| | |  | Hardware & Accessories | Home » » » Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom | | | | | | | Description: | | Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom is an Action RPG game based on the universe of Kingdom Under Fire series. Where as the previous Kingdom Under Fire series were Action RTS titles that recreated realistic fantasy battlefields of massive scale, Circle of Doom focuses on the development of one character with easy-to-learn game system and control mechanics. | | | Features: | |
• Action RPG game based on Kingdom Under Fire universe; complex and twisted story plot
• Engage in dynamic battle; 70+ monsters ranging from 3-foot goblins to towering behemoths
• 6 unique characters who can wield 5 to 6 different types of weapons each
• 50+ abilities, 60+ enhancements, and infinite combinations of weapon+ability+enhancement
• Explore randomly generated dungeons; 4-player co-op mode via Xbox Live
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 4.25 inches | | Product Width:
| 5.25 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.5 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.25 pounds | | Package Length:
| 7.5 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.3 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.6 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.25 pounds | | Release Date:
| January 09, 2008 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 33 reviews |
| | | Game Information: | | | Platform:
| Xbox 360 | | Media:
| Video Game | | Item Quantity:
| 1 |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 33 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
 90% Fun, 10% TediousJun 07, 2009
By J. Vaughn
I normally play FPS games. This is the first RPG in my game collection. At first, I was stunned by the beautiful graphics. The game creators put a lot of work into visual details of the scenery. The next thing that struck me was the originality of the gameplay overall. I loved the concept of the "Idols" in each board. Each of the three idols has slightly different items for sale, each idol's appearance depends on the moon's phase. The idol alters are also where the character "sleeps" - slips into a haunting dream world where an old guru grants abilities, quests, and advice. This is the kind of originality that too many games are missing in today's market.
I only have a couple of gripes about the game. One is the tediousness of grinding through the boards to accomplish quests. For example, in order to get a certain ability, you have to kill the "Forest Guardian" twice. BUT, to get to the Forest Guardian, you have to start at the beginning of the Forest realm, and grind your way through all the boards of that realm. Needless to say, it gets a little monotonous the second time around. I also thought the EQ purchasing could be greatly improved by limiting what a character can BUY, not just use. Certain characters are limited to certain EQ, fair enough. But, the limitations are in the written descriptions of the items. A character can spend a ton of gold on a killer weapon, only to find he/she can't use it because they failed to read ALL of the item's description. It would be nice if the developers could either gray-out the items not available to certain characters, or create character-specific lists of weapons and armor.
35 of 42 found the following review helpful:
 Nice graphics and Co-Op, Poor Gameplay and StoryJan 19, 2008
By Lisa Shea
"medieval swordfighting enthusiast"
This review was written by my son, James Shea
A radical departure from the rest of the Kingdom Under Fire series, "Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom" changes the series from a RTS game with some hack-and-slash elements to a pure hack-and-slash.
First, some history: Kingdom Under Fire started as a PC game that was basically another Warcraft clone. Later, it moved to the Xbox with KUF: Crusaders and KUF: Heroes, which had a really unique system - most of the time it was strategy, used from a third-person perspective from your different platoons, but when you got into melee with your leader's group you would take control of your leader and hack-and-slash your way through the crowd. This helped you win battles that would otherwise find you outmatched.
In Circle of Doom, the series has moved entirely to that Hack-and-Slash mechanic. There are six characters, all of whom are from previous KUF games (4 from the Xbox titles, and 2 from the original PC one). These characters differ in their speed, their strength, and the types of weapons they can use. In the beginning, five characters are available, with one more being unlockable. Their storylines mostly revolve around their disappearances at the end of their respective games - now they are in a new realm, devoid of humans besides themselves. The only characters in the "real world" are the three idols that you encounter at rest points. These act as the game's merchants, selling you different gear depending on which idol is there (the bubbly Idol of Love, the dark and shrouded Idol of Death, and the Buddha-like Idol of Greed.) Furthermore, you can fall asleep at rest points, and in your dreams you will be transported to the Realm of Darkness, a subdimension that holds the dead spirits of the game's other characters. These spirits are also recognizable from previous games. They assign quests, teach abilities, and provide general story information. Other than those two minor sources, there is almost no story or interaction in the game.
