March 23, 2005 - It has been fifty years since the Dark Legion has taken the Holy Land. Under the command of Regnier of Hexter, the Dark Legion plans to expand their territory and set their sights on the remaining human strongholds. While those under him question his leadership, the humans to the west begin planning their own crusade. Under the command of Hironeiden army, the forces of the Human Alliance march towards the Holy Land to take back what they have lost. The peace over fifty years has been shattered, and a new war is about to begin.

After a quick glance at this title, one might mistake it with something from the pages of JRR Tolkien, author of the famed Lord of the Rings series. With the large number of races in this game, including the Dark Elves, Humans, and Orcs, one could get the impression that it’s from the fantasy world of Tolkien. EA has developed a similar title based directly on the Lord of the Rings movies, unlike those titles however, Kingdom Under Fire is more than a simple movie-to-game release. The plot is more imaginative and the gameplay further refined, producing a very enjoyable gameplay experience.

From the artwork and graphics to the sound and gameplay, how does Kingdom Under Fire stand out amongst such famous RPG’s such as EverQuest, or even the recently released World of Warcraft? Albeit they are available on different platforms, with competition in the genre with such high standards, Kingdom Under Fire needs to do a lot right to get noticed. What Phantagram brings the table is more of an action-oriented title then a simple RPG. While they are a fairly new developer on the scene, they have successfully brought to life a title in the fairly common fantasy genre.

Kingdom Under Fire is not simply walking around with your upgraded sword, collecting items to slay some beast, like many of the other fantasy games available. It offers a fairly deep combination system for the in-battle modes, a well-developed levelling-up structure, and a massive number of units in which to select from. It can be a bit frustrating getting used to the gameplay at first, especially for those who have a lot of experience playing other strategy titles, as the control structure is very different. However, after a few hours experimenting with the combat system and moving your units around the map, Kingdom Under Fire is definitely a fulfilling experience.

Graphically, Phantagram has done a great job with Kingdom Under Fire. The overall graphical detail is remarkable, especially in the character models and landscapes. Textures and lighting are quite impressive, sunshine glares off soldiers armour in battle, and even tiny details such as the bark on the trees is present. The light sources are very well developed; they actually make a very good model of daylight as the sun shines across the battlefield. These graphics actually factor into the gameplay, as archers lose accuracy when firing into direct sunlight, as they cannot get a direct visual on their target.

Kingdom Under Fire is a very strong title graphically, but it’s not perfect. For starters, the lack of detailed facial expressions is a letdown. Albeit these expressions aren’t completely static, their lips aren’t synchronized with the conversation when using the English voiceovers. For a game with a good number of spoken lines, I found this element to be a little disappointing. The only other issue with the visuals is the fire effects. This type of effect is understandably difficult to get right, especially considering many developers still haven't perfected it. Phantagram could have put a little more effort into this segment, especially since setting objects ablaze is one of the campaign objectives used. Besides these few shortcomings, Kingdom Under Fire is a very impressive title visually.

As with the graphics, the audio presented in Kingdom Under Fire is well-developed. The background music is very appropriate for the genre, and mixes very well with the style of gameplay. The sound effects are also well done, listening to soldiers march across an open field, only to raise their swords and yell out a war cry before charging into battle is impressive. These little details really bring the game to life. From the sound of explosions, walls crashing down, encampments ablaze and even that of horses galloping across the field, Kingdom Under Fire offers a very enjoyable experience sound-wise.