What is it with the Real-Time Strategy genre? You bring up RTS games on consoles, and it sends some folks scurrying to the hills with their hands over their ears. Yet RTS games like StarCraft have consistently been some of the most popular games on PCs for years. Take the original Kingdom Under Fire, for example—upon its release in 2001, it stood out among the crowd of PC RTS titles and won the admiration of many PC gamers, yet it’s taken three years to get a version on Xbox®. Finally, the wait is over, and the result is … not really an RTS at all. Who’d have thunk it?
Will you be good …
… or evil? Here’s a tip—evil wears fewer clothes.
KUF ‘Em Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders™ comes to Xbox (and onlyXbox) from Korean developer Phantagram, who unleashed the impressive giant robot shooter Phantom Crash on the system in 2002. More action game than real-time strategy, with a healthy dose of role playing, Kingdom is also super-saturated with frantic, furious, and fantastic third-person action sequences. These flow seamlessly from and into the more tactical-looking troop command screen, which never slows down the pace. Along the way, crisp, sharp cut scenes give up the eye candy along with background on the medieval fantasy story.
Send troops to combat with the command view …
… then charge into the fight personally.
You get to choose from several heroes that command legions in a war that pits the forces of good against the encroaching armies of darkness, last seen in the original KUF (Crusaders is set fifty years later). Some are good and some are evil. Kingdom also offers different levels of difficulty and very different storylines. These heroes and anti-heroes will gain experience and new skills as the game progresses, making Kingdom something like three games in one. How cool is that?
Ellen provides advice and watches your back.
The Forces of Good
Gerald: Most games will probably start of with Gerald, who’s listed as the “easy” hero in the main menu selection screen. That’s a good idea for many reasons, not the least of which is that it’s best to get your feet wet with a character like Gerald. Gerald leads the forces of the Hironeiden armies of the human alliance, fights with a traditional one-handed sword, and has proven himself in battle to both aristocratic officers and the troops on the field. Gerald is backed on the field by his noble officers, Rupert and Ellen.
Rupert: Calm down, Dionne Warwick andBuffy fans, this Rupert is a beefy, brawny powerhouse who will come to the defense of Captain Gerald with a mighty war hammer. He’s a close friend of the Captain, and is always ready with a wry observation when his war hammer would be too much.
Ellen: As lithe and speedy as Rupert is tough and slow, Ellen also carries a ranged weapon—a longbow—that can help Gerald from a distance. She’s easy on the eyes, too.
Obviously, she’s never met gamers.
The Legions of Evil
Lucretia: The morally-conflicted leader of the Dark Elves is also a bit of a hottie, and will be the natural first choice of red-blooded veteran gamers. She fights hand-to-hand with a fast-moving rapier and specializes in hitting the enemy fast and hard before he knows what’s happened. You’ll get a completely different take on the Kingdom Under Fire storyline (and maybe a little more sympathy for the “evil” dark elves) with this choice. You’ll also get Lucretia’s somewhat less-than-trustworthy officers, Cirith and Morene.
Cirith: No, her last name’s not “Ungol,” you geeks. But she does have hair that looks like a scorpion’s tail and enough skill with the long sword to come in handy when her captain is pinned down by the humans. If only she weren’t really a … but I’ve said too much already.
Morene Strident: Can I just say how much I love these characters’ names? Miss Strident is a half-vampire, all-fine, iron-chain-swinging warrior that’s as merciless on the battlefield as she is planning her enemies’ defeat.
That’s the low-down on who’s doing what in Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders. Good luck out there!
