KUF: Circle of Doom Demo

KUF: CoD is a gorgeous looking button masher of an action-RPG. The demo that's available on Marketplace seems to last forever and allows you to play a relatively interesting melee-style character.

I have no experience with this franchise but apparently it got its start as a popular series on the original Xbox. All the previous games were a blend of hack n'slash action and simple real-time strategy elements. The latest iteration really just throws out all the strategy considerations out the window, leaving you with a pretty shallow button mash-a-thon.

Again, I've never seen a fantasy action-RPG look this good. The inclusion of online co-op play in the full retail version also had me thinking about putting this title on my shopping list. However, I have a giant bone to pick with the game play that was on display during the demo.

What I don't understand is, if you're a developer and spending serious effort to make a decent action-RPG, why bother cribbing from the likes of Dynasty Warriors when you have other superior templates to borrow from, like the venerable Diablo series on the PC? The combat in KUF: CoD is almost an exact copy of the anemic action found in your typical Dynasty Warriors outing, only this time it's wrapped in a gloriously beautiful package. The enemy mobs in the demo are brain-dead practice dummies. Most of them do not attack and mill around in closely knit packs only to be mowed down by your endless strings of combo attacks.

The standard attack combos are impressive to watch at first, until you realize that, while the mobs are stupid, they don't fall down and die quite as quickly as you'd like. So you end up repeating the same attack patterns over and over again. As the enemy ranks thin out, you often want to change the direction of your attacks. This can be a difficult proposition, as your player-character has a penchant for getting locked into their combo sequences. You eventually end up swinging your swords through air as you meander about trying to cut down the last of the creatures before trudging off to the next enemy spawn point and repeating it all over again.

This brand of sub-mindless game design must appeal to a segment of the gaming population, because developers still dish it out to us. Just witness all the iterations and clones of the Dynasty Warriors franchise, including the recent, sad spin-off set in the Gundam universe. Honestly, someone needs to study the Diablo games more closely and figure out the simple magic of creating an addictive hack-fest. I'll give you some starter tips to get them going:

#1 - It's not about flashy 10-hit combo attacks: I like impressive attack moves as much as the next fool, but maybe save them for special abilities that can be purchased or unlocked as players level up their avatars. This would make the leveling up process more meaningful and rewarding.

#2 - Create an interesting game world that players can actually explore: from what I've seen in the KUF: CoD demo, players progress along a linear path and rarely get to break off from it.

#3 - Perfect the loot system: infrequent item drops will frustrate players but if you drown them in loot, you'll fatigue and bore them. Grabbing shit off the ground is a key game play element in action-RPGs, so make it rewarding or don't even bother.

There, that should get you game developers headed in the right direction. With all that out in the open, it's ironic that I might still pick up the retail version of KUF: CoD, but only if I really have $50 burning a hole in my pocket one day and I can be reassured that the online co-op play really enhances the overall experience. Until then, I'll quietly wait for Sacred 2 to take another shot at dethroning Diablo 2 as the king of all action-RPG click fests.