KoA: Reckoning and Mass Effect 3 Demos Each Bring Exclusive DLC [Updated with Trailer]

83
Richard Walker

EA really wants you to play its demos of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and Mass Effect 3, which is why it's running a cross promotion in which anyone who plays each demo can unlock exclusive content for both games. Playing the Reckoning demo - which is available from January 17th - unlocks two items for the full version of Mass Effect 3, both designed by Todd McFarlane, while playing the Mass Effect 3 demo when it releases, will unlock content for the full version of Reckoning.

Here's what you'll get in Mass Effect 3 for playing the Reckoning demo:

  • Reckoner Knight Armour: This armour will maximize damage done in close-quarters combat while a beefed—up power cell feeds energy into weapon systems to increase projectile velocity.
  • The Chakram Launcher: This weapon uses a fabricator to manufacture lightweight, explosive ammunition discs. This weapon is earned after completing the Reckoning demo and watching the trailer at the end.

And here's what you'll get in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, for playing the upcoming Mass Effect 3 demo:

  • N7 Armour: Players can unlock special armour inspired by Commander Shepard's iconic N7 battle armour including Helm, Cuirass, Gauntlets, Chausses and Greaves. 
  • Onmiblade Daggers: A holographic blade stemming from Commander Shepard's Omni-Tool, the Omni-blade allows players to stab enemies in close combat. Once players install and play the Mass Effect 3 demo, they will unlock the daggers.

You'll also unlock some in-game rewards for Reckoning itself by playing the demo, granting you some added benefits, should you decide to pick up the full version of the RPG when it releases. Take a look:

  • Twist of Fate Card: This card boosts the player's ice resistance and is immediately unlocked when he or she activates the Reckoning demo using his or her Origin account.
  • Twinned Souls Chakram: A unique weapon that damages enemies while boosting player health and mana in Reckoning. 
  • The Infernal Helm: Unlocked after completing the Reckoning Tutorial Mode, this protective helmet increases players' fire damage throughout Amalur.

So, there you have it. Some pretty decent incentives to download those demos when they release. You'll be able to get your hands on the Reckoning demo on January 17th, and the Mass Effect 3 demo should be out soonafter, although a date has yet to be nailed down. The full version of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is out on February 7th, 2012 in North America and February 10th, 2012 in Europe, so conventional wisdom would suggest that the ME3 demo will be out before then, so you can unlock and use the demo's DLC.

