We examine BLUESIDE's reinvented and revitalized take on the Kingdom Under Fire franchise. Find out what's new, what's changed, and what it means to the series.
The Kingdom Under Fire series has enjoyed lengthy success with its celebrated mix of military strategy and frenzied battlefield combat. With Kingdom Under Fire™ Circle of Doom though, developer BLUESIDE Inc. has taken this vaunted series in a new, and more personal direction.
A small skirmish.
In what can effectively be described as Ninja Gaiden meets role-playing game, Circle of Doom concentrates solely on the exploits of your chosen hero. You can no longer count on dozens of A.I. controlled allies to bail you out of trouble, but instead, you must marshal your wits, weapons, and abilities to best sometimes dozens of enemies at a time.
This more intimate approach to battle ratchets up the combat intensity, and provides a greater sense of accomplishment as every battle tests both your combat skill and tactical merit.
Get ready for the thunder.
Action and Development The key to understanding Circle of Doom is to examine its intricate combination of third-person action with the depth of strategy you would expect from a role-playing game. This is no button masher, even when you're slashing and bashing your way through a crowd of countless enemies. Each attack or action requires thought, and every outcome is affected significantly by how you've built and evolved your character. For example:
SP watch: Every swing of your weapon, shield-bash, bow-shot and special ability takes away from your Skill Point (SP) meter, so every action must be carefully measured. You must be aware of not only how much SP each action uses, but also how quickly your meter regenerates as you line up combinations and dissect the best possible way to dispatch a group of enemies.
Equipment stats: From your base armor to your weapons, each bit of equipment has unique statistics and abilities. For example, a standard weapon offers a SP recovery statistic, a base damage stat as well as a rating for minimum SP use per swing, all critically important factors when deciding which weapon best fits your style. You'll also find equipment offering bonuses to your overall health, SP, Luck, or even unique damage characteristics, such as the possibility of paralyzing a target.
Equipment slots: It's up to you how you wish to equip your character. Not only are the six available heroes proficient with a multitude of weapons, but they can be mixed and matched for different effects. For example, use a classic sword and shield combination with Kendal, the Ecclesian Knight, or lean more purely on the offensive, sporting an enormous pole-arm and heavy crossbow for a devastating one-two punch.
Level up: Every kill adds to your experience total, eventually unlocking a new "level" for your character. With each level, use your points to increase your Health Points, Skill Points, and the slightly ambiguous but very helpful Luck attribute. How you spend these points goes a long way towards deciding how your character should be played.
Vendor time: Mysterious vendors are encountered throughout your Circle of Doom experience. It's not often you want to shop with someone called the Specter of Death. Buy and sell all kinds of equipment from a vendor, but use them also to store items you wish to retain for the future. Vendors also "synthesize" items, essentially combining items together to create a single, more powerful piece of equipment.
That's what I call a sword.
Varied and Destructible Kingdom Under Fire Circle of Doom separates itself from the competition with two unique, nearly radical approaches to level design. First, and perhaps most startlingly, every level is randomly generated, guaranteeing a stunningly unique experience every time you play through the game. While the basic motif of a level stays consistent, the layout is new and original every time.
Also of interest is Circle of Doom's careful attention to destructible detail. Trees, plants, even the ground itself suffers from your weapon's wrath, along with everything else that would be expected to break, shatter, and splinter apart.
Bring a Friend While you may not have the assistance of an A.I. controlled army, you can call on up to three friends to join forces with your hero online via Xbox LIVE®. Playing through the single player campaign on your own already allows for a certain degree of creativity, but play together with friends, combining your attacks, spells, and special abilities, not to mention the strategic options that come into play, and you will be stunned by the spectacular result. Circle of Doom is a different, even more entertaining game altogether when played cooperatively.
Kingdom Under Fire Circle of Doom may stray a shade from the series' foundation, but it does so with good reason and is eminently satisfying. It offers a fresh start to the series while still maintaining so much of the style and substance of previous games. Add to that an absolutely seamless cooperative mode with up to four players, and Circle of Doom stands proudly among the best action role-playing games Xbox 360® has to offer.
