Interesting game for it's time
The game plays lot like Warcraft 2 ,but with a slight better graphics than Starcraft. I would like to add that the game feels and plays completely like Blizzard formula game, and since i enjoyed all of the Blizzard's game, i embrace this like it's Blizzard's own.
I would like to compare this game to warcraft series from 2 to 3 and help people to understand the game to it's core
Leveling
warcraft 2 no units leveled
warcraft 3 Heroes leveled
KUF almost every unit leveled.
I think this is where KUF excelled compared to WC, since most of the units leveled up, it made me care about every unit i had. leveling in KUF help unit's get more health, mana, strengh, and sometimes range of attack. For example: In KUF there is a unit in Human side called the Elven Archer,
since Elven Archers have slow attack rate but long range( think siege tank, but minus the siege mode and hitpoints) regular archers would crush them. However if you leveled the Elven Archer enough they would shoot farther and faster with more health on thier side. This leveling systhem in KUF made it more dynamic for you to care to have this unit live longer.
KUF is the winner for leveling system.
Heroes
warcraft 2 only in campaign
warcraft 3 both multiplayer and single player mode
KUF both multiplayer and single player mode
It would seem to be a tie in this section with WC3 and KUF, since heroes in these 2 games matter alot. However the formula is different from the 2 games. In Kuf 's hero are a high tech units that can only be sommoned after getting most of the structures, so you have to get them really late in the game. In Warcraft 3's hero can gain level which will yield new move, more health, mana, strengh, agility, armor, etc. while KUF's hero in multiplayer start with all thier moves, and start thier level from 18 to 25. Imagine someone starting with level 10 Blademaster with all his moves but also could gain more level while getting more health, mana, agility, etc. Heroes in KUF is also different in that once you lose them they are gone for good for that match.
Personal preferrence from KUF or WC 3
Factions
warcraft 2 2 factions
warcraft 3 4 factions
KUF 2 factions
I would have to give this to warcraft 3, since 4 faction in warcraft 3 are balanced but different. While KUF only has 2 factions to play with, the 2 factions do play differently. Human side has your typical humans of course, elves, and dwarves. Devil side has demons, undead, darkelf, vampires, orcs, ogre, and so on.
WC 3 is the winner for Factions
Story
warcraft 2
warcraft 3
KUF
The story is pretty much the same old D and D type of setting, but since KUF was made in S. Korea the translation is bit off and localization was just a mess. I think it would have been a interesting story in that there were twist and turn but nothing like WC 3.
WC 2 abd 3 wins for the story, since the tranlation was just awful for KUF.
My final thought
While KUF was made after warcraft 2 and before warcraft 3, i think you can enjoy this game for it's time and what it's worth. I could have compared lot more, but i think i gave some general information for people to get the understanding of this game. Lot of people critalize this game to be nothing more then warcraft 2.5, i honesly think it did really well for what it's worth. I hear you can buy this game for $9.00 usd now-a-days, so it isn't that bad of a price to play a slightly different game.
ALSO DON'T FORGET TO PATCH THIS GAME TO 1.205, which will add 4 sub heroes to the multiplayer, adds ingame save function for single player, 1 new campaign for each faction, new maps for multiplayer, and no cd required to play the game.