‘Syndicate’ has good combat, let down by visuals
“Syndicate” tries to remake itself into a first-person shooter (FPS) with some good combat techniques, but falls way short on visually delivering an enjoyable experience.
The new game from Starbreeze Studios, Electronic Arts is a reboot from a 1993 title that was more of a tactical shooter and strategy game than FPS. This version drops you into a future where corporations instead of countries control the world and most of the world’s population contains chips in their brains. Players act as techno-agents with super-charged electronic implants that make them incredible weapons.
The key invention is the DART-6 chip technology that is implanted in the brain of your character, Miles Kilo. Kilo is tasked with discovering corporate espionage and dealing with it – permanently. The DART-6 enhances Kilo so that the world appears to be moving slower and he becomes more powerful.
He also gets additional enhancements early in the game that unleash three different powerful attacks – suicide, backfire and persuade. Each of these abilities allows Kilo to tap into an enemy’s chip and force them to do something against their will.
The suicide ability causes a brain chip to explode, possibly injuring surrounding people. Backfire shorts out an opponent’s weapon temporarily and makes them vulnerable to damage. Persuade gets enemies to switch sides and help out Kilo before blowing their own brains out.
Kilo also gets upgrades by stealing important chips from other people’s skulls. The technique is rather disturbing as the technology is removed through the ear or eye – after the people are already dead, of course.
These upgrades add to health, recharging, shields and other benefits that you’ll need to complete your missions.
From a shooter perspective, the action is solid with a wide range of weapons to collect and use. From a simple pistol to the powerful chain gun with infinite ammo, each weapon causes unique, and sometimes very visceral, damage. The chain gun literally cuts enemies in half. Don’t examine the bodies too closely without a strong stomach.
The enemies are numerous, so players will get plenty of practice with their weapons and abilities. Some strategy is needed in most scenarios, but on more than one occasion, the bad guys just kept coming down a hallway without any personal regard while I continued to mow them down.
The boss battles were lengthy and difficult, requiring quite a bit of dodging, restocking and flat out hiding. Kilo seems extraordinarily fragile for all his offensive firepower so you will die often.
Apparently, civilians aren’t immune to all the bullets flying around either. It was hard to determine whether I should care or not because there isn’t a morality system that punishes or promotes my actions. I tried not playing like a psychopath, but the lines between good and bad get blurred on the way to the game’s conclusion.
Most troubling was the visual representation of the environments. Yes, it is a far-flung future reminiscent of “Deus Ex” or even “Tron,” but the experience was visually painful.
Lens flare and extreme lighting lessened the game’s enjoyment. Even by adjusting the gamma and blackness controls, transitions from scene to scene would result in blinding brightness or darkness so deep that I couldn’t make out individual items on a desk. I spent more time in the video options menu than worrying about what skills I wanted to upgrade.
Glitchy animation didn’t help the visual experience either. Other characters would go through the shakes like they were going through techno-DTs and on more than one occasion, enemy soldiers would appear to go down only to spontaneously reappear in the same location and shooting.
The detail in the environments was impressive, but most of it was just for show. Walls and barriers would show bullet marks without taking any real damage.
The multiplayer is co-op for two to four players and puts you into some typical agent missions. Cooperation is vital as the enemy appears single-minded in their desire to destroy you. It doesn’t detract from the overall game, but it is important to get with people who know what they are doing. Those “solo” team members are just going to get themselves – and you – killed.
Overall, “Syndicate” is hampered by visual style and glitchiness that gets more frustrating as the game goes on. The combat is solid, fun to play and takes a creative mind to use properly against numerous and increasingly tough enemies.
Don’t treat it as a reboot. Treat it as something brand new and you’ll probably enjoy it more.
“Syndicate” is available now in North America and February 24 in Europe on Windows PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is rated M for Mature due to blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, and suggestive themes. This review was done using a review copy for the Xbox 360.
Hands on with the PlayStation Vita
Sony’s PlayStation Vita, which hits stores in the U.S. and Europe next Wednesday, is much more than just another portable gaming device.
With the Vita, Sony is trying to combine the power of its PlayStation home console with the interface, portability and social media features of a smartphone. With its innovative touch controls, OLED screen, motion sensors, social apps, GPS capability and dual cameras, it has most of the bells and whistles that today’s gamers could want.
