Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning... almost
Marc Kusnierz | Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 4:06PM 
I really like Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. A lot. I like it more than I ever would have expected. I like it, but I don't love it. Reckoning has great combat for all classes and is absolutely beautiful, with color and vibrancy reminiscent of the recent Trine 2 [my review]. The leveling/experience system is well thought out, easy to use, and encourages experimentation with easy access to respecing. The story is interesting and the voice acting is great, much better than the often-compared-to Skyrim. There is a lot to love in Reckoning, but it fails at building character and personality, making me care about the story, or satisfying my desire for unique loot, all of which leave me only liking a game I could have easily loved.
More so than anything else, the lack of character and personality keeps Reckoning from reaching "of all-time" greatness. If the gameplay and visuals of Reckoning were mixed with the story and world (story) of Dragon Age, I'd be in heaven despite not believing in heaven. So many characters in Reckoning lack a personality and even the few who are interesting only stick around for a short time or aren't fleshed out to a satisfying degree. There are characters I've met and wanted to know better—much, much better— but the game never gave me a chance and it wouldn't matter since my character is an emotionless mute who is litter more than a pretty mannequin.
Julius Styles - Julius Styles: The International
Marc Kusnierz | Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 4:44AM 
If you want me to cover your game and/or etcetera
Marc Kusnierz | Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 9:15AM Don't say something like this:
(from an email received)
"If you do not get a review build and then write more than a thousand words about our game in a single post which receives more than ten comments, regardless of the review score or your opinion of the game, we will Paypal you a dollar -- guaranteed. (Please email *Email Removed* a link to your review to redeem your dollar.)"
This is not a big site by any means. It is a site of one—Rob is a podcasting hero, but he doesn't write for the site or any of that jazz—and I pay for everything myself. I will never accept money from a developer/creator. Ever. And I will never cover what you make if you make such an offer. In the long run my lack of coverage will likely mean nothing as I am a small force in the world of pseudo press, but I would rather have my integrity than your dollar or attention. It's worth so much more. (And no, I will not mention the game/developer by name for obvious reasons.)