Imagine a universe that crosses between Sleeping Beauty-era Walt Disney and Robert E. Howard's Conan stories, one in which meticulously rendered torches give off just enough light to capture every drop of blood spurted from the round-faced warriors fighting beneath them. That's more or less the setting of Rise Of The Kasai, the sequel to the popular 2002 game The Mark Of Kri. Kri was notable for its remarkable animation, gorgeous production design, and unique fighting system, one that used the right analog stick as a radar-like system for the weaponry of barbarian protagonist Rau, allowing players to keep track of exactly which bad guy needed axing at any given moment.
A pleasant, straightforward, but none-too-challenging game, Kri got by on beauty, novelty, and a cool stealth action, all of which made it easy to ignore its tendency to get bogged down in endless variations on the same battle, particularly as gameplay progressed. To be worth playing, a sequel would have to be bigger and better; Rise Of The Kasai is both, at least up to a point.
Here, Rau and his faithful bird Kuzo (who narrates and helps with recon) join three other playable characters, including Rau's sister Tati (last seen getting rescued in Mark Of Kri). The characters must work in tandem, which leads to some of the game's best and worst moments. When the game and the player are in synch, levels can breeze by like ballets of violence. When you—or, just as often, the game's AI—makes a mistake, it can feel like doing double duty. Picking off enemies with a bow while playing Rau as the computer player fights below as Tati, for instance, should be a snap. But if your AI partner can't hold up her end of the fighting, you may have to swoop in to help finish the job. Remember: Her sword is real, but she is not.
Beyond the gameplay: Though it's got plenty of appeal as a slice-and-dicer, the best aspects of Rise Of The Kasai are all of the beyond-the-gameplay variety. It looks gorgeous, with as much care given to distant scenery as to the precise details of an enemy being sliced in half (not to mention the dozens of different squishes and screams used as sound effects). The development staff includes animation-industry vets, and it shows.
Worth playing for: The moments when the graphic, gameplay, and AI elements all line up, like when you and your partner pounce on unsuspecting guards for some synchronized throat-slitting.
Frustration sets in when: The graphic, gameplay, and AI elements seem to be part of separate games, like when, for the third time in the same level, your partner tips off a sentry as you try to skulk in the shadows.
Final judgment: The eye candy may not be enough for hardened gamers looking for new challenges, or even just a smoothly operating game, but looks still count for something.