14 DAY TRIAL // Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, the action and role playing mix currently being created by Big Huge Games and 38 Studios, is set to be launched soon and comparisons with Skyrim, one of the best games of 2011, were inevitable.
Speaking to Gamefront, Ken Rolston, one of the leading developers on Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, said “What makes Reckoning differ from Skyrim? The simple answer is that Reckoning has the best, coolest, fastest-paced, most tactile and silly-exciting fantasy combat of ANY video RPG.
“The pace, fluid movement, tactical richness, and physical and visual theater of fantasy combat has always seemed the weakest feature of video RPGs, and Reckoning offers a fresh new answer in that department.”
Rolston is well positioned to make the comparison between the two games, because he worked at Bethesda and served as leading designer on the two previous Elder Scrolls video games, Morrowind and Oblivion.
The developer also mentioned that he enjoyed playing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but that he felt some of the game mechanics were looking to the past rather than to the future.
He also spoke about similarities between Reckoning and Skyrim, adding, “Both games are Way-Too-Big, and have Way-Too-Much-to-Do, and they both seduce you into playing for hours and hours and hours.
“They both have whacking big epic storylines, and elaborate faction quest lines, and boatloads of quests, and lots of characters and books, and lots of crafting and alchemy, and lots of ways to customize your character.”
Rolston believes that Reckoning is being developed as a sort of template for how the role-playing game genre will look in the coming years.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is set to be launched on the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and the PC and will be available in early February, with a demo now available to show players what they can expect from it.