Kameo: Elements of Power - Review
Added December 5th, 2005 by Colin
Introduction:
In every great game there is something there. Something that hooks you, keeps you interested, keeps you playing. It's not one thing, instead it's the effect of hundreds upon hundreds of game elements all working in tandem to bring about a great user experience. Some games simply have it. A great many more simply do not. Which brings us to Kameo, the premier adventure title for the Xbox 360's launch. Created by the legendary UK based game development studio Rare, Kameo has a lot to live up to in its predecessors. Some of the greatest adventure and platform games in gaming history have been made by Rare, including Donkey Kong and Banjo Kazooie. They've also had their share of flops, as evidenced in the recent efforts of Starfox Adventures and Grabbed by the Ghoulies. So, which is it? A gem of a game belonging in every 360 owner's game library, or yet another flop? With Kameo, the answer lies somewhere in-between. Stick with us, the answer lies below.
Gameplay:
Kameo's story is pretty standard as far as fantasy titles go. You play as an elf, Kameo, imbued with magical powers that allow you to shift into forms known as Elemental Warriors. Your sister, Kalus, has grown jealous and kidnapped your family. To rescue them, and put a stop to your evil sister, you will have to grow in your abilities, and, in the process of saving your family, save the world as a whole. Yeah, I know. You've heard this one before. Well, fortunately Kameo is able to get some good gameplay out of it, thanks in a large part to another part of the background storyline. In Kameo, the elves and the trolls are embattled in a huge war. Again, standard fantasy fare. However, remember, this is the Xbox 360. Whenever someone mentions a huge war, expect huge battles and in that, Kameo certainly delivers.
In every great game there is something there. Something that hooks you, keeps you interested, keeps you playing. It's not one thing, instead it's the effect of hundreds upon hundreds of game elements all working in tandem to bring about a great user experience. Some games simply have it. A great many more simply do not. Which brings us to Kameo, the premier adventure title for the Xbox 360's launch. Created by the legendary UK based game development studio Rare, Kameo has a lot to live up to in its predecessors. Some of the greatest adventure and platform games in gaming history have been made by Rare, including Donkey Kong and Banjo Kazooie. They've also had their share of flops, as evidenced in the recent efforts of Starfox Adventures and Grabbed by the Ghoulies. So, which is it? A gem of a game belonging in every 360 owner's game library, or yet another flop? With Kameo, the answer lies somewhere in-between. Stick with us, the answer lies below.
Gameplay:
Kameo's story is pretty standard as far as fantasy titles go. You play as an elf, Kameo, imbued with magical powers that allow you to shift into forms known as Elemental Warriors. Your sister, Kalus, has grown jealous and kidnapped your family. To rescue them, and put a stop to your evil sister, you will have to grow in your abilities, and, in the process of saving your family, save the world as a whole. Yeah, I know. You've heard this one before. Well, fortunately Kameo is able to get some good gameplay out of it, thanks in a large part to another part of the background storyline. In Kameo, the elves and the trolls are embattled in a huge war. Again, standard fantasy fare. However, remember, this is the Xbox 360. Whenever someone mentions a huge war, expect huge battles and in that, Kameo certainly delivers.
But what of the regular gameplay? Well, if you've played the kiosk demo, you already know that Kameo revolves around your ability to transform into a variety of different forms. If you haven't played the kiosk, well, now you do. Kameo has a huge assortment of creatures she can shift into, though she will begin the game with zero forms after a catastrophic end to the first stage.
To gain new forms you will need to battle the Shadow Trolls that inhabit the kingdom, as well as defeating some bosses. Each form is accessed with the face buttons (B, Y, and X). The A button is used to turn into Kameo. Each form has an assortment of different moves, all of which can be utilized with the trigger buttons. You have three basic attacks: Left Trigger, Right Trigger, and Left and Right Trigger at the same time. Most forms have extra moves which can be accessed through the utilization of a couple of different moves. For instance, pulling the Left and Right Triggers on Pummelweed, a bipedal plant with a mean right hook, will burrow you down in to the ground, allowing you to move more freely and lower to the ground. While burrowed, the Right Trigger will have you perform an uppercut and the Left Trigger will allow you to inhabit an empty shell. To select the forms available from the face buttons, just hit Start, go to the second page of the Wotnot Book (more on that in a bit), and assign the different forms with an easy to use selection screen. For quick access, hold a face button, aside from the A button which is always set to Kameo, and you can select any form from a simple radial menu. The system as a whole works quite well and the lack of abilities accessible at any given moment is offset by the amount of forms you can control with the push of a button.
