Comments on: Earth, Wind & Firepower: Kingdom Elemental Demo

By: getter77

getter77 — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:39:05 +0000

Hmm…has this changelog went live anywhere on their website yet? All I’ve come across in their forums or otherwise is a patch update from Fall’ish of 2008…

Game looks good though, probably something I’d enjoy.

By: James

James — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:22:38 +0000

@Tei: Yes, the 4th wall was broke during the tutorial. And it is not made by the Pontifex guys, but instead published by them.

This game has the humour of its creator embeded throughout. It is exactly what playing a jRPG is like, without the tedium.

By: ElBAndito

ElBAndito — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:29:53 +0000

Nope – this isnt like the Masters of Magic game from stardock – dont think that is out this year.

By: Serondal

Serondal — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:11:06 +0000

Is this that game stardock was publishing that is like Masters of Magic?

By: Dylan

Dylan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:07:00 +0000

I’ve played all the way through it a few times. Great game!

By: Rhygadon

Rhygadon — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:10:49 +0000

The demo ends oddly early. I suppose the intent was to leave you just shy of being able to fully upgrade all four available character types. You do get a sense of how the basic combat works, but it’s hard to see what will provide the long-term tactical interest. There’s no (functional) terrain, the battlefield is just a rectangle with enemies entering from one end, and the powers are all single-target (except for one PBAoE heal). So how does it not just devolve into a “focus fire on one target, taunt/mez the others” clickathon?
Maybe there’s real terrain later on. Maybe there are cone attacks, or auras, or something else that would make position (beyond “tank group / back group”) relevant. Maybe the enemies (about whom you get no information) do something more than chase whoever’s done the most damage to them recently. But if so, it’s odd that the demo doesn’t even try to drop hints about it. And it’s not encouraging that, as Tei mentioned, the demo units are a direct implementation of the MMO holy triad.
I have a soft spot for this niche (small-scale tactics playable in short sessions), but I can’t imagine dropping $20 without having a better idea of what else is in store.
[Addendum: just found a list of the full set of characters on the website. They add auras, roots, damage/defense buffs, a few AoEs. Certainly more variety, could be fun on first exploration, but it's hard to escape the impression that it's still basically just the MMO-standard combat paradigm.]

By: Severian

Severian — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:10:05 +0000

Tried the Demo out – some clever concepts at work and I actually like the tight, tactical gameplay. My initial thoughts are:

1. I wish the environments themselves were more varied/interactive. Movement, as in tactical maneuvering, is overly simplistic. For example, I didn’t see elevation or obstacles being used at all.

2. Each character has 3 unlocks x 10 characters = 30 unlocks total. Maybe not enough to keep the longevity going. I don’t know.

3. I wish there was more tongue-in-cheek. The gameplay videos actually made me laugh out loud. The Demo did not.

4. Using the spacebar to pause and give orders gave me Baldur’s Gate withdrawal. Man, I wish more games used this.

Take these comments with a serious grain of salt as I only played the Demo and not even all of that.

By: Acosta

Acosta — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:18:55 +0000

Looks interesting, I may give the demo a try. But seeing this between the Max Payne post and the two giganews above makes me think in kitties being hit by a 18 Wheeler.

By: Tei

Tei — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:04:39 +0000

OH!.. Is breaking the 4th wall!. Is made by the guys of Pontifex, so sould be awesome :-)
I have played a bit, is hard to me, as I am not strong in strategy. The “tank/dps/healer” trio seems to work, but other than that, I am hopeless. The necro reminds me the guy from lfg comic :-)

By: The Hammer

The Hammer — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:40:29 +0000

I liked how the voiceover guy in the cinematic trailer (which wasn’t that cinematic…) sounded like Christopher Lee. There seems to be a mixture of genuine and groan-worthy humour in here. Certain not to buy it, but it’d be nice to see this do well.

By: Dreamhacker

Dreamhacker — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:37:58 +0000

Kingdom Elemental? Is that even grammatically correct?

By: Alec Meer

Alec Meer — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:31:22 +0000

Max Payne killed the Kingdom, clearly.