I think it's common knowledge these days that Rareware games have often had fairly complicated and somewhat bumpy development cycles. A lot of their games have hit the skids indefinitely, but some, despite jumping platforms, generations, and enduring numerous design changes, have eventually made it onto store shelves. From Star Fox Adventures to Perfect Dark Zero, it always seems to be a five year debacle. Of course, much of this was to do with Microsoft's purchasing Rare from Nintendo. One of the games that made it out of the stirrup was Kameo: Elements of Power, which began as a Gamecube title, moved to Xbox, and at 80% complete, finally made a quickie translation onto the Xbox 360 as the very first title released for the system. And in spite of all the instability at Rare, the game came into its own as a rather unique experience in its own right.
The story in Kameo isn't particularly interesting. Essentially, Kameo is given the ability to turn into Elemental Warriors by her mother, Theena. But Kameo's sister Kalus becomes jealous of her sibling's privileges, and decides to turn evil and basically kidnap the whole family -- mom included. Can anyone say psycho hose beast? There's actually a twist towards the end of the game, but that's the basic plot. It's serviceable, but it's not what keeps you playing really.
Despite hopping three platforms and two generations, the initial concept for Kameo never really changed all that much. It remained a storybook fantasy adventure in the vein of Zelda and Lord of the Rings. The game is centered around combat and exploration in a pretty equal balance, and what mixes things up and sets Kameo apart from all the other action adventure games out there is the fact that you basically play as 11 different characters. That may sound weird, but really it's thanks to Kameo's magical ability to morph into different "Elemental Warriors" (as they're called) that she collects on her journeys. Everything from rolling armadillos to lava spewing fire ants, there's really a ton of variety that adds renewing freshness to the overall gameplay experience. Kameo herself has just one attack move (a rather weak flip kick) and is otherwise limited to running and flying around and jumping. I actually found this pretty okay since it adds meaning to the fact that you are having to go around rescuing all of the creatures. Since you will depend heavily on the collectible Warriors to accomplish certain tasks, you will become well accustomed to their individual abilities, advantages, and disadvantages.
While I have stated in this review that this keeps the game dynamic and fresh, there are some issues with the Elemental Warriors themselves. Mainly the controls have some issues with intuitiveness and design. Like Deep Blue, who is a sea creature that swims underwater (the only Elemental who can actually). To make Deep Blue swim underwater, you have to hold down both left and right triggers, and then pull the left thumbstick downwards, which is fine...but it feels like you are literally controlling a squishy, heavy ball of fat because you have to constantly fight with the camera and controls to keep him pointed in the right direction. It just doesn't feel intuitive. Others sort of have other little oddities about them, like Chilla the gorilla, who moves very slow and feels really sluggish overall. He also shoots spears and throws enemies, which is cool in concept, but in action you're placed in a very vulnerable position where you can't move or see anything around you while you're in aiming mode. If a baddie comes up to you and smacks you one, you're pretty much defenseless since you're in the middle of targeting a throw -- and that`s no good. I also dislike the fact that Rare mapped transformations to the face buttons when they should have used the D-Pad. And the bumpers aren't utilized anywhere at all! Other than that there's a lack of refinement that is sort of hard to put a note on, but you know it's there because you've played those games like Banjo Nuts & Bolts and Star Fox Adventures, two games that had very smooth controls.
Back to the positives for a minute. Each Elemental Warrior has a number of optional upgrades that improve pre-existing abilities, aswell as add all new ones that can really come in handy when you're in a tight spot. Everyone is going to have a different favorite out of the bunch, and while there seem to be so many to take advantage of, I think Rare did a pretty good job using the strongest of them for the meatier tasks. I've come to love Thermite, a red ant who carries this big lava filled ball around on his back. He's by far the most destructive of the bunch, even after all upgrades are completed for each of your critters. Another aspect to the gameplay is the synergistic nature of the Warriors. Some cases call for two, sometimes three different creatures in order to accomplish the task at hand. This adds a nice dynamic to the game by making players learn each individual character and then time their moves and transformations during the more complicated scenarios.
