Preview of Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders
Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders
by ChewyAugust 19, 2004
At first glance Phantagrams new Action/Strategy game Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders, seems a little ordinary, yet as you find your comfort level and a better understanding of how the game plays and progresses, you’ll find yourself hip deep in a war of races to uncover the mysteries of the an ancient artifact, the Ancient Heart. Set in a fantasy land filled with unique characters and creatures, Kingdom Under Fire offers up quite a wide range of entertainment and challenge to their gamers.
KUF is a pretty slick set up, take control of huge armies that include everything form Infantry to Cavalry, Bowman to Catapults, or take to the skies on the winged Storm Riders. All of this is under your control to lead into battle. A nice touch is the choice of playing as the Heroes or the Dark Legion each offering up different abilities, skill levels and specialties.
KUF does a great job of easing the player into the roll of “General”. A nice “play as you learn” system is perfectly balanced to keep you fully trained for your quests. The characters are well designed and diversely balanced in their abilities and characteristics, each also sporting a special move or two. The action is massive and very realistic, even though you may have a tendency to “Button Mash” early on, you’ll find the combos will suite your characters better during battles. Troops can be tightened in formation or spread out to cover more ground, the ease of control in KUF is very impressive and simple to master.
Graphically the game looks stunning, the characters and creatures alike are well detailed and move fluidly through the terrain. The cut scenes are movie like in quality and lend realism to the game. The lands are vast, although you do find the invisible wall on occasion. The troop deployments are easily visible on screen as well as in a navigation map, and switching between units is a click away.
At this point KUF has my complete attention, I’m looking forward to seeing how far Phantagrams goes with this title, the ease and level of control are what have me impressed the most, but understand that the entire package is pretty solid. Strategists, put Kingdom Under Fire on your radar, all others, if you have an adventurous bone in your body, check it out.
Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders will definitely be spending some time in my Xbox.
