Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning- The Legend of Dead Kel Review
Publisher: 38 Studios, Electronic Arts
Developer: 38 Studios, Big Huge Games
Platform: PS3
Release Date: March 20, 2012
ESRB: M- Mature
The Legend of Dead Kel DLC for Kingdoms of Amalur takes place on an entirely new part of the map called Gallow’s End. You volunteer to take out a murderous pirate by the name of Dead Kel, whose crimes have gone unpunished for too long. You are accompanied to Gallow’s End by the eccentric Captain Brattigan. While The Legend of Dead Kel only lasts a few hours, it supplies more of what made the core game so great.
The island of Gallow’s End is just as beautifully crafted as the rest of the game, providing sterling beaches and an overall captivating landscape. The island adds a sizeable chunk to the overall game map, including several dungeons and the amazing Gravehal Keep.
Gravehal Keep is your newest property acquisition in the world of Amalur. The amount of renovation you can do with it is far more extensive than that of which you can do with any of your other properties. Have you ever wanted to add a beast pen to one of your houses? Of course you have, and now you can, along with adding an armory, library, art room, and a host of underlings. You can do everything from sending someone to conduct diplomatic missions with other races, to sitting on your throne and taking requests from the common peasants. Building and tending to Gravehal Keep is one of the best parts about this DLC, and that’s not a bad thing.
The storyline in The Legend of Dead Kel doesn’t make for the most interesting of quest lines, but it is still enjoyable mostly due to some genuinely interesting characters. Captain Brattigan and Paddy are two of my favorite characters and they both help to keep things funny. Dead Kel himself, despite looking menacing, isn’t actually that interesting of a character. Rather than exuding a bloodthirsty ruthlessness that you would expect from an undead pirate, he instead mainly comes across as whiny and self-entitled. His three main henchmen, dubbed “The Hanged Men”, have better backstories and more enjoyable boss fights.
A couple new enemy types make their debut in The Legend of Dead Kel, including the annoyingly agile Scavs. Also, there are two new lorestone sets to track down. If you add that to the fact that you can gain permanent bonuses by training the wild animals, it becomes hard to find much of anything to complain about in this DLC, aside from the lackluster main villain.
The Legend of Dead Kel is a worthy expansion that gives players more of what they loved about the core game. Loot galore, fun side quests, beautiful environments, and the amazing Gravehal Keep make this DLC well worth the $10 price tag. DLC can be a tricky thing to get right, but if all of the future expansions for this title can be as memorable and fun as this one then fans will have nothing to worry about.
The Good:
+ More of what made the core game so enjoyable
+ Gravehal Keep is fantastic
+ Beautiful island setting
+ Captain Brattigan
The Bad:
- Dead Kel is a disappointing villain
4 out of 5 starts
About Chris Walker
I am a 22 year old avid gamer and writer with a passion for everything technological or literary. I'm also a huge tv show fanatic and animal lover. A regular jack of all trades, at least that's what my mother tells me :D
