First Kingdoms Of Alamur: Reckoning Reviews Released

Is this game from the minds of the Elder Scrolls team a force to be reckoned with?
You might be surprised to hear that arcadey RPG Kingdoms of Alamur: Reckoning is beginning to seem like one of the most exciting titles of year, packed with hundreds of hours of gameplay content and inhabited by a vast over-world full of secrets and revelations to be had. We've now got the verdicts of a couple of critics on the game, so let's see what they've been saying about it so far...
OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE AMERICA (8/10)- The US version of OXM have praised the focus on narrative and the freedom given to you by the developers, calling this "fantastic, even in its side quests", noting how Reckoning "feels like an old-school role-playing games at times, and at other times you can see its MMO roots". Above all, they commend fantasy writer R.A. Salvator's scripting of the game's characters, locals and storyline, a "fantastic amount of lore and a vibrant open world" really helping to keep the immersion of the fantasy genre. However, the magazine did have one or two points of criticism: "[it] tries to fit too much into one package", apparently, with "some quests [growing] tedious, especially those involving fetching X amount of this or killing Y of that" and "the story [holding] back the game".
IGN (90%)- On the other hand, IGN's Colin Moriarty (no relation to the recently deceased antagonist of Sherlock, I presume...) had a lot of praise to hand to Reckoning. "I'll come right out and say it: Kingdoms of Alamur: Reckoning will be discussed when the Game of the Year 2012 rolls around. It has brought the conversation about what combat can be in the role-playing genre to the forefront and sets the bar exceptionally high for future contemporaries in the genre. But don't let its competition-shaming gameplay lull you into thinking that that's all the game has to offer, because that's just gloss on an overall package that's bound to impress the RPG faithful. Reckoning isn't a perfect game- its random technical hiccups and inconsistent art style certainly holds it back from higher levels of greatness- but no matter what you're looking for, whether it be amazing gameplay, immersive storytelling or perhaps a riveting new world to explore as you fully customise and re-customise your character at will, Reckoning has it all!"
So it's thumbs up from the critics so far, and I look forward to providing you with exclusive impressions on Kingdoms of Alamur: Reckoning on the day of release (next Friday, February 10th) and a review of the game shortly after...