[Ross Zombie]

Only "QTE's" I saw was the "press button for some extra XP while in Super Mode". That's not nearly as annoying as the "Press X-Y-Up-Down-Right-X to Not Die?" things in some other games.

Or did you guys see other ones?


Meh, whatever. Yeah, it's not going to be a GotY, but I'm surprised at the hate. Seems like a reasonably solid ARPG.

[Kat Stewart]

Will there be a demo for the xbox 360? I looked earlier but there didn't appear to be one.

It's for gold members only ATM. Hopefully that will change within the week cause I wanna try it bad.

[KU Fint]

I'm lost. Why so much hatred for the art style?

[Prue]

I'm lost. Why so much hatred for the art style?

from what I gathered people are calling it a WoW look-a-like, I personally love the way it looks

[Jessica Phoenix]

from what I gathered people are calling it a WoW look-a-like, I personally love the way it looks

Why does it supposedly being a WoW look-a-like (as if stylization automatically attaches the stigma of one game on to another) make the art style bad?

[BethanyRhain]

Perhaps people don't like cartoony aesthetics.

[BRIANNA]

Why does it supposedly being a WoW look-a-like (as if stylization atuomatically attaches the stigma of one game on to another) make the art style bad?

Because it's not realistic. People for some reason demand realism. I for one would rather have Borderlands than LA Noire.

[James Rhead]

I could care less about the realism, but intentionally not putting effort into an art syle should have one purpose in my mind... and this is function over form.

I've been reading stuff about this game for months now. From the creators of the game saying they decided to take a more WoW like aesthetic style, and how it was supposed to be this enormous leap forward in gaming.

Maybe it is, I don't know, demos are demos for a reason. Game just felt like it should have been released a decade ago, from the aesthetics down to the mechanics.

If you enjoy it, more power to you.

Just didn't do it for me, though it probably has much to do with the way bows are handled.

[koumba]

I could care less about the realism,

How much less?

[^_^]

How much less?

[Nicole Coucopoulos]

I actually didn't mind the art style. It's a nice change from the Grim Dark that's all the rage in RPGs these days. I've never played WoW, but it really reminded me of the Silverwood area of Rift.

I'm just not sold on the gameplay. The combat seemed like it was all style and no substance. Just click, click, click until the enemies are all dead, and then repeat. Maybe it gets better as you earn more abilities, but it just felt really shallow.

[Emilie M]

How much less?

Hmm :

Function - Form + arbitrary sarcasm(Opinion)
------------------------------------------
Spyro the Dragon/Hype



Make sense?

[Sabrina Schwarz]

Because it's not realistic. People for some reason demand realism. I for one would rather have Borderlands than LA Noire.

As always for me it depends on the game. Borderlands would probably have felt like another bland shooter to me if it was realistic and I would never have taken it seriously if GTA IV was cartoony.

[Harinder Ghag]

Some of the complaints I'm hearing aren't actual flaws, just opinions.

There's a difference between cartoony, and exaggerated. Borderlands is cartoony, this game is more exaggerated.

Not being able to jump is literally a non-issue.

Combat is pretty fun, in my opinion. Been to long since we've had a good Fable-esque combat system.

The facial animations seem kind of wooden, and the whole world is a bit cliche.

Am I the only one who thinks the actual story of you character is awesome? Better then Skyrim's for sure.

Also, Reckoning mode is bad ass.

[Sebrina Johnstone]

Tried the demo last night and was thoroughly unimpressed. With all the hype I figured it would have landed a little better. The combat works well, like everyone has been saying, but it's soooo boring. it's almost as easy as assassins creed's combat, except instead of jsut waiting to counter- you just keep attacking so your enemy can't respond. theres no variation. they give you the option of charging your attacks but it's not needed. I read a review saying the combat was hands down better than skyrim and I disagree. It's not better, its just smoother, but that doesnt make it less boring. all you really have to do is keep smashing one button over and over again until everything infront of you is dead. Kindom of amalur gets praised for it but dynasty warriors gets crucified for it.

As for the art style, i agree with people thinking it looks too much like wow. and Like people have pointed out - they like the cartoony aspect- I was jsut really let down. I mean come on, its todd mcfarlane! He is incredibly talented and i think falling back on mediocre, cartoony elves and dwarves was a waste of his talent.

The character developement was just like fable,...infact..so was the rest of the game. This is personal preference, of course, but I LIKE making a character that fits into one catagory like rogue, mage, or warrior. Making a god character is boring and it breaks immersion. I know other people disagree with that statement so I don't hold that against KoA, like I said, thats just a personal thing. The non-combat skills that you level up seemed kind of hit and miss with me, some were ok, others seemed pretty useless.

And lastly, I think the PR people spreading how open the game is and how much freedom you have in traveling should stop. Maybe i'm just spoiled by games like TES, AC, GTA, and RDR, but If it's not a compeltely open and free roam worlds, I don't see it as an open world game. KoA leaves a little room for exploration but the map is like fable or darksiders, your free ro roam within the confines of the area that you're loaded into. All in all I know they call this an action rpg, but it's definitly more 'action' than 'rpg'

[Becky Palmer]

Perhaps people don't like cartoony aesthetics.

That's a rather broad statement. I rather like the cartoony looks of many japanese games, like Dragon Quest VIII, Valkyria Chronicles and so on. But this just falls flat for me.

[Holli Dillon]

Some of the complaints I'm hearing aren't actual flaws, just opinions.

