The Kingdom Under Fire series is a strange breed. It has fumbled around inelegantly between fighting action, real-time strategy and role-playing games, never quite comfortable with any single genre and never quite good enough to make a genre of its own. It's like the misfit kid who can't quite find his clique. Dynasty Warriors won't hang out with him, Battlezone was before his time, and Total War won't give him the time of day.

So now he's taking a different approach. He's slimming down, putting on new clothes, and throwing in his lot with the action RPG crowd -- and although he's still weird and ungainly, his new schtick works.

Circle of Doom is a straight-up streamlined action RPG, but with the caveat that it's very -- for lack of a better word -- Asian. It has none of Diablo's Western trend towards immediate gratification, relying instead on the sort of drawn-out grind you find in Korean MMOs. It's no surprise that the developer is Blueside, an offshoot of the Korean developer responsible for the other Kingdom Under Fire titles.

The Magnificent Five

There's also none of the customization you get in a typical RPG. You pick one of five characters and jump into a simple fighting system. There's no blocking, very few spells, and very little in the way of tactical finesse. Button mashers welcome. Just make sure your thumb is warmed up, because it's going to get a workout.

Between checkpoints, you can visit strange cut scenes, which serve as de facto town hubs. Here you might encounter the occasional mini-game and you can pick up quests to learn spells. These quests are little more than monster scavenger hunts that encourage repeat visits to certain areas. If you're in it for the long haul, you'll eventually be able to play character-specific quests. Finishing the basic storyline will get you to about level 40, at which point you've only got 80 levels to go before you max out. In other words, get ready to replay the same content. Circle of Doom doesn't have the word "circle" in the title for no reason.

But for a game that's supposed to last literally 100 or so hours, there's not a lot of variety. The character development is simple almost to the point of being simplistic. As you level up, you get points to spread out among your three stats. Instead of an elaborate paper doll display with separate slots for the rings on your left and right hand, there are only a few inventory slots. You choose two weapons, a suit of armor, a piece of jewelry and two spells (which are few and far between) -- and that's it. There are no skill points or skill trees. There are no classes and subclasses. Being an Asian game, there is an option to equip some goofy visual customization like giant feathers sticking up out of your head or silly rock-star glasses -- the typical wackiness.

Money matters

Unlike a typical action RPG, there's little to do in the loot department. Most of the loot is litter to be pawned off on the vendor. However, the inventory is definitely a part of the character development, thanks to a poorly explained system of synthesis whereby you combine items to make better items. At least that's the idea. The more likely scenario is that you're watering down a powerful item to snatch the special ability from a lesser item. For instance, imagine a +3 sword and a +1 sword of flame. Mix them together and you get a +2 sword of flame. This synthesis system is also the game's main money sink. It works well enough to move the game forward.

The multiplayer support lets you open your game to online players, or simply jump into someone else's game. There are a few item powers that are only useful in groups. Monster difficulty scales with the number of players, but it's definitely easier to plow through the dozens of monsters with a little help. Characters with powerful ranged weapons will come into their own with someone else tanking for them. But with such a simple combat model, multiplayer Circle of Doom isn't much different from solo Circle of Doom.

The Kingdom Under Fire series could never be accused of having impressive animation, and Circle of Doom is no exception. The settings, costumes and monsters are all well and good when they're just standing there, but poetry in motion this ain't. Consider it a game built for screenshots over action. You'll have to get used to some really stilted timing, particularly if you play one of the more challenging characters. Woe to the unsuspecting first-timer who selects Duane, a stumbling old man for whom tim. Ing i. S eve. Rything.

Surrealistic graphics

The graphics are certainly improved from the previous games, with a handful of lushly drawn locations. In addition to the usual lava cave and ice cave, there are some deliciously surreal areas and enemies. In fact, the library levels with their sculptors, living statues and clanking steam tanks are worth the price of admission. But Circle of Doom isn't about showing you new things and places. It's built for grinding. For instance, to learn new spells, you have to accept quests. These are little more than scavenger hunts for particular enemies. For instance, you might have to kill 10 Ice Knights, 20 Frozen Bats, 60 Snow Worms and 10 Elite Ice Knights. Doing this involves running through the ice caves, usually a couple of times. At this point, you've probably already done the ice caves at least once -- so if you don't like the core game, you're going to hate the grinding.

But there's something pure, simple and ultimately gratifying about the combat. It's easy to get into your grinding groove and just plow through, dinging up a couple of levels, keeping an eye out for new inventory items, and maybe testing out a new spell. It's not particularly deep. You could listen to a podcast or audiobook while you play -- and that's not necessarily a criticism. There's a place for this sort of unabashedly easygoing button-mashing action RPGing. Whether that place is in your Xbox 360's drive is a matter of taste.

This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.