On the original Xbox, the Kingdom Under Fire series has been a bit of an unsung hero for the console. The games managed to take the tired hack-and-slash formula of games like Dynasty Warriors and added a surprisingly engaging real-time strategy element, making for an experience that stood out from the rest. The series garnered a cult following of sorts for its unique art direction and deep gameplay, but never really became a huge mainstream smash. Therefore in an effort to change that, new developer Blueside is doing away with the strategy elements for the third entry to the series (and first for the Xbox 360), Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom.

KUF: Circle of Doom retains the great visual design of the series and adds some nice next-gen effects to keep the look up with the times. The move to change the gameplay was indeed a risky effort to make the game more accessible to the mainstream, but unfortunately, the gameplay does suffer for it. The new RPG elements involve building up your characters’ attributes and gaining an arsenal from a robust selection of ranged and melee weapons. However, they don’t really hold a candle to its predecessor’s strategy elements, and many gamers will undoubtedly be turned away from the overall repetitive feeling and button-mashing.

Like the previous games in the series, Circle of Doom follows an ensemble of characters fighting off the powers of the Netherworld. Also like the other games in the series, Circle of Doom’s central campaign unfolds through the eyes of each of the six main heroes, as they offer their own points of view as to the conflict that’s unfolding.

Fans of the series will immediately notice that the strategy elements and unit management featured in the previous entries is absent, giving way to some new RPG elements. The game lets you map two weapons to the A and X buttons and two special abilities to the B and right trigger buttons, giving you tons of weapons and abilities to collect through the campaigns. Weapons vary quite a bit in terms of speed, power, and SP consumption (i.e. how many hits you can string in a combo before your character gets too tired), and you can string together different weapons for some cool looking combos.

Learning special abilities requires you to speak with a character that comes to you in your sleep, after which you’ll be able to choose a couple from a list and then kill the required foes in order to learn it the next time you speak to your acquaintance. Also, when you gain levels, you are then able to dole out ability points to three areas, hit points, SP, and Luck.

Another RPG feature new to the series is the ability to synthesize the items that you get at idols placed throughout the map. These idols will let you not only synthesize items into better ones, but will trade with you, buying items that you don’t need and selling you ones that you do. There are several different kinds of idols that you’ll find, from the Idol of Love to the Idol of Death and so on, each offering you some different items.

However, for all the new RPG elements, Circle of Doom still feels like an uninspired hack-and-slash. You’ll encounter enemies in large clumps on the map (as you run through narrow linear paths with no room for diversion), kill them all, and then keep running until you hit an Idol. While the customizable RPG elements are great, the rest of the game just feels far too linear and repetitive.

Graphically, the game does a fine job of representing the fine artwork behind its predecessors in the series. While the environments can look a little bland and repetitious at times, the character models are very nicely done, as are the lighting effects. The framerates can slow down a bit sometimes, unfortunately.

The game’s score still has some of the cheesy rock elements added in, which will either please or annoy fans of the game, depending on personal preference. However, there are a few more tracks on the soundtrack that keep with the overall theme a bit better.

Circle of Doom is a risky entry to the series, but the payoff isn’t as good as it could be due to the complete exorcizing of the strategy elements. Without them, the game stands out less against the current crop of hack-and-slash action titles and feels repetitive. Let’s hope the developers bring them back for the next one.

Gameplay: 6.5
While the RPG elements and weaponry are nice additions, the lack of the strategy elements is a real downer, especially considering how the rest of the gameplay is relegated to button-mashing and hordes of not-too-bright enemies.

Graphics: 8.0
While it’s not the prettiest Xbox 360 game on the block, Circle of Doom does a decent enough job of bringing the series into the next-gen, adding some stylish lighting effects to the already-great art design.

Sound: 7.5
While the love-it-or-hate-it rock score returns for the most part, there are a few cuts from the soundtrack that sound a lot more thematic and mood setting. The voice acting is better than before, but still nothing to get too excited about.

Difficulty: Medium

Multiplayer: 8.0
Four player online co-op (which allows you use and build up your single-player character while playing with buddies) is a nice touch.

Concept: 6.5
While it’s understandable that the game’s creators would want to try something new and refreshing for this entry, banking on unimpressive hack-and-slashing while taking out the strategy elements isn’t quite the right way to go about it.

Overall: 6.5
Circle of Doom represents a different path from the rest of the series, but without the strategy elements that made the original games so fun, this entry feels like a repetitive button-masher more than a standout entry to the KUF franchise.