KoA: Reckoning - Why It's Awesome @ IGN

Dhruin

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Zohaib sends in this preview of Kingdoms of Amalur from IGN titled Why It's Awesome. Essentially, this article summarises the main points, such as the strengths of the dev team:
Written by veteran author R. A. Salvatore
From the opening moments of the game, when you're dragged through the halls by two bantering dwarves before awaking on a pile of corpses in an ethereal subterranean cavern, Reckoning oozes quality. It should too, since acclaimed fantasy novelist R. A. Salvatore penned the story and dialogue. Salvatore, whose work includes The DemonWorks Saga and a bunch of books in the Forgotten Realms universe, brings undeniable quality to the fantasy writ.
Working with Ralson, you can see the potential for amazing quest design, convincing dialogue, deep lore and an overall immersive world. This is the same Salvatore who also crafted one of the most memorable hardcore fantasy characters out there - Drizzt Do'Urden – who went on to appear in Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate. We can't wait to see what he brings to Kingdoms of Amalur.
More information.
 
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It should too, since acclaimed fantasy novelist R. A. Salvatore penned the story and dialogue. Salvatore, whose work includes The DemonWorks Saga and a bunch of books in the Forgotten Realms universe, brings undeniable quality to the fantasy writ. This is the same Salvatore who also crafted one of the most memorable hardcore fantasy characters out there - Drizzt Do'Urden – who went on to appear in Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate.

In short : "R.A. Salvatore ist the best fantasy novel writer of the whole world and byond ! Err, no, in fact he's the best fantasy novel writer the whole universe !

There is no bigger and better author than him in the world !"


I instantly hate this game.
 
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In short : "R.A. Salvatore ist the best fantasy novel writer of the whole world and byond ! Err, no, in fact he's the best fantasy novel writer the whole universe !

There is no bigger and better author than him in the world !"


I instantly hate this game.

Have you even read a Salvatore book? He's a very good storyteller. For the type of characters and environments that are in this game, (look at the screens and video) IMO he is a perfect match.

We're not dealing with an epic fantasy drama spanning 10 books in a series, but a hero based, action oriented story. Personally I'm looking forward to this game, it looks like it will blow some cobwebs out of the fantasy genre.
 
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The word awesome, when applied to a game nowadays, sends a chill down my spine.

The combat, likewise, takes one-button combos and makes them context-sensitive, weapon-specific and surprisingly deep. You'll find that using a staff is a radically different – yet equally satisfying experience when compared with using daggers or even a two-handed sword. It gives weapons that have traditionally been good for nothing but liquidating into spare gold coins a new lease on life. By keeping spellcasting and combat mostly straight-forward, action appears fast and fluid – much like God of War or Fable.

If you've always been hesitant to play as a rogue, for instance (and who would blame you - that class is usually pretty hampered and traditionally a lot less spectacular than many others), you'll find a range of more interesting support abilities at your disposal. Combining these with a simplified but still rewarding combat system, suddenly the appeal of experimenting away from your traditional chosen gameplay style becomes clear.

It seems my fears were correct.
 
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Have you even read a Salvatore book? He's a very good storyteller. For the type of characters and environments that are in this game, (look at the screens and video) IMO he is a perfect match.

We're not dealing with an epic fantasy drama spanning 10 books in a series, but a hero based, action oriented story. Personally I'm looking forward to this game, it looks like it will blow some cobwebs out of the fantasy genre.

Yes I have read his books and they are hit or miss type of books. I never liked the drizzt series despite people saying there the best he has ever written. His original novels are better.
 
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Back when I was first getting into reading fantasy novels R. A. Salvatore was my most favorite author and I still like his books (not as much as in the past) but there are much better authors out there. When it comes to games though the writing is mostly from awful to not so great so even having an author like R. A. Salvatore (he is great with action scenes) should make the writing far better then the average rpg.

PS. His best novels are the Demon Wars Saga and the the other non-Forgotten Realms series that he wrote.
 
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No love for Drizzt then? Well throw me in the "Team Drizzt" camp. I love that character.

Personally I like his books and would buy this game no matter what genre it was if it had R.A. Salvatore on board. I know it will be good.

My only gripe with Salvatore are his combat scenes. Around the eighth book I had enough of the detailed combat scenes. Just give me the broad strokes and not the minute details into each and every move the characters make, like "He moved his pinky to the left." :D

Anyway, that one gripe aside I'm looking forward to seeing what he did with the game.
 
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The word awesome, when applied to a game nowadays, sends a chill down my spine.
It seems my fears were correct.

I had read the article before reaching this post. Else I would have believed the quotes were fabricated to support the "button... awesome" four hours video guy's point of view. The quotes exactly depict what the guy predicted two years ago.

This guy hit the bull's eye. Doubts are no longer allowed about that.
 
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I'm a fan of Salvatore, he is the best alternative to the big, epic fantasy novels (Martins, Jordan, etc). Very good reading when I'm travelling and need something to read on the plane.

I can imagine Salvatore being far better at writing video games than some of the bigger authors out there. Martins, for example, would probably write a story arc so big it would take a decade to develop the game.

Edit:
That being said, writing a novel is not the same as writing a video game. I have no doubt that Salvatore will succeed, but I don't think we should be expecting the next Planescape: Torment here (in terms of writing).
 
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I can imagine Salvatore being far better at writing video games than some of the bigger authors out there. Martins, for example, would probably write a story arc so big it would take a decade to develop the game.

Exactly . . . I wouldn't by any means count Salvatore as anything other than a solid genre novelist, as books they're pretty basic and childish fare relative to a China Mieville or Jeff Vandermeer novel. I could see his writing working well within the constraints of an enjoyable CRPG though where the more original authors might not work as well
 
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I enjoyed early Salvatore books, but found later books to be less interesting. He got caught up in minor details rather than major plots. Still, a new series and forum should be a breath of fresh air for him and having other creative people around will probably be quite helpful too.

The look of the game is quite stunning. Is it multiplayer? I'm not a multiplayer guy.
 
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I think he'd be a perfect match to a slightly lighter fable like game, which this seems to be. Could be fun, and light games can still have good background lore (*cough*DA2*cough*)
 
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DA2 isn't "light" to me, sorry.
 
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I think he'd be a perfect match to a slightly lighter fable like game, which this seems to be. Could be fun, and light games can still have good background lore (*cough*DA2*cough*)

I think he would be better than who they have now. Who knows he might even improve the game franchise.:movingon:
 
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