Review: 'Kingdom' invades diverse genres

Media Credit: Courtesy of MICROSOFT GAME STUDIOS MORTAL COMBAT - In the latest installment of the "Kingdom Under Fire" series, "Circle of Doom" players control one of six characters instead of commanding an army. Here, a character fights multiple enemies, demonstrating the game's new combat systems.

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.

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