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Brilliant game! Must buy!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 20 / 23
Date: August 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

From the moment I saw this game I knew it would rule.Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders is based 50% on real time strategy (RTS) and 50% pure action and destruction! When the action starts the game mainly plays like "Dynasty Warriors"(which is a good thing) except your fighting in a sci-fi version of the middle ages. It's your army against there's. Each army consists of over a thousand units! and over a hundred units on screen at once! You pick which general you want to play as at the begining(the main character) from the human side or from the dark legion. Before going into battle you can aquire more troops for your army (archers,knights,orcs,spearmen,ect), train them, upgrade armor, get more supplies, and even go to the local pub to have a drink and spy on your troops! When all is set and ready, it's off to the Battlefield! Heres where the strategy part kicks in. you order your troops to move wherever you think would be most efficient, you can set up archers on tops of hills, get your horsemen with lances to break the enemy lines, and even send out fire-breathing dragons to weaken your adversaries! The possibilities are limitless! All this combined with jaw dropping graphics and head-to-head online play, it's Perfect!

A very fun and engaging FANTASY wargame !

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 12
Date: October 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

A very fun fantasy-military game. Anyone drooling over the floor while watching the massive action sequences in Lord of The Rings need to check this game.

This game has two very distinct part: RTS (army battle) and action sequence. In this game you play as the general of an army and order you different troops (infantry, archer, pikemen, calvalry, etc.) around and whenever your general enter battle with a specific enemy troop the game switch to a more action-oriented gameplay. The action sequence are very fun and impressive !

Graphics: 5/5 Very detailled and very impressive action sequence can occur during battle.

Sounds: 3/5 The translation and the voices are not very good but they don't ruin the game. And not everyone might like electric guitar in a fantasy wargame.

Control: 5/5 Requires some time to get used to but they mapped out the controls very well in order to be able to do so much with an xbox controller. The action sequence are easy and fun.

Gameplay: 5/5 The story is interesting while not totally original. The units are very well designed and a lot of fun to see in action. Nothing is as fun as charging infantry with your cavalry or fighting an ogre with your general. The duration of the game is very good as there are 4 generals to play with and each campign is quite lengthy. XBOX live will give this game a very strong appeal as it is the only fantasy wargame on XBOX live so far and is nicely executed. I would have liked a camera that would allow to see your troop from above because sometime it is not so easy to see what is in front of you.

Overall: 5/5 A very fun and engaging wargame with some awesome action sequence. I recommend this game !

Great Game...Get It!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: October 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I bought Kingdom Under Fire/Crusaders on October 13, 2004. Overall, I found this game very fun, and very INTENSE. Below is a list of what I didn't enjoy, and what I did enjoy regarding the game.

Negatives:

1. The game needs a bird's eye view without the map. There are four views all together, two on a map (long/close-up), two in melee(mid/close-up). The game would be better if they had a third viewpoint where you could pull back the camera one step further without opening the map to see other units and manipulate them around the screen. This view could look something like a Warcraft/Command and Conquer View. The map does this to some extent, but it can become tedious manipulating the troops on the map on close-up mode. Another option would be the ability to split screens by units, so you could see what more than one of the military units is doing @ once.

2. The voices are pretty cheesy. In the future, phantagram should invest a little bit more in getting better voice actors who don't
sound embarassed to read their lines*
*This could also be viewed positively though

3. The game is lacking a bit in terms of varied gameplay. In the future, it would be ideal if we could customize our own characters, as opposed to choosing one of four templates. Additionally, it would be nice if there could be co-op modes - like in lord of the rings - return of the king or head to head modes outside of xbox live.

Positives:

1.Graphics - This game has amazing graphics that take full advantage of the XBox Platform.

