Written by: Mark

 

 

 

Upon the release of the New Xbox Experience it would be inevitable that there would be at least one launch title to offer avatar support. However it came as somewhat of a surprise that the first of these games would come in the form of resource management sim "A Kingdom For Keflings" released on the Xbox Live Arcade.

 

Every now and again the Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) service throws up the odd gem of a game but the question in this case would be: Is A Kingdom For Keflings one of these undiscovered gems? Or would it prove to be a disappointment rushed out to coincide with the new avatars? The following review will tell all.

 

 

Keflings are a race of small people akin to the Lilliputians from the classic novel Gullivers Travels who live in their own kingdom. However in order to survive they need help to develop their kingdom and erect new buildings, this is where the player enters the fore. The Keflings themselves are each identifiable by different hats which they wear and as the game progresses this helps to identify which are best suited to various tasks in order to develop their kingdom.

 

At the start of the game you are presented with the option to use your avatar used on the new dashboard to take part in the game and one has to say that this is a pretty cool feature. Although there are numerous sports titles (and indeed titles from other genres) which allows you to design your own self to take part in the game A Kingdom For Keflings puts the new twist on this and helps to avoid the process of character design which can sometimes prove a chore.

 

 

Ok, so we have now established what a Kefling is and the fact it is cool to be able to see yourself in the game but once you get beyond this amusement you get to find out if the gameplay offers enough to provide an enjoyable experience.

 

 

Upon commencing the game it soon becomes obvious that the game bears similarities to a number of other games based upon how it is played. The games I refer to are: Settlers, The Sims and Viva Pinata (admittedly with people instead of animals) in that all of these require the player to develop communities and manage people and resources.

 

Throughout the game the player will encounter a variety of differing tasks and the majority of these require the development of various buildings which range from workshops, homes, churches, castles and many more.

 

The first of these tasks is to build a town hall and install a Kefling as mayor of the kingdom. This yields a number of rewards for the player in the form of items to help develop more complex buildings as the game progresses and most importantly the player can be awarded with love which helps to attract new Keflings to live in the kingdom which proves vital the longer you play.

 

Most of the early building development involves the same process which consists of getting Keflings to harvest resources and deliver materials to workshops built in the kingdom in order for structures to be built. At first this can appear a tad on the dull side but the more the game is played this does differ to the point of crystals being harvested in order to make magic potions and this is a good thing as games similar to this can soon become very repetitive.

 

 

It is safe to say that the game does not offer too much of a challenge but it has an awful lot of charm which draws you in to want to progress further and soon you can find that you have playing the game for much longer than you realised.