A World of Keflings is the sequel to Ninjabee’s A Kingdom of Keflings which was released for the Xbox 360 two years ago. Kelfings are small humanoid creatures that are in need of you to help build them their kingdoms and cities. It’s much like a version of Sim City but on a smaller scale.
Is A World of Keflings an interesting enough game to attract the average gamer? Can a game of this nature keep me occupied for hours? Answers to these questions and more as we take a look at the HOTs and NOTs of A World of Keflings.
HOT
Originality
The game is one of the most original games I’ve played recently. Whereas the majority of game released today rely on violence for its bulk of gameplay, A World of Keflings just lets you build villages for the tiny Keflings and that’s all. That’s not to say there’s not much to do in this game as there are certain tasks you have to do in order to continue and build in another kingdom. One of the more unique missions I remember doing was scaring away a dragon simply by doing some sort of ritual dance! The funny thing was that the other Keflings joined in too which I fought was hilarious.
Another unorthodox style of gameplay I discovered was that you can play around with the Keflings to produce musical tingles. To do this is to simply pick up one or more of the Keflings, and shoot them out of cannons. The more cannons you’re able to build the more elaborate musical pieces you can create. It does not really help you in building the Kefling’s Kingdom but it’s a nice distraction if you get bored.
You’re the Star
The one thing I adored the most about A World of Keflings, is that the game uses your own Xbox avatar as the main star of the game. I created an avatar to resemble former WWE wrestler, Stone Cold Steve Austin so seeing him in the world of Keflings made the game much more entertaining for me. There’s nothing worse than playing a game if the main character you’re being isn’t likeable (cough…Starkiller from Star Wars The Force Unleashed…cough) so the fact that you can be the cute looking Xbox avatar you’ve created really makes you the star of the game.
Music
The musical score in A World of Keflings is soothing to the ears. The nice melodic tunes of village life in the country helps set the mood of the game perfectly. The music changes whenever you enter a different kingdom too, so you”re guaranteed to hear more than one tune.
Fun for All Ages
A World of Keflings is game that can be enjoyed by anybody. It’s simply you helping to build err…bulidings for the Keflings to live. You can build more houses so that more Keflings can join you to help to recreate their world. It’s like a RTS game where you have to collect more supplies in order to create more Keflings, and buildings except instead of building an army bred to fight you’re creating a community.
NOT
Repetitive
This game can get very repetitive as in order to create more buildings you have to collect a certain quota of supplies first before you can even start. For example, if you wanted to build a house for the Keflings you need to collect a certain number of rocks and wood first to do so. The more complex the building is, the more supplies you’ll have to get. It can get quite boring and repetitious doing this process over and over. It gets worse the the bigger the building is as you have create new materials for some of them. Like, you may need to walk a long way to collect wood and put in though the sawmill first to make it into carved wood and then walk back to the area you’re currently building at. Although some of the Keflings help you collect the supplies the AI isn’t too smart all the time…
Some gamers may find that there’s no point playing the game altogether. As I said before, you’re building a community and not an army to fight some sort of war or something. If you want action in your games then I’d suggest you look elsewhere.
Graphics
The visuals in this game are very last generation. They’re more akin to being on the original Xbox rather than the Xbox 360. Although the color palettes used in the game are nice and bright it’s the lack of detail on the environments and character models that are a huge let-down. The Keflings themselves aren’t very flattering to look at especially with their big googly eyes and pointy triangular-shaped noses. The environments are okay at best, but they don’t have convincing lighting and shadow effects. The best looking thing in the entire game was my Xbox avatar.
Verdict
A World Of Keflings is a unique title that fans of A Kingdom Of Keflings will enjoy. It’s about building a community for the little Keflings to live in and surprisingly, the game offers hours of gameplay. It’s not a game for everyone’s taste and it can get repetitive, but if you’re open-minded and want to play something a little different then don’t hesitate to give this game a go. You might end up pleasantly surprised how addictive it can be.
[Editor’s Note: A World of Keffling was reviewed on the Xbox 360 hardware. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]