Anuman Interactive are doing their very best to corner the adventure game market. In that vein they have just acquired the right to re-release Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals under the Microids brand. Nikopol was originally released in France in 2008, adapted from a trilogy of graphic novels by Enki Bilal.
The game is inspired by the original books, the plot of which follows one Alcide Nikopol as he returns to a future Paris after spending 30 years imprisoned in cryopreservation. After orbiting the earth for so long, Alcide finds that France has fallen under fascist rule following two nuclear wars. Although the plot for the game has been adapted slightly, it still retains the tone and themes of the original, and is aimed squarely at fans of the adventure game genre and comic books.
This reissue will be exclusive to Europe, coming to both digital and retail stores in March.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Publisher: EA Games Developer: Big Huge Games Platforms: Xbox 360 (Reviewed), Playstation 3, PC Release Date:February 9, 2012 Price: $59.95 – Available Here
Overview:
What is it that we look for in an RPG? Do we look for an immersive world with a deep mythology? Do we look for characters that engage us? Do we look for an adventure through a wild world completely different to our own? Or do we look for freedom?
All of these are things players have looked for in RPGs and also things they have discovered in RPGs over the years. So how does that all tie in with Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning? Well, it doesn’t. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is an RPG the likes of which has not been seen before.
Reckoning takes all of these tenets into account, but it never truly grasps them. Instead it allows them each to be decided by the player, giving gamers an unprecedented level of choice in what they get out of this game.
What do you look for in an RPG? Reckoning wants to know and it’s willing to provide. Your fate is entirely in your hands, welcome to the Kingdoms of Amalur.
Story: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning doesn’t so much feature a plot line as it does a concept and universe. The story begins with the player awakening after having been thought dead, you are the only person in the entire world who is not bound by fate. From that point the player holds the fate of the world and themselves in their hands.
The universe of Amalur is a vibrant, expansive and well conceived one at that. It’s a world filled with intrigue and adventure, all waiting for the player to choose which path they will take.
The Kingdoms of Amalur world is massive and as such features an almost unfathomable mythology, arguably more so than other Western RPGs on the market such as Skyrim and Fable (Both of which have clearly positively inspired the world of Amalur in one way or another).
Fantasy lovers will find themselves in utter glee as they explore and uncover more about the history and mythos of the Kingdoms of Amalur and even the most complacent of fantasy fans can appreciate the scope.
Gameplay: Reckoning plays like most RPGs. You fight monsters, tackle dungeons, level your character, grow stronger and explore. It may seem like another generic RPG fare there but believe me when I say that it is far from that.
The game begins with the player having resurrected and looking to escape the dungeon you are trapped in. Throughout this first dungeon, players are given a taste of every possible play choice available in the game. You are given a chance to try out every fighting style available throughout the game, leaving you ultimately to decide which way you want it.
That choice right there from the very get go of the game is crucial to what makes Reckoning so very unique. More than anything the emphasis is on deciding your own fate in Reckoning. That is the main focus of the gameplay, particularly in the combat side of things.
Combat in Reckoning is put simply; amazing. There is so much customization and a plethora of different fighting style available, from the fast paced or stealth based fighting of Rogue classes to the more spell based fighting of the Magic using classes. This gives players a real MMO feel in the sense that there is multiple different ways to play with an incredibly deep level of customization to weaponry, spells, moves, etc.
This customization is capped off with what is without a doubt a revolutionary idea for an RPG – the ability to change class and fighting style by just pausing the game and flipping it over. It’s so simple a concept yet so effective in it’s execution. If there is a boss who is weak toward magic for example, but you play as a Rogue mostly and are having difficulty taking him on, you can simply swap to a magic user (pertaining you have magic gear) and adapt to the action.
If you love ploughing through dungeons or fighting monsters, you are sure to be pleased with Reckoning’s customization and emphasis on combat. This emphasis is pure indulgent fun, as it rightfully should be.
In terms of storyline and quests however, things don’t hold up as well as the combat system and customization. That’s not to say there are major problems, it’s all simply minor. For example a lot of the side quests are rather repetitive (a problem that plagues a lot of Western RPGs), but there is enough variety that it shouldn’t bother players too greatly.
