Kingdom Under Fire: A War of Heroes (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.5 stars OK
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 5.5 (2.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Craig Beers
• Reviewed on: 01/18/2001
• Updated on: 05/17/2006
• Released on: 01/18/2001
• Originally published on GameSpot: Kingdom Under Fire: A War of Heroes (PC) Review

The real-time strategy genre is highly competitive - such games must do a lot to distinguish themselves from one another to succeed. However, Kingdom Under Fire by Korean developer Phantagram doesn't do much to distinguish itself, except in that all the units in the game earn experience levels and get more powerful as they win battles. Drawing a comparison between Kingdom Under Fire and many other similar games isn't hard to do. In fact, Kingdom Under Fire seems like the result of what would happen if every game released by Blizzard Entertainment in the last five years were blended together. It has many similarities to Blizzard's real-time strategy games Warcraft II and Starcraft, as well as the action-packed role-playing game, Diablo - so much so that it's apparent the designers of Kingdom Under Fire played and enjoyed all these games. Kingdom Under Fire has its own interesting story, numerous units available for two different playable sides, and plenty of missions to keep you busy. But flaws in the computer's artificial intelligence, the lack of a convenient save feature, and an overall lack of originality all serve to drastically weaken the game.

Like Warcraft II, the more recent Warlords Battlecry, and countless other games, Kingdom Under Fire is mostly a conventional 2D fantasy-themed real-time strategy game. You'll have to gather different resources and build structures with your workers, train an army of mixed forces, research some upgrades, and then attack and destroy your enemies. The game takes place in a fantasy kingdom called Bersiah, where a great war was fought between the forces of light and dark a hundred years ago. The legendary Knights of Xok defeated the evil, and Bersiah was restored to peace and prosperity. But now, another war is brewing in Bersiah: Orcs are attacking settlements, and humans are in a conflict over who will take the throne of the most powerful nation, Azillia. Meanwhile, a being named Rick Blood unites the forces of darkness into the Dark Legion and begins a full invasion of the land.

The 2D graphics in the game are done fairly well, although they aren't outstanding. Kingdom Under Fire's gigantic flying units are rather impressive, especially the dragons. Though the unit animations are only mediocre, the shadows that the units cast are pretty convincing, and some of the special effects are good. Otherwise, the human structures are bland, and distinguishing them from one another can be confusing, though the Dark Legion buildings tend to be more interesting. The sounds in the game aren't that great, either. Some of the voices are done well, but most are disappointing or even embarrassing. When you click on the units or give them an order, most of them have repetitive acknowledgement remarks. The music is the only redeeming aspect to the game's sound: It is a well-done score, complete with vocals, and it fits the atmosphere of the game for both sides.

Kingdom Under Fire does a good job of telling the story from each side in between each mission - it uses first-person narration by some of the game's main characters. You can play as both sides: the forces of light, which include humans, dwarves, and elves; or the forces of dark, which consist of orcs, ogres, undead, and other creatures. The two forces have different types of units, although their functions are relatively equal. Both sides have a basic grunt, ranged, flying, and spellcasting units. There are also powerful hero characters on each side. Most of these heroes are crucial to the mission, so if they die, you have to start over.

All units in the game gain experience for killing other units or buildings (including their own!) or by healing friendly units. With every level they gain, they become stronger and more proficient in combat. Higher-level units can be distinguished from lower-level units by the different colored circles that appear when they're selected. Unfortunately, combat can be devastating to these and all your forces, since units die relatively quickly and easily, regardless of their level. A hero unit can usually dispatch wave after wave of basic infantry, which is why heroes are vital to your army, especially since their experience earned in previous missions carries over to the next ones. So while it's possible to win missions by wearing down enemy heroes with countless troops, you'll probably end up using your heroes to do most of the damage; of course, risking your heroes can be dangerous since you can't let them die, especially since the game doesn't let you save your progress during a mission. Spending a couple of hours pressing into an enemy base, only to have your hero die, can be a serious letdown. Because the missions in Kingdom Under Fire can be so unforgiving, it's most suitable for veterans of similar real-time strategy games.

Both campaigns have 13 missions each: ten real-time strategy and three role-playing, in which you control a hero character through a dungeon crawl, much like in Blizzard's Diablo games. The two different campaigns take place during the same time period, and this is reflected in the missions. For example, the first human mission takes place in exactly the same location as the first Dark Legion mission - the only difference is the perspective. While not every mission is the same on both sides, they do tie together in the end.

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