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Mark of Kri

Posted: November 29th, 2011, 11:44 pm
by Silver_Fox1
I started to play through this underlooked game again. I remember this being quite innovative when it first came out. The presentation is great with animation and artwork that reminds me of Disney's Mulan. But it's definitely not childish and includes a healthy amount of blood and violence. And I like how the loading screens gradually goes from sketching and painting, to the in-game level you're about to play. Almost like Bob Ross is painting your next level for you (without the happy tree comments).

The way you use your bird (like a camera) to scope out your plan of attack is nice. Alot of stealth gameplay involved until you are seen.

The way you lock on to, up to 3 combatants (with each button representing a foe) was something new at the time. Too bad the enemies block damn near everything you throw at them. It's pretty much impossible to complete one of the few useless combos. And if you're surrounded they all seem to attack at the same time, while you're character is constantly blocking. There is very little room to sneak in an attack! Button mashing will just get all of your attacks knocked away by even the weakest enemies. And if you're close to a wall, forget about it. Your wide sword swipes will just bounce off the wall and leave you open for a thrashing. Even worse is wood and trees, which your sword will get stuck in! Leaving you open to numerous hits. Realistic? Yes. Frustrating? Yes.

There's also bow and arrow sniping, although you basically lock-on to targets and don't so too much actual aiming. And if the enemy snipers spot you, forget it. They will constantly pick you off, while your hero is busy getting sliced by the 6 guys surrounding you.

I remember this being so much better the first time I played it. The controls are mostly functional, but constantly sheathing your weapons (to stay stealthy) is annoying. How does holding my sword or bow make my footsteps louder, or make me easier to spot? Controls seem to not function at times. Like you need to bring your character to a complete stop in order for a command to register. This is just a frustrating mess now, and the flaws are VERY noticeable. The camera is a constant problem. The right stick is used to aim at and lock-on to foes, not for camera control. I don't know how I had the tolerance to finish this in the past. The save system sucks and it even locked up on me. Their was a sequel made, called RISE OF THE KASAI. I never tortured myself with that one though. 4/10

Mark of Kri

Posted: December 1st, 2011, 3:10 am
by Luke
Mark of Kri is definitely a good game overall. But the battle mechanics and targeting-system does get a little tiresome after awhile. I mean, it's pretty lame that unless you select the correct button to lock-on to an enemy, you're going to get pummeled, because there is virtually no auto-targeting in this game. So you could be standing right in front of the enemy and click to swing your weapon but your character swings in the other direction!?

Sadly, Rise of the Kasai plays the same way. I was really hoping for some improvements in the game engine but nope, it's exactly the same.