Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom demo goes Live

by Justin McElroy { Dec 28th 2007 at 10:45AM }

You won't be able to get your hands on a full version of Korean dev Blueside's Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom until early next year, but a sample of the four-player hack 'n' slash has just been thrown up onto Xbox Live for your post-holiday enjoyment.

Judging from the info and clips we've seen, the game seems to have the Dynasty Warriors feel as some of the other game in the series, this time with more RPG than RTS influences thrown in. Now, you're just 1.2 gigglebytes from finding out if that's a recipe for happiness or disaster. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Tags: blueside, demos, kingdom-under-fire, kingdome-under-fire-circle-of-doom, xbox-live

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jerk Face @ Dec 28th 2007 10:55AM

Best Game Title Ever.

FidliousWong @ Dec 28th 2007 10:59AM

I still prefer Revengers of Vengeance for Sega CD as best game title ever.

Jerk Face @ Dec 28th 2007 11:10AM

Ha ha.. I've never heard of that one. That IS good!

baby sea tuna @ Dec 28th 2007 11:00AM

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that this sucks.

Is everyone in Joystiq-town on vacation or something? All we've gotten all morning is a demo of a run-into-the-ground franchise and some lame dork rap. Grmph.

ShortFuse @ Dec 28th 2007 11:12AM

I don't know if it sucks. I wouldn't spend $60 but it's a great time waster though.
Yeah, there's no block button. That kills so much potential

baby sea tuna @ Dec 28th 2007 11:18AM

Huh...sounds like you just described Heavenly Sword. Maybe I'll just finish that instead. At least it has a halfway decent story...

FidliousWong @ Dec 28th 2007 11:53AM

Once you get used to the autoblock system of Heavenly Sword, you'll start countering more and then the possibilities of the games fighting system just opens up. Plus, knowing how to counter is a necessity against the end boss. I had a hard time whittling away through melee battle but once you start countering certain attacks of his, suddenly it becomes possible.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the "Kill 500 people" sequence. Those who have played know what I'm talking about, those who haven't will understand once it happens.

DOM @ Dec 28th 2007 12:03PM

baby sea tuna

I thought the same thing, only 2 things to look at so far, and its not much. Either its just a slow VGnews day or everybody is on vacation. Thanks Joystiq for making my work day seem longer >:(

ShortFuse @ Dec 28th 2007 12:08PM

Well, there is no autoblock. There is no blocking at all. I don't know if leveling up makes your character learn to block or anything but as it is now, if you let go of the controller, you'll get smacked around by enemies.
I read a review (game is already out in NZ and the Japan versions has 8 languages or so) and it says you can't block AT ALL. Weird since even your enemies can block your attacks...

roxxxo @ Dec 28th 2007 12:18PM

kill 500 people? bah, kingdom hearts 2 had a kill 1000 sequence

Spartacus @ Dec 28th 2007 11:19AM

There is but one hack 'n slash game and this is not it. Blizzavision needs to serve a healthy portion of Diablo III ASAP.

But really, this looks exactly like Dynasty Warriors and that is not a good thing. I got bored with the repetition after only 3 minutes of the video, can't imagine playing the full length game.

Mr.ESC @ Dec 28th 2007 11:45AM

There is no other PC game I would want more than Diablo 3..well maybe another
Grim Fandango title but I don’t think we will get Diablo 3 in a long time also I heard that the creators of Diablo don’t work for Blizzard anymore.

It seems Blizardvision is more concerned about whoring World of Warcraft and releasing Starcraft 2 

NATO_Duke @ Dec 28th 2007 11:20AM

Why do the player's characters all move so fast in these games while the enemies barely move? I never understood why the enemies always walk up slowly, cooagulate around the player while he just mowes them all down. Not much thought in that really. Wouldn't it make more sense for the enemies to be able to run and jump too?

Trev @ Dec 28th 2007 11:27AM

If it takes, on average, 10 hits to die and you need to fight 50 enemies, if they were all fast and attacked a lot the chances of actually making it through would be pretty slim. Hell, the moment you stop defending ten of them could hit you at once.

It /could/ be fighting 5 smart, effective enemies, but it generally looks cooler fighting 50 stacks of useless meat.

ThornedVenom @ Dec 28th 2007 11:57AM

A realistic game doesn't mean that a game will be fun.

Unless you're into Ninja Gaiden difficulty.

David @ Dec 28th 2007 11:44AM

The style really appeals to me but the video leaves me fearing a couple things....

1) the guy seems to only be able to attack 1 or two times. Combos are more fun!
2) the reaction when he gets hit is weird. It's hard to tell without playing but that ruins a lot of games!