That brings me to the other facets of the game. There are a few minor glitches and bugs, as you’d expect from a massive game such as this. The worst problem I suffered was a troublesome camera that would rapidly fly about with a life of it’s own when battling in narrow parts of dungeons which made it rather difficult to fight, but it wasn’t anything that lasted. It was only a brief and small problem. Other glitches are mostly graphical and nothing on the level of Skyrim thankfully.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is an RPG fanatics fantasy game, there is a multitude of choices available as to how you want to play this game as well as a combat system that is by far one of the best ever implemented in a Western RPG. There is just so much unbridled fun available to players in Reckoning and that’s what people will take away from this.
Visuals and Audio:
On an aesthetic level, Reckoning is a visual feast for the eyes. The world is filled with vibrant colours and well conceived character designs alongside unique environments that just beg players to explore.
The graphics are certainly up to par and the universe of Amalur is so well designed that you will definitely find yourself immersed in the wonders and small eccentricities hidden within this giant world. It’s a place players want to spend their time in and that is certainly in part due to the spectacular visual aspect of the game.
From an audio stand point, Reckoning features work from the great Grant Kirkhope of Rare fame. He has composed an amazing soundtrack that provides the right atmosphere to Amalur no matter the situation and should be praised for that feat.
All in all, Reckoning is a lesson in how visuals and audio should be in a modern day video-game.
Overall:
Whatever choice you make, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a brilliant game and a great start for what promises to be an impressive new franchise in the making.
Getting back to my original question, what is it we look for in an RPG? Well, whatever it is you are looking for in a role-playing game, Reckoning can give you that, and then some.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning has proven itself to be the hottest new RPG on the market and one that reminds players that it’s not always about the nitty gritty, but about the fun of gaming. Reckoning is pure enjoyment and is an experience that must be had. Journey into the Kingdoms of Amalur, it’s the right choice in a world with so many possibilities.
Because why the world wouldn’t they create a Battleship video game? Anyways… Activision and Double Helix have revealed that they are currently working on creating a lovely video game adaptation of the Battleship movie which is set to be released in a few months… The movie itself is an adaptation of the board game Battleship so…
The game will combine aspects of the classic board game alongside FPS gameplay and is being developed for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. There will also be “uniquely designed versions” released for the Wii, DS and 3DS. So what is next… Chutes and Ladders the video game? Or how about Candy Land? Perhaps a treasure hunting game where if you Connect 4 you will save the world…
Competition in a marketplace usually ends up benefiting the consumer and it seems that Nintendo is ready to throw a curveball at Sony’s PlayStation Vita launch. If a consumer were to go to GameStop right now and pick up the Nintendo 3DS it would only cost them $149.99 rather than the normal price of $169.99.
This $20 price drop is currently only lasting for a week and GameStop is the only retailer selling the handheld at this discount. But it is interesting to see such a deal occurring right before the launch of another dedicated gaming handheld. Will things get a bit more viscous between the two companies in the coming months? We shall see.
It will come as no surprise that Turtle Beach have been confirmed as the highest selling gaming headset manufacturer in Australia for the year of 2011. Figures from NPD Group Australia show that the amount of Turtle Beach headsets sold equates to over $12 million, with the brand outselling even first party manufacturers.
If you take all gaming peripherals into account rather than just headsets, then only Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo outstrip Turtle Beach – it’s become the leading third party manufacturer based on value sales. In fact sales of the headsets have seen the ‘Gaming Audio’ genre grow substantially in 2011, no doubt thanks to the release of several critically acclaimed sets and a partnership with Activision for the release of Modern Warfare 3.
2012 looks to be no less successful, with the brand promising six new headsets this year for both console/PC and mobile gamers.
If MMO’s aren’t your thing and you need a bit of a Star Wars fix, here’s the latest from LucasArts and Microsoft. To mark the release of Kinect Star Wars on April 5 a limited edition ‘Kinect Star Wars’ console bundle is being released, which will retail at $549. As you can see the bundle is themed after everyone’s favourite droid duo, with an R2 D2 styled console and C3PO controller. Of course a copy of the game is included, and there’s even some extra bonus content too – an exclusive C-3PO unlockable for Dance Mode.
Dance mode (Galactic Dance Off mode to give it’s proper name) is one of three new modes also announced for Kinect Star Wars. Somewhat horrifyingly it allows players who want to take a break from their Jedi training to dance along to Star Wars themed pop songs – want to bust a move in a dance off against Darth Vader? Well Star Wars fans, now you can.
Also joining the already announced Rancor Rampage and Podracing modes are Duels of Fate and Jedi Destiny: Dark Side Rising. Duels of fate provides a series of one to one battles to sharpen your lightsaber skills, and Jedi Destiny comes packed with ride-able landspeeders and speeder bikes, space battles and brand new opponents such as Count Dooku and Darth Vader.
