I decided to something different and try to review Kya: The Dark Lineage for PS2 because I feel like writing and this game is pretty much unknown.
The plot isn’t much to write about, a girl and her brother find a hidden room in their parent’s house and in it, a medallion which transports them to another world, the brother gets captured by the bad guys, Kya ends up with the Nativs, oppressed by the bad guys.
Kya soon finds out that she must find the medallion of this world to return, which is in pieces hidden around the world and not only will she be able to go back home, she’s be strong enough to fight Brazul who has captured his brother.
The mechanics are rather simply, Brazul has turned the Nativs into ferocious Wolven, which Kya must exorcise, as they return to the village the Nativs will build shops, and only shops, where Kya will be able to buy powerups needed to continue the game and other optional powerups like life upgrades and bracelets which teach her new moves.
The combat itself gets gradually more difficult as the Wolven get more ferocious and harder to hit, you can practically just mash buttons to beat the first Wolvens, but by the end, you will need many of the new moves from the bracelets and you must master them well.
The game never lets you think you have the upper hand for too long, but the time I though a move that made me jump over enemies would make the game easier I soon encountered “Ninja” Wolven which simply teleported when I tried this move on them. Even with some moves that still seem a bit cheap by the end (I’m looking at you charged boomerang attack), you can never truly relax and expect the work to work all the time.
Some Wolven might be very weak, but have ranged weapons with a high rate of fire, which will force you to use your other powers and items creatively. Sometimes you have to sneak behind them, and sometimes you must use an item or your boomerang to make them fight them selves or trigger a trap.
I must admit I did find some items useless, the telescope was only needed to solve one puzzle since there is a map item that reveals all the Wolven in the area, making the telescope obsolete. I only managed to use electric bombs in puzzles, because they didn't seem that useful on enemies. I never even bothered to try to health items, invincibility item or strength item.
Like many PS2 games, the camera sometimes snags on the scenario or will move when it shouldn't, but it never got frustrating.
What did get frustrating was a big fad in games in that area, having vehicles, while “riding Jumjug” was always fun and usually was used more in puzzles than “racing”, the game has a magical hover board which also is pretty fun to use to slide down hollow trunks, that is... until you reach the lava fields..
You see, I have played this game before, back when it was originally released more or less. I didn't remember much until I reached the lava fields, but then I remembered... I remembered how frustrating it was when I was younger.
The final sections in the lava fields force you to outrun lava on your magic board, hitting speed boosters to stay ahead of it, dodging the lava flowing on the “track” and trying not to miss any boosters to stay alive. The true challenge is when you move along the walls where losing any speed at all is fatal and the most challenging part for me, future and past.
I remembered quitting the final race against the lava when I played it long ago, but I finally mastered the “wall surfing” and was rewarding with a final battle that put my skills to the test. Frankly, it was almost restful compared to the difficulty of the “lava surfing”. I can’t help to wonder why this game isn't remembered as well as Jax, Ratchet and the others? Was it because of the female protagonist? It had the typical flaws most 3D action games, issues with controls and the camera and high difficulty.
If you even see this game in a used game store, try to pick it up, you won’t regret it...
Can't stop playing Max Payne 2!! Glad I bought it!!: D LOL Played 2 Rock Star games in the past two days.XD Once I beat this one, gonna tackle Shadow of the Colossus~! Also gonna get my hair cut tomorrow at long last!! Maybe I can convince mom to grab some food for dinner and lunches for next week since I start classes again.