Some industry observers question whether gamers will spring $250-$300 for another portable gaming device — plus potential monthly fees for a 3G data plan — when smartphones already handle many of the same gaming functions. But Sony is counting on the Vita’s appeal to hard-core action- and first-person shooter gamers who want a designated mobile gaming system, not just another gadget on which to play “Angry Birds.”
I spent a week testing out the Vita on a handful of games. Our verdict: It’s a powerful and promising device — better suited to some games than to others — whose ultimate success will depend on whether developers make enough worthy games for it.
While members of the development team knew they’d be making upgrades to the hardware and gameplay, Shuhei Yoshida, president of SCE Worldwide Studios, said he knew social media capability was going to be just as important.
“It has Twitter. It has Flickr. Portable music applications. These are here to enhance your gameplay experience,” Yoshida told CNN. “What (Twitter) does as a player is, it lets you take a screen shot of a game you are playing. You beat the boss or you get the high score, (and) you can show the world what you’ve done with that screen shot.”
Other social media applications, like Facebook, Foursquare and Skype, will also be available for download.
The processing power in the Vita allows for eight different applications to run simultaneously. During our hands-on experience, we could download a new game while playing another and listening to music from the media player. There was no detectible slowing of the action or the music.
PS Vita also raises the bar on mobile gaming by offering voice chat and text chat through the Party application. Party isn’t tied into specific games, but allows players to communicate with their friends no matter what each person is doing.
However, AT&T, the exclusive broadband provider for the Vita in the U.S., does impose some restrictions. Yoshida said voice chat will only work if one person is on a Wi-Fi connection and the other is on a 3G connection. As he reminded us, the Vita isn’t a phone.
Don’t have many PlayStation friends online? Vita can help you find new connections with Near, a program that uses GPS to search your area for other nearby Vita devices. You can see what other people are playing, maybe join up for a multiplayer match or challenge a friend to top your high score. If you’re concerned about privacy, there are ways to block your location, yet still see what’s going on around you.
All these additions to the gaming experience mean little if the core gameplay is lacking. And that’s where the Vita really delivers. The seven-inch device is chock full of processing power, multiple controls and a 5-inch OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screen, all designed to make games look and play as well as they do on a PlayStation home console.
The front of the Vita has two analog joysticks, a first for a portable gaming device, as well as a directional pad and four buttons. The front screen is also a touchscreen, allowing for direct control during a game.
The back of the device is a touchpad, which can create some unintended gaming consequences when gripping the Vita. Because Sony wanted the back screen to have a one-to-one relationship with the game action, the rear touchpad takes up the same amount of room as the front screen. But it takes some creative holding of the device to play some games without accidentally tapping on the back.
Yoshida said that while Vita does have a lot of input devices and functions, there were many others that didn’t make it to the final design. He said the team focused on three things for the Vita: the size of the device, the price and its battery life.
“A certain group of us wanted a stylus,” he said, laughing, about one feature that didn’t make the cut.
There are also two cameras, front and back, that are designed more for augmented reality (AR) gameplay than for taking quality pictures of your vacation spots. Three games that take advantage of augmented reality — using a camera to overlay real-world objects onto a device’s digital screen — will be available at launch next week.
To consumers, all these features won’t mean much if there aren’t good games to play. Available at launch will be 25 titles, with many others scheduled for release shortly after.
Sony is counting on some big franchises to help the Vita make a splash in the U.S. “Assassin’s Creed,” “Madden NFL,” “Uncharted,” “FIFA,” “Little Big Planet” and “BioShock” are a few of the powerhouse series that are developing games for the Vita. Some are available now, and others are coming soon.
Sony also is making some original games, mainly shooters and action-adventure titles, available at launch.
At a recent demo in Washington, the new “MLB 12: The Show” showed how gamers can use the Vita’s rear touchpad to throw the ball around a baseball diamond. Designer Ramone Russell said the PS3 version of the game will have 70 new enhancements and Vita will have 65 of those as well.
He explained that the PS3 version and the Vita version of the game were designed with cross-play between the two consoles in mind.
“You dump 20, 30, 40 hours into a mode, and it’s time to go on a business trip,” Russell said. “You save that file up into a Cloud. Pick up your PlayStation Vita. Take it on the road. Download it from the Cloud and you keep going. And it works vice versa.”
After about a week of hands-on experience, the PS Vita feels less like a mobile gaming device and more like a new gaming console that is also portable. The social features and functionality are exciting, and their integration into games seems smooth.
It takes a period of adjustment to avoid tapping the backside touchpad at the wrong time during a game. Even using the front touchscreen requires a bit of juggling, but it isn’t anything that gets frustrating or awkward.
