Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom

by Microsoft

Product Features

• Action RPG game based on Kingdom Under Fire universe; complex and twisted story plot
• Engage in dynamic battle; 70+ monsters ranging from 3-foot goblins to towering behemoths
• 6 unique characters who can wield 5 to 6 different types of weapons each
• 50+ abilities, 60+ enhancements, and infinite combinations of weapon+ability+enhancement
• Explore randomly generated dungeons; 4-player co-op mode via Xbox Live

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000WCN7G0
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches ; 4 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: January 9, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,509 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #30 in Video Games > Xbox 360 > Role-Playing
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com

Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom is an action RPG in which players will explore vast and randomly generated maps, while battling groups of monsters attacking from all directions. As the game progresses, the heroes will find increasingly advanced and spectacular ways to defeat enemies using new weapons and learning new abilities. Players can even create their own arsenal by combining existing weapons and enhancements.

Key Features:

Dark and twisted reality:
In Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom gamers will travel through dark and twisted alternate dimensions. The beautifully detailed environments in this innovative action RPG include: a forest, a lava cave, and icy wastelands, a European palace, and inside a large creature. Players can also access each character’s dream world to add quests for new abilities and discover more about the alternate dimensions. This surreal fantasy set in ever-changing environments pits players’ characters against swarms of demented creatures from the depths of the Dark Dimension.

New characters offer unique weapons of choice:
Choose from a cast of six unique characters with different combat styles and abilities. Experiment with more than 50 abilities, 60 enhancements and a vast combination of weapons, abilities and spells.

Characters will evolve and mutate at the hands of the Dark Dimension as the game progresses:
Learn each individual’s strengths, utilizing the numerous different types of weapons, and find, perfect, craft, and trade hundreds of weapons, accessories and abilities.

Unique gameplay modes provide variety of action:
Single and multiplayer co-op modes are seamlessly merged and integrated into the story line. Gamers have the option of playing alone or recruiting additional players to continue their quest, without switching modes, via Xbox LIVE.

Gamers can join their friends at any time, view their progression, and trade items. Xbox LIVE Gold account required for online multiplayer.

Product Description

Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom is an Action RPG game based on the universe of Kingdom Under Fire series. Where as the previous Kingdom Under Fire series were Action RTS titles that recreated realistic fantasy battlefields of massive scale, Circle of Doom focuses on the development of one character with easy-to-learn game system and control mechanics.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 90% Fun, 10% Tedious, June 7, 2009

By 

J. Vaughn (Pocono Lake, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom (Video Game)

I normally play FPS games. This is the first RPG in my game collection. At first, I was stunned by the beautiful graphics. The game creators put a lot of work into visual details of the scenery. The next thing that struck me was the originality of the gameplay overall. I loved the concept of the "Idols" in each board. Each of the three idols has slightly different items for sale, each idol's appearance depends on the moon's phase. The idol alters are also where the character "sleeps" - slips into a haunting dream world where an old guru grants abilities, quests, and advice. This is the kind of originality that too many games are missing in today's market.

I only have a couple of gripes about the game. One is the tediousness of grinding through the boards to accomplish quests. For example, in order to get a certain ability, you have to kill the "Forest Guardian" twice. BUT, to get to the Forest Guardian, you have to start at the beginning of the Forest realm, and grind your way through all the boards of that realm. Needless to say, it gets a little monotonous the second time around. I also thought the EQ purchasing could be greatly improved by limiting what a character can BUY, not just use. Certain characters are limited to certain EQ, fair enough. But, the limitations are in the written descriptions of the items. A character can spend a ton of gold on a killer weapon, only to find he/she can't use it because they failed to read ALL of the item's description. It would be nice if the developers could either gray-out the items not available to certain characters, or create character-specific lists of weapons and armor.

35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice graphics and Co-Op, Poor Gameplay and Story, January 19, 2008

By 

Lisa Shea "medieval swordfighting enthusiast" - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom (Video Game)

This review was written by my son, James Shea

A radical departure from the rest of the Kingdom Under Fire series, "Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom" changes the series from a RTS game with some hack-and-slash elements to a pure hack-and-slash.

First, some history: Kingdom Under Fire started as a PC game that was basically another Warcraft clone. Later, it moved to the Xbox with KUF: Crusaders and KUF: Heroes, which had a really unique system - most of the time it was strategy, used from a third-person perspective from your different platoons, but when you got into melee with your leader's group you would take control of your leader and hack-and-slash your way through the crowd. This helped you win battles that would otherwise find you outmatched.

In Circle of Doom, the series has moved entirely to that Hack-and-Slash mechanic. There are six characters, all of whom are from previous KUF games (4 from the Xbox titles, and 2 from the original PC one). These characters differ in their speed, their strength, and the types of weapons they can use. In the beginning, five characters are available, with one more being unlockable. Their storylines mostly revolve around their disappearances at the end of their respective games - now they are in a new realm, devoid of humans besides themselves. The only characters in the "real world" are the three idols that you encounter at rest points. These act as the game's merchants, selling you different gear depending on which idol is there (the bubbly Idol of Love, the dark and shrouded Idol of Death, and the Buddha-like Idol of Greed.) Furthermore, you can fall asleep at rest points, and in your dreams you will be transported to the Realm of Darkness, a subdimension that holds the dead spirits of the game's other characters. These spirits are also recognizable from previous games. They assign quests, teach abilities, and provide general story information. Other than those two minor sources, there is almost no story or interaction in the game.

The gameplay should be at least the redeeming part to the game, but for the most part it's not. Swinging a weapon requires "SP", or "Stamina Points", which recharge naturally. This means that most of your hack-and-slash actions will be punctuated by waiting for your stamina to recharge. This really takes you out of the game and is downright frustrating most of the time. There are lots of magical abilities to be learned, and this requires not just leveling up but also doing quests (most often "kill X number of this type of enemy"). For the most part, the gameplay lacks a lot of the combo attacks and excitement that the Xbox games held in their hack-and-slash sections. It's also possible to do a co-op mode with up to four people over Xbox Live, using head

The graphics are without a doubt the game's best part. The characters - friend and foe - are all really detailed and textured, and all the effects are really fantastic. The lighting, especially, looks fantastic. The environments - including a forest, a ruined city, and an underground area - are all rendered impressively, with lots of little details and side parts. Blood - which can be turned on or off - is shown as artistic sprays of color. The music is also very haunting and beautiful, conveying the sense of a dead, empty world. The voice acting isn't great, but it comes up so infrequently that it doesn't matter.

As a whole, this game has a lot going for it (the graphics and the co-op option being the main two) but also a lot more not going for it (the gameplay, the lack of story, the comparison of this game to other KUF games). Even as a hack-and-slash, it's not a whole lot of fun. It seems like a lot of wasted effort on the parts of the development team.

Rating: 6/10

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could have been better, but still fun with friends, January 10, 2008

By 

Michael M. Dilley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom (Video Game)

If you are looking for some co-op fun with some friends over xbox live this is a pretty good game. If you are looking for a deep and involving rpg, or the old KOF action rts forumula this isn't the game. To me it feels like a mix between Gauntlet and Diablo.