The gameplay should be at least the redeeming part to the game, but for the most part it's not. Swinging a weapon requires "SP", or "Stamina Points", which recharge naturally. This means that most of your hack-and-slash actions will be punctuated by waiting for your stamina to recharge. This really takes you out of the game and is downright frustrating most of the time. There are lots of magical abilities to be learned, and this requires not just leveling up but also doing quests (most often "kill X number of this type of enemy"). For the most part, the gameplay lacks a lot of the combo attacks and excitement that the Xbox games held in their hack-and-slash sections. It's also possible to do a co-op mode with up to four people over Xbox Live, using head
The graphics are without a doubt the game's best part. The characters - friend and foe - are all really detailed and textured, and all the effects are really fantastic. The lighting, especially, looks fantastic. The environments - including a forest, a ruined city, and an underground area - are all rendered impressively, with lots of little details and side parts. Blood - which can be turned on or off - is shown as artistic sprays of color. The music is also very haunting and beautiful, conveying the sense of a dead, empty world. The voice acting isn't great, but it comes up so infrequently that it doesn't matter.
As a whole, this game has a lot going for it (the graphics and the co-op option being the main two) but also a lot more not going for it (the gameplay, the lack of story, the comparison of this game to other KUF games). Even as a hack-and-slash, it's not a whole lot of fun. It seems like a lot of wasted effort on the parts of the development team.
Rating: 6/10
24 of 29 found the following review helpful:
Could have been better, but still fun with friendsJan 10, 2008
By Michael M. Dilley
If you are looking for some co-op fun with some friends over xbox live this is a pretty good game. If you are looking for a deep and involving rpg, or the old KOF action rts forumula this isn't the game. To me it feels like a mix between Gauntlet and Diablo.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Feels like a dumbed-down version of Dynasty WarriorsMar 05, 2009
By Kody Boye
"Horror Author"
I've been a fan of the Kingdom Under Fire series since I played The Crusaders when it came out. As a fan of strategy games, I loved the fact that you had so many different units, weapons and armor to choose from, and I loved the fact that you could play as so many different characters in Heroes.
I downloaded the Circle of Doom demo off the XBox 360 marketplace, mostly because I was SOMEHOW hoping that, despite all the bad publicity and reviews the game has gotten, it would be a good game.
Boy, was I wrong.
To start, what happened to the strategy elements? That was the main point of the first two games, so why take it out of this second one?
Secondly, when did the game reduce itself to pure hack-and-slash-styled gameplay? I compare it to Dynasty Warriors for that reason (though I WILL say that Koei's Dynasty Warriors franchise is LEAGUES ahead of this game.)
To give you a rundown on the gameplay, it's like this: You start out by playing as one of the main characters, then engage in a tutorial mode after a cutscene (which I skipped, because I could barely hear the characters talking, as well as the fact that the voice acting sounded horribly lazy.) This tutorial mode teaches you how to fight (not very well at that.) You use the A and X buttons to wield your weapon(s), as well as the B and Right Button (don't confuse the button with the trigger) to use your magic. The first thing I noticed was how slow the response times were. Another thing I noticed was that, when holding the right button (as it tells you to do to use one of your special abilities,) it didn't always respond. You end up clicking or holding the button.
Another thing: The combat. When I engaged in battle with a few simple enemies, I found a fourth of my health knocked down based on the pure fact that I couldn't attack them fast enough (The Crusaders and Heroes' respond times were MUCH better and faster.) I don't recall there ever being a block button (which was in the previous two games.)
Added to this slow combat, movement is also slow. I can understand that the characters are carrying a good amount of weaponry and armor, but that gives them no excuse to move like snails. (The only excuse for that would be if they were carrying a hammer or some other weapon, which my character--Leinheart--wasn't.)
Finally, the map has you following a set path. In The Crusaders and Heroes, the map was free roam--meaning you could go ANYWHERE you wanted. In this game, you are stuck to a set path, which makes moving frustrating (and even more tedious.)
They're trying to pass the game off as an RPG, but the only RPG elements I see is the story (which doesn't seem all that good, considering you can't even enjoy the voice acting) and the weapon/armor customization (which there is hardly any.)
I didn't try the co-op mode, but I didn't plan on playing more of this horrible game. I wouldn't be surprised if people didn't buy the fourth installment based on the fact that this one was so bad.
The only reason I gave the game two stars was because... well, I played it for ten minutes, and enjoyed that small amount of time I played it (though I had no intention to play it further.)
One final note: I see that CoD was made by Blue Side and The Crusaders and Heroes were made by Phantagram, which is an obvious indicator as to why the gameplay (and everything, for that matter) is so different. I CANNOT, however, fathom why Phantagram would entrust a different company with their series. Seeing how CoD turned out, I hope they reconsider giving another company a right to make another game in one of their series.
If you plan on playing the Kingdom Under Fire series, skip CoD and play The Crusaders and Heroes (in that order)--you won't be disappointed in either of the two.
7 of 9 found the following review helpful:
Fun at first and then....Feb 07, 2008
By Devils Tongue
"blackplage"
The games seem good for a while and then it just never changes. The spells are almost Impossible to get and if you do theres no needed the whole battel system is not needed, its just hack & slash. Overall the game just gets boring
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