Ace @ Dec 28th 2007 11:47AM

WORST SOUND EFFECTS EVER!!!!!!!!!!

BananaBoat @ Dec 28th 2007 11:46AM

Or 50 stacks of awesome suits (Mobile Suits, 'natch)

Personally I hate the Dynasty Warriors genre *Shrug*

FidliousWong @ Dec 28th 2007 11:55AM

Solo, these games are good time wasters to "kinda fun." But throw in a friend.... BAMMO! Instant glory.

DaiMac79 @ Dec 28th 2007 11:47AM

I'm sure this hasn't occurred to the devs, but isn't it a bit ironic to subtitle a 360 title "Circle of Doom"?

Also, the one on Xbox 1 is one of the worst games I've ever played online.

Mr.ESC @ Dec 28th 2007 11:50AM

You know Neverwinter nights didn't used a lot of enemies for Boss fights etc and it was still fun. Now this game uses like 50 enemies in the screen and all I see are "Press X a 100 times to win" battles.

Well at least the creature design is impressive.

FidliousWong @ Dec 28th 2007 11:54AM

NWN was also a d20 system...

Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Dec 28th 2007 12:01PM

Graphics are impressive indeed. But in NWN enemies were better.

And I hardly can call what NWN has a "boss fight." They are more reflection for you on how good leveled you are and whether you are ready to move on in the game. All in all there are *NO* bosses in NWN - they are plain monsters of (generally) same level as you are. (Simple monsters are normally few levels below).

To me NWN doesn't have boss fights - because they are integral part of game play. Compare with Metroid where going thru dungeon is one - and actually fun - thing and fighting a "boss" which is boring, repetitive and has little/nothing to do with general game play. Fighting is even done in specifically designed environment.

What makes me really puke in the video, is realism. Or lack of thereof: 50 against one - and the one still wins. C'mon, is the game about idiots for idiots? Visuals are not substitute for balanced game play.

FidliousWong @ Dec 28th 2007 12:34PM

Well, not defending this game BUT... in middle ages it was often a very common tactic to surround a particularly dangerous enemy until someone much more qualified could come and fight them. So at least the historical significance of "circling" does have SOME value. This was also a tactic used to try and "route" certain groups away from a tactical point. And in many of these Dynasty Warriors style games, you never play as a peon but as a recognized general.

Besides, as the old saying goes, give a farmer a sword and he's still just a farmer. Many of histories huge armies consisted of drafted men rather than trained soldiers. So I can forgive my super badass beating a bunch of nOObS. However, I never played a game like this where you play a Musashi. In which case, you should just start a mission and win. PERIOD!

ThornedVenom @ Dec 28th 2007 12:02PM

I enjoyed the first one on Xbox as an RTS, but this video disappoints me despite acknowledging the lack of soundtrack.

I don't recognize this Kingdom Under Fire and the collision mechanics seem off. Besides, Morene Strident > Leinhart.

AND WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT VOICE ACTING IN THE BEGINNING?!

ThornedVenom @ Dec 28th 2007 12:05PM

We should really be able to edit our posts, in case we have things to add:

This game suffers terribly from "next-gen is brown".

Nothing pops out.

There weren't any really stimulating visual cues for what seems to be an action game.

Rob Accomando @ Dec 28th 2007 12:06PM

Hmmm, no music?

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Dec 28th 2007 12:06PM

People keep in mind. This is a spin-off. You'll get your Kingdom under fire 3.

Hater234 @ Dec 28th 2007 12:40PM

So far, it looks like a happy smashing buttons game.
I can´t wait to see the reviews.

J.Goodwin @ Dec 28th 2007 12:36PM

Haven't played it yet, but it's worth keeping in mind that the studio's most recent 360 project was 99Nights with Q?.

Those without an HDTV probably need not apply.

Marty @ Dec 28th 2007 12:50PM

Gotta love these slooooow Fridays at Joystiq, huh?

umm....hello??? @ Dec 28th 2007 12:59PM

looks alot like NinetyNineNights (N3)--but with a little more sexiness...definitely a rental, if not a total pass for this game.

mrz3r0 @ Dec 28th 2007 1:04PM

"in middle ages it was often a very common tactic to surround a particularly dangerous enemy until someone much more qualified could come and fight them"

That...made me chortle. You a big expert on Middle Age fighting tactics when dealing with multi-dimensional horde beasts? Come on..

Am I the only one who misses the point of this genre of game and its recent surge? From Dynasty Warriors to Heavenly Sword, to this pile of excrement. It seems like a mindless bash. Is that what video games, and the players of said games have come to? Gamers are so dumb now the only thing they know is "push X really fast!!!!!11". That is all these games are.

