PS2 Game Review: The Mark of Kri

The Mark of Kri is an adventure game in every sense of the word. It combines action, storyline, strategy, puzzles, stealth and acrobatics all into one game. Boasting Disney-quality animation and voice acting along with loads of action, it is one of the most enjoyable adventure games to come in a long time.

The style of Mark of Kri is that of a jungle/rainforest, along with the distinct witch-doctor settings of your character Rau’s village. Rau is a muscular, Conan-like champion warrior investigating the recent invasion of bandits in the area. Rau has many sword-swinging moves at his disposal, but they are not difficult to use, thanks to the game's innovative control scheme.

Upon entering battle, you first use the right analog stick to target your enemies. The enemies are assigned button icons corresponding to the Playstation controller. Now you can target any of these enemies while facing in any direction without having to reorient yourself to face them. For example, if you are attacking an enemy while the enemy with the square icon assigned to him is trying to sneak up behind you, you can press square and Rau will automatically spin around and slash the approaching attacker. In other words, you can seamlessly target enemies from any direction without having to adjust your aim. Combo sequences of attacks play a big role and Rau will learn many as he progresses on his journey. The controls feel odd at first, but after a few minutes of practice they become second nature.

The stealth mode is as fun as the combat mode. In stealth mode, Rau sheathes his sword and goes on the hunt, Solid Snake style. He can send his falcon, Kuzo, ahead on a reconnaissance mission to locate enemies. When Rau targets unsuspecting enemies, the game notifies you when he is ready to launch an ambush. When you press the button, he jumps out from behind the wall and grapples with the enemy, slaying him in a very cool, stylish way. Rau can even fight in unarmed combat where he intercepts the enemy’s attack, grabs ahold of his foe’s weapon and proceeds to slay him with it.

The graphics of Kri are lush and highly detailed. All of the areas, from tropical green jungles to underground caverns, feature their own special graphical niceties. The game features anti-aliasing, meaning that the edges of the characters are smooth and non-jagged. It also runs at an unabated 60 frames per second for buttery smooth gameplay.

The audio is subtle and the music reacts dynamically to the situations Rau is in. During stealth modes it is quiet and sublime, but when he is about to ambush an enemy, the drums beat fiercely, revving up the anticipation. The voice acting is along the lines of Disney animated film quality: very good.

The Mark of Kri takes a while to get going, but once it does, the game is fiendishly addictive. After the first chapter is completed, it is amazing how the swordplay, falcon recon, stealth and exploration blend together for a highly enjoyable, playable game. Be warned, however. Even though Mark of Kri has Disney-style animation and voice acting, the game is strictly for mature audiences, due to the graphic nature of the slayings.

Older gamers will enjoy the interesting art design and the solid gameplay found in The Mark of Kri. It is a well-designed game, although the length of the adventure is quite short, lasting only about 12 hours. The game is lower priced than other new PS2 titles, however. On the other hand, it makes an excellent rental for some weekend gaming.

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