Beginners' Guide

Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders™, from developer Phantagram and publisher Microsoft®, is a strategically deep action game that will test your tactical skills as much as the strength of your blade. The game can be a bit overwhelming for newcomers to the campaign mode or Xbox Live™, so we've compacted the most important things you need to know in handy digest form.

Strategy and tactics, up-close and personal.

The game is split into two main levels of play: the strategic level, which involves the map screen and large troop movements, and the personal or tactical level, where you control the leader of your army in combat, Dynasty Warriors-style, slicing through hordes of foes. You'll need to get familiar with both to succeed.

Setting Strategy: Map-Level View
When in combat, pull the right trigger to bring up the mini-map. Here is where you get the big picture, move the various parts of your forces into position, use special abilities, and make your big plans. From this view, you can most easily pull off the following moves:

Waypoints
You'll note as soon as you look at the map that the various units of your army are easily identified. You can move them all individually, or you can use the D-pad and the left trigger to set waypoints that let you move multiple units at once.

Special Abilities
Heroes, officers, and units all have special abilities that you can trigger and target in the mini-map view. You can turn infantry into scouts, for example, and control them independently (most likely sacrificing them along the way). You can also target ranged weapons (like flaming arrows), set traps for unwary foes, cast spells (to heal, hurt, or hinder), bring in support vehicles, and execute other options keyed to the type of army you're using. Only undead units can perform the Suicide Attack, while humans can't use the Elemental Boost.

Use the map for strategic deployment.

Action Mode: Ground-Level View
When you're fighting on the ground, the action is fast and furious. Don't get lost in the brawl!

Learn the Controls
You're fighting on foot now, and it's a lot more like Fable™ than, say, StarCraft®: Ghost™.

• A and X are your main attack buttons.
• B unleashes a special move (sometimes a counter).
• Y is a special attack.
• Both Y + B and X + A call on an officer character to help you.

Pull the right trigger to get strategic again in the mini-map.

Kill the Opposing General
Your primary goal at ground level is usually to kill the enemy general. Finding him or her might be the tricky part, though. You'll have to learn to keep an eye on the names of the units you're fighting. Generals usually look a lot like their troops, but with subtle differences. Once you spot the opposing leader, focus on him and try to cut him off from his support.

You can also advance by killing everyone; its just quicker to focus on the general.

Use Your Officers
You'll always have at least one officer available to come to your aid in a pinch. It's not like The Lord of the Rings™: The Third Age™, where you control this second character. Instead, the officer's A.I. will do its best to help you out. If possible, hold out on calling in the officer(s) until you've cornered the leader.

Defend Yourself
Suck it up, Gerald! More importantly, don't get hit. The special moves are often defensive and work better than a standard block.

The ground game: Destroy the enemy leader.

Barracked
One Kingdom Under Fire feature doesn't quite fit into the above two categories: The Barracks. Here is where you can train soldiers, learn new skills for your main character, and get your gauntleted hands on new weapons, armor, and other pieces of equipment.

This is also where you get a good handle on how the roleplaying-style leveling works on your leader. The hero's overall level is broken down into skill levels, such as melee and ranged attack (this also applies to officers), so Gerald might be a level-four melee combatant, but only a two when it comes to ranged weapons, for example. Your leader's level is a rising tide that lifts all boats, so your infantry and other forces will rise in level along with your general.

There's much more depth to dive into than we have room for here, but that should be enough to get you going. Online, most gamers will be happy to show you the ropes, too. Get out there … and get slashing!

By Ben Barker