I’m a bargain hunter at heart, so when feeding my gaming habit, I spend a lot of time going through the clearance bins and other used games. And in the process, I’ve come across a fair few older titles that I’d never even heard of up until I stumbled upon them.
Today’s hidden gem: Kya: Dark Lineage
Released 2003 by Atari for PS2
Kya: Dark Lineage is an action-adventure/platformer following the adventures of a girl named Kya on her quest to find her brother and rescue a tribe of creatures called Natvis from an evil sorcerer named Brazul.
I like this game for a variety of reasons. First, playing as a female protagonist is nice. And yes, I know, there are a lot more games out there nowadays in that respect than there used to be, but they’re still badly outnumbered by those with male protagonists… and quite frankly, every once in awhile, I enjoy playing as my own gender for a change. Is that so wrong?
Second, and more importantly than reason #1, it’s a good game. Kya is a solid title, with a selection of gameplay options. It’s part stealth, part platformer, part combat, and part downhill speed and freefall courses. The hand to hand combat is easy to learn and challenging to master, and the occasional puzzle requires you to put a little thought into the game rather than just button mashing.
Now on to the downsides… first, and foremost, the camera is occasionally a little cumbersome, which is a complaint attributed to many otherwise excellent games. For the most part, it’s a problem that can be mostly ignored, but every now and then, it really grates on your nerves, especially in tight spaces. My other qualm with this game is its cliffhanger ending, and unfortunately, there is no followup to the game, so you’re essentially left wondering.
In the end, though, you really can’t beat the value you get for the price on Kya. Used (and even the occasional new copy), it has a price range around $4.99 to $11.99.
Nikki Blight: is still trying to find that damn princess... when she's not writing fresh code for the217.com.
Comments
Add your comment
the217
Sections
Buzz Magazine
Nikki Blight
is still trying to find that damn princess... when she's not writing fresh code for the217.com.
Hotspot (Hotspot) says:
(Posted October 13th, 2008 at 11:43 am)
It’s great to see another Kya Dark Lineage fan! Kya Dark Lineage is one of the best games ever, it just didn’t get enough attention.
I am actually trying to make the creators make a sequel, i made a forum for kya and i have been trying to gather fans of the game so we can all try to convince the creators to make a sequel, or atleast to tell other people that don’t know about the game so they get the game possibly.
actually if your interested in checking the forum out, it’s linked as my website.