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[GashPrex]

On the surface, KUF looks like a more competent version of Dynasty Warriors with a D&D theme replacing Koei's ancient China, but after playing KUF for a few hours today, I assure you that the game has an incredible amount of depth.

Though combat is filled with lovely button-mashing glory, there's actually a lot of tactics involved in Kingdom Under Fire. You don't merely drop into combat from level to level, instead you are placed on large maps where you will move in search of enemies or to complete objectives. You tell your men where to move and you can adjust how tight your unit moves. If you are loose, you travel faster (and louder), but if you travel very closely, you are better protected and also move slower and more quietly. The problem with moving closer together is that one well-placed mortar round can end you.

A few hours in, Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders is looking mighty dandy. There are some troubling issues, though. For one, when you enter combat mode, there's an invisible wall that shrinks the available space on the map, to keep you confined. However, you will often fight near other combating troops and their combat sometimes spills into your area, but there's no way for you to go into their space without hitting "the wall." Sometimes enemies will also try and back up and go through this invisible barrier so that you can't get at them.

That issue aside, I'm loving KUF. It's got a little bit of RPG, a little bit of RTS, and a lot of button-mashing loveliness. Playing as the Dark Legion is definitely more interesting, thanks to being able to use orcs and ogres to fight your battles, but as the human side, you'll get to slice up orcs and dark elves, so it all evens out.

Sounds sweet !

http://xbox.ign.com/articles/530/530178p1.html

 

[Mrbob]

A few hours in, Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders is looking mighty dandy. There are some troubling issues, though. For one, when you enter combat mode, there's an invisible wall that shrinks the available space on the map, to keep you confined. However, you will often fight near other combating troops and their combat sometimes spills into your area, but there's no way for you to go into their space without hitting "the wall." Sometimes enemies will also try and back up and go through this invisible barrier so that you can't get at them.

WTF?!?

 

[MoxManiac]

Holy crap, this game has completely flown under my radar, but it sounds great.

 

[retardboy]

Wonder if Shining Lore is still in dev for the box as well as Strident. I bet they're all canceled after that NCSoft fiasco, but I can dream can't I?

 

[Mrbob]

The game sounds fantastic, but it is gonna irritate me to no end if I feel like I am battling in enclosed boxes.

 

[seismologist]

The game sounds fantastic, but it is gonna irritate me to no end if I feel like I am battling in enclosed boxes.

your gonna be irritated to no end

 

[jedimike]

Gash is back pimpin' games... just like the good old days of GAF.

And yes, KUF looks to be a great game.

 

[GashPrex]

yeah i actually had a day off and wasn't crazy busy like usual

 

[CrimsonSkies]

Microsoft's 1st / 2nd party publishing efforts really look like a night and day from two years ago.

Halo 2, Unreal Championship 2, Fable, Kingdom Under Fire, Outrun 2, and Forza for the rest of the year all seem to be at least above average to great games. Here's hoping they can continue improving their own efforts on the console.

 

[op_ivy]

:O

whens the release date? and is live still gonna be in?

 

[chespace]

been playing this game all day. it has been incredibly good for the most part. the stuff that bothers me is mostly superficial (borderline bad english voice acting while the korean voice acting is excellent, the mashy-ness of the combat a la dynasty warriors mostly) but other than that, the game is super fucking deep--at least it seems to be 4 hours in. we have an 80% build so there's a lot of stuff i have to overlook (mostly localization and typos), but so far, i've been kinda blown away. the RPG character upgrading aspect is very cool.... there's a lot of equipment to buy, which gives your character stats bonuses, while you can use exp. points to upgrade abilities and spells. and then there's the matter of controlling your units in real-time during the heat of battle. it gets pretty tense, and at times, your jaw just hits the floor because of how hectic and chaotic the battles get. the strategy aspect is also very sound. i'll post some proper impressions on my blog this week, after i understand the game better. but so far... GO KOREA. nice job.

the crusaders has a shitload of soul.

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http://chespace.1up.com

 

[GashPrex]

thanks for the info che, sounds excellent so far

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Hmmm...I hope those invisible barriers aren't too constrictive...otherwise, sounds like my anticipation for this game is well deserved.

 

[Takuan]

YESSSSSSSSSSS! YES YES YES!

FINALLY, some new info on this game... after such a long time without any updates, I was convinced it'd never see the light of day. I bought my Xbox primarily for this game. WE WANTS IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[chespace]

Hmmm...I hope those invisible barriers aren't too constrictive...otherwise, sounds like my anticipation for this game is well deserved.

i ran into the invisible barrier thing today, and at first, i was like -- wtf? but to be honest, it's not that big a deal. when you run into an invisible barrier, all you have to do is pull up the map and tell your entire squad to engage into the adjacent battle.

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http://chespace.1up.com

 

[Sysgen]

Are those screenshots real time? Dynasty Warriors like gameplay on Xbox Live.

 

[seismologist]

From what I remember the combat isn't as tight as Dynasty Warriors. Also there's only one battle instead of tons of mini skirmishes.
Such a letdown for me because the graphics are so nice. I'm still looking forward to renting it though.

Oh, Che are there different areas to each level like DW? Or are you always fighting on the same terrain?

 

[op_ivy]

che, can you comment on xbox live? is it still planned for he final?

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Cool, Che. I'm waiting for some detailed Live Team DM impressions...that alone will make my day.

 

[chespace]

From what I remember the combat isn't as tight as Dynasty Warriors. Also there's only one battle instead of tons of mini skirmishes.
Such a letdown for me because the graphics are so nice. I'm still looking forward to renting it though.

Oh, Che are there different areas to each level like DW? Or are you always fighting on the same terrain?

to me, the gameplay isn't all that different from dynasty warriors, except you have 1). equipment which modifies your attack attributes (fire, ice, curse, etc.) 2). officers who you can call on (provided you have enough SP energy or whatever) to take down certain foes. these officers are in your platoon, and are fighting in the same battles as you, except they're A.I. controlled. 3). you have the ability to control the rest of your platoon, calling out formation patterns on the fly, as well as maneuvers such as advancing, retreating, and flanking.

and later on, as you get more squads or platoons (i don't know what to call these units... like a mini-army in the scale of a dragon force game), they all work in tandem on the battlefield. you have the ability to jump to each squad and move them around (although you can only directly button mash with your one main dude), as well as the knowledge that you should send in your spearmen because your archers because they're getting raped by trolls on a hill. it's pretty strategic. in other words, IT IS NOT JUST ONE BATTLE BUT MANY BATTLES GOING ON AT ONCE.

other factors like terrain, weather, and the direction of the sun play into tactics. overall, a much deeper game than DW.

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http://chespace.1up.com

 

[seismologist]

That's good to hear. Maybe they fixed the controls they were pretty shoddy. My problem was I went in expecting it to play like Dynasty Warriors
but it was more like playing Wreckless and expecting a GTA with better graphics

 

[Meier]

KUF was one of the main games I bought an Xbox for and when it was announced as likely being cancelled I was so disappointed. Good to hear that it's going to be as good (or close to it) as I've hoped for so long.