Review
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom Review (Xbox360)
Kingdom Under Fire is one of those rare series amongst gamers; simultaneously overlooked by the majority and celebrated wildly by those in the know. With the previous Xbox release, 'The Crusaders'; developer BlueSide harnessed some strong Action-RPG elements with a mixture of strategic gameplay, finding a new audience and legion of fans as a result. Not content with keeping the same formula however, Circle of Doom for the Xbox 360 ditches the strategy elements completely, offering up greater depth to the role-playing features as compensation, along with drop-in drop-out online co-op play. Whether or not these particular changes are worthy of merit however, is definitely open to interpretation.
CoD offers up a total choice of six playable characters (five plus one unlockable), fitting very much to the fantasy archetypes previously seen in a million and one other games/movies/books. The requisite busty female elf-like character makes the cut, the heavily armoured brute is there, along with some slightly more inventive creations like Leinhart, the cranially-challenged half-vampire. Whilst there may not be much new here, the characters themselves at least represent a tried-and-tested formula for action and RPG games, offering up the standard choice of heavy-armour and strong attacks, or quick and nimble assassin-like play. Character models are generally decent, and indeed the whole graphical engine is a cut above the average for the 360, with some beautifully crafted environments and consistently surprising and innovative enemy designs. Slowdown and tearing are sporadically visible, but on the whole this is not a noticeable detriment to the experience.
In practice though, the initial good impressions soon dissolve once the combat begins to flow. Attacks are mapped to the X and A buttons, each representing a specific weapon selectable from your inventory, with magic and special attacks also available for use. The process for learning the additional attacks however is often long and tortuous, usually involving some backtracking to kill vast numbers of a specific enemy, with a fairly disappointing payoff at the end. As an action game, there is little of the finesse seen in other titles such as God of War, Ninja Gaiden or even the combat system used in the likes of Dynasty Warriors. Combination attacks are possible, but only by building up enough action points to allow for more than a few strikes with each weapon. Animations are lengthy, and surrounding yourself with enemies can lead to a chain of unblockable attacks, leading to depletion of your energy bar, and a whole lot of frustration. It's a staple problem with most games in this genre, and one that really should be eradicated by now.
The new focus on RPG elements adds some depth to the action however, and leads to some truly unique and customisable content for your chosen protagonist. There is a full experience system in place here, with each new level allowing the player to assign points to either HP (health), SP (special and weapon-based attacks), or Luck (increases the chances of decent loot drops), and a full synthesis system on top. The weapon synthesis itself works as many other RPG's have attempted, allowing the user to choose two different items and combine them to create something brand new. The effects of the transformation are clearly labelled before paying your hard-earned gold, and special powers can also be imbued at the same time, providing the right materials are used. Whilst this is certainly nothing new, it is a welcome feature nonetheless, especially in light of the fairly lacklustre combat itself. At higher-level play, synthesising correctly becomes a crucial tactic.
In spite of the mechanics, RPG games often live and die by the quality of the narrative driving the player, and unfortunately CoD fails in almost every regard on this count. Instead of one over-arching story driven by cutscenes, each character here has his or her own story to progress through, whilst battling through the same environments as everybody else. Not a bad idea in theory, but the method of story delivery is one of the most bizarre ever encountered in a videogame, and definitely not in a positive manner. In order to advance the narrative, players must reach a mid-level shrine and go to sleep. Once in a dream-like state, the player can then interact with several other story-specific characters, gaining new information and specific quests to carry out back in the real world. Whilst this may sound fine in concept, in practice it makes the storyline for each character almost impossible to fathom, and becomes so disjointed that you'll quickly stop caring, and simply play the game as a standard hack n' slash through to the final level.
As a single-player experience then, there are clearly not enough quality elements here to recommend above most other titles in this genre. Co-op play does lend life to the experience, and running around with friends can be a lot of fun, easing the levelling experience along the way. Story missions can also be completed in this mode, which again is a considerable bonus to progression. Overall though, CoD just doesn't make the grade on either front. As an action game, the clunky combat under-delivers and soon becomes repetitive to the point of boredom, and as an RPG it's severely limited by some nonsensical storytelling mechanics. Combining the two makes an interesting diversion for a little while, but certainly not something that will drive the experience forward. Disappointing on all counts then.