There's a difference between cartoony, and exaggerated. Borderlands is cartoony, this game is more exaggerated.

Not being able to jump is literally a non-issue.

Combat is pretty fun, in my opinion. Been to long since we've had a good Fable-esque combat system.

The facial animations seem kind of wooden, and the whole world is a bit cliche.

Am I the only one who thinks the actual story of you character is awesome? Better then Skyrim's for sure.

Also, Reckoning mode is bad ass.

Ugh, not being able to jump across a five foot gap... or worse down a five foot drop to that path that would otherwise take you an hour to get to is incredibly annoying. Very restricting, only multiplying the linear feel of a game, let alone the combat options that are non-existant from not having the ability.

That's a rather broad statement. I rather like the cartoony looks of many japanese games, like Dragon Quest VIII, Valkyria Chronicles and so on. But this just falls flat for me.

Realistic aesthetics are not a problem for me so much. I've enjoyed many game with sprites, or big eyes. I can even get over the lack of jumping in many games, providing the games are an enjoyable experience.

Realistic mechanics in an Action RPG?

Well, maybe that is asking a bit much, but something about this game just makes it feel dated to me.

The narrative involved is pretty slick though, there is that.

[Matt Fletcher]

It didn't really do it for me either. I felt like I was in a Shrek movie, as it had a cartoony feel. I don't play those type of games normally. Fable 2 being the exception...NOT Fable 3. I leave those for the grandkids. I don't play JRPGs either, for that matter. No offence to those that do. People should play what they what they enjoy. It's kind of the point. In the end, it IS a game. I will not throw out the idea of a purchase, but as long as we continue to have TES, ME, FO and the like it will be a while.

[Chavala]

Jumping not being in a game isn't a criticism because the feature would be useless in Reckoning. I really like the colors makes it look unique and identifiable, can't wait for Feb 7th.

[Georgia Fullalove]

Jumping not being in a game isn't a criticism because the feature would be useless in Reckoning. I really like the colors makes it look unique and identifiable, can't wait for Feb 7th.

It still impedes the freedom a player has. It also inhibits exploration, perfectly fine for a linear game but this was hyped as a semi-open world.

Well, I downloaded the trial and gave it about 10 minutes before it froze up. I can't say it was worth the time it took to download, though I'm sure it gets better once you start to specify your character and expand your combat moves. Feels very generic to me so far, pretty much Fable with a less cliche storyline. And why does armor increase your critical damage? I'll try it again later, don't feel like it now.

[Rachael]

It still impedes the freedom a player has. It also inhibits exploration, perfectly fine for a linear game but this was hyped as a semi-open world.

I don't think Jumping impedies either option and Reckoning is semi open world. The demo isn't going to accurately describle how big Reckoning will be in terms of it's world and the amount of content which is over 200 hours. Jumping would be useless in Reckoning, there isn't really anything you could use jumping for except jumping into ponds but that can be dealt with by just going to the pond opening.

[SWagg KId]

The character developement was just like fable,...infact..so was the rest of the game. This is personal preference, of course, but I LIKE making a character that fits into one catagory like rogue, mage, or warrior. Making a god character is boring and it breaks immersion.

Hmm, interesting.

In many games I've played that gave you the option of hybridizing, people generally look down on it, because it ends up weaker, not "god". Strong focus and specialization tends to be the real route to min/max power. Of course, it depends on how many skill points/levels/etc you have to distribute.

Me, I prefer a character with a dozen skills at 60%, rather than one with four skills at 100%. Some games, it works. Other games (D&D Online, for instance) it's terrible.

[Emily Jeffs]

Hmm, interesting.

In many games I've played that gave you the option of hybridizing, people generally look down on it, because it ends up weaker, not "god". Strong focus and specialization tends to be the real route to min/max power. Of course, it depends on how many skill points/levels/etc you have to distribute.

Me, I prefer a character with a dozen skills at 60%, rather than one with four skills at 100%. Some games, it works. Other games (D&D Online, for instance) it's terrible.

The hybrid destines with Reckoning are pretty good and are almost equal to the pure builds, there's even a Jack Of All Trades Hybrid Destiny group. I believe you'll need 55 points in two of the 3 archtypes in order to get the best Hybrid Destiny and 37 in all 3 for the top Jack Of All Trades Destiny. If the wiki wasn't down I'd link the pages.

[Myles]

I don't think Jumping impedies either option and Reckoning is semi open world. The demo isn't going to accurately describle how big Reckoning will be in terms of it's world and the amount of content which is over 200 hours. Jumping would be useless in Reckoning, there isn't really anything you could use jumping for except jumping into ponds but that can be dealt with by just going to the pond opening.

Without the ability to jump over obstacles (real or imagined) you are inherently limited in your ability to explore. You can only go along dictated paths and into designated regions. Say you climb a mountain. How do you get down? The path is going to be your only option if you can't jump. Likewise for going up. It's just a way to create additional barriers. Surely you can't say the game would be any worse with jumping so why else remove it?

[JESSE]

Without the ability to jump over obstacles (real or imagined) you are inherently limited in your ability to explore. You can only go along dictated paths and into designated regions. Say you climb a mountain. How do you get down? The path is going to be your only option if you can't jump. Likewise for going up. It's just a way to create additional barriers. Surely you can't say the game would be any worse with jumping so why else remove it?

Reckoning does have corriders within giant bubble areas with a lot of content. Jumping would not really make sense in Reckoning, not to mention that it would universally change combat in the game.