Rise of the Kasai
Ten years after the events of The Mark of Kri and things haven't changed a lick.
Published: April 27, 2005
Rise of the Kasai was one of those games that just appeared at E3 as if it had been announced as being in the works for years and everyone should have expected it. In fact, if not for the familiar barbarian protagonist, I may have passed by the half-dozen or so kiosks on my way to trying to play Killzone or something.
Luckily I did happen to catch a quick flash of Rau, the hero of the first game, and instantly I was intrigued. I had more than a few problems with The Mark of Kri, but the game's incredibly original art style and presentation made it one of those games that I couldn't put out of my mind for weeks after I'd finally finished it (and nearly threw my controller through the TV in the process).
The combat system was also something I'd hoped would be tweaked and refined, as well as a bit more variety in the gameplay to keep things fresh, but as it turns out, about 8 1/2 hours after starting on Rise of the Kasai, I'm almost nearly as torn over how to feel about the follow-up as I was at the conclusion of the first game. Very, very little has changed here, and most of the problems I had with the first game are glaringly obvious, leaving what could have been an incredible sequel as little more than a continuation of the first game.
This continuation isn't just in the gameplay, the storyline, one of the coolest parts about the first game, picks up more or less where the last game left off. Sure, it's 10 years later, but the only real difference in place here is what has happened to players that were waiting in the wings at the conclusion of The Mark of Kri. A decade after Rau offed a necromancer trying to invoke a spell that would destroy the world, his kid sister, Tati has grown up, and that necromancer's buddies have had plenty of time to stew over the death of their friend.
Being all grows up (and yeh grows up and yeh grows up and yeh grows up), Tati has blossomed into quite the young woman. She's patterned herself after her mentor, Griz, who along with Rau's adoptive father, Baumusu have trained the pair in their respective arts. Tati is marked with the center part of the Mark of Kri, the most evil of spells that the descendants of long-past kingdoms bore in an effort to hide the spells from use by the Kasai (the bad guys), and as she comes of age, the mark is starting to affect her…
When the Kasai finally begin making their plans to dominate the three kingdoms and invoke the dark spells thought long lost, Tati's life becomes endangered. See, it turns out that necromancer Rau killed back at the end of the first game was one of a handful of powerful sorcerers that would working to collect and incant the various spells hidden all over the world. Since she is marked with arguably the most important part, she's become a prime target as the Kasai work to collect all the marks -- usually without preserving the bearer.
Luckily I did happen to catch a quick flash of Rau, the hero of the first game, and instantly I was intrigued. I had more than a few problems with The Mark of Kri, but the game's incredibly original art style and presentation made it one of those games that I couldn't put out of my mind for weeks after I'd finally finished it (and nearly threw my controller through the TV in the process).
The combat system was also something I'd hoped would be tweaked and refined, as well as a bit more variety in the gameplay to keep things fresh, but as it turns out, about 8 1/2 hours after starting on Rise of the Kasai, I'm almost nearly as torn over how to feel about the follow-up as I was at the conclusion of the first game. Very, very little has changed here, and most of the problems I had with the first game are glaringly obvious, leaving what could have been an incredible sequel as little more than a continuation of the first game.
This continuation isn't just in the gameplay, the storyline, one of the coolest parts about the first game, picks up more or less where the last game left off. Sure, it's 10 years later, but the only real difference in place here is what has happened to players that were waiting in the wings at the conclusion of The Mark of Kri. A decade after Rau offed a necromancer trying to invoke a spell that would destroy the world, his kid sister, Tati has grown up, and that necromancer's buddies have had plenty of time to stew over the death of their friend.
Being all grows up (and yeh grows up and yeh grows up and yeh grows up), Tati has blossomed into quite the young woman. She's patterned herself after her mentor, Griz, who along with Rau's adoptive father, Baumusu have trained the pair in their respective arts. Tati is marked with the center part of the Mark of Kri, the most evil of spells that the descendants of long-past kingdoms bore in an effort to hide the spells from use by the Kasai (the bad guys), and as she comes of age, the mark is starting to affect her…
When the Kasai finally begin making their plans to dominate the three kingdoms and invoke the dark spells thought long lost, Tati's life becomes endangered. See, it turns out that necromancer Rau killed back at the end of the first game was one of a handful of powerful sorcerers that would working to collect and incant the various spells hidden all over the world. Since she is marked with arguably the most important part, she's become a prime target as the Kasai work to collect all the marks -- usually without preserving the bearer.