2.The cheesy voices - People who take wars between fictional medieval soldiers and orcs and dark elves too seriously need to get a life. This video game has somewhat of a kill bill/B-movie quality to it, in that there are excessive amounts of blood and gore, bad language, and dark elf females fighting in thongs. The terrible voiceovers are a finishing touch to this sort of craziness.*
*This could also be viewed as a negative

3.Challenging gameplay - This is not the sort of video game which you can start and play the whole way through without ever losing. What I enjoy about it is that as your units/characters get better, you also get better as a video gamer. For example, a newbie couldn't just take your saved game from let's say the 20th mission, and just play as him. He'd die immediately b/c the missions get progressively harder with time, and in order to proceed to further missions, one needs to become a better video gamer.

4. Intense and complex battle sequences/combat. Fighting Melee Combat - Dynasty Warriors/LOTR style, while commanding your units - Command and Conquer/Warcraft style, while taking into account unconventional things such as terrain, sun, weather conditions, etc. all require extreme concentration. To the observer though, your battles will have the same sort of chaos/intensity as the battle scenes in Braveheart, especially as you shift from view to view. It's extremely satisfying to fight hand-to-hand combat with your character against an enemy and to see people dropping to the ground because of your archers, while your cavalry comes from behind and flanks them. That's only an example of three of the many units that you can fight with. This game reinvents the real-time strategy genre, taking elements from Dynasty Warriors, LOTR video game series, Myth, Warcraft, and Command and Conquer, by molding them all into one video game and taking the genre to the next level. This game's very ambitious and it works.

Although the game does have it's flaws, I do not feel that they are overly significant or that they detract too much from the game itself. One can accustom oneself to fighting using the map within a relatively short time, and even though you cannot customize your characters or go coop there are still 4 characters with over 60 missions.

On a scale of 100, I would give the game a 96. Even though it misses a few minute things, it gets the major and main things right. This game has the potential to bring real-time strategy (usually associated with PCs up to this point) to the video game console in the same way that Goldeneye brought first person shooters to the video game console.

I feel that this game will beocme a sleeper hit, and that they will make a really awesome sequel which corrects all of the minor flaws in this version if they take into account people's suggestions.

Almost like you're on the battlefields of Lord of The Rings.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: August 31, 2005
Author: Amazon User

THE SHORT: A fine mix of real-time planning and action. The scenarios feel like you're actually participating in battles from Braveheart or Lord of the Rings, but less complicated and more hands-on than typical strategy games. Like Dynasty Warriors with on-the-field planning rather than something like "Risk", there's no turn-by-turn stuff. Very good graphics and sound round out a solid but sometimes frustrating package.

THE LONG: Don't misunderstand when I say there is strategy to this game. Unlike Final Fantasy Tactics or the Civilization series, this game is much more hands-on, with real-time battle decisions rather than micromanaging in a turn-based environment. This is not in the least a turn-based strategy game.

Rather, KUF puts you in control of a character who, on each large 3d map, goes where you want him to, when you want him to, with his troops visibly around him. As you roam around through forests, meadows, and plains, you'll see the enemy and engage them. Do you stop moving and tell your archers to launch their fire arrows, or do you rush flying into their troops and enjoy some hack `n slash?

I'll give you an example from one of the levels. You guide your character and his troops (again, in real time- you use a targeting reticle to tell your guys where to go on an over-the-shoulder-view 3d landscape, and they start running). But you stop your troops once you see the enemy in the distance. You send out one of your troops to scout out the area, and he runs along the enemy's lines giving you an idea how many there are. They also have their backs to the sun, so you'll be blinded- you have to move around the side through the forest. Then, when your ally engages the enemy and sends his signal, you come raging out of the forest to flank the enemy. As your troops run, screaming with weapons held aloft, the game immediately segues into combat mode and you find yourself slashing away at the troops with thrusts and combos like a medieval Dynasty Warriors. This is all done in real time, with no turn taking- if you get too close to the enemy on your approach, they'll see you trying to sneak and will just come at you full force before you have time to know where to run.

That's the style of this game: interactive battles that, minus the positioning device that you move with and the window you give troop commands in, take place in fully immersive 3d real-time. And by the time you're 4 to 5 battles in, things get pretty complicated. Instead of just sneaking around the army, you'll find yourself setting traps in the ground as you lie around the side of a cliff in ambush. Then you draw the enemy out by riding through their ranks with your men on horseback. Finally you rush them with your entire army as they approach and are struck by the traps.

