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[Astra]

Replaying the demo, this time I didn't attack any villagers. I actually like the dialogue. The voice acting seems to range from good to not so good, but it doesn't bother me *too much* so far.
This time i timed the loading times, and discovered that to enter the Inn, for example, it takes 14-15 seconds of loading, which seems a bit too much to me (I'm playing the demo on my PC, I'd expect PC games to have quicker loading).
I also noticed (because the first time I didn't) that when you pick your character, you can also change hairstyles, haircolor, eyebrows color, jewelry and tatoos. How did I miss that?!

I was forgetting, once again I need to say that I feel this game looks really pretty. It has a cartoony look, but it's a nice cartoony look. It's colorful, but well balanced and it seems to fit the style chosen for the world. I'm really anticipating the release (someone tell me they'll fix the camera for the PC release please when using a pad).

I was watching a video preview by Machinima, I think. I timed the load times into the Inn, and it was around 27 seconds in to the inn, and 52 seconds leaving the inn. So when I saw the loading times in the demo being much shorter, I was very relieved. I agree they could be better, but at least they're not THAT bad.

I hope I can remember how I made my character in the demo. I really liked the look of her.

Agreed on the art style of the game, I love it.
Really hope they fix the camera. Needs tighter movement, and we need the ability to zoom the camera in and out to our preferred distance.

 

[Mutombo]

Yes, and it and every other combat encounter I played was just as fundamentally broken. But okay let me just buy this game on the assumption that it is the opposite of everything I played in the demo because that makes sense.

You made some valid points but are a hater amongst fanboys, so of course they are going to turn against you. You are absolutely right when you say that a good combat system will become redundant if 'cheesing' your way through by poking or mashing x will get you the same results. Using your skills should not be an option, it should be forced upon you by the enemies. Now I am not saying this is the case in Reckoning, since I did not play it yet, and they also made a valid point by saying the tutorial boss will probably give you some slack.

Also, Dark Souls is not fun to play. Flowers.

 

[Anteater]

Do you really not used the shield or dodge roll at all in the game? Not saying the game is hard or that I'm an expert or anything, but I don't think I can beat the tutorial bosses if I only mash the attack button... Enemies like wolves surround me, and I need to pay attention to their animation to know when to block or evade etc, there's also timing your attack button to launch your enemies etc. I don't think the combat is as broken as you make it sounds like.

i think because enemies rarely fight back and you could most of the time keep them in a stun loop by mashing the first couple hits of a combo, and other times they are stuck at a corner and you could juggle them (the bandits), so only time you need to block or dodge is when other enemies attack you. I only went through a mine or two and fought some random enemies but that's pretty much what it is, it's the beginning of the game so it lacked enemies that really demonstrates the gameplay, given how long it take for you to run around, grab the quest and run through the area, I don't think it's unfair the judge the game from that, I only played it for half an hour though, so I don't know what else were there and how accurate my opinion is.

 

[MegaKungFuRadio]

All these $60 PC games are concerning me. They are moving the wrong direction. The game appeals to me in a lot of ways, but even with nothing else coming out, I'll be surprised if this does well enough to maintain its pricetag.

Also, it's been a while since I've tried to play a demo on 360 without Gold. How long is it delayed? Two weeks? I played the demo on PC, but all my Mass Effect saves are on 360, so I want to play through it again on 360 for the goodies.

 

[Aaron]

All these $60 PC games are concerning me. They are moving the wrong direction. The game appeals to me in a lot of ways, but even with nothing else coming out, I'll be surprised if this does well enough to maintain its pricetag.

I think it's a side effect of steam sales. They make the money up front from the people who aren't willing to wait, and get everybody else during the big sales.

 

[Fredescu]

Find a UK gaffer and get it for $45.

 

[speedpop]

I think it's a side effect of steam sales. They make the money up front from the people who aren't willing to wait, and get everybody else during the big sales.

Will be a hot day in Antarctica before a Paradox game crosses the Rubicon and hits $60!

