Kingdoms Of Amalur: The Reckoning Review

Kingdoms Of Amalur: The Reckoning
Genre: Role Playing Game
Format: PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360
Developed by: 38 Games, Big Huge Games
Published: Electronic Arts 

About The Game

This game has a really interesting story that really intrigued me, it is an RPG (I am a fan) with a brilliant twist in the leveling system. You play a character who is effectively dead until you go down the well of souls where you are revived and as you travel through the game a great story unfolds you find that people called fate weavers can tell peoples fate and when one tries to read your fate it's apparent you don't have one and you have "free will". It's an epic story and worth playing just for the story.

What I Like About Kingdoms Of Amalur: The Reckoning

I like more or less everything about this game there are few things that I believe can be touched but I will touch on that later. I adore the story, something about the idea of fate and you having your character having free will is just brilliant. I also like the combat system it reminds me of one of my all time greats the first Fable game and I played that game to death I do intend to play this one to death too. I also enjoy the graphics I think visually to me it looks very appealing. Overall a great buy in my opinion.

How Can The Game Be Improved

Race selection screen

I absolutely love this style of game, the combat is fun for some it maybe repetitive but for me it's a classic way. I love all the special moves and all the moves you can unlock. I think one way this game can be improved is the camera angles behind the character or around the character are very strange and sometimes hard to use also the controls in conjunction with the keyboard are a little odd to say the least but it's something you can manage after an hour of game play. One thing I really like to see in most if not all games are Creation Kits, I fully support the idea of mods I think it would suit this game perfectly.

My Top 3 Tips For New Players

My top 3 tips are as follows....

1. Level your character how you want. This game's leveling system is designed for people that can change there mind build a mage that can wade in with heavy armor or an archer that can launch magical spells. This game offers so much in versatility and if you don't like what you did you can reset your skills easily.

2. Empty your bags. I almost always forget to do this and every time a new bit of gear drops for me I end up having to go through my whole inventory to find something to throw away and junk it. Sell before you leave towns.

3. Learn the different types of weaponry. All have different characteristics some weapons focus more on area of effect and some just in single targets choose a weapon based on the situation.

What Features Separate It From Other Games

In Game - I love those daggers

This game features an innovative leveling system that allows players to change there role on the fly and develop there character however they want and I am a very big fan on games that do this. I feel that this game was overlooked in so many ways in comparison to other games in its genre, which is a shame because in my opinion it is a great game.

Left 4 Dead Review

Left 4 Dead

About The Game

The game is about a Zombie outbreak and two weeks after the outbreak 4 survivors emerge and they are in fact immune to the virus. These 4 people team together to survice against the zombies. It is a first person shooter that sets players going through a set of campaigns and in those campaigns players will be running form safe room to safe room until eventually rescued this can be done single player or co-op. There is also a Versus mode which consists of 8 people in a server one set of 4 plays as the survivors and the other 4 as the special infected. An excellent game, plenty of laughs too.

What I Like About Left 4 Dead

I like a lot of stuff in this game it's fun, everything about the game screams fun! The Co-Op the Versus, especially playing as the infected. The main thing I like about this game again is mods, mods can be added to this game on PC version I mainly like the idea of new weapon skins and so on. I am forever playing the game on the hardest difficulty because the game is so hard and it's a great challenge to try and take down the zombies.

How Can The Game Be Improved

This game is very good most of the problems that were present have either been fixed or the community themselves have fixed them. I think the main thing with this game is the limited amount of weaponry and it needed a hell of lot more to keep players more content. I know I am reviewing this game and it is very old and there is 2nd Left 4 Dead available however this is the original and I found it a lot more fun than the 2nd one. The problem with weaponry was fixed in the 2nd game even with addition of melee weapons but I think the campaign the characters were far better in the original.

My Top 3 Tips For New Players

1. Play as a team! This is so essential in all modes as the game focuses on team work.

2. Use items efficiently - For example use med kits sparingly they don't come often especially on the higher difficulty settings. Another thing use pipe bombs and Molotovs carefully as these do cause friendly fire and can cause your team to completely lose if not used carefully.

3. This is an opinionated tip. In my opinion the Auto Shotgun is the best weapon, so I would recommend using this however the draw back is it has low ammunition so make sure you use it wisely and switch to your pistol when necessary.