Comments
83
  • Oh I have to play this demo then, I just want to have everything for ME3, my favourite Game series.
  • I'll play the demo of anything to get free stuff for ME3 (even if it was pretty useless). Getting my copy of ME back from a mate, got a hankerin' for blowing **** up with Garrus and Ashley.
  • Looks like I will be playing the Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning demo then. :)
  • Gonna have to play that demo then to get the extra ME3 stuff :) Good promotion, makes people play something they wouldn't normally.
  • asides from this being totally awesome im confused.... if I play the amalur demo I unlock amalur inspired stuff for ME3 and if I play the ME3 demo I unlock ME3 inspired stuff for amalur.... cool, But I'd like ME3 stuff for ME3, but who knows they might hide something :D. I'd still appreciate a date for the fraking demo though...
  • As if I needed a reason to play these demos before.
  • Avatar items or in-game unlocks?
  • @7 No. I really like the idea of cross-unlocking stuff/rewards by playing the demo beforehand. Not that I need the added incentive for these two. But it is nice of the developers to add in extra freebies :D
  • @8 In-game unlocks. I think this is a very smart move on EA's part. I mean who doesn't enjoy themselves some free stuff for trying out a game? I personally have already pre-ordered KoA and am very excited for it. I hope it does really well and I'm hoping this will boost sales.
  • @8 - They're all in-game unlocks. Check out each game's screenshot gallery to see what the items look like.
  • Fucken EA! Should have faith that they have 2 good products and not do stupid shit like this just so we play them!
  • Now we have to play another games demo, preorder, buy at a certain retailer, buy new, do stuff on facebook, buy limited edition, spend additional MSP, ... to get all the stuff in a game. How about a complete game on a disc for a change? No codes, no unlocks, no DLC. I know that won't happen anymore but a man can dream.
  • @7 You sir need surgically removing from the gaming community as you are nothing but a cancer.
  • I refuse to play the Mass Effect 3 demo. I'm going in blind.
  • I was going to play both demos regardless but this actually gives me even more incentive to play them.
  • Cannot wait yeah!! I am glad EA doing this. I am hoping other games do same in future. :) Super EA's Action RPGs.
  • Guess I'm playing the KoA demo too. It looks interesting, I just haven't seen enough to warrant a buy. Maybe this will change it, I'm getting the items from the ME3 demo anyways.
  • 15: Surely merely loading the demo and signing into your EA account would count as 'playing' the demo?
  • This sounds good. I like free stuff and I like demos that come out early :)
  • This sounds confusing...for playing the Mass Effect 3 demo I get omniblade daggers and N7 armour to use in reckoning?? that sounds silly...and vice versa, maybe the wording is confusing me...
  • @12 - Who cares? We're getting FREE bonus content for downloading and playing a FREE demo. How could you possibly complain? I look forward to demoing both games, as well as playing the full games when they come out. KoA will probably be better than its expectations, and ME3 will of course meet theirs.
  • in that concept art, the ME3 inspired gear for KoA:R looks pretty awesome. i would totally rock that in game.
  • @21 no that is exactly it. Guess im going to have to play the KOA demo... havent really played a demo of a game since the PS1
  • I haye to say this, but this is bloody smart by EA.
  • If the ME3 demo is multiplayer only like EA have done a few times before, someone needs to be shot.
  • So is ME3 still getting a Beta?
  • Finally something not tied to buying the game from Gamestop. Is it my birthday?
  • @7 lol at comment its not like an RPG won game of the year multiple time oh wait i think skyrim did and thats and RPG. Well i cannot wait to play mass effect 3 and finish my playthroughs
  • NICE. I'll be there for both, REALLY looking forward to these two games!
  • @27 ME3 was never getting a Beta,it's getting a Demo. I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but there is a big difference between the two.
  • More gear to choose from in Mass Effect is never a bad thing.
  • Who is thumbing all the comments down?
  • I plan on buying both, so it's extra awesome! I'd like more companies to do stuff like this. :) Both games are likely to be very, very fun, and I just hope I can finish what I'm working on now before their releases.
  • This is a great idea, I'd love to see more of this type of promotion. I'd even go as far as adding in achievements for completing demos. What a great way to get gamers who might be focused on one genre to try out something different. It's still surprising how some gamers can find a way to complain about this great idea/free stuff. Pathetic.
  • I was just too excited to see that KoA was recieving the Demo next week. Just a few things that bother me... 1. EA awarded you with a 2-handed sword for completed the demo of Dragon Age 2. 2. People saying theres not enough info for a day 1 buy? Do you keep up with the news? The website itself has Gameplay, customization, story, etc... vids. How do you miss that unless you just dont research. But then again IF I slap "Call of Duty" on a box of sh*t it's a day one buy. 3. Now will it be like GoW3 BETA unlocks and we have to keep the Demo on our system or will it automatically unlock when we sign in to our EA accounts? 4. Off Topic: Why do they allow any one to post in the forums without and data? Im tired of going into topics Im following and people saying "blah blah blah FPS Blah BLAH" and they get a million thumb downs with 0 post? This is the main reason we do not see any new IP's from Japan cause they believe the most of the world are blood thirsty FPSer. IF you doubt it read the article with Hideo Kojima. Overall it was a good read...
