In Progress: Kingdoms of Amalur (Xbox 360)

i noticed that i frequently go a while between posts.  My new label "In Progress" is for games i am playing but i haven't yet beat - think of it like impressions of games.

So, Kingdoms of Amalur is an action RPG from Big Huge Games (i think owned by Curt Schilling's 38 Studios).  Well, i got my first freeze in the game 28+ hours in.  The game froze on a quest where i was supposed to deal with some kind of cursed ring - cursed indeed. 


So far the game hasn't really kept me rivited as i have been doing a ton of quests (i think 90 completed or so).  Yes, the combat seems to be the big draw of this game.  In some ways it is similar to the Fable series - where one button uses the primary weapon, one activates the secondary weapon.  You can use powers by holding the right trigger and hitting the corresponding face button (it seems you can only chose from 4 powers).  The quests are usually clearly marked on your map and relatively easy to find. 

Let's see what is bugging me... The camera has been giving me some problems (what game has a camera that hasn't this generation?). First of all it is third person (not a fan), then it is zoomed in awkardly, you can get knocked down - and it can take a few seconds to find the mobs around you.  Inventory management - i never seem to have enough space for anything.  Backpacks (used to increase your carrying capacity) are few and far between.  Whatever happened to manuals in the case?

This game is kind of mediocre.  It is nice that there are a ton of quests to do (though most are typical quest types).  i have lost sight of the main story - as i struggle to complete quests.  Some people say the game is too easy.  i never saw "too easy" as a valid complaint on a 30+ hour game.  On casual, i died once or twice so far (when i ventured into an area where enemies were 4 levels or more higher than me) and i wasn't sure then how to access health potions (left on d-pad or using the left bumper hot key).  i started a playthrough on hard too - it is a little harder, but not that much so far (about 3 hours in).  It is nice that stealth is mapped to the right bumper instead of a joystick click.   

Main Controls:
* RB (right bumper): Stealth
* LB (left bumper): item hotkey
* Back - map
* Start - menu
* D-Pad: Left - Health potion, Right - Mana Potion
* RT (right trigger) + Face Button (A,B,X,Y) - activate powers
* LT (left trigger): Block, time it right to parry
* Both Triggers: Reckoning mode (potentially increases experience)
* X Button - Primary Weapon
* Y Button - Secondary Weapon

Of course, i have been keeping an eye on some of the achievements as i have been playing 365/1,000 gamerscore (26/50).  i have finished two of the guild questlines.  The only achievement i can't get on this playthrough is the one for beating the game on Hard.