The Wotnot Book serves as a one-stop hint and customization center for the game. Just hit start at any time and you will go right to the front page of the Wotnot. Hit A and the Wotnot will present you with a hint on what to do. The hints are always applicable to what you are doing at that time, and are generally quite helpful. Go to the next page, and you can map the different Elemental Warriors to your face buttons. Hit next again and you can view a summary of the items, Ancestors, and Crystal Eyes you have retrieved. Press onwards to the next page and you can upgrade your Elemental Warriors’ move lists using Elemental Fruit, one of the collectables hidden throughout the game world.
And what of acquiring the forms? And what of those Shadow Trolls? Shadow Trolls are minions of the big-bad guy troll, Thorn, who steal the Elemental Warriors to force Kameo into the Shadow Realm where she is the weakest. At certain points in the game, a Shadow Troll will run off into the Shadow Realm through a hole in the ground. Occasionally the hole will be blocked until you complete a nearby puzzle. Once you follow the Troll into the hole, you will fall into the visually stunning Shadow Realm. From there you will need to defeat the Shadow Troll by the use of the Lost Souls that will attack you. In the Shadow Realm you can only use Kameo, so you must rely on her one attack, the flutter kick. By running up to the Lost Souls and flutter kicking them, you will be able to take control of their power, and focus a blast of energy at the Shadow Troll. Do this a couple of times and you will prevail, and in the process gain access to a new Elemental Warrior.. It's not always easy, though at first it will be. As you encounter more and more Shadow Trolls the difficulty will increase, and they will attack you in more creative and destructive ways.
The second way of acquiring forms is to defeat a boss. As you journey through the world of Kameo, you will encounter fairly traditional bosses. You know the drill here, analyze the attack style of the boss, find their weak point, try out a few modes of attack, find one that works, and repeat it until they die. The bosses are all great fun to fight, though at times frustrating. Most all of them are rather hard to beat and it will likely take a few tries to figure out how to beat them. Usually it will take a combination of forms and a smart use of your surrounding. Once you finish off the boss, you'll acquire a new Elemental Warrior.
To gain new forms you will need to battle the Shadow Trolls that inhabit the kingdom, as well as defeating some bosses. Each form is accessed with the face buttons (B, Y, and X). The A button is used to turn into Kameo. Each form has an assortment of different moves, all of which can be utilized with the trigger buttons. You have three basic attacks: Left Trigger, Right Trigger, and Left and Right Trigger at the same time. Most forms have extra moves which can be accessed through the utilization of a couple of different moves. For instance, pulling the Left and Right Triggers on Pummelweed, a bipedal plant with a mean right hook, will burrow you down in to the ground, allowing you to move more freely and lower to the ground. While burrowed, the Right Trigger will have you perform an uppercut and the Left Trigger will allow you to inhabit an empty shell. To select the forms available from the face buttons, just hit Start, go to the second page of the Wotnot Book (more on that in a bit), and assign the different forms with an easy to use selection screen. For quick access, hold a face button, aside from the A button which is always set to Kameo, and you can select any form from a simple radial menu. The system as a whole works quite well and the lack of abilities accessible at any given moment is offset by the amount of forms you can control with the push of a button.
The Wotnot Book serves as a one-stop hint and customization center for the game. Just hit start at any time and you will go right to the front page of the Wotnot. Hit A and the Wotnot will present you with a hint on what to do. The hints are always applicable to what you are doing at that time, and are generally quite helpful. Go to the next page, and you can map the different Elemental Warriors to your face buttons. Hit next again and you can view a summary of the items, Ancestors, and Crystal Eyes you have retrieved. Press onwards to the next page and you can upgrade your Elemental Warriors’ move lists using Elemental Fruit, one of the collectables hidden throughout the game world.
