing. And yeah, its not my bag. It seems to be totally focused on pleasing fans of the genre and being totally impenetrable for people like me. I mean, nothing is explained, the character bootup sequence and the totally genericness of it all, even sadly down to the art direction and colour pallette. I only know what I am doing because I've played this very sequence in many games before.

The combat IS interesting only in so much as the evade actually evades, however, and I've not tried to find it, you don't appear to lock to a target Z targeting style (I can't believe its not in there so I will take another look), so you end up spamming around, but it doesn't feel too balletic.

I am totally sure the game will work for people who have played and like these games, but for a hardened westernRPGphobe (is that was it is called) anyways the over the shoulder 3rd person wander'em up, I'm not going to enjoy it...although I've always wanted to like a game like this as it feels like something you can get right into, closest I've been to is Xenoblade and that concedes the combat is secodary to the tactics.

I'll give it another punt, assuming the demo has saved my progress and see if the combat has a Z target other than that, for a player outside the genre it hasn't done anything to suck me in (mostly down to its apparent absolute genericness).

Why would you need a Z targeting system? The combat system in this game is incredibly simple, it's just attack, block, evade. That's it.

The strategy stems from the relationship between these 3 actions. You can only freely block or evade during normal weapon actions, not the more powerful finishing strikes of a combo chain or ability actions accessed via your overlay.

Your character automatically locks onto the nearest enemy to his line of sight. But you need to be able to override the auto lock-on in order to control groups of enemies or evade attacks. Suppose you're attacking an enemy in front and you have one coming in from behind, you can instantly turn 180 with an ability action to interrupt the enemy sneaking up on you - or simply press block at the right time to instantly turn and parry.

With a Z targeting system, you would have to deactivate lock-on from the enemy in front, turn around, then reactivate, then perform which ever action you need. It's completely pointless and irrelevant in the context of this game and would never work. Most of the time you'll be fighting 5-10 enemies at once, and most of them surround you - the absolute last thing you need in this situation is manually controlled lock-on.

Anyway - I can't be bothered to defend this game, I couldn't give a shit if people like it or not. I just want it out of the way so I can jump back on MAHVAL.

Good point. The only combat I've had with multiple enemies is the Stone Troll was it and a couple of dudes knocking about. I guess when it gets more hectic it will require a more melee approach instead of a clinical one on one. See, this just proves I don't understand!

Gambit uses ranged magic attacks or is it more like a bow and arrow?

The first thing I did when I played this game was test how I could change direction. I was quite baffled as to why I could not freely change direction, for example: "Why can't I attack in one direction, then turn and instantly block in the other?"

The answer is - you don't need to.

The blocking system is completely independent of the direction your character is facing, all you need to do is press block and your character will instantly turn towards the incoming attack as he defends. With that out of the way, the next question was "Why can't I freely block or evade during certain actions?" - this is where the strategic element comes into play.

All weapon combo strings consist of 2 different types of action, which I have labelled "Normal" and "Special". The normal actions are all attacks which precede the final (and strongest) strike in a weapon combo chain. All "Normal" actions will freely cancel into block or evade at any point during their animation, the final strike however cannot be cancelled.

Taking this into consideration, in battle you are using "low risk" techniques during normal actions, and "high risk" during special actions. All combo chain finishing strikes, and all actions activated from your overlay menu are "high risk" as you cannot cancel into block or evade during their animation. The trick is to learn when you can use these high risk actions, and when you should limit yourself to normal actions.

When you are surrounded by loads of enemies for example, this is where you should limit yourself to normal actions. You can cancel and repeat a weapon combo chain by pressing block, so as long as you block-cancel before the final strike in the sequence - you can repeat it indefinitely. This will allow you to keep striking in any direction while retaining the ability to block or evade whenever you like. The high risk actions should be used in situations where you are not open to outside interference, against single targets or in situations where you have opened up a wide gap between your target and the rest of the group.

