Kameo: Elements of Power - Xbox 360 Reviews


	Platform Xbox 360 Genre Platformer Publisher Microsoft Developer Rare ESRB T (Teen) Released November 18, 2005

- Awesome visuals - Solving puzzles using Kameo's various forms is integrated into the action - Accessible platformer

- It's over too quickly - Controls take some getting used to - Slap-dash "cutscenes" to tell the story

Review: Grabbed by the Ghoulies (XB) Review: Psychonauts (XB) Review: Blinx 2: Masters of Space and Time (XB)
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Kameo: Elements of Power

Score: 7.9 / 10

I suppose the biggest question I had going in when I sat down with Kameo: Elements of Power was whether or not Rare could redeem itself for the lackluster and un-fun Grabbed by the Ghoulies that was released on the Xbox back in 2004. Did Rare succeed? Only time and the opinion of a hundred jaded and cynical game reviews will tell but if I were to answer the question, it would be a resounding “somewhat!” Although Kameo is one of the most gorgeous looking launch titles for the Xbox 360 – even on my regular 21” TV – but for all its beauty the basic platforming mechanics pretty much remain unchanged from the likes for Banjo Tooie (on the N64), which is nice but was it too much to expect an evolution of the platforming genre?

From what I can tell of the disjointed cutscenes and the blurb in the manual, Elements of Power is all about the reclamation of fairy-like Kameo’s transformative powers as she attempts to defeat her evil sister, who has resurrected the evil troll king and imprisoned the rest of her family. It’s a setup that guarantees a lot of item collection and much on-the-fly transformation as Kameo traverses the usual gamut of themed environments and tough-as-nails boss fights.

Like I said before, the visual presentation is extremely nice. Tons of little graphical touches abound and the environments feature a rich lushness that not many wines (or winos) can boast. Kameo’s many forms are also very detailed and colorful (though I could have done without the cutesy names for each of them). I also really enjoyed the more action-packed sequences with seemingly hundreds of troll troops on-screen at once. There are no complaints of the graphics.

The control on the other hand is merely okay. The face buttons – A, B, X, Y – activate whatever form has been assigned to that button. It makes changing characters simple but it complicates the combat. The right and left triggers are used for attacking and pressing them simultaneously also results in an attack. However, besides first person shooters, the trigger buttons have never meant “attack!” to me so it took me an inordinate amount of time stop pressing the face buttons. I’ve also learned that my index fingers have a lot less stamina than my

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thumbs and button-mashing with the trigger buttons just doesn’t feel right. Control of Kameo’s many forms are fairly standard – they all handle slightly different but it’s not too drastic – though their abilities are very different and, of course, suited to very specific tasks to overcome obstacles and defeat the bosses in the usual platformer mold. (Generally puzzle solving extends as far as “Which character or combination of characters could do this?”)

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Kameo’s various forms can be “upgraded” by feeding them special fruit – ostensibly to make defeating enemies easier, but really to provide an excuse for collecting things. And to collect things you’ll want to explore every nook and cranny of Kameo’s gorgeous world, which is just fine.

On the audio front, I’ve always been a fan of Rare’s musical scores (I can still hum tunes from Banjo-Kazooie) and Kameo doesn’t disappoint. It’s good stuff and the other audio components are spot-on, though some of the NPCs spout one-line bits of nonsense that just come across as annoying. The more subtle aspects like the grinding that accompanies Rubble’s movements is great. (Rubble is a mobile pile of rocks.)

Besides getting used to the combat and the reliance on item collecting, there’s not a lot bad to say about Kameo: Elements of Power. It’s flat-out beautiful to watch but considering Kameo’s been in development for about four years by my estimation (and on three different platforms: GameCube, Xbox, and finally Xbox 360) I would have expected this, though it doesn’t excuse the slapdash story cuts. I just wish there was a little more in the way of innovation – I’m not talking about reinventing the wheel, just something a little different. That said, if you enjoyed Rare’s other platformer games you’ll probably be able to appreciate Kameo.

So did Rare redeem themselves for Grabbed by the Ghoulies? Yes, but not like a Phoenix rising from the ashes – Kameo’s good but I have the nagging feeling that it could have been better.

- Omni

(December 22, 2005)