In what should come as no surprise, Electronic Arts has locked away a number of quests (seven, to be precise) in Kingdoms of Amalur: The Reckoning behind an online pass.
According to Jim Sterling of Destructoid, who made the discovery when he opened his review copy, the game comes bereft of a manual and only includes a single card containing the pass. Unfortunately for Sterling, the pass he was provided with was invalid, preventing him from exploring the content.
The pass provides the player to the "House of Valor faction quest, featuring seven additional single-player quests" and the bonus Mass Effect 3 N7-inspired Shepard's Battle Armor for use in the game.
Not unlike Dragon Age II and other games before it, players must log in with an online pass provided in the game box. To discourage used sales, the pass has a one-time use and shouldn't affect anyone who buys the game brand new—unless their pass is invalidated in the same way Sterling's was, that is.
Sterling comments that putting an online pass in a single player game is the same as saying that the publisher isn't confident its game is worth keeping. I'm inclined to agree.