  • Surprise #1 - Those actually look really cool, and I'm stoked to get them. Surprise #2 - I'm not irritated by this cross promotion at all, since the games are in the same genre (I HATED the Dragon Age 2/Dead Space 2 promotion since I had no interest at all in Dead Space).
  • Surely people must've been living under a rock, if they haven't seen anything of KoA.
  • Pretty cool to be honest. I don't get all the hate. Why would you pass on demo's of these games in the first place? Still with KoA having some trouble convinving people it's a smart move to use Mass Effect 3 to get people into it. That said I'm actually more excited at this time about KoA than ME3. And that's saying a lot as ME is one of my favorite franchises these days
  • Well, now I'll get the demo for sure. I have to admit, I liked all the little extra things you could get for DA2 through various means, and I wouldn't really have a problem with them doing the same thing for ME3.
  • I hate this kind of stuff. I want to scavenge for the next best piece of loot when I play a game for the first time. I ended up using the Mass Effect armor for half of Dragon Age 2. Kinda tarnished the experience for me.
  • @41.....that's completely your choice >_> If you don't want to use it, don't. As these two games are looking to be 2 of my favorite for the year (along with Asura's Wrath, dear god that's going to be entertaining, even if its extremely mediocre). Was already planning on the getting the demos, but now I have a bonus incentive. Fantastic deal, considering it costs NOTHING for anyone. If you cry about free stuff, you need to be taken out back and have your ass kicked, you spoiled little bitches >_> You complain about retailer exclusive crap, and then they give you free items like this and you STILL complain. Your parents should have told you NO a little more often as a child....
  • @13 that is a ridiculously stupid point. So you want the full game without having to play the demo? Well okay then these sets of armour simply wouldn't exist. These haven't been taken oout of the game to put in a demo. They have been specially created for cross promotion. If you didn't get them for playing a demo they wouldn't exist. So there you go. Don't play the demo, don't get them and you have your wish of a complete game without all that EXTRA stuff.
  • I like the idea, and if you want the extra gear, you have that option. I will be downloading both anyway, so it will be nice to have. Just depends on when I can afford these games, as I'm very skint and have a massive backlog of games right now.
  • @13 if you do even HALF that stuff in order to feel like you got a complete game, you're a tool. I order from Gamestop because its convenient. I have NEVER ordered from anywhere else in order to get certain pre-order bonuses. Because they are small items that mean NOTHING. However, it appears that people you like are the reason they are a success....because despite your bitching about pre-order bonuses, you obviously feel that they are REQUIRED for you to have a good time and get the full experience. How many pieces of gear were available for ME2? I guarantee I used less than 25% of the gear in the game, both on disc and dlc, during my 4 playthroughs. None of it is needed, its simply a bonus. Get over it.
  • @12 I have no intention of buying Koa but do intend to get mass effect 3 so will probably play Koa demo. If I like I may eventually get it. Guess this is what they are counting on. The marketing guy who thought of this needs a bonus IMO.
  • EA are the devils spawn...hate gamers...totally shit...expensive...worse than Activision...the world is doomed...er...why do they always charge us for shit...umm...fuck MW3...shit sorry wrong company...aah...fuck BF3...EA cocksuckers...never give us free stuff...er...FPS forEVA....eeerrrr...bet this isn't really free...pay with your soul...mmmm wait...fuck EA for giving us free shit!...err...is this right?....* *continues well into next century
  • Can't wait for ME3, and KoA has caught my eye recently. Both are looking to be really good.
  • @14 Not all cancers can be surgically removed.
  • I Will be playing both...
  • @22 free is barely the word for it. how about something that should have been on the game if it were 5-10 years ago...
  • @36 that joke about Cod slapped on a box of shit= day one buy is just as old and annoying as cod is itself. lol japan is far more into fucked up manga RPG's and manga this manga that. then we are into FPS's hell they might be working on a medicine that turns themselves into a manga character... Japanese are the biggest fantasy living people in this world. I would prefer COD 20 to most of there Manga crap. I love japan but there alittle childish.
  • @ #52 - English isn't your first language, is it? Jokes aside, I'm with you on the hating on Call of Duty. I'm not CoD's biggest fan by any means, but every story on this website is filled with lame, copy and paste comments that aren't informative or even close to being amusing or intelligent. The comments are just as generic and redundant as those making them say the series is. OT: Now that I've gotten that off of my chest, I really like that EA is doing this. It reminds me of the ME2/DA:O crossover. Wasn't there once a ME/Dead Space crossover promotion as well?
  • Pretty smart move, EA.
  • For some reason, I hate it when they just port armor from one game to another. But for some reason, I don't mind this. Good job?
  • @53 well English is my first language, well only language. I never really payed much attention to grammar going through school. But its the internet if it were really that important i might give it more of a try. I am no where near dumb.
  • @49 take Obama for instance,he needs to be voted out! chemo wont work on that cancerous slug
  • So when does the ME3 demo come out? Gotta be soon considering that KoA releases in less than a month...
