I was like... totally communing with nature... and now I like really need a pizza or something

Kingdom Under Fire II is the sequel to the best game you never played on the original Xbox. it combined strategy and hack and slash gameplay in a delicious mix that was hard to resist for fans of either. Probably it's worst failing was that the game was unbelievably difficult at points and while you could customise and level up your armies in all sorts of ways, failing to improve elements of your army in certain ways to result in you being absolutely screwed in later levels. There's actually been a Kingdom Under Fire game on next gen consoles all ready, called Circle of Doom, but rather than a strategic battle game is a beat em up slash dungeon crawler and not a very good one at that.

One of KuF II's highlights is the addition of gunpowder and you'll have access to a few devastating artillery pieces

The game is set a good 150 years after the previous entry in the series The Crusaders (KuF II is actually the fourth game in ther series) and sees the age of light, marked by a period of prosperity for humanity, having been judged to have run its course and forces, both good and bad, working to usher in the next age of darkness. Cause that's the way its gotta be baby, can't hall the all night bender without the hangover, it would be an affront against nature. While a few characters return such as uber good guy Regneir and uber bad guy Kendal, most of the characters will naturally be new to the game world. Technology seems to have taken a leap ahead and you'll notice in the gameplay trailers that your dwarf champion carries a mean looking musket and your cornrow hair styled hero has a few combo attacks that use a flintlock pistol.

The developers have also promised a very complex and detailed multiplayer mode on top of the campaign which will allow players to wage massive wars against each other. They're quite liberally throwing around terms like, 'first of its kind' and 'never seen before' but details are pretty much non existant. Let's hope they're more Rockstar than Lionhead when it comes to surprising us with content.

Enjoy the two embedded videos below and keep scrolling for a few more images. Then curse bitterly that this amazing looking game only has a vague, sometime in 2010, release date. On the good news side the game is currently slated for the big three Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Plenty of cleaving in twain, and possibly thrine, to be had

Here's a move I learned from a pale Greek friend of mine

Apparently the human forces also have satellite mounted lasers as well as flintlock firearms

Angling for some 80's nostalgia exposure, Skeletor enters the fray

Look at that crowd. By the end of the campaign you'll have killed as many orcs as there are cane toads in Queensland