The Gambit is one of the last techniques you unlock in the Finesse ability tree. It's a carpet of bombs which you lay down to make it difficult for enemies to approach your position. The Finesse class has extremely weak attack power generally, but the Shadow Flare and later Longbow abilities are so massively overpowered that you feel like you're cheating. There is no middle ground with that class, you're either chipping away and doing fuck-all damage or killing massive enemies in a single hit. It's completely crazy - but a fun class to play.

I have this down, so will give it a whirl tonight if I get time. The system Saur describes, sounds like it has the core elements of something which could be fun. The proof will be in the playing I guess.

I've tried every possibility with the limited play on the demo and I think I'm going to go with the build I tried out first... Sorcery/Finesse. Pure Sorcery comes in second place.

I get the impression that a pure Might build would only be as fun as both magic and stealth if you were tanking tons of enemies and relied upon a good dose of healing now and then.

From some trailers I've seen isn't it possible to spend some gold to recreate your entire fate at any point in the game like in WoW? (IE: re-spec all of your talent points?)

I really like the talent trees in this game, again, adopted straight from WoW... And this is one of the things soon to be removed from WoW due to an alarming increase in the rate of moronic design decisions over at Blizzard.

Yes, you can totally re-spec your character at any point.

All 3 classes I've found to be fun to play, but only the Might class makes any sort of combo stuff possible. I'm not sure if I'm playing Finessse the way they've intended, but the Longbow is by far the most powerful weapon in the game once you level its abilities. Sorcery makes dealing with crowds very easy, the AoE spells make such a difference to the way you play.

I have to say it did feel like an MMOG without the M, the M or the O. But that might be because the two genres have fused over the last 10 years, the last one I played significantly was Evercrack, dabbled in some others and could never boot up WoW.

This dabble made me think if maybe Mass Effect isn't the spawn of satan, as I kinda feel that if I liked the setting, (which the mock tudor middle england style doesn't really float me) then it might click as a genre.

You REALLY need to play Mass Effect.

- and I don't mean picking up ME2 and playing from there. You need to get Mass Effect 1, do it properly, then import the data into Mass Effect 2.

You'll thank me later.

^^^

Listen to this man. Seriously Jib, it's bloody good even with the clunkiness of the inventory management.

BTW have you seen the ME3 is better with Kinect trailer.

ROFL

I can see some genuine uses for sure like not having to pause the game to select powers, but then I kind of like to take a break to think a little bit about what I'm doing in the combat. However the weapon switching is just retarded as there's already a quick weapon toggle and frankly can you imagine that saying shotgun is going to be more responsive than just pressing a button. It's idiotic in the extreme.

Sorry thread hijack

I bought this today, been mainly playing with an acid long sword which is quick enough to launch fools into the air and then juggling them with a couple of swings and keeping them up with bow and arrows. Really good fun trying to finish them with a blast of magic. Other than that though I think it's way too early for any heroness. Did have a top moment knocking a two headed giant back and forward with my companion. Have been rolling out of danger mostly so need to man up and get used to blocking with the shield instead. After playing Skyrim on the sneak tip as an archer this is giving me some much needed beatdownz!!!1

Any meths for avoiding the lock on attacks from enemies - like fireballs? Shield doesn't appear to work and they come right at you even when rolling out of the way...please tell me you can return them somehow?!

I took an absolute hammering against the big one-eyed slug monster until I realised how to avoid its eye laz0r...being told to turn down the difficulty was a little frustrating...can these prompts be switched off, the text boxes are HUGE?

Not sure about the prompts, I think you can - if you go into the options you should have a Tutorial toggle in there.

The projectiles the enemies fire track you until the very frame they are released. It's totally unfair and there's no way around it, you just have to take note of the wind-up animation and evade as soon as the projectile is fired. There's no guaranteed way to avoid these attacks, you simply have to evade as the projectile is fired and hope it hasn't tracked you. Most projectiles have homing properties too - how they expect you to evade these attacks consistently is beyond me.

Good to know, I'll just take the hits then.