And what of acquiring the forms? And what of those Shadow Trolls? Shadow Trolls are minions of the big-bad guy troll, Thorn, who steal the Elemental Warriors to force Kameo into the Shadow Realm where she is the weakest. At certain points in the game, a Shadow Troll will run off into the Shadow Realm through a hole in the ground. Occasionally the hole will be blocked until you complete a nearby puzzle. Once you follow the Troll into the hole, you will fall into the visually stunning Shadow Realm. From there you will need to defeat the Shadow Troll by the use of the Lost Souls that will attack you. In the Shadow Realm you can only use Kameo, so you must rely on her one attack, the flutter kick. By running up to the Lost Souls and flutter kicking them, you will be able to take control of their power, and focus a blast of energy at the Shadow Troll. Do this a couple of times and you will prevail, and in the process gain access to a new Elemental Warrior.. It's not always easy, though at first it will be. As you encounter more and more Shadow Trolls the difficulty will increase, and they will attack you in more creative and destructive ways.
The second way of acquiring forms is to defeat a boss. As you journey through the world of Kameo, you will encounter fairly traditional bosses. You know the drill here, analyze the attack style of the boss, find their weak point, try out a few modes of attack, find one that works, and repeat it until they die. The bosses are all great fun to fight, though at times frustrating. Most all of them are rather hard to beat and it will likely take a few tries to figure out how to beat them. Usually it will take a combination of forms and a smart use of your surrounding. Once you finish off the boss, you'll acquire a new Elemental Warrior.
The world of Kameo is a huge one embattled in a huge war between the above mentioned Elves and Trolls. You fight on the side of the Elves, and will encounter enemy Trolls throughout the game. Enemies range from simple axmen to archers to scuba-equipped trolls to submarines to giant trolls that bring to mind the cave troll from Lord of the Rings. The variety is great and most all of a form or two that work well against them. Environments are all different, from the heights of Mountain Falls to the wastelands of the Badlands. In the Badlands you will encounter the battle between the Elves and Trolls in person. The battles you will witness are impressive in scope, with huge armies of hundreds on either side. And you, on horseback, without a single framerate hiccup, get to barrel through them, people flying to either side as you plow into 'em. It's great fun, and serves as a great central area. Each time you travel from one area of the game to the next, you will pass through the Badlands, and in the process take part in some epic battles.
Sections of the game are all pretty unique, and most all of them have a form that is particularly adept at navigating them. For the Water Temple, you'll be almost entirely dependent on Deep Blue because of his ability to jet around underwater. For the hills of Mountain Falls you will need to employ the services of Major Ruin because of his ability to ball up and zip up, Sonic style, the ramps scattered about the area. Each form feels useful, and each area puts them to good use.
Despite all this, something feels... missing. The gameplay is great fun, but there's just something that's not there. The game keeps your attention, but you'll find yourself frequently switching to other titles. Kameo just doesn't really hold your gaming time captive like a great game will. Kameo's gameplay is good, but it just isn't AAA quality great. It's not something you can put your finger on. Maybe it's the lack of abilities accessible at one time. Maybe it's in the level design. But, most likely, something just doesn't mesh well enough. By its very nature, the gameplay elements of Kameo are disparate. Each form plays differently and I suppose, at some level, those forms just don't mix into a cohesive and smooth gameplay experience. That's not to say you won't have fun here. You will. It's just that you won't have AAA quality gameplay Buy Me Now fun. There's a difference, and you will recognize that difference after playing Kameo.
Graphics:
Kameo looks utterly amazing, even more so than the other launch titles for the 360. Enemies on-screen at a time number in the hundreds, without a framerate issue in sight. A huge amount of particle effects are utilized, often in mind bogglingly large numbers. For instance, in the Shadow Realm, thousands upon thousands of bats will encircle the arena. Framerate issues? Not a chance. Draw distance is ridiculously long, environments are very well detailed, animations are all top-notch, and the art direction will give you flashbacks to the heyday of Rare titles back in the days of the Nintendo 64. Many levels here feel just the same as Banjo Kazooie, that is if Banjo Kazooie were to be remade two generations later with gorgeous graphics and state of the art lighting to boot. Speaking of lighting, expect great things here. Environments all employ warm, bright colors, but not so much as to be garish.
