The game begins with your character dead. Then he/she gets better. This rather Planescape: Torment-ish event removes you from the Wheel of Fate and allows you to interfere with other people's destiny. But don't expect deep philosophical dilemmas – you basically can kill people before they were fated to die.

To do so, Amalur offers a variety of weapons, spells and skills, divided into three classic archetypes – Might, Finesse and Sorcery. Every level-up, you get three points to spend on the archetypal skill trees. You can mix them however you wish, and the game reacts to that by unlocking “destiny” bonuses you can equip. For example, investing six points in Might and six points in Sorcery gives you the Guardian destiny, which boosts defence and converts damage into mana.

Combat is really the meat of the game, and it's a satisfying blend of arcade action and RPG. You equip two weapons at once, each assigned to a button
(a controller is advised), and you can freely mix their attacks. The nine weapon types all play very differently and there are several moves at your disposal – dodges, parries, timed blocks, 3-hit combos, charge attacks, delayed attacks, damage spells, sustained buff, traps, summons, etc... You can also sneak and backstab unsuspecting foes, though it isn't often useful.

The enemy variety isn't big, but they all have very distinct moves and skills. And, to seal the deal, Amalur uses a Diablo-like loot system, with random items of several qualities, legendary unique, item sets, gems and even a salvage and crafting system. It isn't deep, as the item bonus lack diversity, but it's addictive.

Sadly, the game's balance is severely lacking. Combat is a cakewalk unless you play on Hard, and even then the respawning monsters and huge amount of side-quests means you'll eventually become too powerful and breeze through it. A shame, really.