Overall, the Vita’s power, social integration and presentation make the device worth a look. But the lingering question is whether developers will create enough great Vita games to make it worth the money.
The Wi-Fi version of the PS Vita will cost $249, while the AT&T 3G version will sell for $299 (plus a data plan). Two monthly data plans are available through AT&T: 250MB for $15 and 3GB for $30. There’s also a first-edition bundle package that includes a PS Vita 3G/Wi-Fi model, 4GB memory card, “Little Deviants” game and a limited-edition case for $350. The deal expires at the end of March. Memory cards are needed for some Vita games, but not for all.
‘Twisted Metal’ full of mechanical mayhem, mashing
“Twisted Metal” keeps up with all the mechanical mayhem from previous games and adds a bit of story just to tie it all together.
The new game from creator David Jaffe and Eat Sleep Play not only brings back familiar characters, but also the demolition derby style of combat that pits vehicle against vehicle with explosive results. The game sticks to its original plot of winning a tournament to gain a granted wish and, in single player mode, gamers will play three main characters in succession – Sweet Tooth, Mr. Grimm and Dollface.
Vehicles for combat are chosen before each battle. Players can usually select three for each scenario and change them out at a garage, thus having a fully healed supply always on hand. Some missions, races, for example, only allow for one vehicle.
The variety expands from the iconic ice cream truck of Sweet Tooth’s to include a motorcycle, helicopter, ambulance that vaguely resembles Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters, and a semi-truck as well as many others. Selection is limited to start, but more vehicles are unlocked as missions are completed.
Each vehicle has its own specialized weapons – Kamikaze has a flame thrower, Reaper can fling chainsaws, etc. More weapons and ammunition are scattered all over the playing field. Health is also found so players can get a bit of a boost if they can’t make it back to their garages.
Cars can also be customized, if that is your thing, and any driver can use any car.
The battle areas are varied in size and scope. Some play out throughout sleepy little towns with citizens appropriately running for cover (or getting run over). Many of the buildings are destructible and some are even large enough to drive into and engage opponents in combat.
There is a battledome type area with multi-levels and hidden passageways. There are also areas that feature a safe zone where all combat must take place. The trick, however, is that the zone moves and player health begins to decrease until you can re-enter the zone.
A new super-opponent, the Juggernaut, also can spawn new enemies from the back of its massive tractor trailer. Since the object to each battle is to be the last one driving, taking out the Juggernaut is something that needs to be done, but doesn’t happen easily.
The combat gets progressively harder as the game moves through the stories of the three main characters. Boss battles are appropriately tough, but some fights are so difficult, you’ll want to snap your controller. Resist that temptation.
The backdrop of the story makes learning about combat fun. Sure it is all about destroying your opponents, but having a reason to do it (other than destruction for destructions’ sake) makes more sense.
Cinematics are smartly done with live actors and animation, and give a nice background into each character’s history and reason for wanting to win the tournament. Calipso returns as the ringmaster for this violent contest and has the power to grant a single wish to the winner. Be careful what you wish for.
Multiplayer action pits faction against faction and lets a player’s violent streak come through. Team are based off popular characters from the franchise – The Clowns, The Dolls, The Skulls and The Holy Men (led by the Preacher).
There are several game modes available to allow for split-screen action and online play. While most combat is the last-man-standing variety, a new mode offers a bit of levity to the bloodshed.
The Nuke mode is probably the most fun out of all and requires the most teamwork. Players must kidnap an opposing team’s leader, take them back to their base, and then sacrifice them to a missile launcher.
The launcher then fires off a nuclear missile, which must be guided to strike a giant metal statue being held aloft by a helicopter. Do this three times and you win the match.
It is nearly slapstick comedy with a morbid twist and is perfect for this franchise’s play on humor and the sense of the macabre.
“Twisted Metal” is a great outlet for mindless destruction and unintentional levity all wrapped up into neat little, blood-soaked boxes made of metal. It isn’t meant to be deep or even realistic, but it achieves what games should be all about – it is fun.
“Twisted Metal” is exclusive to the PlayStation 3, and available now in the United States and on March 7 in Europe. It is rated M for Mature due to blood and gore, intense violence, and strong language. This review was completed with an advance Limited Edition copy for the PS3.
‘The Darkness II’ wants to be a bloody love story
“The Darkness II” (Digital Extremes, 2K Games) is a gore-filled, blood-enraged slaughterfest that really wants to be a feel-good, love story.
