Combat That Feels Like Combat (and Is Fun)

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

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

Better Homes

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

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

A Monster Mash

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

Reckoning Mode

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