 

[shaowebb]

Did some homework and played some more. Didn't genocide the town this time through in hopes of skipping right past it and it worked out pretty well. Got to explore the nearby sidequests in the east and north more and got some really fun stuff happening with shadowblade functioning like Batman's cape stun in crowded fights. Daggers are chewing through em like paper. Really digging daggers and I LOVE that my bow is on call on top of any weapon setup I choose for close quarters combat. I should try out staffs more, but I'm certain I've got my guy. I'm using more electric bolts in combos than I thought I would, but MAN steal them fire daggers at first opportunity out of the town shop. Those things have stuns, blowback, AND crumple states in regular one button combo mash. Corner someone by a wall and its unrecoverable hit stun situations that leave them sucking knives helplessly till they die.

Sooooooo loving my rogue playthroughs. Can't wait to own this and make more weapons and get more abilities.

 

[Eusis]

I think it's a side effect of steam sales. They make the money up front from the people who aren't willing to wait, and get everybody else during the big sales.

Probably also inflation, the fact this has become as accepted on consoles as it ever will be, and that Activision got away with it well enough with Modern Warfare 2 (meanwhile, Blizzard had gotten away with it long before consoles did via Warcraft 3).

 

[Mxrz]

Playing through now, and it is growing on me. General thoughts

- Lack of Jumping. Guh.
- Combat with the sword felt clunky, animations too slow? Daggers felt better.
- Shield coming out of no where when you block is odd.
- Dialog/Story eh, ignoring it since its a demo.
- COLORS. MY GOD THE COLORS! (This is a good thing imo.)
- I actually want to be a stealthy mage type for once (usually always melee). Sounds like the game will support this. We'll see.
- Felt like zero explanation on the skill and later talent points. But still, demo.
- No idea how to make a potion.
- Insta-guards return!

Liking it so far, but whoever mentioned old Open world issues (Super Guards, jail, npcs) etc. was right on the money. I'm in jail right now because I opened a the chest in the Apothecary. No one was around. There was no warning or anything. Did the lockpicking thing and boom, Guard telling me to go to jail, fail a bribe or fight. Blah. And maybe it is just me at this hour, but the controls feel a little on the sluggish side.

 

[Lain]

I think i'll make my character just like her when the game hits. I really like her.

 

[sol_bad]

Anyone in Australia having trouble rtying to get this demo on PC?
If you have it can you please point me in the right direction? I tried the link on the first page but it wouldn't take me to the demo.

 

[Xater]

I think i'll make my character just like her when the game hits. I really like her.
http://i.picpar.com/d1eacd4fc6e3980594fd57b4320ae2e04072ddc0.png[img][/QUOTE]

Ok this scary, I almost made the same one.

 

[Lain]

Reached level 3 with 9 minutes to spare and unlocked some things in the finesse tree, mainly the delayed attacks combo, the poison, the frost traps and some dagger mastery.
The delayed attack combo is pretty powerful against these low level enemies, as the third hit will drop them to the ground.
The more I play, the more I'd like to have this game already.

 

[Tizoc]

Tried the demo. Is the graphics and models like that because it's a demo? Otherwise I liked the demo, but man there are lots of upgrades and it makes me worry a little about how I would upgrade my character. I took the 2nd class (the one that's good at finding hidden treasure), and was doing fine.
Speaking of which the game played very well at a very stable framerate, I think to me it came out at 60 FPS (unless the game DOESN'T run in 60 FPS, in which case it was a stable 30 FPS throughout the demo).
Will def. pick it up. I like the combat system despite being simplistic-ish.
Oh and I pulled off a counter-like attack when I did what'd you say an 'Instant block'. Glad that that's available from the start.

 

[Santar]

Not too shabby, played pc ver.
Seemed quite buggy though and the camera seemed to live it's own life at times.

Has ther been any word on what form of drm the retail boxed version will use?

 

[spindoctor]

Has ther been any word on what form of drm the retail boxed version will use?

One time internet activation with Origin. Nothing after that.

 

[Maffis]

Lol at those wolves just outside the Well. It was pretty awesome how they form a circle around you and then charge one at a time, and just as you hit the one that charge, the next one comes. Pretty cool design on the enemies, which I like a lot.

Now, if they could just put a fps-cap on 30 on the PS3. The change from 60fps to 30fps feels extremely jarring and it slows down so much.

 

[CecilRousso]

Anyone who has any impressions how the quests works?

