Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders

"Simple RTS enjoyment, let down my combat"

Kingdom under fire the crusaders

The game begins with a great rock and roll tune booming in the background as your small army marches towards a war torn town. You discover that your mutual enemies have ripped it apart, destroying everything, and so the game is set in motion for a great war to take place in order to grab revenge and the holy land off the fiendish elves and orks. But apart from this great opening, does the game deliver on what it promised?

Gameplay:
You command up to five troops, switching between them by using the left and right trigger buttons. Kingdom Under Fire is really is about destroying all your enemies, but the game attempts to show that its not all hack-and-slash by describing each mission in a complex pre-briefing, , but each level basically revolves around the same one objective; destroying all enemies. The main fighting system is a great novelty at first, but will get tiresome after four or five levels. This is down to the lack of combinations each of the four choose able characters can do. The basic element is to whack the A or X button vigorously until you have enough SP to do a special move. That's about it. Despite the combat is dire at times, its how you set your troops out for an attack that is the real golden RTS point to the game. Do you follow through with archers and have Calvary coming from the rear, or do you draw your enemies into a forest and set it alight? The options are limitless, and that is why the game has such great appeal. Another drawback would be though, the limitations on the landscape itself. Some are incredibly small, causing a cramped fighting style. I'm not sure if the overall Gameplay is good or bad, there are some neat touches and originality thrown into the mix, but there is a feeling of distinctly average fighting, which is a shame.
The campaign map before missions is a very subtle way to develop troops and buy new equipment for them. After each mission, you gain XP and money, depending on how many troops you have killed. Then, on the world map, you level up your troops or add better spell techniques. This is another great strategy constituent which adds dimensions to the game. You can even hire mercenaries from the local pub., this plays a huge part in your later missions where you get a more free range choice of units to place in battle.

Story-line:
So, like I said, war is declared. Both sides (humans vs. Elves and Orks) fight for the age old holy land. I wont spoil the game, but there is actually a more deep story line than this blunt early consideration of what's happening.

Graphics:
KUF:The Crusaders Does deliver some fine graphics at times, most landscapes are developed and lush. However, character models are often exactly the same so it kind of feels as your fighting the same old people over and over. The real drawback is the lack of varied landscapes. The game can cope with complex pixels and colours, but it seems that the developers just wanted to take it easy and go with the same range of course types, such as arid land and forest.

Sounds:
Can't Complain, although the voice actor for the character ‘Gerald' is a bit wooden; shame as the other characters have real emotional development throughout the game. The music isn't spectacular, with the exception of the opening scene song. You might find that the campaign map song just repeats itself, which, quite frankly, is irritating.

Lifespan:
Well there are four characters to do campaigns with, each having there own separate missions getting harder as you go on. The lifespan depends if you get tired of the button-bashing nature of the game, I would advise you stick with it to the end because the last two campaigns are really innovating. The game would last about 15-20 hours, so about 4-5 days hard work would seal the deal.

Overall:
A bit hack n' slash with some creative RPG touches. Nothing mind-blowing, but the first times you load the game into your Xbox you should be hooked.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/17/05