What Features Separate It From Other Games

At its core this is another First Person shooter, which is great because who doesn't love them, but what I really like about this game is its focus on team work there are so many games that maybe multiplayer and you fight on a team but on this game it's rare to find someone who can carry the whole team, it will take all 4 of you to complete the game. This is something I think more games should focus on, it is apparent to me that co-op is something that is overlooked to me

Diablo 3 Review

Diablo 3

About The Game

This game is special, this is definately a highly anticipated game and was it worth the long wait from the previous game I certainly think so. Now I never played the previous games so I don't know too much about the story and I don't really know much about the story in this all I know is new heroes are here to defend against new evil threats. It is an Action Role-Playing Game developed by Blizzard and has all the fans raging about how fantastic it is; it does live up to the hype.

What I Like About Diablo 3

I am relatively new to this genre of game and I must say this is fantastic out of these style of games, I love the Co-Op play and all the skills from all the classes look really really good and it gives me the motivation to play all 5 classes. I really like games that are tough and this game claims to be one of the hardest games around and that intrigues me however to get to these higher difficulties, you need to complete the game on Normal first and I have not yet conquered that. I also like the idea of being one bad ass and go in and wreck stuff just taking out loads and loads of enemies at once.

How Can The Game Be Improved

I'm not really sure how this game can be improved I mean I happy with all the features it provides, I guess the only thing that puzzles me are the players that reach max level and farm items and get the best items for there character, I just fail to see the appeal. You get all this equipment but once you have all that what are you supposed to do once you have it all? I mean I don't get it maybe when I get that far I would understand more the reasons for this.

My Top 3 Tips For New Players

I am very new to the game myself and these are the tips I would give if you are like me

1. My first point is play with friends - I know that when you do team up that the game gets harder but I think having buddies makes the game more enjoyable.

2. Assess before attack - If you can avoid the urge to wade through all the enemies just take a sec before you wade in you might find yourself in trouble, especially if you are up against a new foe you haven't fought before.

3. Inventory -  Plenty of gear to choose, make sure you choose what is right for you. Make full use of all the help the game gives you, also use your teleport to empty your inventory as often as you can because nothing is more annoying than not being able to pick up the loot you want.

What Features Separate It From Other Games

This is the lobby. I like being able to see your characters gear.

I don't have great experience in these games so I don't have many comparisons to go on, I know that between this and the others I have played I can say that I like this one the most that doesn't mean that I don't wish to play the others because I will do it is a genre of game I have fallen in love with Diablo just is king of it's genre and it just does everything right. 

A screen showing the Graphics and the start of the game.

Killing Floor Review

Killing Floor

About The Game

This game is pure and simple you spawn in a map and you kill waves upon waves of zombies! But it includes several cool features for example you are able to weld doors so you can funnel the zombies down certain hall ways and you have the 7 Perks "Classes" to choose from which benefit the team in various different ways for example the Medic can Heal other team member.

What I Like About Killing Floor

What I like about this game... Killing Zombies of course what's not to like. There are plenty of ways to do it in this game you can use a crossbow to take heads of you can use a flamethrower to burn them you can use melee weapons to cut them you can use explosives to blow them up. All amazingly good fun. I also like that the game is really hard on the higher difficulty settings. The thing I love the most is the Source Development Kit that allows players to create new maps for themselves to play.

How Can The Game Be Improved

There are a few bugs in the game and this game is quite old so graphically it is poor but the game play makes up for it. So I think if they were ever to make a new game, I would hope to see some graphical improvements also I would like to see new weapons too, other than that thought this game makes for some amazing fun it will keep you entertained for many many hours.

My Top 3 Tips For New Players

I had plenty of questions to ask when I began playing this game one being what class is the best to play first I have a few answers to the questions I had.

1. The class to play first in my opinion is "Sharpshooter", why because you gain bonuses to your starting weapon the pistol it is also considered the easiest to level I mean just headshot sounds easy right? Pick a class you want to play, you gotta enjoy the game too.

2. Play on the easier difficulty settings first before going onto the harder ones, you should ok to start out on normal and once you level a few classes you'll be good to crank up the difficulty.

