A Kingdom For Keflings Review - Xbox 360

4.5

Gameplay: 5
Graphics: 5
Audio: 3
Multiplayer: 5
Innovation: 5

Introduction

NinjaBee, developers of the infamous Xbox Live Arcade game Doritos: Dash of Destruction were hard at work during 2008. On top of the aforementioned game and Boingz for the Nintendo Wii, they released a third game, A Kingdom For Keflings, which puts you in the shoes of a giant tasked with helping a small community of people grow and build themselves a kingdom.

Gameplay

As you can probably gather, the game’s name pretty much says it all. Upon starting a new game, you are given the choice to play as either a generic character, or as your avatar. You play the part of a giant, and the first thing you’re presented with is a mostly barren landscape and a couple of people, a race known as the Keflings. Guess what? They want you to help them build a kingdom for themselves, and that’s exactly what you’ll be doing. The Keflings don’t start off with much, with only a simple workshop to their name, but they’re certainly determined little guys. The gameplay consists entirely of construction, and gathering resources for said construction. You’re able to make full use of the natural resources of the area, such as wood from trees, and stone from rocks. You gradually build up the town over time, the original workshop allows you to build basic construction parts out of raw materials, such as desks and different rooms, which can be combined to create new buildings. The construction, and thus the gameplay itself, relies heavily upon the use of blueprints. These are gradually unlocked as you construct new buildings, and detail which parts you will need to build any given structure. The parts must be placed in a certain order for the construction to work, and while you can build wherever you want, markers will appear on the ground after you put down the first piece to show you were to place everything. As such, the gameplay flows quite nicely, there’s always something to do, finish building something, and there’ll be something else to build.

The number of different buildings you can construct is nice and high, and each one has its own unique purpose. One will convert wood into planks, while another will increase the pace the Keflings walk at. Speaking of Keflings, they themselves are a handy tool. Keflings can be picked up and carried wherever you want. Each individual Kefling can be trained to do a specific job by placing them near certain objects. Want a continuous supply of lumber? Place a Kefling close to a group of trees and he’ll start chopping them down until you relieve him of his position by picking him up again. Unfortunately, since he’s dedicated only to chopping down trees, he can’t also carry the wood to a workshop once he’s done. That’s where a second Kefling can be introduced, place them next to the pile of wood that’s been cut down and they’ll pick some up. All you have to do then is pick them up and ...