Don't you dare say it takes skill either, or this game is a challenge. Because if you believe that then I can only assume that you have failed at preparing a Pop-Tart. Same amount of effort required in both. What skill and challenge is there in, "Oh, 100 guys coming my way, better slam on the X button....there we go. They dead..oh wait..100 more."

Mindless.

I can't wait to see what the next line of games like this will be. "Are you ready for Slash Your Ass Off 2k9?! In Slash Your Ass Off 2k9 you take on hordes of drones of mindless fucking has beens and worthless AI as your controller plays the game for you! Just load the disc, sit back and get ready for the EXTREME!"

FidliousWong @ Dec 28th 2007 2:19PM

Wow, I take it you've never PLAYED one of these games. Well, first off, allow me to say this...

I said it was a legitimate battlefield technique tried and true regardless of empires. Hell, there is evidence of it's use as far back as ancient Greece. Fact of the matter, circling an enemy when you have numbers to do so does have historical fact. Now I'm not defending the overuse of this tactic in modern games, but it does have historical value.

Also, PLAY Dynasty Warriors 5 and you'll notice something. Standard soldiers like your own team commands tend to battle one on one, seeing two forces clash is chaotic. But find a general, and you'll notice they are circling or trying to route the general into the line of fire from archers or generally push them against walls. This works in your army and in theirs. Now this is Dynasty Warriors, the defacto standard and superior of these games. Cannot speak on N3 or others since, when I played those demos, the AI lacked any sort of organization. Including on my side.

Now, when I say you haven't played these games to make a statement such as "Gamers are so dumb now the only thing they know is "push X really fast!!!!!11"." is because you've obviously never had to deal with holding a line of defense as three generals march on you. Nor did you have to deal with essentially needing to route forces from certain locations. Again, I speak of Dynasty Warriors. Because if you simple tap X through the stage, you'll receive your kills, but you'll lose the scenario. You need a strategy when handling the generals as well since just tapping works dick all.

But I guess it's just a natural progression of the beat em up games, after all. Since in the past, nobody spoke of the huge depth to Space Invaders or Double Dragon. These "mindless" brawlers have been here a while, so next time you start waxing peotic on the stupidity of modern gamers, please keep in mind The Simpsons arcade game has a fraction of the depth and variety of the latest Simpsons game, and yet which one is a piece of shit?

baby sea tuna @ Dec 28th 2007 2:50PM

The latest Simpsons console game was actually pretty good if you took the time to play all the way through it. Tired game mechanics aside, it really did look and feel as if you were playing through a Simpsons cartoon. And for a long time fan, I really couldn't ask for more than that.

Matthew @ Dec 28th 2007 1:23PM

I didnt see an enemy attack once...they just stand around....

This looks lame.

Jerk Face @ Dec 28th 2007 1:42PM

Not that I'm the biggest fan of the genre, but there is a certain kind of fun in these button-smashing, horde-owning games. Everyone who is hating on them for being to simple needs to calm down. Just don't play it!

NATO_Duke @ Dec 28th 2007 2:03PM

Calm down? So if our opinion is that the enemies should do something, we need to be quiet? Pretty damn sterile world you want to live in. Your opinion isn't all that matters.

Jerk Face @ Dec 28th 2007 2:22PM

When did I say that others' opinions didn't matter?

I didn't.

I was merely expressing MY opinion that the way that some of the other commenters seem to be getting fired up about the core mechanics of this kind of game seem a little over-dramatic.

Mr. P @ Dec 28th 2007 1:49PM

Korean games suck, but I like the elf chick in this one. If I still had my 360 I'd definitely give it a shot.

Mike @ Dec 28th 2007 1:56PM

Someone would have to pay me to play this dreck.

kftgr @ Dec 28th 2007 3:35PM

Don't know why they're showing a single player clip. This game designed with co-op multiplayer in mind. They had to include a single player mode per Microsoft, or something like that.

FidliousWong @ Dec 28th 2007 5:53PM

Well that certainly makes sense considering Shadowrun...

B1gC72 @ Dec 28th 2007 4:38PM

snoozefest. lol at the voice acting. and where is the music? graphics dont look terrible though on a positive note.

Mythor @ Dec 28th 2007 5:34PM

Been playing this on and off for weeks (already released in some countries! The world! It doesn't revolve around the US!) and it's quite enjoyable. The naysayers - who clearly haven't played it - don't have a clue what they're on about. As if that's a stunning turn of events...