Are there any choices about the outcome in them?
Do they seem to effect the gameworld and/or other quests in any noticable way?
Do they seem varied, or are they all about "go there, kill them"?

 

[Lain]

Anyone who has any impressions how the quests works?

Are there any choices about the outcome in them?
Do they seem to effect the gameworld and/or other quests in any noticable way?
Do they seem varied, or are they all about "go there, kill them"?

There isn't enough time in the demo to really answer those questions, I think.
From the little I've played, there is some choice you can make, at least when it comes time to complete them. For example, you can give the ring you just acquired to the quest giver, or you can try and persuade them to leave it to you, similar to how, after saving a gnome from a bear right at the start, you can decide to let him go, kill him or have him pay you hush money.
Maybe going forward the choices will have more depth and lasting effects on the game world.

 

[nel e nel]

Am I correct in assuming that any unlocks are saved on EA's side? i.e. If I delete the demo I won't lose them?

 

[Captain Tuttle]

I'm playing a bow character in Skyrim right now and I found the bow in this game to be incredibly unsatisfying after the bow in Skyrim. I really like the way Bethesda handled it.

I liked the demo alot but I'm thinking that maybe the devs should have gone for the Crackdown way of doing a demo. Basically speed up the leveling so the player can get a better sense of the game and it's character building dynamics.

 

[ParityBit]

So last night I completed the demo and had a lot of fun with it (360). I went to cook/eat dinner and following that I went to play Mass Effect 2. Then I realized I was 15 min into the demo again. What the hell? So long story short; pre-ordered.

I wish it were multiplayer co-op though!

 

[speedpop]

Am I correct in assuming that any unlocks are saved on EA's side? i.e. If I delete the demo I won't lose them?

Correct. It's all saved on your EA/Origin account.

 

[FuKuy]

The interface of this game is absolutely crap.

 

[BlazeHedgehog]

Kingdoms of Amalur pleasantly surprised me. I wrote it off because of the dumb name, but I am really liking the weird middle ground between something more hardcore like an Elder Scrolls game and the slightly more... arcade-like gameplay?

That is, until the demo hard locked my 360.

Am I correct in assuming that any unlocks are saved on EA's side? i.e. If I delete the demo I won't lose them?

With all of the weird EULA clauses going around lately I decided to opt out of the one this demo brought up, just for the hell of it.

A warning message came up that very specifically said "Hey, if you don't agree to this stuff, you won't get any of the exclusive unlocks from it because those are stored server-side."

 

[f@luS]

not bad
but underperf on ps3 (framerate mostly)

 

[SilverBullet]

The camera forcing the character to move in its facing direction makes for a frustrating experience. It creates a double input feel that makes me disconnect from the game.
Deal breaker for me.

 

[AEREC]

Any idea what kind of save system this game will have? I really hope it's not save anywhere...but i did see settings for quick save and quick load buttons int he options so it looks like it might be.

 

[DieH@rd]

Is there any way to change FOV on PC?

 

[Wallach]

Any idea what kind of save system this game will have? I really hope it's not save anywhere...but i did see settings for quick save and quick load buttons int he options so it looks like it might be.

Not sure they have said. If I had to wager a guess, it will probably be save anywhere except when in combat status.

 

[NBtoaster]

Any idea what kind of save system this game will have? I really hope it's not save anywhere...but i did see settings for quick save and quick load buttons int he options so it looks like it might be.

What's wrong with that? Save anywhere is almost essentail for rpgs IMO, so you can try something unproven or wacky, or see the benefits of different choices easily.

 

[Maffis]

The camera forcing the character to move in its facing direction makes for a frustrating experience. It creates a double input feel that makes me disconnect from the game.
Deal breaker for me.

They are aware of the camera complaints, and will try to fix it.

What's up with the dying system in this game? I just tried dying, and I got an option to resurrect in the same spot, with full health. Is there no penalty on dying at all? Or is this just a "demo thing"?

 

[Wallach]

They are aware of the camera complaints, and will try to fix it.

What's up with the dying system in this game? I just tried dying, and I got an option to resurrect in the same spot, with full health. Is there no penalty on dying at all? Or is this just "demo thing"?

That is another demo-specific element (like the intro skip) that was put in for the sake of the player due to saving being disabled.

