Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning vs Ylands
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!
Ylands
Ylands is a sandbox adventure game that has a gameplay that's a lot like a massively expanded version of Minecraft with a lot more resources for you to gather, items to craft, and amazing things to build. Instead of being "just a game", Ylands is more like a platform, much like Roblox is, where players are given the tools to create whatever worlds or games they like, be it a fun go-kart racing game that's inspired from Lega Racers or even a watery world where epic pirate-themed naval battles can take place. The worlds are completely interactive as well and every action you do will modify, no matter how slightly, the game environment of that segment of the world you happen to be in. In fact, if you change a terrain and populate it with an entirely different diversity of flora and fauna, you can basically change the climate system there.Unlike Minecraft though, Ylands has opted for a more polygonal appearance which gave it the extra leverage it needed to overcome the painful dismissal and degratory label of being simply a "Minecraft clone" - which admittedly, Ylands is most definitely not. The game has so much going for it and players truly have all the freedom within the game's pretty wide parameters to literally create anything they like. Of course, the game also supports sharing, so you can let other players in Yland enjoy that (for example) crazy maze-running game you've just made!
Ylands is most certainly impressive to say the least. However, due to its indie origins, not many players know about the game, let alone buy it on Steam. So, if you really like Minecraft-like sandbox games, you simply must give this game a try, and if you've had a great time there, be sure to recommend it to your friends or even buy it for them as their Christmas/ birthday gift!