If you can’t see yourself waiting until April, then Star Wars Episode I : The Phantom Menace 3D is released in cinemas today.
How would a console game’s marketplace look if it tried to make use of Valve’s policy of selling character customization items? Well it would probably look a lot like Gotham City Impostors. While the game is set to be released tomorrow on the XBLA, the downloadable content is available today. There are over a hundred different items to be purchased and each one is simply a character customization piece.
The prices for these packs range from 80 to 320 MSP. However don’t get too worked up about this situation as Monolith has explained that all of the costume pieces for purchase are available in the game itself and can be unlocked for free. Meaning that if you are desperate for a certain in-game item, maybe you should play the game a bit more to unlock it.
While the PlayStation Vita won’t be out yet in North America for a couple of weeks, or next week for those who purchase the pre-launch bundle, it seems Sony has chosen to place certain games on the PlayStation Store a bit early. You will need to search for them however, and when you find them there will be five games available for download.
NeoGAF has found that these games are Uncharted: Golden Abyss for $49.99, Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational for $35.99, Wipeout 2048 for $35.99, ModNation Racers Road Trip for $26.99, and the PSN-only Super Stardust Delta for $9.99. This is a nice little preview on how some games, minus Uncharted, are cheaper on the PSN and also a way for those who bought a Japanese PS Vita to get some easy to download games.
Today a few of us here at Capsule Computers were lucky enough to be invited along to try out EA’s latest sport’s title. I am of course, referring to Grand Slam Tennis 2, the follow up to the highly rated Grand Slam Tennis. This game marks the first time that all four major tennis championships will feature in a next gen game, and has exclusive rights to the Wimbledon championship.
The venue was kitted out like a miniature tennis court, with plenty of Wimbledon themed refreshments being served – thanks for the strawberries and champagne guys! Some of the staff were lucky enough to be wearing their best tennis whites, including one gentleman sporting a dress. He seemed quite comfortable with his giant tennis racket…
Also on offer (as if cross dressing wasn’t enough) was a Grand Slam tournament and an appearance by Australian tennis legend Pat Cash.
There were several stations dotted around showing off the impressive looking game in glorious HD. The PlayStation 3 version of the title has Move support, so there were plenty of wands getting waggled in attempts to hit that perfect serve.As well as the standard TV stations, one setup was hooked up to a huge screen on one wall, clearing the way for some large scale versus matches.
Things quickly got competitive when a tournament began, with the winner lined up to take on tennis champ Pat Cash (in the flesh that is) and take home some great prizes. As the strawberries and champagne began to dwindle things drew to a head, and finally the man himself made an appearance.
In case you’re not familiar with your tennis legends, Cash is an Australian player who was at the top of his game in the eighties. Out of the numerous titles he won he is perhaps most famous for his win at Wimbledon in 1987, where he kicked off the tradition of climbing up into the player’s box to celebrate with family and friends. He’s known for always wearing a checkered headband and earring when he plays, and of course for having something of a brash on court personality.
Grand Slam Tennis 2 was fortunately nowhere near as stressful as a major tournament game, so despite some protests that the camera flashes were putting him off (of course), Cash behaved himself. Snatching victory from Cash in the final game, the lucky winner went home with some signed goodies courtesy of EA and Wilson.
Grand Slam Tennis 2 hits stores tomorrow, and you can check out more pictures from the event below.
Cloudberry Kingdom is the debut title from the up and coming independent game developers – Pwnee Studios. The title is an interesting platformer that creates procedurally generated levels for players to enjoy and solve.
The game is also scaled to a players skill level, so that they will always find it challenging, but not too challenging. This seems to be a new technology as we have yet to see a title that can do both of these things together. The developer says that there are something like ’1096 ‘ potential levels in the game.
The most interesting aspect of this game seems to be the way that it was developed. The developers claim to have taught an AI how to play platformer games (I’d love to see it beat Megaman 2 at some point), here’s the quote below –
Instead we spent the last two years teaching an Artificial Intelligence how to design and play platformer levels. Afterward we caged it in a box of software and called it a game.
The developers seem like really witty guys and we would love to see their stuff on as many platforms as possible. So be sure to check out their site for more info and the video embedded below on their games gameplay.
Anuman Interactive are doing their very best to corner the adventure game market. In that vein they have just acquired the right to re-release Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals under the Microids brand. Nikopol was originally released in France in 2008, adapted from a trilogy of graphic novels by Enki Bilal.
