Kingdoms Under Fire, the mini-thread

Kirk Foiden

James Tiberius,
Joined
Aug 14, 2002
Posts
3,267
One thing I'm noticing, is that I'm starting to see other people actually pick up and play Kingdoms Under Fire, outside of myself.

I'm glad there are others finding the hidden gem that is Kingdoms Under Fire. It's one of those games that doesn't hit you immediately because of the tutorial-ish beginnings; but work into the campaign a bit and it sort of explodes on you. Strangely enough, the game's best/most fun/innovative features don't show for a while. Given it's wierd combination of

1. RTS(realtime troup management and strategy over a map, and the fact that you can control multiple troops, on the map)
2. Hack n' Slash(your current troupe leader DW style, adding in the ability to activate special powers of any other support generals you are currently fighting with))
and 3. Sega's Dragon Force(troup management (only shows up after playing a bit in each campaign, when troup manipulation becomes available) and troupe-effecting spells manually casted by troup general)

I'm glad they're coming out with a sequel(or prequel, per se). No other RTS, up to its point, had innovations such as sunlight, troup formation also taking in consideration the effects against various attacks (which plays on a new different use for formation controls, outside of Age of Empires), all the while with some rather nice presentation and story (which also takes a while before you're privvy to lots of historical knowledge about the peoples' there and what made them into what they are today). Seriously underrated, but I'll chalk a little fault to the game's initially slow start. (Not in story presentation, but in terms of not introducing the player to the Real meat of strategy as fast as some people would like. People used to starting the PC ones with a tutorial mode, will have the patience to deal with the *forced tutorial method* of the beginnings. But on the bright side, much of the tutorials on advanced strategies are completely optional (when you can view them, later in the game)). IMO, I've never had more fun using Calvary AND Anti-Calvary units, in a game.

The game is rather long, and I'm basically playing my second campaign (the 1st one as I played the Lucretia one first.) Of course, I'm having an easier time with it, given the listed difficulty level. I haven't gotten to the point of using air-units yet, so I'm curious as to how they play out. I did like the monstrocities of the dark army, but they sometimes had specific uses.

For instance, Giant Scorpions are great for dealing nice damage and are more like living siege weapons. Their special attack quake manuever is a nice one to thin forces, however they make poor blockades. They just don't have the speed or right equipment to stop an invasion force or an escaping one, they are better for taking down big threats and supporting the other troups stuck with the real strategic dirty work of being REAL blockades.

Anyway, this is just something to start some discussion on this fine, but overlooked, game. How far is everybody, in this game?
 

ProfessorFrink

Crossed Swords Squire
Joined
Feb 16, 2004
Posts
187
I've also got KUF, though I haven't played it much.

What I've played of it though, I've really enjoyed. :D
 

FeelGood

So Many Posts
No Time
For Games.
Joined
Aug 18, 2001
Posts
17,794
i got it a long time ago and what do you mean people are "just starting to get it"? Does XBL actually have a bunch of games going now? The game has been out forever and it never had a large fan base I dont see what would cause a sudden surge in the games popularity.

and yeah its awesome its basically what a current gen DRAGON FORCE game would be if there ever was one. The game came very close to perfection but had a couple HUGE flaws in it which basically kept it down. after playing this gae i has many awesome ideas of an overworld map like DRAGON FORCE coupled with the real time battles the game already had, with 4 player online support. Truly would be awesome.

I give KUF a 7.5 btw looking forward to the sequel wont pay more than $30.
 

Lastblade

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20 Year Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2001
Posts
5,885
I wanted to pick up KUF ever since it dropped to $20.... It looks like a fun game, but there are sooooo many great $20 games that it is hard to choose. For example, I bought Phantom Dust and it is an absolute steal at $20.
 

Kirk Foiden

James Tiberius,
Joined
Aug 14, 2002
Posts
3,267
What I meant by people now playing it, is that hardly anyone posted about playing it, a while ago; but I'm beginning to see more posts with people stating they're playing it. That's all. People may argue on whether it is worth a $50 price tag. It has the longevity for it, plus a decent enough production value, plus a lot of game in it. However, it's no contest at $20.

Close to perfection is a pretty good thing for something that so experimental, as a combination of genre game. It's that aspect, plus the amount of good ideas(quite a few of them, well implemented), that has me geared to the sequel. I'm not rushing them, though. I feel the same for Top Spin, where a little bit of tweaking is what separates that game from perfection, except Top Spin didn't try to innovate at the same level(they did, however, manage to make mens and womens tennis feel like two different games).
 
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