Kingdom for Keflings Review

Developer: NinjaBee
Publisher: Xbox LIVE Arcade
Genre: Strategy & Simulation
Game Rating: E (Everyone)
Release Date: 11/19/2008

Right, okay, this is an interesting title. Launched alongside the New Xbox Experience, this medieval settlement needs your help in creating a village to nestle and settle down in. So, it’s a sort of Real Time Strategy, pick a few menus, drag and drop a few things and there you go, review done.

Well, no actually. First of all, this is one of the new generation of Arcade titles that fully integrates your new online persona, your 360 Avatar. You (as a giant) are set the task of playing site foreman, ordering your settlers (the mini little people known as “Keflings”) to do the labouring whilst you get to the job at hand of constructing properties in order to build a Kingdom for which the Keflings can settle.

Okay, first impressions then and things are good. Colours are bright and vibrant, very appealing and friendly with easy to use simple menus and a very intuitive menu system which sticks tasks on the bumper buttons and assigns the left stick to controlling your avatar throughout the game world. Tasks such as getting your Keflings to transport logs are simple 2 touches of the ‘A’ button controls and a wiggle of the left stick, no complicated filing menus or baffling statistics here, this is pure simple fun.

You see, the problem is, after playing it for 10 minutes you get into this routine. After 2 hours of playing it, it’s the exact same routine. In fact, the routine is literally so monotonous (shear sheep, stack wool, transport wool, create books (?), build building, unlock next building. Shear sheep etc.) that you often find yourself playing the game and not really having to concentrate at all.

They have clearly taken inspiration from such simulation titles as SimCity and other RTS strategy games and stripped them down, problem is, they’ve stripped it bare. After playing for around an hour, the Quest option opened up! YAY! Well, problem there was its tasks where “stockpile x amount of wood” and what have you. Basically, it’s the same things over and over without the need to construct the buildings.

On the subject of buildings and creating them, you first of all are given some basic tools to turn trees into logs, rocks into mined ones, and sheep shearers. All these different basic products need to be put together to be used as construction materials. Other tools such as the diamond mining have to be unlocked by clearing surrounding rocks or similar which can then be used to create more extravagant buildings.

Okay, so that’s the real basic stuff but there are some other things you need to get certain buildings to function. For instance, you will need to upgrade a Kefling to Mayor status and when she has a task for you, a little exclamation point appears over his/her head. Once the quest is completed, you will be rewarded with either Love or an upgrade. Upgrades range from ‘Hiking’ (which make you move faster across the map area) all the way to ‘strength’ increases.

There is multiplayer involved as well, your 800 Microsoft Points buy you the ability to share the online experience with up to 3 friends and make the task of creating the Kingdom, even easier? Well, imagination is necessary to make things interesting. You can (as the game suggests) go around making pathways and mazes but you really would have to be a fan of this to put the leg work in.

Okay, I’m being negative here and that’s most probably because I’m not the target audience. This game really would suit a casual gamer, somebody new to everything gaming and someone with a low level of skill. That’s not insulting the game or its maker’s, I’m merely stating that after playing hardcore titles such as Gears 2 and Grand Theft Auto, skill levels have dropped away and brain cells and have died off.

Brain cells dying off, that’s a bit mean isn’t it? Well, actually yes it is as just the simple things in life such as kicking a slacking transporter or even just giving the boot to a miner is funny in a sick sort of way. The ability to paint up buildings (once you’ve built the right building) is also okay I suppose to make your world unique from everybody else. Add to that, the fact that seasons come flying round at extraordinary paces, you’ll be building a building in Summer sun, only to be caught in a snow storm.

All of that is great with the different landscaping and weather effects, even the music changes slightly, but I suffered from a lot of juttering and slowdown throughout the transition which I suppose could be down to my console but even so. What definitely wasn’t caused by my console however was the fact that your giant gets caught on every piece of low lying material and animal making you rather annoyingly have walk around 3 sheep instead of walking through them EVEN THOUGH, there is clearly enough space to fit a building in between said sheep.

You know, I think I’ve got this game totally wrong. It’s a real feel good game, no stresses and no time limits. It has a smiley atmosphere, the music is very pleasing to the ear and the graphics are wonderfully rich in colour and full of character. Buildings all look different and the animations are quite cool. Fact is though, this game will be bought for one reason and one reason alone, the Avatar in game. Your avatar is indeed centrefold throughout the gaming experience, the God if you like. You are the master and crucially, you are the game’s gimmick. A gimmick, unfortunately, that doesn’t sit well with this reviewer.

Good points:

• Very colourful and cartoony characters
• Simple pick up and play control system
• Avatar’s in game: exceedingly well implemented and with good animations
• Great ‘Hangover’ game

Negative points:

• It’s just too monotonous
• Is it really worth 800 Microsoft points?

Final Verdict: Great for the children (and I mean that without being patronising), a welcome break from the normal murdering and shooting games which have been rife as of late. Leaves me feeling cold however after an extensive test, the novelty of the avatar has also worn off. Never the less, it’s still a good game.

7/10