Get ready to conquer a new kingdom, because Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is coming out to hit your consoles in the face with fantastical awesomeness. Of course, by fantasical awesomeness, I mean logic and sense-making. For a lot of fantasy fans, this is a wet-dream come true.
The game is a single-player RPG, centering around the Well of Souls: a sort of resurrection machine. Up until the creation of the Well of Souls, resurrecting the dead was not possible, and its sudden appearance affects the world greatly (the NPCs are drastically affected, shown by their in-game dialogue). The player is the first life form resurrected by the Well of Souls, and is left to explore the world they left behind through new eyes. The player’s actions affect gameplay, the environment, and future quests.
A new race also joins the fray (by staying out of it completely): the Fae. The Fae are an arcane race, are ageless, and have long since detached themselves from mortal concerns. Very “Dr. Manhattan”. While the Humans and the Elves are waging their war, the Fae choose to stay out of it completely, declaring themselves neutral. So, ultimately, they are mostly a decoration piece. The world is mostly comprised of their land, but the people themselves don’t seem to play any real role in the game (other than civilian).
Three major rules of this game: 1) Everything has to have consequences. 2) Everything has to happen for a reason. 3) Everything has to make sense. Chances are, if something doesn’t make sense, “you just haven’t found the reason for it yet.”
R.A. Salvatore is spearheading this project, being the author of the book series (as most of you well know). His department is conceptualizing the world and fleshing it out, so naturally you already know you’re in good hands. The team spent several months coming up with the background for the world, and said that their goal was to make it feel “real”.
On top of the single player RPG, there is also going to be a Kingdoms of Amalur MMORPG. They didn’t reveal much at the panel, but they did reveal a few key aspects. For starters, the MMO will hinge on pre-established games, though it will take place 2000 years in the future. The environment will have a few nuggets of the old world, like ruins where a tower used to be, for example. Magic is very common at this point in time, the time period being called the “Age of Arcana”. You can probably guess what that will mean for gameplay. As for dialogue, apparently there is text if you desire to use it, but they have over 46,000 recorded lines for the game. Also, for all console fans, you might want to reconsider your loyalties if you want this game, because the creative team has confirmed that the PCs are going to get the better end of this deal.
Keep an eye out for more news on Kingdoms of Amalur here on ComicsOnline.com and for everything geek pop culture.