  • @51 5-10 years ago, you'd get cross over items on your release disc? Please remind me of a few of these, cause I don't recall it. Not EVERY extra piece of dlc is something that would have been on disc 5-10 years ago. A lot of it, like these, simply wouldn't exist. But I guess people like you would prefer less content as opposed to more, even when its free. Tell ya what, I'll play the demos, use the gear, and then sell you my used copies of ME3 and KoA for full price a month later and tell you they're complete as is. Because they are. 95% of DLC is stuff that wouldn't exist on disc regardless of the year, or free content for those who buy the games new. Don't buy new games? Then fuck you, its your own fault this type of dlc and online passes exist. Do some companies plan out dlc too early, sure, but they're only following the trend that us gamers have set for them. We continue to buy dlc, they continue to sell it. Pretty basic stuff. As always, there are exceptions who sell stuff that's ON the disc. And hate for them is more than welcome from my end. But seriously....hating on a company for giving you something free in order to promote another product is just fucking stupid. There's no other way to put it. If McD's gave me a coupon for a free pizza from Pizza Hut, and Pizza Hut gave me a free coupon for a Big Mac meal, I sure as fuck wouldn't complain. But I guess you would...
  • this is a great idea, nice one EA :D
  • Kinda like the dragonage mass effect armor I'd suspect that you got when you bought dragonage origins ultimate edition. Kinda neat concept having items modeled on other games appear in your game. EA seem to be really marketing these.
  • Great i wanted both anyway but took kingdoms off my list because i just have enough time for gaming anymore. Now i can try it and unlock stuff.
  • This is amazing! I love the crossover content with Mass Effect and games like Dead Space and Dragon Age and now Kingdoms of Amular. This is pretty awesome stuff. I cant wait for both of these games :)
  • @13 What you and 95% of "gamers" dont realize is that games are shipped COMPLETE. All that extra shit is just that... EXTRA. It is in no way shape or form needed for the FULL EXPERIENCE of the game. Its simply extra little things the developers add for FANS to ENJOY. If you dont want to have to worry about doing all that extra shit then DONT. Just buy the game and PLAY IT. THE END.
  • I may have to pick up KoA:R . . . . its looking more and more likely in the cards.
  • @64 And 95% of games are shipped complete. those 5 % are mostly AAA titles.
  • This is what I like to see, ME3 unlocks. :)
  • I must say, I quite like this as a marketing exercise. I'm interested in both games (and definitely buying ME3 on release come hell or high water). If I wasn't that into one of them, I'd probably still DL the demos just to see what is going on. Quite smart. Btw, I really hope the ME3 demo is similar to the ME2 demo and lets you save after the intro level so you don't have to repeat it when you get the game, that was a smart thing to do by Bioware (except the ME2 demo released well after the game).
  • Already getting both, this is the greatest news!
  • So in other words they want me to waste my time playing demos of games I have already preordered and paid for? Why not add it as preorder bonus instead? Maybe I would like to start both games fresh on day of release instead of finding out some sort of story or going through tutorials twice? I hate how they come up with dumb stuff like that when it comes to great titles. Shitty games don't even release demos and we all know they could use them...
  • @31 - Please read your notification.
  • So I have to play two demos for two great games? Oh, how difficult this will be.
  • Pretty sneaky, EA. I would've never touched the KoA demo, but if it's for free DLC then why not?
  • Friken awesome! i absolutely love it when games reward you for playing their demos!
  • @70: You don't have enough time to play demos (that are very worth any gamers time) but you DO have time to get online and bitch about not having time to play them!? LMAO! OT: KoA Armor> DA:O Armor That's the way I say it for looks and use in the Mass Effect games. I proly used the DA:O armor for a mission or 2 just to humor having it since it wasn't as good as other equipment in ME2. What EA did with this cross promotion would be brilliant for Capcom to do with it's games! Imagine playing a demo of RE:ORC and getting a costume to use for Chris or Jill in UMvC3 or for an added bonus for buying UMvc3 brand new you unlock a Tron Bonne costume for Lupo to use in RE:ORC that also comes with some kind of special Servbot grenade or something!? Either way it's a pretty good idea of cross-promotion. ;)
  • im cool with this idea considering i was going to play both anyway but i think it would of been easier for the free stuff for the right game but this is nice looking frward to both either way.
  • Now that's some clever promotional tactics! I will be aiming to complete the Reckoning demo simply for the ME3 gear. And EA has given themselves the opportunity of attempting to sell me the full game, of which I probably wouldn't have given a second glance otherwise! Smart Move!
  • Just got done with the demo and must say wow, absolutely awesome, gonna get this day one! Fable + Champions of Norrath + WoW = Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning = Awesome!!
  • The ME3 daggers look awesome. Glad I pre-ordered the special edition.
  • Demo froze on me just with less than 1min left... 2nd time i got to timed part and games bugged or frozen on me.
  • do you have to have an ea account to unlock this
  • This demo was...horrible.
  • Obvious question so forgive me, If I already have both games, do I still need to DL and play the demos? To unlock the bonus content, just after the omniblades for KOA
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