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[British Monsoon]

Sounds like the PSM3 reviewer barely scratched the side quests.

Isn't that the norm for pretty much every major magazine/website nowadays? They're all rushing to get their reviews out there, to sell issues or garner hits, and so they power through the game and end up missing out on a whole load of content, as well as potentially misinforming their readers.

 

[Sylonious]

Isn't that the norm for pretty much every major magazine/website nowadays? They're all rushing to get their reviews out there, to sell issues or garner hits, and so they power through the game and end up missing out on a whole load of content, as well as potentially misinforming their readers.

So sad. Meanwhile Schilling is out there busting his butt, calling in every favor, using every last bit of good will he has built over his career to get some sort of publicity for this new game.

 

[Gillian Seed]

The only thing i did not like is the WOW inspired art style. But i will probably pick this up eventually.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

To further promote Reckoning, 38 studios has given the 4-5 biggest live-streamers in the world a copy of Reckoning to stream on launch day.

Holy crap, this is brilliant.

 

[Dartastic]

Jared's face behind Curt is hilarious.

 

[Artadius]

lol, photobomb

 

[ironcreed]

So sad. Meanwhile Schilling is out there busting his butt, calling in every favor, using every last bit of good will he has built over his career to get some sort of publicity for this new game.

Subway and a long night of Reckoning sounds like a good combo for next Tuesday night. Also, nothing but respect for Curt. You can see the enthusiasm beaming out of his eyes.

 

[Baconsammy]

Curt is a man god. Slayer of Yankees.

 

[NullPointer]

No camera fix and no LOD options on PC means no $60 day one. I expect at least an up to par platform experience to shell out top dollars and this really sounds like a console port with better UI handling (much appreciated).

Will buy at $40, and wish the team the best of luck.

 

[Xater]

They should have spent less time on good combat and story and more time on purdy graphics, repetitive quests and dragons.

Perfect posts. Encapsulates my feelings of Skyrim pretty well. I'll take the less open but more interesting world instead.

 

[Haunted]

Holy crap, this is brilliant.

Day[9] and Totalbiscuit are going to marathon-stream it on launch day.

Not sure who the other "biggest live-streamers" might be.

 

[Lagspike_exe]

The team is full of enthusiasm, they genuinely seem to be into RPGs and are really talented, so I wish them all the luck in the world, because it really seems like they're going to need it. I hope they at least break even. Reckoning proves they're on the right path to becoming a great RPG studio and we always need more of thoose.

 

[Sothpaw]

Day[9] and Totalbiscuit are going to marathon-stream it on launch day.

Not sure who the other "biggest live-streamers" might be.

Destiny?

 

[thetrin]

All I really want to know is how the PC version fare compared to console version. Is this a full fledged port or a scrappy one ? Did they take the time to create a real PC engine ? Was it the focused platform ?

Did you try playing the demo?

 

[Derrick01]

I don't understand why the PSM3 review would say it was "upwards of 50 hours" when the devs said doing a speed run it would take you at least 200 hours to get through all the side quests alone.

Calling extreme BS on that one. Not that I'm saying they didn't say that, I can fully believe that. Devs always over exaggerate game length, but I've honestly never seen one exaggerate THAT much before :lol

If the game can last me over 100 hours on one playthrough while still giving me cool things to do and meaningful loot then I'll be happy.

 

[Wallach]

Calling extreme BS on that one. Not that I'm saying they didn't say that, I can fully believe that. Devs always over exaggerate game length, but I've honestly never seen one exaggerate THAT much before :lol

If the game can last me over 100 hours on one playthrough while still giving me cool things to do and meaningful loot then I'll be happy.

They didn't say that. They said going for 100% of everything (including all of the items and quests) would take that long even if you were rushing.

 

[Rodney McKay]

Very disappointed that one of the reviews mentions camera issues. I know that the PC demo was an older build, but I found it's camera to be just shy of awful. It was way too close and required constant manual adjustment.


If the camera in the final version is the same as the demo I will have to pass on this one until they fix it or until it's $15 or less on sale.

Any indication if this game will be mod friendly on the PC?

