Kameo (360)
From Rare
When the 360
launched, a few months back, many considered the launch to be
nothing short of lack-luster. We were given a long string of
ports and sequels from EA, Activision, etc. However, hidden in
this flood of repetition was one other type of game. The type
that only Rare could give us; the often delayed and console
moving games.
Thus, we 360
owners were given one of the poster children of the 360
launch; Kameo. With it's promises of hundreds of characters on
screen at once, all doing different tasks, while shining in HD
visual glory, things looked bright. However, they looked a
little too bright for some...the word might be "kiddy".
So, with the hype and the lack of praise, how did the game
actually fare (and not just in some sad looking sales
figures)?
Plot
It's a
little conventional and a little fresh. Much like how this
game is a little "kiddy" and a little dark. You
might say that the plot and look of Kameo both fall into a
unique field of opposites (and let's not mince words...it's
much like another title of the same general genre that failed
despite it's glory; Beyond Good and Evil).
You play, surprisingly,
a character named Kameo. She is the next in line to rule over
her kingdom of faeries, elves, and dryads (to name a few). For
hers is a world of some of the happier of fantasy races and
designs. She lives in a large palace located on a flying
continent that overlooks a world of bright and happy shades of
blues, greens, and browns. At first glance, hers is a very
happy world.
However,
when Kameo's bitchy older sister, Kalus, who was overlooked at
the next ruler of this land, gets tired of Kameo's perfection
and how people adore her a little too much, she makes a pact
with evil. She releases Thorn, the king of the trolls, who was
once sealed away in stone. In the past, he had led the trolls,
who were once friends of the other races, in a revolt to
conquer the land. However, with the help of the Elemental
Spirits, the kinder races beat him back and sealed him in his
less flexible form.
When Kalus
released Thorn, she formed a pact that would enable her to
rule the Elves instead of Kameo. In order to fulfill this,
Kalus and Thorn abducted all of the royal family, except for
Kameo. Kameo thus tried to rescue her family and defeat Thorn
with the power of three elemental spirits that were in her
possession. However, in her initial attempt as a savior of her
people, she was defeated and her elemental spirits were stolen
from her.
Thus, a
grand war between the Elves and Trolls has begun. While the
grand armies of each side face off on the ground, in massive
numbers, Kameo starts her quest. In order to beat Kalus and
Thorn, she seeks to rescue her family and to reclaim the
elemental spirits that can give her the power to ultimately
face off with Thorn, one on one.
While this
all might sound pretty saccharine in nature, looks can be
deceiving. The story treads a unique line that only Beyond
Good and Evil has tread properly in the past; when things are
happy, they are quite happy, but when things get dark, they
get mighty dark and twisted. Don't expect a simple fairy tale
plot...and don't expect the plot to go light on content. This
is a great game with plenty of plot and a good number of
twists along the way, assuming you are willing to seek out the
plot and not just expect it to be delivered on a silver
platter.
Game
Play
Think of
this game as a cross between a typical Zelda style game (like
BG&E) and a platformer (like Mario).
When you are
free roaming in villages, you have a feel in the controls of a
Zelda game. You will talk to people, buy a few items and
power-ups, and you will look for hidden bonuses. Shops will
offer you chances to buy larger wallets (like in a Zelda
game), elixirs (heart containers...so to speak), and extra
costumes. You will also be able to buy, and find, fruits which
can be used to unlock new abilities in your alternate forms.
You will also solve some problems for villagers ("my
house is infested with bugs", and so forth). You have
seen this all before with both BG&E and Zelda...but it
doesn't make it any less fun to experience in this new world
with a new background story to the events.
It will also
feel like a standard adventure/RPG, like Zelda, when you are
roaming from one location to another in the main world. In
fact, much like the more recent Zelda games (OOT, Majora's
Mask, Wind Waker), there is a central main world that has various
exits that lead to new main areas. Each sub-area will include
a village with a dungeon or two within the town. While you
roam the main world, you also can seek out hidden fruit and elixirs,
mini-games, and ride a horse for quicker transportation (like
with Zelda...).
However,
this Zelda inspired genre is broken once you enter a dungeon.
While you still have the same level of exploration as one
would expect, the combat is what truly changes the feel of the
game. When you battle an enemy, you will not just fight one.
You will face onslaughts of foes from all sides. You will have
epic battles that will test you abilities as both a gamer and
you thought processes in how to tactically face the challenges
ahead. It's never as simple as the slower paced Zelda battles,
and it's never a mindless button masher like one would find in
more combat heavy of titles. It's a unique blend of the two
that will await you. True, the game never gets overly
challenging, but you may find yourself continuing a few times
here and there as you get an idea of what is expected of
you.
Combat,
however, is pretty unique for this style of game. Your
elemental spirits are your only true weapons. You can freely
map three elemental forms on the four face buttons of the 360
(the A button being reserved for reverting to Kameo's base
form). Each one will have multiple attacks that will be controlled
with the left and right triggers (usually LT will be one
action, RT will be another, and both together will be a third
ability, with some unique variations and modes along the way).
These abilities are what those fruits you've collected are
for. Each ability can be upgraded or unlocked by giving one to
three fruit to a spirit.