Sections of the game are all pretty unique, and most all of them have a form that is particularly adept at navigating them. For the Water Temple, you'll be almost entirely dependent on Deep Blue because of his ability to jet around underwater. For the hills of Mountain Falls you will need to employ the services of Major Ruin because of his ability to ball up and zip up, Sonic style, the ramps scattered about the area. Each form feels useful, and each area puts them to good use.
Despite all this, something feels... missing. The gameplay is great fun, but there's just something that's not there. The game keeps your attention, but you'll find yourself frequently switching to other titles. Kameo just doesn't really hold your gaming time captive like a great game will. Kameo's gameplay is good, but it just isn't AAA quality great. It's not something you can put your finger on. Maybe it's the lack of abilities accessible at one time. Maybe it's in the level design. But, most likely, something just doesn't mesh well enough. By its very nature, the gameplay elements of Kameo are disparate. Each form plays differently and I suppose, at some level, those forms just don't mix into a cohesive and smooth gameplay experience. That's not to say you won't have fun here. You will. It's just that you won't have AAA quality gameplay Buy Me Now fun. There's a difference, and you will recognize that difference after playing Kameo.
Graphics:
Kameo looks utterly amazing, even more so than the other launch titles for the 360. Enemies on-screen at a time number in the hundreds, without a framerate issue in sight. A huge amount of particle effects are utilized, often in mind bogglingly large numbers. For instance, in the Shadow Realm, thousands upon thousands of bats will encircle the arena. Framerate issues? Not a chance. Draw distance is ridiculously long, environments are very well detailed, animations are all top-notch, and the art direction will give you flashbacks to the heyday of Rare titles back in the days of the Nintendo 64. Many levels here feel just the same as Banjo Kazooie, that is if Banjo Kazooie were to be remade two generations later with gorgeous graphics and state of the art lighting to boot. Speaking of lighting, expect great things here. Environments all employ warm, bright colors, but not so much as to be garish.
Art direction here won't be everyone's cup of tea though. Graphics all tend to the cartooney, with exaggerated characters. If you have played Banjo Kazooie or Donkey Kong Country you'll know what to expect. All characters have that typical Rare touch; some may take the style of Kameo for childishness, others will consider it charming, and still others, funny. The direction is universal throughout the game, so if you don't like it, you won't like it at any part in this title. If you do like it, you'll find much to like here, and in it a great showpiece for your new 360.
Audio:
Here's one game where you won't be switching out the soundtrack for your iPod's. Kameo sounds great. The soundtrack is epic, evoking the orchestral score of Lord of the Rings. It sounds perfect, puts you in the mood of the game, and makes for a great original soundtrack. Sound effects all sound right, from forcing an enemy into a row of spikes to tossing a troll out a window. Characters voices are polarizing, as with the art direction. Voice acting is all exaggerated, but it fits the mood of the game. Here, however, it actually gets to be a bit annoying. You can only handle croons for so long, and you will find yourself skipping dialog whenever possible. The epic score more than makes up for any shortcoming in voice acting, but one must still wish Rare had gone with voices that don't completely suck.
Controls:
Kameo controls relatively well, once you get used to it. Switching characters becomes second nature after a few hours of play, but until then you will find yourself getting mixed up pretty often. Since A is the jump button in most any platforming game ever made, having that be the button used to switch to Kameo can have devastating consequences. For instance, while trying to dodge a giant club, you really really don't want to switch from the badass dragon to the physically puny pixie and get thrown across the arena.
The other issue with Kameo's controls lies in how it treats throwing projectiles. When using the Elemental Warrior Chilla, one of his primary moves is the ability to throw sharp icicles at enemies, as well as picking up and throwing enemies. To draw an icicle, you press the Left Trigger. To throw them, you pull the Right Trigger. However, you must completely let go of the Left Trigger to fire an icicle. This is an awful idea, as it just slows down the gameplay. Instead of being able to pull the Left Trigger, and then once you have the icicle up, fire with the right trigger, you must pull and let go of the Left Trigger, then pull the Right Trigger. This really hampers when you can utilize projectiles, as the inability to quickly fire and go back into movement mode limits the usefulness of the form and almost ensures that you will get hit a few times after using it. Aside from the aforementioned issues, Kameo won't give you too much trouble. It's just that when a game uses a control system as unique as this one, they should try to ease you into it as much as possible, and take every opportunity to prevent mix up with other games of the genre. That just isn't the case here, and the game suffers for it.