 

[Maffis]

That is another demo-specific element (like the intro skip) that was put in for the sake of the player due to saving being disabled.

Ok, makes sense.

Kind of weird resurrecting in a city when they are hostile to you and they just keep on coming after you.

 

[Log4Girlz]

Never heard of this, but after reading a preview and the OP I'm downloadin the demo!

 

[SilverBullet]

They are aware of the camera complaints, and will try to fix it.

I hope they can fix it for the release. I'll be waiting for reviews on this one.

 

[Interfectum]

i really want to like this game but it's a bit janky. the camera is garbage, your character doesn't seem to have any weight and the dialogue system / story both are uninteresting so far.

 

[Rolf NB]

Those framerate fluctuations and the nervous camera are ugh. Character development seems interesting. Not a fan of the intro dungeon, but the outside world sure is nice.

Combat good. Dialog completely insufferable. Started skipping it all after 20 minutes or so.

Overall: holding out for 17.85£.

 

[Rad Agast]

Anybody know if there is a way to change the selected target after prepping your bow to fire?

Used a pad for PC, you can do that with the right stick.

 

[Neuromancer]

It always surprises me when people complain about a lack of a jump button, about any game really. If the game was designed to not need it, why does it matter?

 

[Khezu]

I do share some concerns about difficulty, I know tutorial demo set on normal, not a great thing to judge it off of, however RPG's especially the western variety have a history of being kinda poorly balanced when it comes to difficulty.

I hope you can't accidentally grind away the challenge to easily.

Have any of the devs talked about the difficulty yet?

 

[Admiral Snackbar]

Played it on PC, felt like I was playing Fable 1. Every time I did anything, that was my immediate vibe.

Quasi-open world with strict paths everywhere? Check
Super Bloom? Check
Mashy combat with charge up attacks? Check
Every NPC being MEGA BRITISH? Check

It never ended. I'm not saying it's bad, it just feels so similar with a dash of decent textures and decent animations. The story was interesting but the quests were dull. The stylized animals rocked kind of hard though. I was expecting a lot more.

 

[MushroomSamba]

It always surprises me when people complain about a lack of a jump button, about any game really. If the game was designed to not need it, why does it matter?

Are they expecting there to be platforming segments or something? (That'd be totally rad, actually) It seems a bit silly to bash a game that clearly doesn't need it for not having it.

But having said that, jumping really does make everything better.

 

[Interfectum]

Oh yeah thanks for reminding me. Not being able to jump is horrible. It's a 3rd person adventure game in an semi-open world. Let me jump around if I want.

 

[WanderingWind]

It always surprises me when people complain about a lack of a jump button, about any game really. If the game was designed to not need it, why does it matter?

It limits level design to a certain plane of thought, it disallows for freedom of exploration (you want to go up there...better find the ONE path we created!) and as always, any time you can't do something that is mundane in real life, you just kind of think "Really? Just hop over the 1 foot barrier. The treasure is right freakin' there!"

 

[moop1167]

I played through the demo again up until the timer ran out. Previously I had only really made it through the tutorial section and played about 10 minutes of the open-area part. I am definitely sold now. Hopefully all of the people complaining about the game actually made it that far, because I think it gets a lot better.

I had issues with the camera as well, but it seemed okay outside of the tutorial section. It's not clunky at all for me with the mouse and keyboard even though your movement isn't directly tied to it - no mouse lag or anything at least. While fighting a pack of wolves the camera zoomed out appropriately and I had no problems at all. I wouldn't mind it being able to be pulled back a bit in normal instances but I got used to it in 20 minutes.

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

It always surprises me when people complain about a lack of a jump button, about any game really. If the game was designed to not need it, why does it matter?

This.

 

[bryehn]

I thought it was enjoyable, if not a bit simplistic. Nice, light action-RPG with an art style that appeals to me.

The demo did lock up my Xbox though.

Will buy after the inevitable bomba.

 

[Interfectum]

Sorry, jumping should be mandatory in games like these. I don't care if the level is designed around it or not... it's a basic human function. Like a previous poster said, there's nothing more immersion breaking than seeing a treasure that you could normally jump to but you can't because your character is glued to the ground except for instances where the developer "allows" you to unglue yourself.

It's bad design and should've been left in the N64 era.