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The Mark of Kri Review
Chris Leyton
12/03/2003
Fed up with button-bashers; this may just be the game to re-ignite your interest in the genre...
Itās taken considerable time for SCEAās The Mark of Kri to find its way over to Europe; released last year in the US, the hack ānā slash title introduces a number of innovative ideas and carries it out in such distinctive style to breathe new life in a very tired genre.
Players take the role of Rau, a typically big and butch action hero complete with an unwieldy large sword. Itās up to you to save the world from a growing evil threat, thatās further explained as you progress through the game.
Wisely recognising that the tedium of mindless button-bashing does not equate to a very enjoyable experience, Team San Diego have re-invented the control system and brought in a new design. Not only does this add depth and strategy to the experience, but also results in some of the best looking close-combat fights weāve seen in a videogame to date.
So impressed with the system, SCEA decided to patent the technique for further use and you can certainly see why. To begin with the technique may feel a little too different, however within 15 minutes youāll be asking why developers havenāt tried this in the past. By using the right analogue stick to wave a magical beam 360° around Rau, players select and highlight up to three enemies in the vicinity (eventually youāll be able to target up to nine); a face button is then attributed to that particular enemy, who will be attacked when you press the corresponding button.
OK so itās probably not the easiest system to describe, but all you need to know is that the execution is superb and eradicates many of the problems levelled at other games in this genre. Because players only have to worry about pressing the buttons and not about facing in the correct direction or making sure youāre in the right place, battles loose the frustration and create fights that beautifully tie together instead of the stop-start nature usually associated with games of this type; for example, if the player find himself with an enemy in front and an enemy behind, simply attack the enemy in front and then press the button for the opponent behind you, and Rau will deliver a deadly backwards blow to the opponent behind him. Where battles in the past became insane button-bashers, itās best to slow down with The Mark of Kri and calculate your every move; at times the combat system almost takes on a rhythm/action style where timing is crucial.
Thankfully the system includes a sufficient amount of depth; various combos can be learnt and mastered, whilst a cunning technique sees any unused face button acting as a modifier during the attack for even more powerful attacks. By hitting the shoulder buttons Rau can block most attacks and also brilliantly disarm his opponent and use his own weapon against him, as the camera pans in to catch the satisfying moment.
We could go on and on about the combat system, however thatās not the only innovative feature to be found in The Mark of Kri. Following Rau on his quest is his loyal and trusted spiritual advisor, Kuzo, a large black bird. Throughout the levels are various points that the player can send Kuzo to go and scout the area, which allows the player to plan his attack and adds a suitable degree of strategy to the proceedings.
By the time you reach the second level, Rau will learn of his stealth abilities. By placing your sword away, Rau can sneak up on people and instantly dispose of them with a variety of stealth-kills. Being able to sneak also allows you to tip-toe past flocks of birds; less careful gamers will likely find themselves running through the birds and alerting nearby troops to their position. As with every stealth game, Rau can push himself up against a wall and crouch along it; whereas most games give you limited actions when in this position, Rau can freely move around corners and execute a deadly attack for unsuspecting victims ā“ grabbing them from behind, throwing them against the wall and then thrusting his mighty sword straight through their jugularā¦ nice!
Thatās probably the largest surprise that the game offers; despite the wonderfully luscious visuals that share a very similar style to Disneyās Mulan, the game features an unbelievable amount of blood and gore. Basic attacks will cut up an opponent and leave him in misery, however when players get used to the powerful combos and master the āmodifierā youāll find heads chopped straight off, necks broken complete with the sickening crunch as bodies writhe around in agony ā“ this certainly isnāt one for the kidsā¦
Whilst the visuals have certainly been overtaken in terms of technical merit, the overall style and design lifts this above the standard that weāre used to seeing on the Playstation2. Rau animates beautifully and has the graceful motion witnessed in feature-length animations; when players pull off a particularly difficult or rewarding attack, the camera pans in, motion-blur kicks in and the speed slows down creating a dramatic effect that truly shows off the wonderful animation.
Special note should go to the blend of hand drawn scenes that detail the games story; slowly the image is changed from an initial pencil sketch, which is then coloured and ultimately merged into the in-game graphics. Itās a stunning effect, works beautifully and weād certainly like to see more.
Although the story is excellent throughout and shares similar production qualities to the latest Disney epic, it is unfortunately completely linear; missions follow one after the other and refuse to let the player have any say on progression through the game. Although weād normally bemoan at the lack of player interaction, the nature in which new abilities open up to Rau with every new mission, almost makes you forget about it. By the time you reach the third stage and Rau gains the ability to use a Bow & Arrow the game really begins to gel, as strategy and tactics begin to play more of an important role; one scene sees players shooting a nearby boar to distract the attention of the nearby guards, so he can quietly sneak up and execute a deadly stealth-attack on two opponents.
Thereās very few complaints that can be levelled at the game; we would have liked to have seen the environments have a little more interaction, Rauās sword will deflect off stone surfaces and get stuck in wood, however the general feel is a little wooden and weāre certainly hoping for better level designs in the sequel. If weāre looking for tiny faults, switching between the various weapons takes too much time and should have been switched to the d-pad instead of bringing up a menu each time.