Replay:
A game's longevity is key to how long it will stay in your gaming rotation and it honestly just isn't that good here. It only takes about 10 hours to finish the game, which isn’t much for a platformer/adventure title. Outside of that you really won't be getting this game out ever again. You can do score attack to obtain a better score on a level, but there are no rewards for high scores. You can play co-op, but the gameplay mechanics in co-op just aren't that good. Also, there is no co-op over Xbox Live, though that feature has been promised for a forthcoming update. Don't plan on it, though. Game developers are notorious for taking far too long on feature updates once a game has released. After you've finished the game, it's done, and when a game is the length of Kameo, you really just have to wonder if it's worth $50.
Audio:
Here's one game where you won't be switching out the soundtrack for your iPod's. Kameo sounds great. The soundtrack is epic, evoking the orchestral score of Lord of the Rings. It sounds perfect, puts you in the mood of the game, and makes for a great original soundtrack. Sound effects all sound right, from forcing an enemy into a row of spikes to tossing a troll out a window. Characters voices are polarizing, as with the art direction. Voice acting is all exaggerated, but it fits the mood of the game. Here, however, it actually gets to be a bit annoying. You can only handle croons for so long, and you will find yourself skipping dialog whenever possible. The epic score more than makes up for any shortcoming in voice acting, but one must still wish Rare had gone with voices that don't completely suck.
Controls:
Kameo controls relatively well, once you get used to it. Switching characters becomes second nature after a few hours of play, but until then you will find yourself getting mixed up pretty often. Since A is the jump button in most any platforming game ever made, having that be the button used to switch to Kameo can have devastating consequences. For instance, while trying to dodge a giant club, you really really don't want to switch from the badass dragon to the physically puny pixie and get thrown across the arena.
The other issue with Kameo's controls lies in how it treats throwing projectiles. When using the Elemental Warrior Chilla, one of his primary moves is the ability to throw sharp icicles at enemies, as well as picking up and throwing enemies. To draw an icicle, you press the Left Trigger. To throw them, you pull the Right Trigger. However, you must completely let go of the Left Trigger to fire an icicle. This is an awful idea, as it just slows down the gameplay. Instead of being able to pull the Left Trigger, and then once you have the icicle up, fire with the right trigger, you must pull and let go of the Left Trigger, then pull the Right Trigger. This really hampers when you can utilize projectiles, as the inability to quickly fire and go back into movement mode limits the usefulness of the form and almost ensures that you will get hit a few times after using it. Aside from the aforementioned issues, Kameo won't give you too much trouble. It's just that when a game uses a control system as unique as this one, they should try to ease you into it as much as possible, and take every opportunity to prevent mix up with other games of the genre. That just isn't the case here, and the game suffers for it.
Replay:
A game's longevity is key to how long it will stay in your gaming rotation and it honestly just isn't that good here. It only takes about 10 hours to finish the game, which isn’t much for a platformer/adventure title. Outside of that you really won't be getting this game out ever again. You can do score attack to obtain a better score on a level, but there are no rewards for high scores. You can play co-op, but the gameplay mechanics in co-op just aren't that good. Also, there is no co-op over Xbox Live, though that feature has been promised for a forthcoming update. Don't plan on it, though. Game developers are notorious for taking far too long on feature updates once a game has released. After you've finished the game, it's done, and when a game is the length of Kameo, you really just have to wonder if it's worth $50.
Summary:
Kameo is good, but not great. It has the graphics and soundtrack of a AAA title, but the gameplay just doesn't mesh with the rest of the game to form a game you will be coming back to again. Kameo is fun while it lasts, but with a length of only 10 hours, you'll probably want to wait until this one drops in price, or try it as a rental.
Kameo is good, but not great. It has the graphics and soundtrack of a AAA title, but the gameplay just doesn't mesh with the rest of the game to form a game you will be coming back to again. Kameo is fun while it lasts, but with a length of only 10 hours, you'll probably want to wait until this one drops in price, or try it as a rental.
