I’ve never been a great fan of the ‘slash ‘n hack’ genre of computer games. So on receiving The Mark of Kri (PS 2 version) I was less than thrilled that I had to spend quality time with such a game. However, my prejudice towards the game was quelled in less than 30 minutes of button-flailing combat.
In The Mark of Kri you play as the giant Maori-style warrior Rau. Accompanying Rau is the family’s sacred bird, Kuzo, a familiar who assists Rau by activating doors and ladders, and reading ancient scripts throughout Rau’s adventures. Kuzo can be used to scout ahead and quite literally provide a bird’s eye view of upcoming dangers and foes.
Visually, the game is stunning; the characters look like they stepped out of Disney animation. Indeed the artists involved in the creation of this game had excellent pedigree, having been formerly employed by Don Bluth and Disney studios. The backgrounds and scenery are equally impressive; the game shares looks similar to last year’s surprise hit Ico. But don’t let this game’s combination of cutely animated characters and beautiful artwork fool you — this isn’t one for younger gamers.
The Mark of Kri is a gory and violent game. Rau dishes out disembowelments, decapitations and all manner of gruesome, violent deaths to his foes. The combat system itself is genius, allowing you to select a group of enemies by attributing face buttons to them, after which the player can then attack the enemies from any angle using various button combos. Rau attacks enemies without having to face them, and the fighting system, which starts off by permitting three enemies to be selected, eventually enables players to select and fight off as many nine enemies at once.
What really makes this game work is the way in which new elements of play are being constantly added right up until the very last level. In the first level, the game seems to be a very straightforward slash-and-hack; however as you progress through the game you realise that there is an awful lot more going on. Stealth moves have to be learned and mastered; these moves will both shock and delight you. Once you advance through the first few levels you are rewarded with the bow and arrow. This introduces another form of stealth play — it becomes important to sneak off shots at enemies who would otherwise sound an alert and bring a horde of foes out to attack you.
The choice of weapons for Rau is limited but nevertheless very cool. He starts out with just his sword, but quickly earns the bow and arrow, then a spear and finally the mighty two-handed axe. Each of these weapons has unique features; the sword is suitable only for single combat while the spear and axe come into their own in melee style fights.
Like a good stealth game, The Mark of Kri can be played a few ways — stealthily or in a more gung-ho style, or a little bit of both. But the more you pay attention to the strategic and stealth aspects of it, the more the game has to offer. In every level there is at least one subtly placed alternate path. In each, players can collect a handful of items, including a special scroll that rewards them at the game’s end. There are lots of items to unlock, too, ranging from additional outfits, bonus levels (mini fighting games), artwork, and more. The Time Challenge (kill nine enemies as fast as possible) and Body Count (slaughter as many enemies as possible within a set time) are good mini-games that open up as rewards, which indirectly build player skills.
The roaming camera, usually in the third-person perspective behind Rau, switches to a single-player view when using the bow, and in a group fight it encircles the action to provide the best possible view. On a few occasions the camera gets stuck to an object, causing seconds of frustration, but it happens rarely enough so as not to spoil the game.
The only complaint I have about this game is that it is a little short. I normally take at least a month of intensive play to complete any game, but I had this one finished in a week. I liked it enough to probably revisit it at some time in the future and play through again but that is about as much replay value as the game offers. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed playing it and I reckon you will too.
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