The "Kingdom Under Fire" series has come a long way from its roots as a relatively unknown real-time strategy game. "Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom" is the chronological sequel to "KUF: The Crusaders," which successfully established the series as a reliable strategy game on the original Xbox.
"Circle of Doom" treads new ground, this time incorporating elements of role-playing games and focusing less on the strategy-based gameplay of previous games. The result is a solid game that has a very different feel than other games of the series, which should not alarm fans of the old game.
To the seasoned veterans of the series, "Circle of Doom" will immediately feel different, as the gameplay is focused on single character, hack-and-slash action. What manages to separate "Circle of Doom" from other cookie cutter third-person games of this genre is the ability to select one of six well-designed characters that can wield multiple types of weapons, in addition to being a well-designed RPG system. The plot is told from the perspectives of these different heroes, and all of them drive the story fairly well.
The game's developer, Blueside, obviously put effort into creating such a radically new style of gameplay for the "Kingdom Under Fire" series, and it pays off. The action is exhilarating, and most players will enjoy battling against overwhelming odds as dozens of monsters come at your character at a time. Enemy designs are creative, and skin recycling is never apparent. Even the weapons are creative and go beyond generic swords and axes, ranging from slings to iron chains.
Even with hack-and-slash action, "Circle of Doom" provides excellent role-playing aspects, including a level system based on the experience that characters gain. The new magic and ability system is intuitive, and a synthesis system allows players to create stronger weapons and tools. "Circle of Doom" seems to waver between the hack-and-slash and RPG genres frequently. This may put off some hardcore gamers who prefer one or the other genre strongly, but "Circle of Doom" is an appropriate balance between the two.
The action is what keeps players addicted, even if the questing system, while fun, can get repetitive. Quests will sometimes require players to revisit an area multiple times, and dungeons, while randomly generated, have the same overall layout. Though the art is attractive and diverse, ranging from glacial caverns to desolate wastelands, visiting the same locations repeatedly can get tedious.
The game's other major problem is awkward camera controls in less roomy environments, such as dungeons. The camera will sometimes get stuck behind objects and enemies and occasionally change angles abruptly, making it impossible to find your own character. The camera doesn't necessarily cripple the action, but it does serve as an occasional annoyance that can disrupt the game.
"Circle of Doom" also makes use of Xbox Live, and it can be played with three other people cooperatively. Offline multiplayer is not available, but with an Xbox Live account, multiplayer is a blast. Battles become much fairer with other players backing you up. Furthermore, slowdown and lag is never a problem with online play.
"Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom" had the formula for a great game with excellent role-playing elements blended with high-octane action and a fairly good plot. Despite the problems with the camera and landscape redundancy, "Circle of Doom" is by no means a poor game. It is still a decent game and worth the price for anyone who likes hack-and-slash and role-playing style gameplay.