3. Team work - for this game it is essential communicate with your team work out where it is you are going to hole up or if you are going to run and where?

What Features Separate It From Other Games

The main feature that separates this game from all the others is the ability to weld doors so that you can funnel enemies, I haven't played a Zombie game where you could do stuff like that and it's really exciting watching all these zombies come at you from one direction. The game is really good and it's pretty well priced for the amount of hours you get out of it and I would recommend it to anyone.

Mass Effect 3 Review

Mass Effect 3

About The Game

This game is Sci-Fi RPG which is the third in it's series and is the final one that they are planning to release. This is the game that is supposed to end the story, I was extremely excited for because this game was possible the most anticipated title of this year. I won't go too much into the story because it's so intricate and a lot of it follows on from the previous two games. You play a character called Commander Shepard, you are on the mission to unite all races to defeat the invading reapers.

What I Like About Mass Effect 3

What I really like about Mass Effect 3 is the story, I like how in depth the story is also how you the player are so immersed in this story and I do believe you can immerse yourself in it even if you haven't played the previous two games. Ultimately it does help if you have played the previous two because there is such a back story. I also enjoy the combat and the skill up system plays a lot like Gears of War in so many ways and that makes it fun and versatile for many of the Classes that you are able to play.

How Can The Game Be Improved

I think this game is fantastic for a game such as this it can be hard to add re-playability and I think I would like to see something that would want me to play the game again other than going as a different class, I know they added co-op online which was indeed fun but it wasn't something that was going to keep me interested enough to play it over and over again. I think that is the only thing I could actually improve, I wouldn't necessarily like to change any of the other features of the game I did however find the game fairly easy and would have liked the game to be a lot harder.

My Top 3 Tips For New Players

1. If you can play through the old games, if not both then at least Mass Effect 2 because they are fantastic games. You may be able to pick them up for a nice price.

2. Make sure that if your class utilizes different ammo types select one that works for the enemy type you are fighting, this helps so much in bringing down the bigger enemies.

3. Explore. I find with Mass Effect exploration is really fun, I like all the things people say and there is plenty to keep you entertained a few funny random events that lead to quests and so on really take the time to explore everything.

What Features Separate It From Other Games

What really seperates this game from all the other is all the dialogue and all the voice acting, I think that is a fantastic thing to have and I think all RPG games should follow suit. It makes the game feel so much more immersive and I find myself being able to love certain charatcerts over otehr because of there voice acting and there personality.

Star Wars: The Old Republic Review

Star Wars: The Old Republic

About The Game

Star Wars is a massively multiplayer online role playing game developed by one of my favorite companies, Bioware. The game takes place 300 years before Biowares previous game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and 3,500 years before the films so I am afraid none of the star wars heroes are around in this game but fear not because you create your own hero and make a name for himself in the galaxy.  

What I Like About Star Wars: The Old Republic

This game has loads of fun packed in, I particularly enjoy the focus on the story and with each class having a different story you really get a lot of game time. For MMORPG it has a huge amount of dialog every quest you accept has dialog and even your hero has it's voice! On top that you can respond how you wish either light or dark side. A truly amazing addition to any MMO game and I would like to see more of this kind of thing in future MMO games. There are many features that you think to yourself why did no other game come up with this stuff it's just genius. Amazing game!

How Can The Game Be Improved

This game in my opinion has very little wrong with it, I think my only problem was that the end game content wasn't very good but I believe they have released a whole bunch of new exciting stuff to try out so I think this has now been fixed. This game really fixes all the problems that traditional MMO's have.

My Top 3 Tips For New Players

1. My first tip is to pick up "Crew Skills" that not only compliment each other but you should level them while you level it makes it a heck of a lot easier for you when you reach max level.

2. Join a "Guild" being part of guild has its benefits one major thing being that other people will help out lower levels either doing certain quests or giving some items that they don't need and so on.

3. "Have Fun" this game is huge go and enjoy it. If you are new to this particular kind of game don't fret, there are plenty of people to help you out and there is plenty of time to learn everything because the leveling time is the time when you learn everything you need to.

