Moving on up!
Who doesn’t love building things? As children, most kids find entertainment building elaborate structures with blocks or LEGOs, but after the age of ten, it can be difficult to find something to satiate that seemingly-innate need to construct. Luckily, there are plenty of video games like LEGO: Battles and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King that allow you to build communities using both your creative building as well as managerial skills to build entire communities. A Kingdom for Keflings is another game that allows you to build a community. But instead of an omniscient, invisible entity or singular character, A Kingdom for Keflings allows you to become a giant!
If the name sounds familiar, it is probably because A Kingdom for Keflings was originally released in 2008 for the Xbox LIVE Arcade. If you have already played this game on the Xbox 360, then you can stop reading this review now, as the two are essentially the same (aside from controls, the lack of avatars, and one additional building). However, if you haven’t played A Kingdom for Keflings, read on, because if you like construction sims, this is one title definitely worth checking out.
As far as a story goes, A Kingdom for Keflings doesn’t really have one. The game lets you know that you are a giant, and you will be in charge of a petite race known as Keflings. The Keflings can’t really do much on their own, but as a benevolent giant, you can teach them how to harvest and transport resources. At first, they will only be able to gather simple resources, like wood and stone, which can be used to build simple structures such as homes and a town hall. However, no good society is made up of just houses, and you will need to build structures like a Church and an Artist Plaza to feed your citizens’ creative and spiritual needs.
But, of course, these advanced structures can’t be built from just stone and wood. You’ll have to send your Keflings to special trade schools and even a university to teach them the skills they need to harvest more complex resources quicker. Unfortunately, if you are thinking this sounds a little complicated, you’d be right. The game starts off deceptively simplistic, but keeping pace with 30+ Keflings with complex jobs can get really confusing. The game doesn’t have a concrete way to keep track of the Keflings, and seeing Keflings wandering around aimlessly or piling up cotton at an overworked cloth factory it is an all-too common occurrence. The only way I found to keep track of all my little citizens was to keep the game in window mode and keep a notepad document open to record every time a new Kefling enters the Kingdom or takes on a job.
Still, even with the confusing job system, the actual construction element is a breeze. When Keflings drop elements off at specialty mills and factories, inventory builds up. Once you have sufficient inventory, you can construct building elements. Using blueprints (which are unlocked as the game progresses), you can arrange these elements in a certain pattern. Then just add a little love (aww…) and the building will spring to life. The game has a fairly linear construction path that you have to follow, and the game culminates with the construction of a castle. Once you pick a king from the tiny Kefling populous, the game is over.
Visually, the game is identical to the Xbox 360 version. Keflings all generally look the same, and all have simple movement animations that don’t vary too much. Though the game features very simplistic visuals, once you start building up your Kingdom, there will be a lot of moving bodies and buildings on the screen, which can take a toll on under-powered computers. Still, on most setups, the game runs fine, and you should be able to enjoy the game’s classic look without incident.
The sound in the game is also identical to the console version. The background music features a pretty groovy acoustic tune, but unfortunately, it is very repetitive. If you are playing for more than half an hour, it can definitely become grating, and you’ll be reaching for that mute button. However, without the music, the sound effects in A Kingdom for Keflings have an almost eerie quality, so it is best just to turn off all the sound.
The game is only about ten hours long, but with a retail price of only $19.99, it’s not a bad deal. The Xbox 360 version is still cheaper, but if you are more comfortable with a keyboard and mouse (or do not own an Xbox 360), the game is worth the price. The Xbox 360 version does allow users to use avatars, but the PC version makes up for this by giving users several “characters” to choose from to play as. It would have been nice to see some sort of character creation system implemented to replace the avatar feature, but there are plenty of created characters that users can choose to play as.
A Kingdom for Keflings is a delightful little construction sim. Although it isn’t very lengthy, and the linear construction path limits your creativity, for a game under $20, there is plenty of fun to be had creating a kingdom for the Keflings. Though the Xbox 360 version does have a more organic-feeling control system, avatar integration, and a lower price point, if you consider yourself a PC-only gamer, you should definitely check this one out!
RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 3.5 Graphics
The visuals are fairly simplistic but have a very cute style. 3.4 Control
Mouse controls do not feel as natural as the Xbox 360 controller. However, you can use the keyboard for some operations, which makes things a bit easier. 3.5 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Acoustic-style music is nice at first, but it becomes grating fast. 3.6 Play Value
The single-player mode only lasts about 10 hours, but for a $20 game, that isn’t too bad. Still, if you have an Xbox 360, you can get the same game for a cheaper price and have the extra avatar feature. 3.5 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.
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