1st Impressions: Circle of Doom takes the Kingdom Under Fire series in a new direction, and suceeds in many ways.
The Bad: Some graphical glitches, can get repetitive, storyline isn't as well developed as it should be, some minor annoyances in multiplayer6.
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When Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders attacked the Xbox, gamers were shocked at how well an RTS style game could work on a console. It featured tons of epic battles ala Dynasty Warriors with some stratagy elements to make one solid gaming package. Now, the series goes in a new, more RPG like direction with Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom for the Xbox 360.
Many critics have claimed that this edition of the franchise is a good idea, but is not executed well. I beg to differ, in fact, this is one of the first games that has gotten me hooked for some dungeon crawling in quite a while.
At the start, you select one of 6 playable characters. Each has their own weapon set, storyline and usefulness. Some characters are speed demons who do all their hacking and slashing up close and personal, while others are more about magic and ranged attacks. Each character has their own uses, so choose wizely which one you want to start with.
Once you start your adventuring, you'll notise the really nice looking visuals, the well done musical score and the hoards of enemies that attack you as you wonder various creepy, yet soothing environments.
Circle of Doom does a good job of getting all of the classic dungeon crawler elements into this game. You have tons of weapons, each with different elemental powers, a way to fuse to weapons together to make an even better one, abilities to be learned by killing a select number of creatures and you level up and earn more ability points the more creatures you kill. One interesting aspect is how the story progresses. You approach idols who act as merchants and save points throughout the game. At these points, you can choose to go to sleep, where you will enter a dream world where your character's story will be revealed to you. It is also the place where you recieve quests and learn new abilities. This is a unique way to present the storyline, but the story isn't very fleshed out for any of the characters.
The biggest draw to this game is the addition of 4 player online co-op. This works really well, because more and harder monsters will attack the more players you have. Your teammates actually help you during your quests, so if one of your friends kills a Plant King, it will count towards your quest. One flaw with the co-op is that you are unable to drop items that you don't need. You can only destroy them, or sell them. You are able to trade, so hopefully your teamate has something you need when you trade.
The only other issues I had with the game were some very minor camera issues and the gameplay can get a bit repetitive, but other than that, it's a lot of fun.
Similar to the RTS style games, you are still unleashing devistating attacks on lots of enemies, but it's done entirely from a third person perspective instead of overhead, then third person like the earlier games. Sure, you might miss the stratagy elements, but this hopefully isn't the direction that the series as a whole is going, just and offshoot before the next RTS comes.
Circle of Doom has lot's of strange and wonderful creatures to kill, most of the RPG/dungeon crawler elements that you need for a successful action game and 4 player co-op, all of which make this game an addicting, rewarding experience.
Don't believe the negative hype, check this game out today!
Gameplay: Classic dungeon crawling with wierd enemies and 4-player co-op. Works for me!
Graphics: Dark, but majestic at the same time. It really works out well for the game's style.
Sound: Decent voice acting and a really well flowing musical score.
Value: It's not a short game, and playing 4-player online adds more depth to the experience.
Final Thoughts: Don't forget to protect the family jewels...