Set a couple of years after the conclusion of the first game, players control Jackie Estacado, a crime boss who is also host to an ancient evil known at The Darkness. This force imbues Jackie with superhuman powers including two demon arms that become essential in combat.
Jackie has been keeping The Darkness bottled up inside, but there are others who want the power for themselves. As the game starts out, The Darkness gets released and helps Jackie in his war against the Brotherhood.
At its core, “The Darkness II” is a first-person shooter that adds in the demon arms and provides four different opportunities of attack. The shooting aspect is solid with plenty of different weapons to choose from and allows Jackie the ability to dual wield some weapons.
Quad-wielding works the demon arms into the action and that’s where it really gets bloody. The two arms, which resemble snakes with piranha-like heads, can lash out at opponents, grab and destroy doors and fences, and help gather Essence – the element that helps Jackie increase his powers.
The arms also have some pretty bloody (and cool) finishing moves that raise the gore to medical school dissection class levels. Opponents get various extremities ripped off and tossed aside or violently torn in two using the legs as a wishbone.
The more gruesome the kill, the more Essence can be collected. And the stronger Jackie can become by spending Essence on improved weapons, special demon arm kill bonuses or super powers.
The quad wielding flows fairly naturally, but does get a little hectic in some of the group battles. In trying to gain as much Essence as possible, I found myself rushing toward distance opponents to grapple with the demon arms, but taking a bunch of damage along the way. Eventually, I decided just to pick off far away bad guys with weapons and wait for the grunts to come rushing to me.
There is no mini-map or radar to let you know where the villains are located and there will be times you just have to get hit to find out there was someone behind you. Enemies do spawn from every direction – even places you just cleared out – so be prepared to swivel around a lot.
The art work is graphic noir and hand-painted to give that unique look. It is a labor intensive process, but the art team did a great job making it look natural.
Gritty exteriors, colorful interiors and a hellscape that was foreboding helps immerse the player in whatever environment they were in. Each area was distinct with the appropriate overall emotional landscape.
Darklings are back from the first title. Or, I should say, a Darkling is back. These physical manifestations of the Darkness in your brain were used as weapons in the previous game. This time, there is only one and he acts more like a sidekick than a destroyer.
Looking like an agile goblin, the Darkling provides some good comedic moments, but he’s also handy in distracting opponents, getting into tight places, and short circuiting electrical boxes when needed. There is also a point in the game where Jackie takes over the Darkling and you get to directly control him.. er, it. The new viewpoint makes for a nice change of pace.
The story is where developers really wanted to make their mark. Jackie, still mourning over the murder of his girlfriend, has visions of her in the early part of the game. Players discover an unending love between the two that eventually crosses over the barriers between life and death.
That type of romantic story plays out mostly in cut scenes and cinematics. It felt jarring and out of place at times when compared to the brutality of the battles.
As the story began winding down, the cinematics appeared to become more prevalent. Developers may have wanted to give players a breather between the intense firefights, but it slowed down the pace of the action and was slightly irritating as I felt the game coming to a close.
Do you get invested in the story? Sure. However, there are a few disjointed moments that left me scratching my head and wondering what it all meant.
Also, the game seemed short. Compressed action and lengthy cut scenes did nothing to make the adventure last, and the ending came around too quickly. So I was a little disappointed when I realized the story was coming to a close.
There is a multiplayer element to the game called Vendettas that allows for four player co-op campaign. There is no Jackie or demon arms and the four new characters are unique to the multiplayer.
The co-op campaign loosely ties into the main story and the characters offer different types of attacks and power-up. It is a nice addition to the package, but not particularly engaging unless you just want to kill opponents.
Overall, “The Darkness II” is a solid shooter that gets amplified with the quad-wielding aspects. Using the demon arms to rip opponents to shreds or fling them into the sky never seems to get old.
While the story was good, it seemed to plod along at times and bog down the action sequences enough to be a distraction. It did get me invested enough to care about what happens to Jackie and Jenny, but there were too many times I could just put down my controller and watch the movie unfold.
The ending came too quickly, but it is definitely worth the time to play for the intense action segments, the Darkling comedy, and to hear Mike Patton as the voice of The Darkness. That man has some serious range to his voice and really brings out the maniacal side of The Darkness.
Oh, and much like today’s movies, stick around after the credits. You’ll really want to see this.
