Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes Review

Platform: Xbox

Publisher: Phantagram/ Blue Side Studios

Rating: Mature (M)

Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes

Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes is the exciting medieval strategy/action game sequel to Kingdom Under Fire: Crusaders. It has been fifty years since end of the Great War, and the Ancient Heart is a distant memory. A group of half Vampires, led by Valdemar, has united the Dark Elves into a large imposing force. Using their hatred for the other elves, he involves them in a series of disruptive conflicts to keep their loyalty. Now, all is unsettled and the lands are in turmoil. The Encabossa War begins.

Difficulty Levels/Modes of Play

Initially, there is only one level of difficulty available . This title has several characters to choose from, but you can only use Ellen, Walter or Leinhart in the normal level. What makes the game interesting is that you can play Dark Legion characters as well as the original Crusader Ecclesians (good guys). Other playable characters from the Dark Legion are: Morene, Urukubar and Cirith.

After completing the game once, other modes of difficulty are available and more levels open up. Are you ready for Hard, Very Hard, Nightmare and Hell? Sounds scary, doesn’t it?

As for the modes of play, you can play as a single-player or online play with Xbox Live.

Fun Factor

Heroes is overwhelmingly fun!! After selecting your character and starting the game, the fun begins. A video shows your army walking through a forest area on their way back to their home base . As you walk towards the castle, you are thrown into a battle with numerous Orcs. If you have played Kingdom Under Fire: Crusaders, this is the highlight of the game. You're being attacked from all sides and have to do your best to fend them off. Your other officers help you with arrows and magic. I was lucky and defeated the enemy’s leader before I could take any losses. Battle worn, we finally arrived at the castle. And this is only the beginning…

Heroes offers many of the same features as the original Kingdom Under Fire: Crusaders. You can upgrade yourself, your officers and the troops with additional skills, abilities and equipment. Each mission you complete gives you a number of points and money you can spend. What’s new is there are more types of troops available, giving a lot of flexibility in your strategy.

The missions here are longer than in Crusaders. After you complete just one, you feel like you were actually there. I felt like I had been running around along with the troops. Each battle becomes more intense. There are two ways you can win the battle, kill all the enemy troops or try and take out the leader. Unfortunately, the enemy leaders all have different special abilities, making it tough to easily take them out.

In this game you will also encounter large monsters that are on land and in the sky. I recently battled a score of Scorpions and Wyverns. This is why having different types of troops is so crucial in this game. For example, the Archers are very useful to take out creatures that fly, or help reduce the number of enemy troops. You can also use spies to find out enemy locations and even hire mercenaries to join your troops.

Audio/Video

The sounds of electric guitars and drums fill the air. You are listening to hard rock music while traveling and fighting on missions. It is very cool (I like this kind of music), and gives the game an intense feeling. Character dialog is okay, and it is usually supplemented with text at the bottom of the screen.

The graphics are very sharp. So much is going on, and the action is very fast. It can sometimes be a little confusing when there are multiple troops fighting at once. It is also hard to distinguish the enemy's leader, making it difficult to focus on them and try to take them out of the picture. Like Crusaders, the character’s armor and weapons almost look like real metal.

As for the close ups of the characters during the dialog sessions, they look pretty dull with little expression. It was the same way with Crusaders. I guess Phantagram didn’t want to pay the programmers to spruce this part up. I don’t know why, especially since the rest of it looks so good.

Summary

Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes is an intense battle-filled strategy/action game set in a medieval atmosphere. A great sequel to Crusaders, it keeps you on your toes by throwing you into situations where you fight numerous troops of Dark Elves, Orcs, Half Vampires and others. Upgrade skills, abilities and equipment for yourself, the officers and your troops. Play on the Ecclesian side or the Dark Legion. Who will win the Encabossa War? You decide.