What Features Separate It From Other Games

Pretty much everything about this game separates it from other games in it's genre I think the only thing that remains across the other is the combat system. If you play any other MMO games you will know what I am talking about for example the "Teleport System" where players are allowed to teleport to a place after a certain cooldown but rather than that being one place you are bound too you unlock different teleport receivers so you can teleport any where. It's a lot better than World Of Warcraft where you could only select one place to teleport to. This is a great MMO if you are MMO fan I'd suggest this game over others.

Torchlight 2 Beta Review

Torchlight 2 Beta

About The Game

This is an action role playing game developed by Runic games. This game is set after the first game and is based upon an unknown enemy who steals the "essence of power" and you the player are sent on quests to stop this evil villain. This game is very fun if you like this genre of game and it's lovely cartoony graphics can keep you staring at the screen for long periods of time. 

What I Like About Torchlight 2 Beta

The main thing I like about this game as I mentioned before is the graphics and so on. As soon as I heard this game had a beta I scowered teh interent for codes and just yesterday night I received an e-mail from Runic Games saying that I had a key, I was so pumped to play the game. I like the idea of having a companion pet that can level with you and you can give them items, I think it is a really cool idea because if you are playing on your own you still don't feel totally alone. I also like the classes that they have set out for us, I started of with an Engineer and I love all the cool things that I can do considering how low my level is. Overall an enjoyable game.

How Can The Game Be Improved

This is indeed a beta and has loads of improvements still to come during the testing phase. One point in-particular is item selling I think it would be better if you could just sell stuff with just one touch of a button but however they have made a long lengthy way of doing so, I also hope that they implement a better trading system I don't like the idea of trading windows I believe it slows the game play too much among friends. I think it should be something similar to Diablo in terms of just dropping the item a lot more effective if you ask me.

My Top 3 Tips For New Players

My top 3 tips for helping you out in the Beta are as follows...

1. "Health & Mana potions" - Get these all the time, as health does not regenerate it's important to grab these. Also having a mana potion is helpful in tricky situations.

In game screen. Nice HUD, clear and concise.

2. Emptying your bags - Empty these every opportunity you get, you need all the gear you can carry also selling allows you to make some gold for those much needed health potions.

3. This isn't necessarily a tip but play with friends, I played this game solo at start and the my friend also got invited and the whole thing just changed it was just so much better. If you can get a mate!

What Features Separate It From Other Games

What separates this from other games, well I don't really know what to say here I mean this game takes a lot of the best features from other games in it's genre and blends them all together but in my opinion does it so well that it makes for a amazing game. I think the main feature for me in this game is it is rumored to add a some sort of a creation kit for modders and this is a big thumbs up in my opinion. So all for Runic games allowing for people to mod there game! I love companies that allow for community input.

Character Select Screen. A lot of options for a game like this.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

About The Game

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a Role Playing game, that finds players immersed the huge world of Skyrim. The story starts out as you a prisoner and you have been sentenced to death as the story unfolds you find that you maybe a "Dragon born" which are a select people that can shout just like dragons. The game builds upon its predecessor The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion perfectly adding so many new features making Skyrim the ultimate single player RPG. The game was developed and produced by Bethesda who have yet to release a sub par video game, I truly enjoy all the games they make and hope they intend to make more.

What I Like About The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

What I like about this game is how huge the game is, there is just so much to do that you find yourself wondering round a beautiful landscape. I also like how the character level up system works and how you can tailor make you character into anything you want it to be, you can quite easily dabble in magic, archery and swordsmanship having said that though you would be spreading yourself thin and wouldn't be able to reach the top tiers of the talent trees. One thing I love across all Bethesda games is the voice acting, some conversations leave you in tears of laughter. I rate this game very highly.

How Can The Game Be Improved

I believe this game has everything it needs in order for it to be one of the best RPG's of it's year if not the next few years. There are a few certain things I would like to add in the future in game development would be the addition of your character having a voice, just to immerse your character even further into the story where you get to give your character a personality of some sorts. I know this addition would take a long long time to do but it's something I would very much like to have added. Something else I would like to change is the User Interface I experienced a few problems with it and I think there are easier ways to design it, for example the integration of the quick select it just doesn't work for me, I prefer smooth combat not where I have to quick pause to get to items I need. I have one more thing to add that fighting Dragons are just so boring, you fight your first dragon and your like wow! I am taking down a dragon, then a few dragons later it becomes you find yourself using the same tactic to take them down.

