Kingdom Under Fire II first impressions

The Experience Beta Test (EBT) phase for Kingdom Under Fire II (KUF2) recently ended. From January 21 to 23, 2014, players were able to experience character creation and some in-game features of the latest action-packed MMORPG by MMOG.Asia. Although the EBT did not showcase KUF2’s full features, it had the core game mechanics and features to give us a good idea of what the final game is going to be like.

Graphics and character creation

Like most MMORPGs, KUF2 starts with character creation. There are only three classes to choose from — Gunslinger, Spellsword, and Berserker. All of these classes are gender locked with the Spellsword being the only female class.

You are given a good number of character features to customize. This may be overwhelming to some, but if you’ve tried the customization for Final Fantasy XIV or Continent of the Ninth (C9), KUF2‘s character customization options are just about right. There are also five presets you can choose from, if you are lazy. Here’s a video of the character creation:

The design on the characters and the surroundings were very detailed, from the ornaments to the lighting. If you play as the Gunslinger, each gunshot has smoke in its wake and using it often will fog up the surroundings to a certain extent. The visual quality remains the more or less the same for both cutscenes and the actual game. I also like how the skills were animated; there are various ways of emphasizing hits and strikes, like using bright action lines or using action blurs.

Gameplay

KUF2 revolves around three warring factions with a desire to dominate the world. Most of the time, when an MMORPGs says something about war, it’s usually just part of the story and isn’t actually reflected in the gameplay. You still end up controlling one character.

KUF2, on the other hand has two kinds of game modes to bring the story to life —the RPG mode and the RTS mode. The former is the gameplay we’re used to seeing in MMORPGs. You have one character that gets stronger by leveling up or by item equipment. The RTS mode, on the other hand, is about controlling your own army against the enemy’s troops.

And when KUF2 says war, it means war. In the RTS mode, you get to control troops from a bird’s eye view. There are close combat, ranged attack, and supportive combat units. You can also have machines, vehicles, and flying units. Though I wasn’t able to try the RTS mode, it’s something I look forward to when the game becomes accessible again.