by Elizabeth Vaughn

Created on: May 26, 2007

There are so many games on PS2 that don't get much recognition, but are very fun to play. I'd like to change that. One game I would like to discuss is 'KYA: Dark Lineage' by Eden Games. It sells for about $10 brand new, and it's been out since 2003, yet I don't know anyone that has played it.

It starts out in real life, and the main character, Kya, and her step brother get sucked into a vortex to another world where her missing father is the dark ruler. She is found by strange animal creatures called Nativs, and hunted by creatures called Wolfen. Her quest is to rescue her brother and figure out a way to get back to her own world. Along the way, she rescues Nativs that have been transformed magically into Wolfen, who return to the Nativ village and build shops that sell items useful on her quest.

The game features a lot of mini games that actually occur in the game itself, such as freefall, boarding, jamgut riding and soccer type games. Freefall is exactly how it sounds: falling from the sky. You try to dodge obstacles, and land on special mushrooms that are large enough to break your fall. Jamgut riding is just simply riding some creature that slightly resembles a dinosaur through obstacles. Along with those, there's also your typical magic and fighting involved.

The magic isn't terribly exciting, I admit. You collect mana balls to either heal, exorcise, or open portals and gates. There's no fire, water or earth involved, but it's challenging to keep enough mana balls to exorcise a group of wolfen plus heal yourself at the amber stones and still have enough left over to open the next portal.

The fighting, however, is way better than I expected. You start out with the white fighting bracelet, that they automatically teach you simple combos for. Then, you upgrade it to other colors that give Kya different abilities and more combos. The combos remind me of a simplistic version of Mortal Kombat, especially because they use more than two buttons to execute. They even deploy the use of R1 and R2, which is less common in RPG games.

Overall, I don't understand why this game hasn't even been heard of by most people. It's a silly game, I admit, but it is still worthy of attention. As corny as Oddworld is, if you liked the concept of it, but wanted to actually fight, I recommend you check out Kya.

Learn more about this author, Elizabeth Vaughn.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.