 

[foladar]

I don't understand why the PSM3 review would say it was "upwards of 50 hours" when the devs said doing a speed run it would take you at least 200 hours to get through all the side quests alone.

Sounds like the PSM3 reviewer barely scratched the side quests.

Pretty sure it's been said main game is upwards of 50 hours, but doing everything is 200-300 hours. Heard it on a podcast with Curt, anyway.

 

[Sylonious]

Calling extreme BS on that one. Not that I'm saying they didn't say that, I can fully believe that. Devs always over exaggerate game length, but I've honestly never seen one exaggerate THAT much before :lol

If the game can last me over 100 hours on one playthrough while still giving me cool things to do and meaningful loot then I'll be happy.

No Ian Frazier had a video where he said they literally had game testers competing to see who could finish all the game side quests the quickest, fast traveling, running and skipping all dialogue.

They said the fastest time was around 200 hours. Ken Rolston is the executive designer so I believe it.

Pretty sure it's been said main game is upwards of 50 hours, but doing everything is 200-300 hours. Heard it on a podcast with Curt, anyway.

It's misleading. How long would Skyrim be if all you did was the Main Storyline? Seriously, who does that?

 

[Baconsammy]

It's misleading. How long would Skyrim be if all you did was the Main Storyline? Seriously, who does that?

Rushing it? Probably 8-9 hours strictly doing the main quest line. Didn't someone from BHG also say that if you rushed just the main quests on Amalur it would be about 10 hours? I think I read that.

 

[Robobandit]

Rushing it? Probably 8-9 hours strictly doing the main quest line. Didn't someone from BHG also say that if you rushed just the main quests on Amalur it would be about 10 hours? I think I read that.

30-40 hours.

They said that if you tried to complete ALL of the content in the game, even while rushing and knowing where everything is already, their testers couldn't complete all of the content in less than 200 hours.

 

[Sylonious]

Rushing it? Probably 8-9 hours strictly doing the main quest line. Didn't someone from BHG also say that if you rushed just the main quests on Amalur it would be about 10 hours? I think I read that.

No 30-40 hours on easy "speed run".

I read at another forum that the main quest for Skyrim was around 30-40 hours. Imagine if a reviewer came out and said "Skyrim is upwards of 50 hours long". They would lose their job.

 

[Klyka]

Didn't one of the Skyrim developers do a speedrun of the Skyrim main quest where he beat it in 1 1/2 hours?

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

Didn't one of the Skyrim developers do a speedrun of the Skyrim main quest where he beat it in 1 1/2 hours?

That's pretty much every Bethesda game.

 

[Derrick01]

Didn't one of the Skyrim developers do a speedrun of the Skyrim main quest where he beat it in 1 1/2 hours?

I just have a hard time believing that unless he had fast travel unlocked for everything. Usually after the quests in the first city and you have to go to the top of that mountain, the closest location you have unlocked for fast travel is the intro area. Then you have to run a while to the town below the mountain pass and then take the thousand steps or whatever it is, which takes like 10 minutes by itself.

But with everything open I could see it happening I guess.

 

[Haunted]

I'm sure there are some long quests involving fetching and killing X of Y which can put this over the 200 hour mark if you actually do everything - but how desirable is that sort of padded content, really?

Getting upwards of 50 hours of meaningful, quality content out of any single game has to be good enough.

Didn't one of the Skyrim developers do a speedrun of the Skyrim main quest where he beat it in 1 1/2 hours?

Reminds me of the Morrowind speedrun done in 12 minutes.

 

[Berek Halfhand]

So is this turning out to be more and more of a console purchase with all the PC problems??

 

[Wallach]

Reminds me of the Morrowind speedrun done in 12 minutes.

Or beating Fallout 2 in 18 minutes. ;P

People get too caught up in how fast you can "finish" a game like this. It doesn't really mean anything compared to how much there just is to actually see and do, and how interesting all that stuff is.

 

[gehrig38]

Here are the streamers I think are committed to our launch day event...
TobiWan
Noi
Lore
0 0%
iNcontroL
FourCourtJester
Travis
JP McDaniel
Chips
Gary Gannon (Gamebreaker.tv)
djWheat
Pomf
Thud
Soe
Totalbiscuit
Ciderhelm
Day[9]

 

[gehrig38]

So is this turning out to be more and more of a console purchase with all the PC problems??

