A Kingdom for Keflings - XBox 360 Arcade

Review by www.GamerOutfit.com

Rating:

Xbox LIVE Multiplayer 2-4, HD (High Definition). Unlock the full version of A Kingdom for Keflings for even more homes, buildings, and workshops to build! Join up to three of your friends via Xbox LIVE to cooperatively construct the kingdom of your dreams. The full version of A Kingdom for Keflings includes achievements to earn, more Keflings to attract and many more opportunities to fill your kingdom full of love!

A Kingdom for Keflings Box Art

The Good

• Graphics
• Hours of fun
• Co-op possibilities

Needs Improvement

• Limited replayability
• Online griefers

Developed by NinjaBee, A Kingdom for Keflings (KFK) is a nice break from the usual shooters and puzzle games on XBox Live and offers up a simulation like experience typically only found on the PC.  KFK is rated E-for Everyone for some mild cartoon violence so it's safe for the family unless cartoons bother you.

In A Kingdom for Keflings you control a benevolent giant in charge of expanding the kingdom of the little Keflings.  You walk around the world towering over the Keflings and can do a variety of things on your own such as harvesting rocks, wood, and wool from the natural resource areas around the game map.  You can then use the harvested materials to build new buildings wherever you desire on the map (assuming you have the resources.)  To do all of these tasks you have to physically walk to each location so this is not your simle RTS fare where you just click and build withot time involved.  You first walk to the resource location, then gather the resource, then walk back to the storage depot to drop it off.  Some resources require processing and have to be moved from one area to another.  For example, timber must be taken to the saw mill to be turned into lumber before going off to the contractor's office to be used in buildings.  There are several instances where this type of activity takes place in the game and it is a great time sink as you will get lost in the simple process of processing materials.

Luckily for those with A.D.D. or are impatient (like myself,) you can order your Keflings to do various tasks for you such as harvesting materials or moving materials from one area to the next.  This is a life-saver as you will get very tired (at least I did) of moving things back and forth manually.  Eventually you can have up to 30 of the little guys walking around doing various chores for you.

Keflings Screenshot

The game has a very large technology tree to burn through by completing a succession of quests and building tasks.  The mayor of the town gives you different quests to perform such as gather 50 cloth, or build x building.  As you complete the quests/tasks you are rewarded with new building plans or hearts that you use to get more Keflings (a house only attracts Keflings when it has a heart added to it.)  You can easily spend several hours clearing out just one part of the technology tree so there is plenty of play time for your money.

You can play the game online and have your friends (or not so friendly people) come in and help you build your town or collect resources.  This is both a blessing and a curse though as some people may join only to wreak havoc in your town and destroy things.  Unfortunately you can't control human behavior in this regard so be careful of who you let into your game (watch them closely if you don't know them.)

The graphics for the game are good and you can actually play as your Live! avatar instead of the built-in giant if you want to.  One complaint is that there is only one game map to play in without an editor to make new adventures.  The other problem is that outside of a building simulator there isn't a real challenge to the game other than time you can invest.  I'd like to see a version where you have to ward off attackers or something but I guess that would turn it into a military game and not one of a virtual terrarium.  The game is fun and I do find myself spending hours playing it but my interest is waning quickly as there isn't much to do outside of going after the next technology tree unlock.

In the end, A Kingdom for Keflings is a fun game that will keep you entertained for several hours at least.  It's easy to get into and has broad appeal for many types of gamers.

A Kingdom for Keflings is available now on the Microsoft XBox Marketplace for 800 points.