“The Darkness II” is available in North America on February 7 and in Europe on February 10. It can be played on Windows PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game is rated (unsurprisingly) M for Mature due to blood and gore, drug references, intense violence, strong language, and strong sexual content. This review was done with the Limited Edition version for the PS3.
‘Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning’ fresh combat, rich RPG
- These trolls don’t mess around and neither should you.
“Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning” (38 Studios, Big Huge Games) blends a nice mix of traditional role playing game elements and exciting fighting game mechanics to produce a good story with a fresh feel for the RPG genre.
The title boasts quite a bit of star power with author R. A. Salvatore building the story, artist Todd McFarlane directing the art and action, and RPG design legend Ken Rolston putting it all together. Brought together by former baseball star and founder of 38 Studios Curt Schilling, the expectations were high for a title that was inevitably going to be compared to “Skyrim” and “Dragon Age.”
The role playing elements are open, allowing players to be able to pick and choose from different Destinies (might, finesse, sorcery) and refine their characters with specific skills and abilities. Victory in combat and other skill challenges grant experience points resulting in leveling up those skills. Other additional talents (being able to teleport short distances, for example) become part of your character at certain levels automatically.
Players can mix and match talents, but to really obtain the mightiest powers, stick with one destiny. Sure, it might limit some things you can do right out of the gate, but increasing your skill levels in one of nine skill areas can make up for some of the early ability deficiencies.
If you want to find out what the other Destinies are like, find a Fateweaver who will allow you to redistribute all your ability points and skills. Players can play as a mage for part of the game, redistribute to play a powerful fighter, and then switch back again if they so choose. There is a cost associated with each new fateweaving, but it is a fun dynamic to offer this much flexibility in character creation.
Protip: Max out the “Detect Hidden” skill and it will reveal nearly everything on your map. Otherwise, a majority of the items (enemies, chests, lorestones, etc.) can’t be found unless you just stumble across them.
Quests drive the immense storyline with at least 170 quests (I know didn’t find them all). Some are simple (gather items and return) while others are more intricate and linked together. The main quest drives the story, but you’ll want to explore the faction quests, side quests, and tasks to gain as much experience and power as you can before the final showdown.
Salvatore envisioned and wrote 10,000 years worth of history for Amalur, the equivalent of 10 novels of information. Each book, item, and location in the game is full of history and legend, and is integrated together to make the story feel alive. There are also lorestones placed throughout the lands that offer tales about the history of the area or just simple gossip about love triangles in a nearby town.
As in nearly all RPG games, you are encouraged to interact with other people you meet. Interestingly, Salvatore did not write any of the nearly 50,000 lines of dialog present in the game.
A radial response system offers conversation choices, but some of those choices can be rather frustrating. There is no way to get a good feel for the person you are chatting with and determine if your response is going to result in something positive or offending. I backtracked a couple of times when I thought my response was going to be helpful, but did not give me the result I expected.
There is crafting of potions by gathering reagents, and forging of weapons and armor by collecting pieces of other weapons. But unless that is something you really enjoy, there are enough potions and weapons to be found from dead opponents and sealed chests that you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.
The game changer for this RPG title is the combat. In an effort to stand out and be different from similar games, developers searched for a way to create a dynamic fighting system that didn’t detract from the feel of role playing.
Players get two weapons, a primary and a secondary, and a single button on the controller activates each one. There are so many different types to choose, from the very fast daggers to the very slow hammers. Ranged weapons include staffs, staves, bows, and chakrams (whirling discs that return to the throwers’ hand after each attack).
Different combat techniques are used depending on how quickly you tap the button, whether you just hold the button down, and your position relative to your opponent. It makes combat simple, but it does have some very nice effects to accompany each movement.
Melee not your cup of tea? Magic is easily accessed by holding down a shoulder button, then pressing a button corresponding to the specific spell assigned to each trigger. As with weapons, tapping or holding the button results in different spell effects from, for example, tossing a ball of lighting with a tap to electrifying the ground with a punch by holding the button.
Having easy access to weapons and magic make battles fun, enjoyable, and fast-paced. No waiting to access different inventory screens to get the right sword or finding the right dropdown to cast the spell needed.
Players can shoot an arrow, toss a fireball, roll into melee range, and slash with a broadsword all in four button pushes. It is a combat mechanic more commonly found in fighting games, but goes very well here without detracting from the role-playing game feel.
The more variety you use to dispatch your opponents, the faster players build up Fate – a mystical energy that, when sufficiently gathered, allows time to slow down and attacks to become stronger. It is best used when facing many opponents and allows characters to move quickly from one villain to another. A final “fatality” move (i.e., creating a spike and impaling the bad guy) brings a wow factor to the conclusion of the battle.