Top Game Moment: Chaining together a massive combination with a brand-new synthesized weapon.
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| It's all quite pretty in places | Weapons are generally balanced well |
CoD offers up a total choice of six playable characters (five plus one unlockable), fitting very much to the fantasy archetypes previously seen in a million and one other games/movies/books. The requisite busty female elf-like character makes the cut, the heavily armoured brute is there, along with some slightly more inventive creations like Leinhart, the cranially-challenged half-vampire. Whilst there may not be much new here, the characters themselves at least represent a tried-and-tested formula for action and RPG games, offering up the standard choice of heavy-armour and strong attacks, or quick and nimble assassin-like play. Character models are generally decent, and indeed the whole graphical engine is a cut above the average for the 360, with some beautifully crafted environments and consistently surprising and innovative enemy designs. Slowdown and tearing are sporadically visible, but on the whole this is not a noticeable detriment to the experience.
In practice though, the initial good impressions soon dissolve once the combat begins to flow. Attacks are mapped to the X and A buttons, each representing a specific weapon selectable from your inventory, with magic and special attacks also available for use. The process for learning the additional attacks however is often long and tortuous, usually involving some backtracking to kill vast numbers of a specific enemy, with a fairly disappointing payoff at the end. As an action game, there is little of the finesse seen in other titles such as God of War, Ninja Gaiden or even the combat system used in the likes of Dynasty Warriors. Combination attacks are possible, but only by building up enough action points to allow for more than a few strikes with each weapon. Animations are lengthy, and surrounding yourself with enemies can lead to a chain of unblockable attacks, leading to depletion of your energy bar, and a whole lot of frustration. It's a staple problem with most games in this genre, and one that really should be eradicated by now.
 |
 |
|
| Enemy character design is excellent throughout | The playable characters are fairly standard archetypes however |
The new focus on RPG elements adds some depth to the action however, and leads to some truly unique and customisable content for your chosen protagonist. There is a full experience system in place here, with each new level allowing the player to assign points to either HP (health), SP (special and weapon-based attacks), or Luck (increases the chances of decent loot drops), and a full synthesis system on top. The weapon synthesis itself works as many other RPG's have attempted, allowing the user to choose two different items and combine them to create something brand new. The effects of the transformation are clearly labelled before paying your hard-earned gold, and special powers can also be imbued at the same time, providing the right materials are used. Whilst this is certainly nothing new, it is a welcome feature nonetheless, especially in light of the fairly lacklustre combat itself. At higher-level play, synthesising correctly becomes a crucial tactic.
In spite of the mechanics, RPG games often live and die by the quality of the narrative driving the player, and unfortunately CoD fails in almost every regard on this count. Instead of one over-arching story driven by cutscenes, each character here has his or her own story to progress through, whilst battling through the same environments as everybody else. Not a bad idea in theory, but the method of story delivery is one of the most bizarre ever encountered in a videogame, and definitely not in a positive manner. In order to advance the narrative, players must reach a mid-level shrine and go to sleep. Once in a dream-like state, the player can then interact with several other story-specific characters, gaining new information and specific quests to carry out back in the real world. Whilst this may sound fine in concept, in practice it makes the storyline for each character almost impossible to fathom, and becomes so disjointed that you'll quickly stop caring, and simply play the game as a standard hack n' slash through to the final level.
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| The tutorial area, looking very reminiscent MGS4 | Leinhart the Vampire has a particularly weird storyline to share |
As a single-player experience then, there are clearly not enough quality elements here to recommend above most other titles in this genre. Co-op play does lend life to the experience, and running around with friends can be a lot of fun, easing the levelling experience along the way. Story missions can also be completed in this mode, which again is a considerable bonus to progression. Overall though, CoD just doesn't make the grade on either front. As an action game, the clunky combat under-delivers and soon becomes repetitive to the point of boredom, and as an RPG it's severely limited by some nonsensical storytelling mechanics. Combining the two makes an interesting diversion for a little while, but certainly not something that will drive the experience forward. Disappointing on all counts then.
Top Game Moment: Chaining together a massive combination with a brand-new synthesized weapon.
Videos
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Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom Destiny Awaits Trailer
00:56 | 1,396 views | 0 comments -
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom Monsters Trailer #1
01:14 | 1,096 views | 1 comments
