I've been gaming for well over 20 years, but some of my fondest and most vivid memories have to do with NES RPGs. Back then, I would pore over fold-out sheets, carefully study enemy statistics, and memorize dungeon layouts. Those games made me an RPG nerd, but these days, worthwhile RPGs are few and far between, and my passion for the genre has fallen considerably.

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But then there's something like Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning , a western-style RPG in a fantasy setting that I've been lucky enough to spend time with. And while Reckoning is still a few months away from release, it's clear that this game has serious potential. Just about everything it does it appears to do well, and I have a feeling that RPG nerds like myself are going to find plenty to be excited about as we collectively anticipate this game's February 2012 release. Playing it has given me hope that, beyond Mass Effect 3 and Skyrim, I will be able to lose myself in another fictional world in the near future. That makes me happy.I got to spend a brief moment with Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning I began my time in the Sidhe (pronounced "she"), a heavily wooded area with a river running through it. Located towards the central area of The Faelands , where the part of Reckoning I played takes place, Sidhe is where I first encountered enemies, looted random treasures and even found myself cursed after failing a seemingly-simplistic puzzle. Off of the Sidhe is The Garden of Ysa, a city full of the immortal occupiers of the Faelands, the Fae. Within the Garden of Ysa is the Fae's Summer Court ruled over by their High King. It's there that I was able to contract not only the next leg of my main quest but a plethora of side quests as well.I don't intend on getting into the nitty-gritty of the story here, because it's the story that really matters in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning; I don't want to spoil any of it for you. But as you can see simply by the sheer amount of depth in the locations and people I ran into only a few minutes after beginning my playtime, Reckoning is a dense game, chockfull of lore, story and characters. Everything has an incredible amount of attention paid to it. Indeed, as I noted when I went to a New York Comic Con panel discussing the greater Kingdoms of Amalur story as written by famed fantasy writer RA Salvatore, this world's story is about as deep as it gets . Crazier yet, Reckoning itself only tells a minute slice of Amalur's fictional 10,000-year history.While I was left utterly impressed by the plot, setting and characters, I was equally impressed by the give-and-take between these various factors and how they all fit in with one another. Like Fallout and Mass Effect, there's an emphasis on choice in Reckoning. But when I spoke with Benjamin Smith, a producer at EA, about Reckoning's choice system, he assured me that it wasn't quite as punishing as what you'd find in, say, Fallout 3 or Fallout: New Vegas. Choices may direct you into different conversation branches and give the game a fresh feeling, but making the wrong choice won't cut out a piece of content for you like Fallout 3 and New Vegas so infamously did. Likewise, the game's persuasion system may net you different rewards in a side quest or more experience points for completing a task but won't lock you out of finding or completing any task in the game.Reckoning's leveling and equipment systems are worth raving about as well. As Smith told me in so many words, it sucks starting an RPG as a certain class only to find out a couple of hours in that you're bored. Kingdoms of Amalur lets you out of this classic RPG bind by allowing you to pivot from class to class by way of a card-like system that never binds you to one class and one class only. An amalgam of classes can be concocted by specializing in whatever you'd like whenever you'd like, unlocking skills, perks and statistical bonuses that contribute to your character's overall feel. In other words, you don't have to be a warrior that only wields his sword and shield and acts as a sort of tank. That warrior can also use magic if you want to dedicate the time necessary to build up those skills in him, and better yet, he can be a totally competent spellcaster, not just a warrior that can use some low level magic.Likewise, the equipment and item system is robust. Encumbrance is dealt with in terms of slots, which can be expanded by purchasing new backpacks and other items that let you hold more gear. Reckoning's primary and secondary weapon slots allow you to equip two totally different types of weapons, such as a sword and a bow or a hammer and a staff. Items can be mapped to the directional pad for quick-use, and Reckoning places a heavy emphasis on item crafting, utilizing skills such as alchemy, blacksmithing and something called sagecraft.No matter how good an RPG is, however, it always comes down to how it plays. Is it fun? Is it fluid? Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, two favorites of mine, don't have the most fluid combat systems, but Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning doesn't seem to suffer from similar problems. Reckoning isn't a hack-and-slash RPG per se, but it feels as smooth as one. Attacks are mapped to certain face buttons. Spells and special skills can be used by holding down a trigger in combination with the face buttons. You can even defend yourself with a shield and parry out of the way of attacks with a quick roll. This isn't a stiff RPG nor is it heavily menu-based. Everything happens in real-time -- an active battle of wits between you and your AI-controlled foes. You can buff-out your character with better gear, special items and more, but at the end of the day, it's about skill in combat, not button-mashing.The build of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning I played had a few minor technical hiccups, but looked, ran and played surprisingly well considering the build I was playing was purportedly over a month old. And I liked just about everything I saw in the game. This truly is shaping-up to be an RPG nerd's RPG, one with incredible depth and non-linearity that doesn't beg you to go in a certain direction but rather encourages you to see things and do things however you'd like. And better yet, it actually plays well, too.