KoA: Reckoning - OXM Review: 8/10

azarhal said:

So are they complaining there is too much to do in the game?

Also, the freedom and narrative is "fantastic, even in its side quests.", except that "some quests grow tedious, especially those that involve fetching X of this or killing Y of that."

Was the review written by more than one person????

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It sounds awfully schizo (the review that is, not the game).. in another part of the review it states

"encounters can feel like they're right out of an MMO, with several weaker monsters accompanied by a stronger one. And the story, while enjoyable, also tends to hold back the game. A hero with amnesia? Even if that hero has come back from the dead, it's a cliché best avoided."

So… the multiple great RPGs that have groups of enemies varying in strength, that also start your character with a blank slate.. they're MMOs or crap now?

what?

I don't think it plays like an MMO at all.. this guy seems hung up on the fact the ip originally was only slated for an MMO, and somehow this is still the same product (even though Copernicus is a totally different project, and this game has always been an RPG from the it's conception).

Dhruin said:

*shrug* I thought it was pretty obvious.

A dialogue wheel is used wherever there are branching decisions. Lists are used when there is not. After a wheel is used, there is often a list to access general - but not branching - information topics.

As in:

<wheel>
- OMG, you are the evil, I shall smite you!
- Ooh, sounds like fun - can I join your evil operation?
</wheel>

<list>
What was your name again?
Where is the tavern in this town?
Where are the public toilets?
</list>

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My first impression was the same as you, but later I found dialog choice that did not fit this description. There are wheel dialogs with informative choices (I can post screenshots if you like), and I think in some list dialogs we have to make a choice.
The point is, even if they have used list/wheel dialog for two different purposes, it still doesn't make any sense. A list dialog is more than enough for both cases and having two different kinds of dialog is needlessly baffling, especially for the console gamer. One second he/she has to go through a list by pressing up/down, a moment later he/she has to rotate the analog stick to make a choice. This is far from user-friendly.
Why use a dialog wheel when you can use (and you have already used) a neat and clean list?

Sounds about right in terms of score - though I couldn't care less about reviews like this.

I've already decided the game is worth my time, so I'll be buying it regardless.

Also, it's not the typical high-profile AAA title. Well, it's gotten a lot of attention lately - but it's nowhere near Modern Warfare or something like Skyrim.

So, naturally, reviewers haven't been "conditioned" thoroughly

I haven't played the demo so I wanted to know whether or not the dialog wheel is timed like in other games that have used a dialog wheel. (I really hope it isn't because I hate timed dialog and is the main reason why I haven't finished Alpha Protocol)

PS. It is likely that Dhruin is right about the reasons for the different dialog styles. The demo is based on an old build and very likely had little to no testing so having the wrong dialog style with the wrong dialog would likely happen.

guenthar said:

I haven't played the demo so I wanted to know whether or not the dialog wheel is timed like in other games that have used a dialog wheel. (I really hope it isn't because I hate timed dialog and is the main reason why I haven't finished Alpha Protocol)

PS. It is likely that Dhruin is right about the reasons for the different dialog styles. The demo is based on an old build and very likely had little to no testing so having the wrong dialog style with the wrong dialog would likely happen.

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The dialogue isn't timed.

blackcanopus said:

No, I think they mean that the game has tried many different things and gone in many different paths. This is actually quite different from having too much to do in the game.

In this case, I totally agree with the author. A good example of how they have tried to fit too much in this game would be the way dialog works in Reckoning. Reckoning has two different types of dialog. First, traditional TES dialog that you'd expect to see in a game like Morrowind or Oblivion, where a list with a series of topics are displayed and you can choose different topics and unlock new topics by exhausting available topics.
The second type of dialog is Bioware's dialog wheel (a feature that I hate, because practically cripples the developer and limits dialog choices). I'm not sure why they have used two different types of dialog in this game (I suspect Bioware's supervision may have had something to do with it, but that's of course my speculation and I have no evidence to support it), but I'm sure that list dialog was more than enough (and definitely more effective) to get the job done and addition of the dialog wheel was absolutely unnecessary. Having two different types of dialog in a single game is a mood breaker and completely absurd.

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well if this is the best example then it's a non issue for me. I didn't really give it a second thought when the list popped up after the wheel.

I'd like to see a pc evaluation .... xbox is not useful for real rpgs

I highly doubt slight interface changes or minor graphical improvements will make this game any more or less of a RPG.

Nithrakis said:

I highly doubt slight interface changes or minor graphical improvements will make this game any more or less of a RPG.

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For reals.

As much as I like Skyrim, it is console drivel. On the hardest difficulty it is way too easy and the weapons, armor and skills are all scaled so you are always a badass. It's an interactive adventure.

I will be pleasantly surprised if KoA is anything but consolized.

Dhruin said:

*shrug* I thought it was pretty obvious.

A dialogue wheel is used wherever there are branching decisions. Lists are used when there is not. After a wheel is used, there is often a list to access general - but not branching - information topics.

As in:

<wheel>
- OMG, you are the evil, I shall smite you!
- Ooh, sounds like fun - can I join your evil operation?
</wheel>

<list>
What was your name again?
Where is the tavern in this town?
Where are the public toilets?
</list>

Click to expand...

Well that's what I thought too. But in the demo, there are a number of times where the dialog wheel is just informational in the same way that the 'list' dialog is. Maybe it was just an inconsistancy with the demo that will be 'fixed' with the main game. Anyway, thanks for the explanation.