Though this game is entirely focused on the battles, it's fleshed out between. Each battle means something as your religious-minded characters slowly try to take back strategic locations on their quest to reclaim holy ground from the monster invaders. In between these campaigns is when you outfit yourself in towns and castles. This is where the game most closely resembles a strategy title- you'll go to a menu and pick places to go, such as the pub where you recruit mercenaries or the armory where you decide which items to buy for the gold you earn in battle. Do you buy your main character a better weapon, outfit your troops with better armor, or try for special items such as those which raise your resistance to fire? Finally, for the more strategic fan, your troops can all be upgraded. In a simplified version of Final Fantasy 10's grid system, you see a layout of possible types your troops can become (knights, bombardiers, etc) and can see what is needed to get them there (such as using experience points to raise a certain skill). It's not very hard to get your troops to advance, it's just hard to know how best to spend your experience points since like your gold it is used for the main character as well.

But again, minus these 10-minute intermissions, the game is all about battle. It's balanced so that you can't just rush and attack every troop head on or you'll die soon. But then it's not so strategic that you're sitting on a map screen, dictating which units will go where. You don't have to be a heavy planner, but it's more than just a button-masher for sure.

The graphics are pretty, though the characters' mouths don't move during cinemas. The acting is variable as well, though the main character thankfully comes off as perfectly fine. The sounds are very well done- when you command fire arrows, you'll hear your archers give the command, stand in a line and get their arrows lit by the torch wielder, then hear "loose!" as they pull skyward and fire. It's very thorough and realistic, and is the impetus behind the comparisons to similar scenes in the movies. It's a satisfying feeling of more genuine "on the battlefield" fighting than I get out of Dynasty Warriors (a series I still enjoy).

However, the game can get very difficult. Halfway through the initial character's campaign, battles become a lot more complicated. In one stage in particular you roam through a forest thickly populated by creatures, and the best strategy is to draw the armies out one by one and dispose of them until you can approach hiding places closer and closer to the goal. It isn't actually any "harder" to do than earlier levels- you just have to become more disciplined and patient as you wait, like a real tactician, for slower strategies to pay off and let you tread safely through the outnumbering foes. It's satisfying as hell when you win, but pretty frustrating when you lose, especially after a half hour of slowly making your way through a level. I did complete the level after a couple tries, and yes it was irritating. But when my head cooled and I made my way through more intelligently and carefully, I was able to get it done. By the last level of the initial character, battle is an all-out Return of the King war- with troops coming in from all sides, archers firing, dragons flying, and huge beasts launching mortar from afar. It's madness, and takes patience to beat. But once you do, there are several characters to replay the game with from different sides of the storyline. But be warned- the first character is tough and that's on "easy".

In all, this is a very satisfying and realistic game, which apparently even features online play (which I haven't had the opportunity to test). Give it a shot and be patient, and I think you'll enjoy it. But one last thing to be warned about- the box says "Custom soundtracks", and I haven't seen any evidence of that yet at 15 hours in. Oh well, solid game otherwise and only twenty bucks.

4.5 Star Review

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: October 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Simply put, Kindom Under Fire is a great game. At first, I was slightly turned off by the heroes combat gameplay (not as flashy as Dynasty Warrior), but as the game progressed and things started opening up to me the game got better and better. Graphics are amazing, sound is top notch (Korean voices are better imho), gameplay is easy to learn (hard to master). The thing I really enjoy about this game is that not only do you have to control and manage your heroes, but also your units actually do make a difference in battle. Heroes are extremely powerful, but they alone will not win battles. I guess the best way to describe the game is think Warcraft 3, but you get to play as your hero/leader using Dynasty Warrior combat. Only issues so far are that:

- when you switch to other group, it leaves your hero extremely vulnerable (I think he just stands there and takes hits).
- setting up archers and spearmen is a little annoying
- heroes engaged in battle can't cast magic, so you have to either cast it before or have another group cast the magic

Haven't played on Xbox Live yet, but according to the website there will be updates soon to enhance Live play (* 2v2 options is one example *). There simply is no reason why not to buy this game. It will definately keep me busy until DOA Ultimate and/or Halo 2 come out.

