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Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes - Hands On Preview
Chris Leyton
02/08/2005
Phantagram returns with a compelling blend of action and strategy...
One of the biggest surprises of 2004 turned out to be Phantagramâs Xbox action/tactic hybrid Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders. Set amidst a fantasy backdrop with enough Orcâs and Dark Elves to keep even the most ardent Lord of the Rings fan happy, KUF introduced a near perfect blend of careful strategy and intensely rewarding action that largely went unnoticed.
Recognising its strengths however Deep Silver will shortly be bringing the sequel to European shores in a co-publishing agreement with Phantagram, setting the scope for further epic battles as we strap on the battle-axe and discover whatâs new for the sequel.
Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes takes place around the same period as its prequel although initially begins five years before The Crusaders. Those who discovered the original will enjoy the little nods and tie-inâs, however thereâs little requirement on this if you missed out the first time around. The premise appears to be more of the same, much more so in fact, which given its predecessorâs pedigree is not a bad thing by us.
Choosing from one of seven main characters and different campaigns, Heroes once again throws an unbelievable level of depth to the player as they take to the battlefield and command legions numbering in the hundreds. The varying characters each bring a distinctly different experience to the game, while the intertwining story threads are engaging enough to anybody who relished waiting three years to discover whatever happened to a little guy and his ring. Split between three âEasyâ campaigns unlocked at the start along with two âNormalâ and two âHardâ, those whoâve got a Crusaders save file will be pleased to note the game doesnât force you to play the game in order and unlocks everything right from the beginning.
Control on the battlefield is largely reminiscent of an RTS, allowing the player to unleash devastating tactics and coordinate multiple units with ease. Given its console origin Heroes, like its predecessor before it, offers a surprisingly robust degree of tactics and strategy, taking in many aspects such as the advantages of fighting from a hilltop and the troubles when facing directly into sunlight. A tight interface and implementation ensures that a wide range of tactics are at the playerâs fingertips, while rarely bogging down into an experience that begins to get too much. Maintaining its RTS influences a Tech-Tree of sorts highlights the sheer amount of varying units on offer, ranging from the customary infantry and archers to devastating assault weapons such as catapults and dragons. As if Heroes didnât throw enough genres into the pot it also borrows inspiration from the RPG genre, allowing the player to level up the main character in addition to the squads and generals under their control with enhanced abilities and new techniques.
However the fully-featured tactical offering is only one half of the coin, as jumping into a battle changes the tempo of the game dramatically to that of an intensely charged action affair akin to the Dynasty Warrior series. Here button-bashing combos are the name of the game, as the player fights alongside his units in epic conquests that fill the screen with hundreds of participants. The satisfaction from rushing into a battlefield and knocking over a dozen Orcs with one swoop of a battle-axe, having meticulously planned the tactics beforehand is near-perfect; a balance between cerebral exertion and relieving button-bashing that is more then welcome amongst the glutton of uninspired action clones currently saturating the market.
Veterans of the series will be pleased to learn that Heroes features double the number of combos and techniques to master compared with its predecessor, while the team have streamlined the control set-up to make summon attacks more accessible and the overall implementation more intuitive. In addition the somewhat troublesome camera system has been modified slightly, providing greater control over the tactical vantage views and bobbing close-up cam that captures every last detail of the chaotic action manifesting onscreen.
Whereas its predecessor offered a 30/70 split between action and tactics, the sequel balances the blend and should find itself more welcoming to Xbox owners unaccustomed to such tactical offerings. Across the seven different campaigns are 50 different missions, with the promise that a greater degree of variety in objectives will be present compared to its predecessor. Similar to the original, Heroes still places a significant degree of restriction on what tactics the player can use, however as a recent chat with Phantagramâs Jay Eom revealed this is to ensure everybody learns the correct tactics when it comes to playing Heroes most prominent enhancement⦠Xbox Live.
Realising that this type of game is perfectly suited to the world of online gaming, Blue Side and Phantagram have worked hard on the Xbox Live offering with the inclusion of three different modes to suit every gamers needs and carry on the experience long after the 30-50 hours of the single-player campaign are over. âTroop Battleâ caters for up to 6 players in a 3v3 set-up and remains close to the style of the single-player campaign; âHero Battleâ places the emphasis on the action and pits players against each other to find out who is the strongest warrior; however the âInvasionâ mode promises to be the most compelling, challenging players to defend and attack fortified compounds and installations. The game fully supports the advanced features of Xbox Live 3.0 with a âSpectatorâ mode and the ability to save replays, while the standard selections of match-making options are also evident.
Sadly weâve yet to be able to check out the multiplayer modes in action; however the promise of KUF online is more then enough to leave us baiting for Orc blood until the gameâs September release.
