"Whaddaya mean I'm gonna DIE in the sequel?"
The original Mark of Kri game for the PS2 was a bloody fun game when it appeared a couple of years ago. The gorgeous art instantly brought to mind Disney animation, but once the fighting started, you could easily see this was no funny Mousefactory-made feature. Main hero Rau could really manhandle his enemies, performing stealth kills that would make Solid Snake and the Tenchu ninja jitter. This guy woud grab an enemy guard, slam him against a wall and impale him with his own weapon, hanging him up like some gory picture frame. VICIOUS!
Well, despite the fact that the game was frustratingly hard at times (okay, often), it was pretty cool and has apparently warranted a sequel. In development by Bottle Rocket (the same company that produced the first game) and expected to appear in the upcoming E3 2004 is Rise of the Kasai AKA Mark of the Kri 2. The original game was originally supposed to be part of a trilogy- MOK2 just may be both prequel and sequel, since the gameplay will be set both before and after the events in the first game. Also, it seems that in the course of the game, Rau will be kicking the bucket and passing on the mantle of main hero and warrior to his younger sister, Tati, whom players first saw as a skinny, snot-nosed kid in the first game. Well, Tati may not be as strong and big as her big bro, but she should be faster and stealthier than Rau. And judging from a screenshot in PSM, she'll also be a lot sexier. Heh.
Anyway, according to PSM, the next Mark of Kri will be 3 times larger than it's predecessor, with more playable characters, a degree of teamwork between characters (though it will still be a one-player game), and larger, more complex stages and levels. And of course, more stealth kills. Mark of Kri 2: Rise of the Kasai should be seeing light by the Fall of 2004. Bloody good action to look forward to.
Tati takes over the hero spot in Rise of the Kasai.
