Combat That Feels Like Combat (and Is Fun)

If Skyrim has one weakness, it’s combat. Fighting can sometimes feel boring. Ты typically just button mash on your foe, though Ты can hold the attack button down for a stronger attack (whether it’s a magic spell или 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, или 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 Ты fill these out, Ты gain special attacks, which Ты perform via a series of button presses, just as Ты would in other action games.

Mages use staffs and chakrams, and elemental damage backs each of their attacks. If Ты 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, или lightning, looks better than just about anything in Skyrim’s fighting system.

Better Homes

As in Skyrim, Ты can gain access to real estate in Amalur (should Ты 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 Ты expand your home, adding rooms and crafting stations. As Ты build it out, Ты gain access to all the crafting stations Ты 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 Ты 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 или 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 или other ракета weapons). It’s the weapons though, not the system, that’s interesting.

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

A Monster Mash

Each additional chapter of The Elder Scrolls adds something to the series (such as dual-wielding and Драконы in Skyrim), but as it has made its way from Daggerfall and Morrowind, it’s Остаться в живых 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 & Драконы 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 Любовь 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 или piece of armor Ты find, Ты come across dozens of pieces of junk. Ты find plenty of useless clutter in Amalur, too, but there's еще useful items than in Skyrim. Armor and weapons are plentiful, and you’ll regularly find items that make for better protection или for enhanced attacks. In fact, the loot is so good that Ты can find great items without having to visit vendors или spend time crafting (remember, not everyone thinks that it’s fun to make your own swag). And while Ты do have an item in Amalur, it’s based on numbers, not weight. This allows Ты to schlep a wide variety of armor and weapons (for selling, breaking down for crafting components, или swapping if you’re a multiclass character).

Reckoning Mode

The “Reckoning” in Amalur’s Название has a double meaning. The first deals with the role fate plays in the game. The секунда is combat’s “Reckoning” mode. As Ты хлопать, привкус around monsters, Ты build your Reckoning meter. When the meter is full, Ты may enter Reckoning mode, which slows down time and allows Ты to perform extra-powerful attacks for a limited duration. The best part is Ты get a significant experience bonus for every monster killed while in Reckoning—the еще Ты slay, the еще experience Ты 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. Ты can consider Драконы 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 замок to smithereens. The only thing standing in its way is you, in one of the most exciting battles in the game.