To be honest I haven't seen the PC 'problems', doesn't mean they aren't there, but I am going PC with an Xbox controller if it matters.
In the final build I am not seeing the issues, maybe I am just not noticing.
I know the camera hasn't bothered me in the final build but maybe that's a like/dislike thing rather than a feature?
I also haven't seen or felt the LOD issues, but I am going to play this weekend and look for them.

 

[bluedeviltron]

Here are the streamers I think are committed to our launch day event...
TobiWan
Noi
Lore
0 0%
iNcontroL
FourCourtJester
Travis
JP McDaniel
Chips
Gary Gannon (Gamebreaker.tv)
djWheat
Pomf
Thud
Soe
Totalbiscuit
Ciderhelm
Day[9]

All this smart web 2.0 marketing is getting me hard.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

Yes because any game with color is automatically not ugly and any game with muted tones is automatically ugly.

The Last of Us: ugliest game of our generation.

 

[Rokam]

Here are the streamers I think are committed to our launch day event...
TobiWan
Noi
Lore
0 0%
iNcontroL
FourCourtJester
Travis
JP McDaniel
Chips
Gary Gannon (Gamebreaker.tv)
djWheat
Pomf
Thud
Soe
Totalbiscuit
Ciderhelm
Day[9]

The question is do we pick hair or voice.

 

[Baconsammy]

To be honest I haven't seen the PC 'problems', doesn't mean they aren't there, but I am going PC with an Xbox controller if it matters.
In the final build I am not seeing the issues, maybe I am just not noticing.
I know the camera hasn't bothered me in the final build but maybe that's a like/dislike thing rather than a feature?
I also haven't seen or felt the LOD issues, but I am going to play this weekend and look for them.

Nailed it. Sounds like Joe is working on providing more options, not "fixing" anything.

 

[UraMallas]

The Last of Us: ugliest game of our generation.

Except that game is chock full of color with the intention of bucking the post apocalyptic norm.

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

Except that game is chock full of color with the intention of bucking the post apocalyptic norm.

Thwarted.

 

[Sylonious]

I'm sure there are some long quests involving fetching and killing X of Y which can put this over the 200 hour mark if you actually do everything - but how desirable is that sort of padded content, really?

Getting upwards of 50 hours of meaningful, quality content out of any single game has to be good enough.

The IGN reviewer (review in progress) seemed to like the side quests in the game as much as he did the main quest line. So I doubt that the 200 hours of side quest content they are talking about is "padded content". At least not any more so than the non-radiant side quests in Skyrim or Fallout 3.

50 hours is fine for some RPGs but, I don't think Skyrim would be getting GOTY honors if it was just a 50 hour RPG.

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

I'm assuming that realistically this is a 40 hour game that would take 200 hours to find all of the possible loot. Which could mean 200 hours of side quests, or 200 hours of grinding until that last goddamned hammer with the sparklies drops.

Either way, I started to burn out on Skyrim after about 60 hours, so if I can last that long on a game with Hungry Hungry Hippos combat, I'm assuming the variety of builds alone will keep me happy in this game for 80+ hours.

 

[StevePharma]

I'm assuming that realistically this is a 40 hour game that would take 200 hours to find all of the possible loot. Which could mean 200 hours of side quests, or 200 hours of grinding until that last goddamned hammer with the sparklies drops.

I'm guessing this as well. I platinumed Skyrim in 58 hours, seeing pretty much all of the meaningful content. Amalur is prbably in the same ballpark, although there might be annoying sidequest fetch stuff and random drops that pads the gametime up severely. I'm also starting on Hard difficulty so my playtime will probably be somewhat longer than I usually take.

 

[KKRT00]

I'm guessing this as well. I platinumed Skyrim in 58 hours, seeing pretty much all of the meaningful content. Amalur is prbably in the same ballpark, although there might be annoying sidequest fetch stuff and random drops that pads the gametime up severely. I'm also starting on Hard difficulty so my playtime will probably be somewhat longer than I usually take.

Lol, i had 50h in Skyrim when i was leaving Whiterun.

