Jimnymebob
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Link to original post: [drupal=1345]Kya Dark Lineage= Review[/drupal]
GOOD=
BAD=
Intro
Kya: Dark Lineage is a fun adventure game set in a fantasy world. The game is presented nicely, with a variety of different animations when you put the game on, and some bonus features (the majority you get for finishing the game with a certain amount of Nativs).
You can access a help file telling you how to do all your moves, there is a training area to practice your fighting, and you have a map which gives you your objectives. However, the map isn't clear a lot of times, due to the fact that each world is huge, and ascending and descending is shown on the map as a direction- not a floor change.
The main hub of the game- Nativ City, has a lot of places to explore and shops to go in, the twist being you need to rescue more Nativs in order to open the shops with better items. There are minigames, which can be played multiplayer as well, and a Zoo feature, which involves you catching rare creatures around the worlds you explore. However, all these are optional, so you can focus on doing the adventure.
Story
Kya and her brother Frank find a hidden room in their house with a table in. This table has a mysterious slot on it, and when Frank places an item on it, a portal appears- Frank is kidnapped by these wolf like creatures, and Kya ends up in a magical land, far from home. Here, you meet a furry creature called Aton, and the Wolfun. The Wolfun are the enemies of the game, and come in different types. You reach Nativ Village, and find Aton's leader- Atea, leader of the Nativs. You are told that the Wolfun are Nativs who have been transformed by Brazul- a man in a black coat. You are given the ability to exorcise defeated Wolfun and turn them back to Nativs.
Gameplay
Kya is an action adventure game with other genres mixed in. You have two methods of attacking- physical combat and your Boomies, or magical boomerangs which are also key in a lot of puzzles. You also have a magic board, which you use for the uninspired boarding sections (save one of the final ones) and a Jamgut whistle, which you can use to ride these two legged creatures. The Jamguts come in two types, and you are given a lot of freedom whilst riding one. You can stand on it's back, keep it on a set course so you can jump onto a moving object, and throw your Boomie from it. Sadly, you only get access to these in the later half of the game, and then you only see them a few times. The most interesting/ underused feature is the wind riding, where you travel along tunnels of wind dodging obstacles. There is one level which features this a lot, which is good.
The main objective of the game is to stop Brazul, rescue Frank, and exorcise the Wolfun. You also collect 7 pieces of a medallion which allows you to hold more energy, and exorcise more Wolfun.
As you exorcise more Wolfun, you unlock new shops and more items- the most important being Boomies and combat braces. However, one of the braces gives you an ability which is ridiculously powerful, and makes the limited number of bosses you fight ridiculously easy, and ruins the game, and sense of difficulty. They try to recover by forcing you to fight large amounts of enemies, but you can just keep trying, because you don't have lives, and Wolfun stay dead once Exorcised. However, Wolfun can easily overwhelm you, and the ones with blasters can kill you if they land one shot, as you can't move.
Controls
Kya controls well, especially in the wind sections- which is great. The fighting system is deep, but you can kill Wolfun with basic combos, which is good for less experienced gamers. Even though you get a Boomie, it gets very difficult to use it in battle against the Wolfun, due to the fact that when they see you, you swap to hand to hand until you get far away from them. You can jump, roll, sneak etc. and it all feels smooth. The magic board is difficult to control in some sections, but this is because of the poor level design. The Jamgut controls well, but it relies on button combos, which is strange as you only have a few commands for it.
The only issue is the camera, which can be annoying, but if you've played a 3D Sonic game, you'll be ok.
Graphics
The graphics of this game are very good, as is the distance of land you can see. From the highest points of each world, you can see the majority of the world, and can zoom into it with a telescope. This is useful, as it makes worlds easier to navigate. There are a lot of nice effects later on in the game (especially the lava), and the wind and magic board sections are easily identified. The game wants to offer fantasy worlds, and it delivers.
Sound
The voice acting sucks for the majority of characters. You will want to kill the Nativs before the game ends. Example of what they say/ sing=
Quote:
In Amata shop
Everything is top
We've got every single gadget
You've ever wanted to get
Note that they sing this, and you can't skip conversation, and you may accidentally talk to them.
The music and sound effects are ok, but not memorable. Also, why is the available extra Sweet Soka Music music video? How does that relate to the game at all?
Conclusion
Kya is a fun adventure game, which has several unique ideas. However, these ideas are few and far between, and once you've reached the half way point, no new ideas are introduced. The game is also very short, and will only take around 10 hours to complete, and a couple more to exorcise everyone. The games story is bad, but the gameplay makes up for it.
In conclusion, Kya: Dark Lineage is a good game, but it'll be over sooner than you expect.
Scores
ACCESSIBILITY= 7/10
STORY= 5.5/10
GAMEPLAY= 8.4/10
CONTROLS= 8.6/10
GRAPHICS= 9.1/10
SOUND= 4.8/10
TOTAL= 7.2
GOOD=
- Difficulty curve is good.
- Deep fighting system.
- Creative worlds.
