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Rise of the Kasai is the follow up to The Mark of Kri, a three-year-old release that surprised everyone with a new and unique combat system. The game also implemented a scouting system that was just as interesting. These two main elements really gave The Mark of Kri its identity and uniqueness. Rise of the Kasai is more of an evolution than revolution. You'll soon find that new additions can be good and bad.

The biggest change in Kasai is the chance to play as four different characters. Rau is back as the main heroine and his sister Tati fights along side him. They fight in one time period of the story and in another timeline are Baumusu, Rau's old mentor, and Griz. Each pair fight in different time periods to expand the story telling. When you play with each pair, you'll decide which character of the two to be. This affects how the level is played because you will split up in the levels with different tasks at hand. The game does a pretty good job of mixing between fighting together and splitting up.

If you haven't played The Mark of Kri, the combat system is something much different than you have played before. At first the combat system is a bit awkward but after about three or four large group battles, you'll have it down. It's pretty remarkable how smooth the system flows once you have mastered it. The main point of the combat system is so that the player can have an easier and more intuitive time fighting large groups. The right analog stick is used to target enemies. When you move the right stick you'll notice that there is a glowing bar that extends from you character. You can swing this bar around your character and whatever it touches will be targeted. You can target up to three enemies at once. You'll know which enemies are targeted because they'll have the X, circle, or square button above their heads. Now you will be able to control which enemies you fight simply by pressing the corresponding button. The combat system sounds simple yet it goes so deep because of the combos. Combos are performed by mixing up the buttons you press and your timing with them. It's pretty darn cool considering that you can mix up combos from attacking one enemy to multiples.

It's very fun going from one enemy attack to another. I can recall a time that I was fighting straight up with one guy and then two more decided to sneak up on me. I quickly whirled my targeting bar around and locked on to them. I then varied my attack up my swinging my leg around landing a roundhouse kick on enemy number 2. Enemy number 3 was then subject to a slashing attack with my knife. I then concentrated back on enemy 1. The animations and transitions are all smooth and natural looking. This is a huge factor when it comes to group battles. It prevents some attacks and blocks to look awkward. I'll admit that at first I was having a very hard time getting combos down. It seemed as if I was just button mashing and the character was not doing what I wanted. After time I realized just how important timing is. Executing the combos can be difficult, but you will eventually get better at it as the game progresses; that is if you try to get better at them.

Another system that made the game unique is the scouting system. There are different points in the game where you can use your spirit guide to go ahead and scout. The best way to describe this action is by example. There are some enemies that have blow horns that call for reinforcements. They are indicated with an icon above their head. This icon will distinguish between horn blowers, armored guards, and archers. A glowing light that reaches towards the sky indicates these points where you can scout ahead. They are very noticeable and hard to miss. As I was walking down a narrow path, I noticed that up ahead was one of the spirit guide points. I sent my bird Kuzo, Rau's spirit guide, to scout ahead. When Kuzo reached the spot, I was able to see through his eyes and noticed that around the corner there were three warriors and one horn blower. I was now able to strategize ahead and figure out my plan of action. Obviously the first thing I had to do was take out the horn blower so that reinforcements would not come. The game implements a pretty good stealth aspect to the game. You are able to sneak up on enemies and perform instant kills on them, which by the way are pretty sweet. Not only can you send your spirit guide to one point, but also if in his scouting vision he sees another spirit point, you can send him even further ahead. I remember I was able to chain between five different spirit points. It's a great way for the player to be able to scout ahead

The graphics are very stylish and look beautiful. The game has a cartoony look to it, but don't be fooled, the game looks great, smooth, and colorful. The one thing that stood out for me was how superb the animations were. You will see some of the coolest moves done by the characters. When you get to see the higher level combos, you will be in awe. It's very enjoyable watching an old man like Baumusu whirl his blade around and throwing in some melee attacks to knock enemies back giving him more room. Some of the instant kill moves are pretty gruesome too. In fact, I was quite surprised at how gruesome the game was and it's interesting because there basically is no blood in the game. I can't even imagine how much blood would be in the game considering the moves that are pulled off. There were plenty of times when I definitely cringed and gasped for air when I saw some of the kills. One particular move by Tati I personally enjoyed was when she sticks bother her daggers right in the forehead of the enemy and flung him over her head. The cut scenes are very stylized. Most of the cut scenes and story telling are done with this scrap book drawing theme. It's as if someone was just doodling different drawings in their notebook during class. They are very cool and the way they are animated is even cooler. It's one of those things where you have to see it to know exactly what I'm talking about.

The sound is just as good as the visuals. Rise of the Kasai boasts some of the best voice acting I've heard in a game. My favorite sounds were of the guards and other such enemies dying. They yelp and gag as they get brutally murdered. It's very much a guilty pleasure. The music did have a sort of Oriental feel to it as it would appear that the game was set somewhere in Asia. The weapons sounds great as they clash against other weapons, walls, trees, etc. Overall the game does sound the way it should be done.

Kasai is not without fault, however. In fact there are quiet a few annoying AI problems throughout the game. First off your AI partner is not the cleverest in the world. He or she usually doesn't attack the right enemy that it should and is usually rushing through levels to a point where scouting ahead is meaningless because your partner has already alerted them. The game has many stealth parts and when your partner is not being stealthy, it can be quite annoying. The enemy AI has some problems too. I remember one point in the game where two guards were standing right next to each other and I was attempting to do a double stealth instant kill, yes they are possible and very cool. I ended up blowing the opportunity and only instant killed one of the guards. To my surprise the other guard stood there acting as if nothing had happened. It was pretty disappointing that disturbing birds 100 feet away alerts guards but killing one of their comrades less than a foot away didn't. There is a co-op mode available and let me tell you right now that his is the way the game should be played. It's very fun playing co-op because of all the mixing between fighting together and splitting up to do different tasks. It also takes away the annoyance of having a partner with an IQ of about 14.

Rise of the Kasai is fun and I was really surprised at the critical bashing. The game definitely doesn't have an amazing butt-load of new features, but I think the co-op is enough to hold me over. The series is definitely moving forward from The Mark of Kri and I can't wait to see what Bottlerocket Entertainment can do with the next installment, if we're so lucky.

Graphics: B+

Sound: B+

First Play: C+

Last Play: B

Gameplay: B

Overall: 84% B