 

[StevePharma]

Lol, i had 50h in Skyrim when i was leaving Whiterun.

Most definitely possible. I clocked about 200 hours in Oblivion and Morrowind. This time though I was blazing through because there was so much coming out in november and december. Will get back to it when DLC is out. Hopefully Ps3 patches will fix things a bit, however I don't want to support Bethesda on that platform no more.

 

[CecilRousso]

I'm guessing this as well. I platinumed Skyrim in 58 hours, seeing pretty much all of the meaningful content. Amalur is prbably in the same ballpark, although there might be annoying sidequest fetch stuff and random drops that pads the gametime up severely. I'm also starting on Hard difficulty so my playtime will probably be somewhat longer than I usually take.

Seeing all meaningul content in 58 hours? I think you´re kidding yourself there. I have 50 hours and the only quest chain I have completed so far is the thieves guild. And I´m really not spending my time in the game just picking flowers or stuff like that.

 

[Wind's Howling]

Lol, i had 50h in Skyrim when i was leaving Whiterun.

Some guys just seem to approach RPG's so differently. I myself have to search every nook and cranny, but others seem to rush through and only do the most meaningfull quests and main quest.

Seeing the amount of different stuff you can do in this game. Creating different builds, upping the difficulty, crafting, being able to buy houses, castles and even islands. This can definitely be my go to game of this year and might even trump Mass Effect 3 in terms of most favorite upcoming RPG for me.

 

[Ledsen]

Is that the only thing they absolutely disliked about the game? If so, that does not warrant the 7.8. I know that I am one of those people who are comparing Skyrim to Amalur with a lot of things but I hate it when reviewers compare WORLDS to each other.

It is one thing that differs so much and can create so much different types of opinions because some people might love the huge open world of Skyrim, and some might hate the fact that it is so barren and where it can feel you are the only one in this massive world.

I actually like Amalur's world and its somewhat linear path with huge open sections in the middle. It gives more of a focused approach and let the developers create more unique places.

And what the heck is wrong with the verdict? Curt posted on the official GAF forum that the main story can take up to 40-50 hours and doing everything up to 200 hours. It sounds like these guys just did the main storyline.

Of course it's warranted, if you consider the world to be a huge part of the experience and you like Skyrim's approach a ton more. Like the reviewer, apparently.

 

[Elginer]

It shouldnt be about saying one game is better than the other based on preference, the game should be reviewed for what it is, not what it isnt.

 

[Wind's Howling]

Of course it's warranted, if you consider the world to be a huge part of the experience and you like Skyrim's approach a ton more. Like the reviewer, apparently.

But that seems to be the issue right there. He seems to go in to expect an as awesome open world experience that he got with Skyrim, but got left with a sour taste because it is a somewhat linear world filled with enough huge open vistas which is kind of like World of Warcraft's world.

I find that reviewers bash games because of their shortcomings when compared to other games but seem to totally neglect the fact that it actually does a lot of it so much better.

 

[StevePharma]

Seeing all meaningul content in 58 hours? I think you´re kidding yourself there. I have 50 hours and the only quest chain I have completed so far is the thieves guild. And I´m really not spending my time in the game just picking flowers or stuff like that.

I define meaningful content as main quest + guild quests + deadra quests + civil war + about 90% of the sidequests. To me the rest is just filler or a copypasta of the before mentioned stuff. Apart from the Thieves Guild you can blaze through it pretty fast. When I finished the above stuff I was pretty much a god (playing on normal), so all the misc objectives and mini-quests aren't really interesting anymore for me.

Might go back sometime in the future (play on a harder difficulty for example like I did in Morrowind) but right now there is just too much other stuff to play. I'll probably treat Amalur in the same respect. To some people that may sound as min-maxing and not really enjoying the game and its world, but for me it works great.

I'm hoping Amalur will give the same kind of vibe. Reviewers just need to set their expectations accordingly.

 

[subversus]

it's good to see devs being so engaged with the community.

 

[SpokkX]

when does the emargo lift?

IGN is not really interesting since they usually give high marks for everything that is close to good.

Interested to see the Eurogamer review especially

 

[subversus]

Interested to see the Eurogamer review especially

Edge - either 5/10 or 8/10.