In the Gamskomovsky Prevying on Knack, we wrote: “Mark Cernie put his hand to almost all the most loud adventure hits of Sony. What is the likelihood that he will make a bad game in his favorite genre? We would say that almost zero ". The forecast was justified. KNACK is a high-quality action-platform with the correct level structure, the correct design of enemies and the correct abilities of the hero.
There is not a single crooked stage or impenetrable moment, there are no too light episodes – this is a well -balanced game that is equally interesting on any interval of passage. In no case can it be called magnificent or breakthrough, but so worked out titles at the start of the console appear very rarely.
And I want and pricks
In an interview, Mark said that Knack would like two categories of people at once. Those who missed the old -time action like Crash Bandicoot And JAK and DAXTER (Tserny worked on both series), and those who are just starting to get acquainted with games. Moreover, the chief architect PS4 once said (in Japanese!) that Knack can easily become your first game in life and there will still not be any problems with passing – they say, even your grandmother will cope with it at a low level of difficulty.
[[Bullet]] Wooden NEC can light up from arrow arrowfits. And then solder others with your blows.
As it turned out, this is not quite true. The difference between “easy” and “hard” is rather rude: in the first case, you simply get less damage for the missed blows, and the animations of the enemies are lost in speed: if you run forward without stopping, you can intercept their attacks and go through the level without getting damage. In turn, already on “normally” you need to try – to calculate the barriers of opponents, constantly use a breakthrough to dodge the arrows (rockets, stones, acids, spells), and jump without end.
Generally speaking, this is a normal practice, but after endless talk about the accessibility of Knack, we expected something else. So, according to the producer of the game, Yusuke Vatanabe, his subordinates trained a special large version of DualShock 3 on the 3D printer (the new gamepad was still in prototypes), twice the largest than usual. They did this in order to somehow imagine how the child feels when he picks up a gigantic device with sixteen buttons for himself. And, probably, they presented correctly – the management in the game is very simple, convenient and responsive, triggers and shifts are not used at all. But to say that Knack is suitable for people who are not familiar with games is a great exaggeration.
In the soul, this is a purely hardcore game. You can choose a mode for two and put a slight level of complexity, but without a basic game experience there is nothing to do here. Knack at least requires dealing with the platform part – here they often demand to jump over obstacles and walk along narrow beams. For an avid player, of course, nothing complicated, but if this is really your first game in life – not to avoid tears from realizing your modest capabilities.
Old school
If you understand where and why have you come, you have a fascinating adventure. Knack will really like the fans of Crash Bandicoot – the design of levels and opponents here is made with no less care. The only reaction is not enough, here you need to think about whom to cut down first than to cut down it, how to cut it out.
To understand the behavior of a new enemy is a pleasure, almost a fight with a mini-boss. One goblin throws a bummer blade, and approaching, hits a stabbing blow. Another zealously circles with the club, not stopping for a second. The third shoots from onions, and constantly chooses a different number of arrows (at least three) and the gaps between volleys. Cyborg flies up on Jetpak, abruptly attacks with an energy power, and then jumps up and throws an electric charge. Stone sorcerer, protected by magic shelters, bullets crystals, gradually opening up for attack. And so on and the like. With a variety of species, sizes and patterns of enemies, everything is in perfect order – each level offers a new challenge.
[[Bullet]] Bosses sometimes come across excellent – final and a sight for sore eyes.
Arsenal Neka, on the contrary, is small: a simple blow and a blow from the air. The rest are special receptions that are performed due to the energy of yellow crystals scattered in level. There are three of them: an explosion that blows everyone around a shock wave (looks amazing, the main character literally scatters into thousands of particles, and then gathers back); Hurricane-NEC slightly decreases in size, and around it begins to circle a deadly mini-merciful from relics; Energyuder – the hero collects a ball from his particles and bullets into enemies (conveniently against the shooters standing on the elevation).
A one scale of energy is spent on each special receive, and it is filled with surprisingly for a long time. If you are stuck somewhere without a reserve of “mana” and cannot overcome a strong group of goblins, a super-supervisor will help you. True, while you collect the right number of crystals, you will have to make three or four long calls-the control points are located too far from each other. This is quite annoying, although who knows – as long as you run, maybe you yourself will pass, without special receptions.
I grow
For all thirteen stages, each broken into several episodes, the structure of the game does not change. At the beginning of the level, you play for Nek-little, he is ridiculously seeds with legs and is forced to get close to the enemy to strike-even a small droid-guard is great for him, and opponents-people seem to be giants at all.
Then the hero “absorbs” more relics (ice, wood, different stones and metal are also suitable) and begins to resemble a small gorilla. Once large opponents are becoming. But the balance does not crumble at the same time – hefty robots with boura, swords and plasmometers are sent to you on time, which do not allow you to feel omnipotent.
[[Bullet]] In a cooperative, one person plays for Neka, the other for his metal double. It’s nice to play together, but do not wait for anything special: the design of the levels for the second player did not particularly drag.
Finally, NEC grows to a completely indecent scale. This mainly happens on special stages, which are most easily described by the phrase “stone king kong in stone jungle”. People seem to be miserable ants, and robots – cockroaches. There are only to crush them, you can not even exchange for a blow.
If things are happening in the city, the hero climbs along skyscrapers, breaks the walls with multi -ton fists, crushes tanks, and then throws their skeletons to the fighters. If we are in an exotic country, and around the revitalized warriors from rocks, waving their chassis swords, the natural battle of the titans begins-the hard fights of the format one against three, reminiscent of some Beat Em ’Up.
Such episodes make a bit of variety in monotonous mechanics: yes, the gameplay constants remain unchanged, but the developers correctly shift the accents so that you can catch their breath.
There is probably a modern player accustomed https://monopoly-gb-casino.co.uk/ to mini-games at every turn that, except for jumping jumps, there is almost nothing in Knack: a piece of level went-looked at the video, broke with the boss-looked at the video. If you do not like children's stories (the project is still family) and you want the game to constantly surprise you, Knack can not even be turned on, you will be disappointed.
But if you understand what the charm of the genre is, and grew up on the PlayStation classic, you will get pleasure from passing. This is an extremely cozy and pleasant game that will delight with hardcore gameplay and a beautiful picture.
Mark Cereni, maybe he did not fulfill all his promises, but the main thing restrained – gave us a game that is not ashamed to compare with Crash Bandicoot.
Reigracy:
Cool plot:
Originality:
Easy to master:
Gameplay:
7
Graphics:
8
Sound and music:
8
Interface and management:
9
Waited?
Knack does not amaze the imagination either with graphics or gameplay, but this is a very high -quality old man with an atmosphere of a good adventure. All fans of Crash Bandicoot are sure to play.
Mania rating: 7.0
"Fine"