System: Microsoft Xbox 360

Publisher: Microsoft

Reviewer’s rating: *1/2

ESRB rating: Mature

Game type: Action RPG

Kind of like: ”Marvel Ultimate Alliance,” “Diablo”

Best feature: The ability to wield two active and different weapons at a time breaks up the monotony of button mashing.

Worst feature: The dream-world sequences are intrusive and confusing.

The bottom line: Once a strategy game with heavy role-playing elements, the Xbox-exclusive franchise morphs into a straightforward hack-and-slash action game in its fourth incarnation.

Your chosen hero travels linear paths fighting battles against large armies every few hundred yards. Where classic RPGs require serious time commitments to upgrade weapons and powers, “Circle Of Doom” gets the hero leveled up rather quickly.

The levels are broken up by some standard dungeons and less-than-standard dream realms, where side quests are explained and assigned. It’s a good concept, but the dream worlds are confusing to a fault.

A game like this is tailor made for four-player co-op, so it’s a good thing the feature was included. Gather three friends and slash through the game in a couple of hours.