My Top 3 Tips For New Players

This game is very new user friendly even if you are not familiar with the Elder Scrolls series it's still very easy to pick it up. I still believe there are some tips that I can give you that will help in your quest to conquer Elder Scrolls.

1. Make sure you explore the game. I would suggest if you can running everywhere, there is so much content missed by fast travel there a lot of random events that happen while wondering around also there are plenty of caves to search not to mention all the crafting materials you can find.

2. Make sure you take plenty of health potions and mana potions. I have gone into caves and dungeons half cocked and got destroyed it is essential that you survive all your fights. Also if you play an Archer get some arrows! I have made the mistakes for you.

3. This last point is for those if you are like me. With most RPG's I find myself continually making new characters, I see something different that my character doesn't have and I want it. So don't be afraid to start again, do the first 5 levels or so and at least that way you don't get half way through the game and want to change. Do experiment there are so many ways level your character.

What Features Separate It From Other Games

This game certainly sets a bar for all games developing RPG games. I certainly feel that what really separates this game from all others is the developer Bethesda welcoming the modding community and for most of the games release creation kits. I think it is actually wonderful that they allow this and it is amazing what some people come out with. So many mods altering different things to player homes to new weaponry and armor. For that I would like to thank Bethesda for giving us there platform to work on. It literally gives this game such replay value. Unfortunately for Console players I don't believe that is possible, sorry guys.

Battlefield 3 Review

Battlefield 3

About The Game

Battlefield 3 is the third full title in it's series. The game is complete with a single player campaign, co-operative play and of course the famous online multiplayer. This is of course a ground breaking first person shooter that has all the features that a first person should have, an array of weapons to use, tanks, jets, choppers, rockets, AA guns a game jam packed with action and what sets this game apart from all others is the online multiplayer experience. I have followed EA and Dice games for a long time and have yet to be disappointed by a game they have developed and produced

What I Like About Battlefield 3

What I love about Battlefield 3 is its spectacular graphics and its flawless multiplayer game play. The endless amount of carnage one player can make is incredible the destructible buildings also add to this. If you were ever looking for a good shooter to play I'd suggest Battlefield 3 ten times over. 

I love the fact I can join a multiplayer game half way through and still cause absolute mayhem and take the team to victory. You can choose between 4 classes Assault, Engineer, Support and Recon. I think Assault is by far the best, good weapons they are also the medic of the team and provide a good versatile game play however when pitched against a tank I'd suggest running!

How Can The Game Improved

I think the game is fantastic there are a few things that I believe can be added and improved. My first point is the game took out certain things from Battlefield 2 which were very good for example "Artillery" which was very good in Battlefield 2 although it felt cheap by being killed by it I think it added a whole level of strategic play however DICE have said that in DLC they will be adding Mobile Artillery later this year I am interested to see how this will affect game play. There are also a lot of balancing issues that need to be dealt with, in the past DICE did a very good job of this in Battlefield Bad Company 2 where  players wouldn't necessarily use a gun because it was the "must use" gun but because the player liked the characteristics of that particular weapon.

My Top 3 Tips To New Players

Here are 3 things that I think you should know or practice before jumping straight into the battle, otherwise you might just get flamed a whole bunch.

1. Be smart. I think in battlefield you have to play a little bit smarter than you do in your average shooter. Learning where to penetrate the enemy at their weakest point is crucial, also if you play Conquest game mode being in an enemy control point you should wait before attacking and allow squad mates to spawn on you.

2. Use "Spotting". On the PC the key is "Q", I can't begin to tell you how important it is to spot enemy players giving your team mates valuable information, let's just say it puts a big dot on your mini map telling everyone where they are!

3. Practice. This one sounds easy but you must realize that all guns have there own characteristics I know there are seemingly "over-powered" weapons at the moment but take the time to experiment with all the weapons and all the mods you can add you'll be surprised with what you find you like.

What Features Separate It From Other Games

What really separates this game from all other games is the online experieicne I can't explain to you how much this game rules online it really is the most fun in a shooter I have had in a very long time. It really is unique in that fact. I particularly love games that have different classes that you need to play in order to win an objective.