Some faults but still good.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: April 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The graphics:Firstly i think these graphics are awsome.The girl dark elves skimpy outfit shows.The human armour glints and the moves blend nicely.I guess the only problem with graphics is the mouth movements although this would be stupid to complain about, as the point is to actually here or read the speech.

The sound:Sometimes i forget if theres even sound playing while im playing (there is) because im having fun with the battles.The main thing i love is when you atack with weopons.Ecspecially the special atacks.*Whistles*
Even with the intro the music goes with medieval theme.Also the cool cutscenes have an intense music track which i can only smile at.Although if youve seen the cutscene you can skip it.

The Controls:As some people say the controls can be challenging but I just keep trying.Infact they really werent to hard...i guess some people just had a hard time...Infact the only one i had trouble with was the turning of my kick butt calvary.

Controls 2:I was just talking about battles and field control but when you have control of multiple battlions it gets a bit harder.Of course it also gets funner.It was ecspecially fun when i had my melle group fighting swords.My calvary charging
through the enemy lines from behind and my archers continuously launching arrows at the enemy.The game was truly at a climax battle right there.

The Strategy/Tactics:I loved this part!All of it from making sure the sun isn't in your archers/axemans eyes or making sure your calvary isnt charging into enemy spearmen/axeman.Also theres formations.Hold tight when being fired apon by arrows or
spread out when enemy catupults unleash crushing rocks, and i cant forget changing jobs of my units.Having mammoth like monsters rocked!Or why not turn your expierenced archers into mortarists.

So thats why i hope any serious rpg/strategy player atleast rent this game.Its worth it through my eyes.

Medieval Mediocrity

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: March 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is mediocre, at best. It is a fantasy medieval war game with mixes of RPG, Action, and tactics thrown in. You command a squad of soldiers with certain skills and equipment; and you get to control the leader in combat, hacking up the enemies and doing special moves...

The first few missions were fun and getting to improve the leader and the army was fun as well - but it gets old very fast. There is very little surprise or innovation on the part of the character development or story progression. In fact, if you've played other RPG or fantasy games you'll notice the typical formula in this one - which is not bad if you like that style.

The graphics, sound, and performance were great - but it had a modern musical score with electric guitars and hard rock. Doesn't bother me but it does detract from the flavor of the game.

All said, the game is repetitive early on with very little in the way of excitement to offer. Players may enjoy the action - if you like button-mashing this is full of it. The graphics and bloodshed are great and will satisfy the action / gore fanatics out there.

Take care!

AMAZING and ORIGINAL game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: January 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Ive played just about every RTS game out there. Including Rome Total War and Battle For Middle Earth. And this is theeeee best one yet. It puts you in the middle as a hero and about 1000 other troops.

The battles remind me of the movie Lord of The Rings, b/c the battles are so up close and epic. Knights charing through hordes of orcs, giant elephants, archers, sappers, its amazing.

Though this does have mixed reviews. You must give it a try.

This is a great game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 14
Date: August 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I'm a huge rts and action fan, so i knew when I saw kingdom under fire: the crusaders, I knew it would be sweet, you are a hero who leads a big army of orcs, orcs on wolves, dark elves, undead, wyverens and more if your the dark legion. You control knights, soldiers, catapults, storm riders and more when you're the humans. This game is really fun and just a great game. I'm really excited about this game and you should be to.

Nice Darkelves, But Little Else

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 9 / 16
Date: January 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I wanted to like this game but it isn't really giving me much to work with. The only thing I like about this game are the half-naked darkelves. That's about it. The battlefield simulation is woefully inadequate. The soldiers never quite pay attention to your commands. I hate to say it but the battlefield simulation of Dynasty Warriors is soooo much better. At least you can distingish between a standard soilder and an officer. This game tried to do so much and failed miserably.

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