Greak: Memories of Azur vs Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Greak: Memories of Azur
Greak: Memories of Azur is a gorgeous action-adventure game featuring a young boy in search of his sister in a world engulfed in turmoil, no thanks to the bloodthirsty Uglars. Playing as the boy Greak, you’ll venture across various regions in Azur, exploring every inch of it for hidden stashes, completing quests, and battling enemies along the way.The game starts off like a relatively regular action platformer, where you’ll get to jump, swing your sword around, and solve relatively simple puzzles by switching characters once you manage to reunite him with his sister. This part is actually pretty similar to the gameplay in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, a favorite of mine.
In fact, you’ll get to control both characters at the same time, which is interesting, though it does complicate things a bit during combat especially considering that the sister is a magic user and deals damage from afar while the brother is a sword-wielder and does best dealing damage from a much closer range.
In a way, Greak: Memories of Azur also feels a bit like a Metroidvania in the sense that the game hides secret chests and rare flowers in places that you, if you don’t pay too much attention, might miss. Even if you spotted the items, you will still need to figure out a way to get to them, which usually involves some creative and sometimes very precise jumping. Expect to get frustrated… a lot!
The gorgeous hand-drawn art in Greak is definitely one of the highlights of the game as well. The out-of-focus background in the distance matches well with the stuff at the front too.
In a nutshell, not only is Greak: Memories of Azur a gorgeous action-adventure game with a heartwarming story about a brother trying to reunite with his sister in a world embroiled in war and infested with dangerous creatures, it also comes with a fun gameplay that's perfectly "midcore". So, if you're into story-driven platformers, you'll want to check out this one!
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is an amazing action-based RPG which we frankly think was one of those RPG gems that were somehow overlooked. Even with its age in mind, the game still does well to cater to fans of RPGs today, giving them a memorable storyline based on a universe created by none other than the legend in fantasy novels, R.A. Salvatore; a host of interesting characters to interact with, and a massive open world to explore. Character customization is pretty extensive here, allowing you to change your character's class, skills and abilities to fit your play style. You can change your character's equipment as well.The amazing part about this game, aside from its immersive storyline and world, is how seemlessly it has managed to integrate magic-wielding with swordplay (it doesn't exactly have to be swords though) in its exhilarting action combat. It does make you feel like you are in the shoes of your character.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning may not be a "Skyrim"-sort of game, but it's incredibly in-depth, able to offer you hundreds of hours of play time at the very least, especially if you are determined to complete every side quest and explore every corner of the beautiful world. It's definitely worth every cent you spent on it!