As you explore, you actually collect Elemental Fruits, which function as currency for upgrading your Warriors. There are 100 to collect, and while you won't need them all to fully upgrade your creatures, you will get an achievement for getting all of them. This is basically the game's way of rewarding you for going off the beaten path and exploring the less obvious, and often quite hidden, areas of the game. Over the course of the game you will actually come across a lot of barriers that are only breakable or enterable by using a specific Elemental Warrior. So it provides a pretty cool incentive to make another pass through the land once you've completed the main quest (or inbetween if it suits your fancy).
There is much more that could be said about the gameplay, both good and bad, but fundamentally it is a solid play experience that will keep you hooked for as long as it lasts (up to 20 hours if you're the completist type). Adding to the hours is a co-op mode that can be played over Xbox Live, which is a welcome addition if you're looking for replay ability.
For the very first game that ever released on the Xbox 360, Kameo still puts most others to shame both technically and artistically. In typical Rare fashion, the game is very colorful, shiny, and bright with a thoughtful charm that employs a storybook atmosphere reminiscent of the classic high fantasy archetype. In Kameo, you will never be bored, because there's just so much to look at, and each area looks totally different from the next. The Enchanted Kingdom is a sunny, bloom lit kingdom with ornate structures and the greenest individual blades of grass you've ever seen in a game. In contrast, if you go to Snow Top Village, you will find mountainous snowy vistas with giant trees that serve as the foundation for the small community that inhabit the area. From there you've got Forgotten Forest and Mountain Falls, which is a very serene, tropical village with lots of interesting eye candy to keep you exploring. But by far my favorite area from a visual standpoint is the Ogre Swamp, which is full of big trees that house little people (though it's only inferred -- you never see them). Little details like that are plentiful in Kameo, and it really makes backtracking a pleasure.
On the technical side, the water is some of the best I've seen in a videogame to date, and Rare used three texture layers on the scenery with a ton of normal maps. Everything is spit polished with amazing refractions, particle effects, parallax maps, and Rare's famous vertex shading wizardry.
Of course, the game can't be perfect in this respect, can it? Well, no, and there are a couple gripes to point out. Firstly, trolls make up the bulk of the enemy populace, and they are all pretty ugly/generic looking green/brown creatures, who don't animate very well or impress in really any way. In addition, The Badlands are pretty ugly, with some really bad shades of green and brown that kind of put a damper on the visual experience. In the grand scheme of things, you'll spend no more than maybe 1% of the game in this area, so it doesn't make a big impact on the overall experience. Unless you want to stick around and experience the ever-expanding battle between elves and troll hordes - on horseback no less! Too bad though, since it would have been so much more epic if the enemies were more interesting and dynamic looking.
Despite a few select inconsistencies, Kameo sets the graphical bar for the action adventure genre, and we should all demand this kind of quality out of the development community at large. It's not Pixar, but it's glowing spectacle nonetheless.
Kameo is scored beautifully, with a nice array of musical pieces that suit perfectly the mood for each environment in the game. As Kameo gracefully glides through the grass, a calming, magical twinkle brings the aura of the game into perfect cohesion. And in the more menacing moments, a rousing orchestral angst guards the player's heart in preparation for their next big face-off with the evil they must vanquish. Beyond that, sound effects are spot-on, with all sorts of little details peppering each area. You'll hear the banter of village folk and the random grunts and squeals of enemies and Elementals. You can even hear Kameo's wings as they flutter in the air. The voice acting is pretty good, too, even despite some strange and cheesy dialogue. It's weird because sometimes you'll hear a bunch of British dudes, and then randomly you come across some English guy, and then you're being harassed by some Spanish dude. I thought that was a funny little touch. All said, Steve Burke and the Rare music team do what they do, and it's most definitely appreciated.
Kameo was a long time coming, and while some have said that it's a last-gen game glossed up for next-gen primetime, the truth is that the game was doing things way beyond the scope of most other games in the genre at the time in terms of gameplay variety. Kameo is an epic storybook adventure experience, even despite a few scattered design oddities and a rather cookie-cutter storyline. It really does remain a very thoughtful and charming fantasy adventure in classical Rareware fashion. And seeing as how it sold a million copies, maybe it's not too much to ask for a sequel? Definitely worth your time if you're looking for a whimsical high fantasy romp. |
Expedited Available
"For older children"
"I wish more games where like this..."
"This game was frustrating as $%^"