	Kuon
	Developer: FROM Software Publisher: Nobilis Release Date: Out Now Players: 1	Words By:
Just about everyone who played it loved Resident Evil 4, and rightly so, it gave the survival horror genre a much-needed kick in the ass (or rather, it gave the once superb, now tired Resident Evil series a much needed kick in the ass). Although it didn’t give you full analog control, over Leon, the aiming was quick and accurate and the action was 100% mayhem. It looked like the genre had moved on forever. That’s not quite the case because Kuon, FROM Software’s latest adventure game, plays and feels very much like the original Resident Evil on PlayStation 10 years ago. The story is split in three parts, with each one showing a different perspective from three different characters. The first two stories are available from the start; “Ying” and “Yang”, with the final one, “Kuon” becoming available once you have completed the first two sections. Utsuki and her sister Kureha are missing their father, he is an exorcist for their village in ancient Japan, and is hired to investigate disturbances at a local manor and shrine. After he doesn’t return home from his work, the two sisters travel to the manor to try and find him. Things now go from bad to worse, as young Kureha vanishes too, so Utsuki is left all alone! Well, apart from all the evil monsters (Gaki) that are lurking in the darkness. Kuon controls slightly differently from the traditional “Resident Evil” method, but it feels a little sluggish because you are unable to run around, so you have to walk slowly everywhere. Well, that’s not strictly true because you can run around, but you are strongly advised not to because the enemies will hear you and attack much more frequently, so you are advised to walk. Further to this, if you run you also occasionally run into invisible areas that induce vertigo, which is displayed on screen via blurring, so you have to stop running to shake off the effect. So what exactly is the point of having a run button then if you can hardly ever use it? Throughout the game you come across doors that are locked with seals, which you cannot remove unless you pick up the matching cloth such as Earth, Mercury etc. This works similarly to the keys in Resident Evil, where you have to find the armor key for the armor lock etc. Combat in the game is mostly magic, which you obtain by searching areas for cards, which contain a limited amount of spells. You also get an incredibly limited supply of summons (such as wolves and spiders) that you can unleash on enemies. Obviously certain summons and spells work best with specific enemies, but it’s difficult to experiment with these because they are in such short supply. Should I try it? Or just keep it for the inevitable boss fight? You also have a dagger for (very) close combat that is a rather pathetic weapon, and apart from a couple of new weapons later in the game you don’t get anything better. Kuon’s story is quite interesting, and does offer an original storyline. However it would of benefited from better localization, with some of the text simply not making much sense and the English dub (if you foolishly select that over the excellent Japanese dialogue option) sounds poor with actors seemingly working from broken English scripts. The localization makes for some tricky puzzles as the clues don’t really help you out much, so quite a lot of the time it’s just a matter of guesswork. I am a big fan of the survival horror adventure genre, and have played pretty much every single one of them, so I am always eager to play a new one that comes out. I am afraid Kuon doesn’t really offer anything new to the genre that hasn’t been done previously, and often done better than here; Multiple characters and seeing different sides of the story? - Resident Evil 2. Ancient Japan and magic? - Onimusha offered both of those. Annoying controls? - Resident Evil, 10 years ago. It’s a shame really because it could be really good, but the genre has moved on a lot in the past few years, and it just feels like Kuon has been developed to try and compete with games from three or four years ago, not games from the past twelve months. Perhaps the already announced sequel will improve things, but for now Capcom and Konami still dominate the genre with far more enjoyable, playable and immersive experiences.

Best Bits
- Multiple sides of the story to play through
- Lovely art style
- Original Japanese dialogue is a good bonus

Worst Bits
- Offers nothing new to a crowded genre
- Annoying controls
- Poor combat
- Badly localized in parts


by: DC