There's a lot of fun to be had with A Kingdom for Keflings, but you'll have to dig through some tedious gameplay first.
One of the coolest parts about the game is that you can use your Avatar as a character. Although, while it's good to see them put to work, I can't help but feel that the actual giants are better. Their art is quite good, and when you pick up new items such as gloves, belts and boots, you can actually see them, whereas there is no change to the look of your Avatar. Ever. Regardless of who you choose to play with, the game is the same, though. Not that I was expecting any different.
While I'm on the topic of gloves, belts and boots, let's talk about what they do. The whole game revolves around finding materials to build homes and shops so that you can make new items to use to built more homes and shops, which give you more new items to build homes and shops, and so on. To do this you have to put your Keflings to work by assigning them jobs as lumberjacks, miners, crystal miners, and other things. They'll bring you items to build with, and are basically the most important part of building your town. Gloves allow you to move faster while carrying things, belts allow you to carry more items at a time, and boots allow you to move faster in general.
Sound complicated? Probably not, but if it does, then fear not, A Kingdom for Keflings is a very simple game. You simply build, build, build until you can't anymore – and yes, there is a limit to how much you can build. There are times when it becomes repetitive and tedious, so it's best played in short bursts if you want the most out of the experience, but it's fun for what it is. It will take you a long time to fill up your village with as much as possible, and there are Achievements to unlock as well. You can play cooperatively over XBOX Live, though sadly there's no local co-op.
A Kingdom for Keflings boasts an interesting art style, though the actual Keflings don't look nearly as good as the giants. Technically it looks pretty decent for an Arcade game, but there's a lot of clipping, and a lot of slowdown. This is strange, because there's not really that much going on, but it's forgivable, as the game is a lot of fun to look at due to how colorful and happy it is. I would've preferred my village to be next to the water, however, and not next to an ugly cliff full of dirt.
Sound is probably where A Kingdom for Keflings lets down the most. There are almost no sound effects and the music – while soothing – is repetitive. This focus clearly wasn't on the game's sound design here, and it saddens me. It's dull to play it without the music, and annoying to play with it. Quite a shame indeed.
A Kingdom for Keflings is worth its price. It offers lots of fun when played in short bursts, and it's a good way to sit back and unwind after a long day of playing Gears of War. It probably would have scored higher if it would have had a larger emphasis on sound and graphics, but don't take the 7 as a bad rating; this game is worth your time, and money.