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Unlike most hack-and-slash games, which would alternate between linear dungeons with town sequences, this dream world portions fail to work effectively.
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At specific checkpoints, you'll be able to slip into the "dream" realm, where you can gather quests and speak to NPCs.
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Essentially, you're playing through the game as a character in a "real" realm, where you'll kill monsters, complete quests, and hoard loot. Though many of the series' trademark characters return, the overarching narrative of past games has been replaced with a strange dual-dimension construct. Trying to make the action more endearing is the storyline. One-button attacks and a few dull spells are all you'll find. Sadly, outside of the menu, the game is as derivative a button-masher as there has been in recent memory. This strategic element is actually quite welcome, and it's one of the better points of the game. Oftentimes, using a lower level and weaker weapon with a stronger one is necessary to offset the mana costs. The game includes a relatively intricate equipment system that requires players to make tough decisions about what weapons and armor they want to use, especially since characters have the ability to carry two active weapons at a time. This comes with a cost, though, as even simple physical attacks will drain mana. However, here the player's "mana" is constantly recharging at a rapid rate, and equipping different weapons and items will further speed up the regeneration. Most action-RPGs are rather stingy with mana, forcing the player to choose wisely and use potions often. The gameplay itself is standard, though there are some neat updates that make the action faster. Circle of Doom drops those elements to focus solely on the main character's fighting, and that leaves the game feeling a little stale.Īt the core of KuF:CoD is a fairly generic third-person, dungeon-crawling, loot-collecting, hack-and-slash game. The original titles have a more strategic feel players micromanage units in tandem with fighting for themselves as a contributor to the greater battle. While the original entries in the series offered a unique combination of RTS and hack-and-slash elements, the developers opted to nix the RTS portions for a more straightforward action-RPG approach. Take the recently-released Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom. As a developer, it must be hard to constantly push new boundaries.
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