| rdfs:comment | - Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is an Action RPG developed by Big Huge Games (Rise of Nations, Rise of Legends) and 38 Studios, founded by baseball legend Curt Schilling and named after his jersey number. The game features the efforts of three "visionaries": a story written by fantasy author R.A. Salvatore, a lead artist in Todd McFarlane and it's lead designer Ken Rolston. Schilling, a long-time MMO gamer, provided the money... or, at least, somebody's money.
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| abstract | - Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is an Action RPG developed by Big Huge Games (Rise of Nations, Rise of Legends) and 38 Studios, founded by baseball legend Curt Schilling and named after his jersey number. The game features the efforts of three "visionaries": a story written by fantasy author R.A. Salvatore, a lead artist in Todd McFarlane and it's lead designer Ken Rolston. Schilling, a long-time MMO gamer, provided the money... or, at least, somebody's money. For untold years Amalur was a world where fate cannot be altered and your destiny was sealed from birth. In the aftermath of decades of bloodshed and suffering a new threat emerged to threaten Amalur, the Tuatha Deohn. Across the land magic returns to mortals, chaos replaces order and The Fateweavers have foreseen no-one is fated to save the land from its inevitable destruction. As hope seems lost, the impossible occurs, the "Well of Souls" succeeds in restoring someone back to life. Freed from the chains of fate by death, "The Fateless One" is able to forge not only their own destiny but alter that of others as well. The game forgoes choosing a standard class from the start in favor of a new "Destiny" system. This allows the player to build their characters stats from the outset in any of the three disciplines - Might(Warrior) Sorcery(Mage) and Finesse(Rogue). These choices will unlock Destiny cards that enhance their selected abilities. Each card is rewarded based on the type of build you choose allowing unique bonuses for specializing in a single disciple, creating a hybrid warrior or even choosing to possess skill in all three. The system is an attempt to allow stats and bonuses to be altered with a level of flexibility that most RPG's don't offer and to avoid the player being locked into a specific build. Reckoning also seeks to merge the deep RPG mechanics with the combat system of action games. It takes advantage of hybrid abilities and skills, allowing the merging of abilities and cross-class combos, and lets you carry up to two of nine weapon types, with Real Time Weapon Change. Has two DLC campaigns. The first, titled The Legend of Dead Kel, involves being shipwrecked on an island run by the titular dreaded pirate. The second, titled Teeth of Naros, involves coming to the aid of the Kollossae, a civilization based upon ancient Greece located in the titular region. Reckoning itself is the brainchild of Big Huge, owned first by Microsoft and then 38 Studios, who were themselves developing an MMORPG, "Project Copernicus," which Reckoning became a Dolled-Up Prequel to. Reckoning met a decent reception from critics, almost all of whom praised the game's ambitious design. However, in late May 2012, 38 Studios dissolved in the midst of catastrophic financial shenanigans, making Amalur a Stillborn Franchise.
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