Combat That Feels Like Combat (and Is Fun)

If Skyrim has one weakness, it’s combat. Fighting can sometimes feel boring. 당신 typically just button mash on your foe, though 당신 can hold the attack button down for a stronger attack (whether it’s a magic spell 또는 a bash with a warhammer). Sure, there's some variety (you can sneak up on foes and stab ’em in the back, fry baddies with fireballs, 또는 pick off enemies with a bow), but for the most part Skyrim’s combat can feel unsatisfying.

Kingdoms of Amalur emphasizes the “action” aspect of “action-RPG". Your attacks come with a set of flourishes, but they also have plenty of enhancers to make them deadlier. In each class’ skill tree, there are a set of weapon abilities, and as 당신 fill these out, 당신 gain special attacks, which 당신 perform via a series of button presses, just as 당신 would in other action games.

Mages use staffs and chakrams, and elemental damage backs each of their attacks. If 당신 boost up your staff's power, your ice staff can create a cone of cold as well as delivering a solid bash over the head. They manner in which chakrams fly from your hands, trailing fire, ice, 또는 lightning, looks better than just about anything in Skyrim’s fighting system.

Better Homes

As in Skyrim, 당신 can gain access to real estate in Amalur (should 당신 finish a certain questline, of course). In Amalur though, your house is not only free, but is superior to the housing in Skyrim. A helpful carpenter assists as 당신 expand your home, adding rooms and crafting stations. As 당신 build it out, 당신 gain access to all the crafting stations 당신 need to make just about anything short of weapons and armor. Thanks to quick travel, your abode is easy to access, and provides a fantastic place for 당신 to recharge and tinker with potions and other items.

Death-Dealing Devices

One of Skyrim’s disadvantages is its weapon selections; the spears and other exotic blades 또는 Daggerfall and Morrowind are long gone. While Amalur doesn’t have the breadth of weapons that those older games possess, it does have a better assortment of death-dealing devices than Skyrim. Characters may equip a main weapon and a secondary weapon (usually, these are bows 또는 other 미사일 weapons). It’s the weapons though, not the system, that’s interesting.

당신 have your standard selection of Longswords, Greatswords, Warhammers, Longbows, and Staves, but 당신 also see some 더 많이 intriguing items, like Chakrams (spinning blades of death that are medium-range 미사일 weapons); Scepters (these channel magic to blast your foes with elemental attacks); and Faeblades (the curved dagger-like slashing weapons favored 의해 the Summer Fae). If you’re a rogue, 또는 just like making stealth kills, you’re going to want Faeblades—they not only look 냉각기 than daggers, but they dish out 더 많이 damage as well.

A Monster Mash

Each additional chapter of The Elder Scrolls adds something to the series (such as dual-wielding and 용 in Skyrim), but as it has made its way from Daggerfall and Morrowind, it’s 로스트 something that’s shapped its character: monsters. Oblivion has fewer types of monsters than Morrowind and Daggerfall. And Skyrim has even less than Oblivion.

Amalur feels like a stroll through an old Dungeons & 용 monster manual. The variety of monsters, especially in the early and middle stages of the game, is nice, especially when compared to other “modern day” RPGs such as Dragon Age. You’ve got sprite-like creatures such as Brownies and Boggarts. Ettins, the two-headed behemoths of destruction, make a rare video-game appearance. And the game’s Trolls are terrifying to mages. It’s great to see a game that remembers one of the reasons players 사랑 RPGs—the monsters the world practically begs us to slay.

Better Loot

For the most part, the loot in Skyrim is uneven. For every cool weapon 또는 piece of armor 당신 find, 당신 come across dozens of pieces of junk. 당신 find plenty of useless clutter in Amalur, too, but there's 더 많이 useful items than in Skyrim. Armor and weapons are plentiful, and you’ll regularly find items that make for better protection 또는 for enhanced attacks. In fact, the loot is so good that 당신 can find great items without having to visit vendors 또는 spend time crafting (remember, not everyone thinks that it’s fun to make your own swag). And while 당신 do have an item in Amalur, it’s based on numbers, not weight. This allows 당신 to schlep a wide variety of armor and weapons (for selling, breaking down for crafting components, 또는 swapping if you’re a multiclass character).

Reckoning Mode

The “Reckoning” in Amalur’s 제목 has a double meaning. The first deals with the role fate plays in the game. The 초 is combat’s “Reckoning” mode. As 당신 헤로인 around monsters, 당신 build your Reckoning meter. When the meter is full, 당신 may enter Reckoning mode, which slows down time and allows 당신 to perform extra-powerful attacks for a limited duration. The best part is 당신 get a significant experience bonus for every monster killed while in Reckoning—the 더 많이 당신 slay, the 더 많이 experience 당신 rack up. And Reckoning mode works on most enemy bosses, which is helpful for taking out significant chunks of a fearsome foe’s health. Skyrim has nothing like this, giving Amalur another advantage when it comes to combat. (Pro Tip: Reckoning mode also helps mages take down Trolls quicker.)

A Better Brand of Boss

Skyrim handles bosses differently than most games: in Skyrim, each dungeon generally has a strong foe awaiting you. 당신 can consider 용 bosses as well. As in other games, Skyrim’s bosses provide a great deal of challenge and generally guard some valuable loot. Amalur has this traditional model for bosses as well, but one stands out: the Balor. Based on the Celtic myth and not the D&D demon (which is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Balrog), the Balor is a towering beast (giant doesn’t aptly describe its size). A weapon of the evil Tuatha, the Balor attempts to blast a 성 to smithereens. The only thing standing in its way is you, in one of the most exciting battles in the game.