There are a few weaknesses to “Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning” (interior rooms start feeling the same, not enough conversation choices that make a difference), but nothing that detracts in the superb RPG with an exciting action game.
It is a deep and rich experience in a world that has a wonderful back story and vibrant environments. The familiar role-playing elements are all there, along with a flexible and powerful combat system that ramps up the enjoyment factor.
Whether you plunge right in to the main quest and ignore all others or decide to investigate every book and runestone throughout the land, “Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning” is ready for the challenge. Are you?
“Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning” is available February 7 in North America and February 10 in Europe. It is available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows PC, and is rated M for Mature due to blood and gore, intense violence, and suggestive themes. This review was done using an advance copy for the PlayStation 3.
New RPG daunting task for ‘Reckoning’ crew
“Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning” hopes to be the next big role-playing video game to occupy your time. They are putting an emphasis on “big” with a wide-ranging environment and deep storyline, but did they take on more than they were prepared to do?
Big Huge Games studio general manager Sean Dunn was working in Los Angeles and said he was quite content with his lifestyle on the west coast when he got a call about working on “Reckoning.” After a visit and seeing what the project and the people were all about, he decided to head east to Baltimore and join up.
“This is a passionate and competitive group who want to take on Beth Soft (Bethesda Softworks),” Dunn said. “This team stayed together despite being bought and sold by Microsoft and THQ before being bought by 38 Studios. These people believe in what they are doing.”
Dunn said “Reckoning” contains more than 10 novels worth of backstory from R.A. Salvatore, 45,000 to 50,000 lines of dialog, the artistic vision of Todd McFarlane, and the gaming vision of Ken Rolston. But it is the 110 people who were tasked of bringing that all to life and making it fun to play.
Lead combat designer Joe Quadara, who worked on games for Crystal Dynamics and Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), said he was skeptical when he joined the team they could make a game as big as they envisioned.
“It started hitting its stride about the sixth month in where it was we are making a huge game and it’s going to be great,” Quadara said. “Once we all convinced ourselves that we were actually doing it, we stopped looking at if we could do things or not and just started building everything.”
The goal, Quadara said, was to make a fantastic RPG game that had a really great action game built inside. He explained there were constant battles internally on balancing those two types of gaming while still presenting it as a cohesive story.
“There’s this weird conglomerate of taking the best minds of the RPG group and taking the best minds of the action group and seeing how we could put those together. The engine itself is a full on action game, fighting game engine, but it’s also a full on RPG game engine and puts all those hooks into each other.”
If trying to design hundreds of weapons with different hit effects and backstories for combat was a challenge, visually trying to express 10,000 years of history in the game seemed nearly overwhelming for art director Tim Coman. He likened it to riding a bike down a hill.
“You stop worrying about peddling and just keep moving,” Coman said. “If you just take each individual step as its coming and focus on we’re going to get this done, going to get this done, go.”
“There’s a depth there that you know walking in, you’re going to be building lots of lots of stuff. Ken Whitman is our lead effects artist and he’s fantastic. He and I would have conversations daily. How do we push this yet try to find something that is familiar enough to people so they get it?”
Coman’s artistic team would have debates about what was going to be represented, how it would appear visually, and whether it was even needed. Eventually, the decisions came down to creating a huge, open game to appeal to gamers’ sense of exploration.
“R.A. (Salvatore) came up with a line that we’ve repeated around here. ‘If you want people to save the world, you have to give them a world worth saving.’ For us, we wanted to put all that in there so that the players that really are RPG fanatics can see this is a real, deal RPG. The people that are action game players – it is a real, deal action game.”
Both Coman and Quadara admit they don’t know how deep the rabbit hole goes when talking about the depth of “Reckoning.”
“Take the blue pill,” Coman said while laughing.
“If you want to ask me how many different things you can craft, I really have to go down to a spreadsheet and go look it up because that’s just too much knowledge for me,” Quadara said.
“Don’t even get me started on the quests because there is so much lore, over 10 novels worth of writing just in the game itself. The dialog is so huge,” he said. “Each person has so much that they’ve contributed to this game that there is no way one person could fit it all in their head.”
However, they were able to fit is all on one disk.
“Knights of Amalur: Reckoning” will be available February 7 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. It is rated M for Mature due to blood and gore, intense violence, and suggestive themes.