TheMadGamer said:

Well that's what I thought too. But in the demo, there are a number of times where the dialog wheel is just informational in the same way that the 'list' dialog is. Maybe it was just an inconsistancy with the demo that will be 'fixed' with the main game. Anyway, thanks for the explanation.

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The dialog wheel have informational choices based on the discussion you are having with the NPC. The list is similar to Morrowind topics list, it's mostly lore related information with some adding items in the list when you "read them". The only stuff that isn't, is in blue and quest related (which usually open a dialog wheel discussion).

Well, for what it's worth, IGN just gave it a 9.0. I think reviews will end up in the 8.5 range overall, which (for a new IP from a new developer) is something to be proud of. Congrats to Curt and team!

Reyla said:

As much as I like Skyrim, it is console drivel. On the hardest difficulty it is way too easy and the weapons, armor and skills are all scaled so you are always a badass. It's an interactive adventure..

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Out of the box perhaps, but the difference is that Skyrim can be modded.

Not too excited about this. I'm completely sick of micromanaging loot for tiny incremental gains, and hearing there's tons of filler quests really turns me off. It's sounding like Two Worlds 2 with different graphics.

My main problem with these games is that they're too damn big and puffed up with fluff.

Falchor said:

Well, for what it's worth, IGN just gave it a 9.0. I think reviews will end up in the 8.5 range overall, which (for a new IP from a new developer) is something to be proud of. Congrats to Curt and team!

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Doesn't really matter what a bunch of reviewers think. They all tend to be terrible at scoring and reviewing games. It really only matters what the players think and whether the game is actually good or not. Not what a bunch of people who get paid by the gaming companies to review their games think.

IGN has released a score of 9/10. The reviewer gives it pretty high praise, saying it will be in the game of the year discussions ten months from now. Surprisingly, he says the main quest lasts 25 hours (weren't we told 60?) and the five guilds take 5-10 hours each (weren't we told 30 hours each?). That's a lot less than what I had initially been led to believe, though I suppose that's to be expected. However, he says there are enough additional side quests and exploration to take another 100 hours. Not sure how he knows that, considering he stated he spent a little under 50 hours with the game.

Not a bad score from ign at all...good job! Cannot wait to play the full game...

For referance it beat risen and dragon age 2.

Reyla said:

For reals.

As much as I like Skyrim, it is console drivel. On the hardest difficulty it is way too easy and the weapons, armor and skills are all scaled so you are always a badass. It's an interactive adventure.

I will be pleasantly surprised if KoA is anything but consolized.

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I am guessing the scaling you were talking about refers to the fact that you find higher quality equipment the higher level you get? There is actually very little difference between most some of the steel weapons and daedric. In fact even orcish armour can have the exact same absorbtion as daedric. It is smithing/enchanting that makes weapons and armour overpowered. Check the Skyrim wikia and you still what I mean. You can get the best weapons in the game before level 15 so I don't see how scaling has anything to do with being powerful.

The effectiveness of weapons, armour and skills are not scaled in Skyrim. The effectiveness of weapons and armour rise as your skill is increased. Skills do not scale with level, in fact if anything they get worse as you level as enemies do scale. However, the enemy scaling in Skyrim is far less than any other elder scrolls game as most monster types cap out at quite a low level - even dragons, frost dragons and blood dragons cap out from level 25-40 progressively. The only dragon that doesn't are Ancient Dragons.

I also wonder if you have played as a mage or if you have tried spreading your skills? At around level 10-20 you are anything but bad-ass.. pretty much any of the tougher monsters or bosses will one hit you on master/expert. What tactic are you using to make it so easy? Exploiting companions? Crafting exploits?

Just out of interest, what games do you consider not console drivel?

I don't understand the gushing going on about the combat. It's ok and I enjoyed it but it doesn't put all other games to shame. I enjoyed the witcher 1 and 2 combat more and also thought lotr: the war in the north combat was more fluid and fun than koa's. One thing I hope they fix in the final version is the 1/4 to 1/2 second pause at the end of every roll. It seem like the animation is to long, like it waits for the character to come to a complete stop before you can move again, although you seem to be able to attack with no pause. It's weird.

Other things I didn't like were the art style and all the loot.

The art style is to cartoony. I can't get sucked in to the world because every time I take a step the graphics remind me, this is a video game. It doesn't help combat either, I fully expect to run into a pack of care bears at some point. There was never a feeling that I might run into a ferocious beast. Sometimes in skyrim i'll be walking down a trail with the sun coming through the trees and a rushing stream next to me and think, this is nice. There's nothing like that in koa, when I see a stream in koa I'm just looking for the white spot where I get loot.

Speaking of loot, there's just way too much. I don't like going into my inventory every few minutes because I got better loot. When I find something cool I don't really care because I know in two more minutes I'll find something better. It kills some of the exploration for me because why go off to find cool loot when I know i'll get more than I could every want just sticking to the path.

Other than that I think there's a pretty good game here. The combat, quests and non combat skills all seemed decent and the world is open enough.

I've preordered the game. It will be a nice contrast to skyrim. When I'm done being immersed in skyrim and can get my arcade action on with koa.

rune_74 said:

Not a bad score from ign at all…good job! Cannot wait to play the full game…

For referance it beat risen and dragon age 2.

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They also said this about DA 2:

"Every modification to the gameplay and structure of Dragon Age II is a clear improvement over the previous game. The combat is more responsive and bloody, you don’t need to fight the inventory system anymore, and conversations are more engaging thanks to the adapted Mass Effect wheel."

Although I think koa will be good. I never trust ign reviews.