- Good controls.
- Wind sections are fun.
BAD=
- Quite short.
- Nothing new developed in the later half of the game.
- Not enough wind sections.
- Magic board gets annoying.
- Wolfun can easily kill you if you leave yourself open.
Intro
Kya: Dark Lineage is a fun adventure game set in a fantasy world. The game is presented nicely, with a variety of different animations when you put the game on, and some bonus features (the majority you get for finishing the game with a certain amount of Nativs).
You can access a help file telling you how to do all your moves, there is a training area to practice your fighting, and you have a map which gives you your objectives. However, the map isn't clear a lot of times, due to the fact that each world is huge, and ascending and descending is shown on the map as a direction- not a floor change.
The main hub of the game- Nativ City, has a lot of places to explore and shops to go in, the twist being you need to rescue more Nativs in order to open the shops with better items. There are minigames, which can be played multiplayer as well, and a Zoo feature, which involves you catching rare creatures around the worlds you explore. However, all these are optional, so you can focus on doing the adventure.
Story
Kya and her brother Frank find a hidden room in their house with a table in. This table has a mysterious slot on it, and when Frank places an item on it, a portal appears- Frank is kidnapped by these wolf like creatures, and Kya ends up in a magical land, far from home. Here, you meet a furry creature called Aton, and the Wolfun. The Wolfun are the enemies of the game, and come in different types. You reach Nativ Village, and find Aton's leader- Atea, leader of the Nativs. You are told that the Wolfun are Nativs who have been transformed by Brazul- a man in a black coat. You are given the ability to exorcise defeated Wolfun and turn them back to Nativs.
Gameplay
Kya is an action adventure game with other genres mixed in. You have two methods of attacking- physical combat and your Boomies, or magical boomerangs which are also key in a lot of puzzles. You also have a magic board, which you use for the uninspired boarding sections (save one of the final ones) and a Jamgut whistle, which you can use to ride these two legged creatures. The Jamguts come in two types, and you are given a lot of freedom whilst riding one. You can stand on it's back, keep it on a set course so you can jump onto a moving object, and throw your Boomie from it. Sadly, you only get access to these in the later half of the game, and then you only see them a few times. The most interesting/ underused feature is the wind riding, where you travel along tunnels of wind dodging obstacles. There is one level which features this a lot, which is good.
The main objective of the game is to stop Brazul, rescue Frank, and exorcise the Wolfun. You also collect 7 pieces of a medallion which allows you to hold more energy, and exorcise more Wolfun.
As you exorcise more Wolfun, you unlock new shops and more items- the most important being Boomies and combat braces. However, one of the braces gives you an ability which is ridiculously powerful, and makes the limited number of bosses you fight ridiculously easy, and ruins the game, and sense of difficulty. They try to recover by forcing you to fight large amounts of enemies, but you can just keep trying, because you don't have lives, and Wolfun stay dead once Exorcised. However, Wolfun can easily overwhelm you, and the ones with blasters can kill you if they land one shot, as you can't move.
Controls
Kya controls well, especially in the wind sections- which is great. The fighting system is deep, but you can kill Wolfun with basic combos, which is good for less experienced gamers. Even though you get a Boomie, it gets very difficult to use it in battle against the Wolfun, due to the fact that when they see you, you swap to hand to hand until you get far away from them. You can jump, roll, sneak etc. and it all feels smooth. The magic board is difficult to control in some sections, but this is because of the poor level design. The Jamgut controls well, but it relies on button combos, which is strange as you only have a few commands for it.
The only issue is the camera, which can be annoying, but if you've played a 3D Sonic game, you'll be ok.
Graphics
The graphics of this game are very good, as is the distance of land you can see. From the highest points of each world, you can see the majority of the world, and can zoom into it with a telescope. This is useful, as it makes worlds easier to navigate. There are a lot of nice effects later on in the game (especially the lava), and the wind and magic board sections are easily identified. The game wants to offer fantasy worlds, and it delivers.
Sound
The voice acting sucks for the majority of characters. You will want to kill the Nativs before the game ends. Example of what they say/ sing=
Quote:
In Amata shop
Everything is top
We've got every single gadget
You've ever wanted to get
Note that they sing this, and you can't skip conversation, and you may accidentally talk to them.
The music and sound effects are ok, but not memorable. Also, why is the available extra Sweet Soka Music music video? How does that relate to the game at all?
Conclusion
Kya is a fun adventure game, which has several unique ideas. However, these ideas are few and far between, and once you've reached the half way point, no new ideas are introduced. The game is also very short, and will only take around 10 hours to complete, and a couple more to exorcise everyone. The games story is bad, but the gameplay makes up for it.
In conclusion, Kya: Dark Lineage is a good game, but it'll be over sooner than you expect.
Scores
ACCESSIBILITY= 7/10
STORY= 5.5/10
GAMEPLAY= 8.4/10
CONTROLS= 8.6/10
GRAPHICS= 9.1/10
SOUND= 4.8/10
TOTAL= 7.2
