Mark of Kri - PlayStation 2

The Mark of Kri follows a story about dark times coming and bad guys roaming the countryside, but the only important thing to know is that you must wander around collecting stuff and kill guys who attack you. There are several things that make this more interesting than it sounds, most prominently the amazing environments of moss-covered ruins. Reportedly, former Disney animators were among the developers, and it shows, not only in the character designs and movements but in the excellence of the sound and lighting effects that subtly deepen the game's lush, ominous atmosphere.

Then there's the fighting system, which lets you assign a button to each attacker, so you can attack enemies on all sides without worrying about which direction you're facing. This is a fairly simple matter at first, but requires more strategy and skill as the game progresses. The Mark of Kri includes a stealth mode, which allows you to sneak up and strike lethal blows before enemies can sound the alarm, and there's a bird you can send ahead to scout hostile territory before you enter it. These extra features keep the ol' killing-crowds-of-bad-guys routine from growing tedious.

There are only two complaints: the environments are not as seamless and interactive as they could be (if there's a cliff, shouldn't you be able to jump off it?), and there are too many things to keep straight, stuff such as magic items and combo moves (but then again, the author is unusually lazy, and this probably won't bother most gamers). Overall The Mark of Kri is rock-solid, graphically beautiful, and thoroughly engaging. --David Stoesz