Each spirit
will also have it's own unique feel and unique strengths and
weaknesses.
For example,
Major Ruin is basically an exploration spirit that can roll
around as a ball and charge up both vertical and horizontal
movement for speedy dashes and jumps. Usually this form will
not leave you much to be desired for combat, but it can help
you cover ground quickly when combat or exploration requires
some speed.
Chilla, a
large icy behemoth is slow and sturdy in combat. However, he
can use the icy spikes that grow on his back as projectiles
for sniping enemies, or up close he can impale enemies on
these spike to reserve for weapons later on. Once an enemy is
impaled, Chilla can either throw the enemy as a projectile, or
he can swing the foe as a club to inflict damage to both the
make-shift weapon and a new target at the same time.
Another
form, Pummel Weed, is a brawler. His abilities include a fast
left-right combo of punches that can easily preoccupy a single
enemy as it's face suffers from constant jabs. Also, PW can
partially burrow into the ground and come flying up with a
strong upper cut.
These are
just the three forms that you begin with prior to Kameo's
defeat at the hands of Thorn and Kalus. As you play, you will
unlock a half dozen of additional spirit forms that range from
snipers, to brawlers, to ones that will just confuse and
astound you as you discover their strange abilities are
actually potent attacks. These attacks will also soon reveal
themselves to be important tools in exploration.
If anything,
that's one of the most amazing aspects of this title. While an
ability may look entirely offensive, defensive, or not combat
oriented, you will soon learn otherwise. That trick of Pummel
Weed to partially submerge and deliver an offensive attack
will soon reveal itself as a way to explore some smaller and
tighter areas. Chilla may look like a brute, but he's also the
only spirit capable of climbing icy walls. The abilities and
the strategies are nearly limitless.
Also, by
allowing one to map three different forms to the controller at
once, the combinations become important. For example, you will
often times have a icy wall in front of you, but a gorge
separating Chilla from his easy assent. So, you simply use
Major Ruin to dash across the gap, switch to Chilla mid-dash,
and then climb up the once distant wall.
Also, as you
face the hoard of enemies, you will start to accumulate
bonuses and special points. This is another thing that
separates Kameo from Zelda. Each stage will record your final
score and will effect you ability to unlock unique secrets.
While it's not crucial to unlock these objectives (I know I
didn't get any...), they give a reason for replaying old
dungeons. Also, while you earn these bonuses, you will also
come across focus mode. This occurs when you score enough
rapid hits on a foe and you enter Kameo's version of
bullet-time. During this time you will be able to score rapid
hits on enemies and see special enemies that normally move too
fast to be detected (and can be killed for extra
points).
However, to
help in the theme of Kameo and the dark meets light feeling of
the game, there are some brutal things that can await the
cleaver gamer. If you get Chilla to impale a foe (which seems
brutal enough), you can proceed to toss this hapless foe into
a pool of lava, off a cliff, or wherever you chose. The
environment is a potent weapon and you will be rewarded
(through your score) for the more gruesome means of
dispatching the trolls that stand in your way.
So, while it
may seem unusual, you can think of this game as a
Zelda-meets-BG&E-meets-Final Fight-meets-Mario
Sunshine...and then some. Yet, while this game may barrow
heavily from other established games and genres, in the end it
will leave a fresh a unique perspective on what games could be
in the new generation...and once you beat the game and grow
tired of trying for high scores on the various dungeons, you
can grab a second player co-op the beaten dungeons...now
that's replay value and innovation that doesn't need to be
crammed down the gamers' throat.
Visuals
In a
word...DAMN! This is a pretty game. While the visuals are
heavily shaped with bright colors and fantasy elements, these
are some of the best looking visuals ever seen on a console
game. If you happen to have an HD-TV hooked up to your 360,
you will be amazed.
This game is
able to give realistic particle and lighting effects
(fire/flames are especially brilliant), highly detailed
characters, and 720p resolution...all while showing off armies
of hundreds of trolls and dozens of Elvin soldiers locked in
brutal combat. Did I mention that this all occurs with no slow
down? Yup...that's nice. In fact, not only is this a
centerpiece of Kameo, but a true testament to where video
games are heading; it's heading towards epic battles that make
the old one player versus a dozen foe battles feel paltry and
pathetic in comparison.
While there
aren't exactly the amazing cut scenes that seem to be
anticipated of all games in the current generation, there are
enough brilliant visuals to go around. The in game engine
suffices nicely in presenting plot while still looking amazing
enough to make one feel like they are dealing with an
"official feeling cut scene".
In the end,
it's hard to pin point the exact wonders of the visuals for
Kameo. However, the sum of the parts far exceeds anything
since before, and may set a benchmark for future games for
quite some time.
Audio
First off,
like I usually dread, there is voice acting. It's not too
horrible, and most voices are tolerable...yet...in the end,
once again, I say that games need better voice talent. You
will not be left with too many reasons to dread the voice
acting, but you will rarely be left with a reason to celebrate
the spoken part of the dialogue. At least the most outspoken
character, Kameo, is voiced with enough skill to never get on
one's nerves.
The rest of
the audio is amazing. The sound effects, along with the
ambient noises, really draw the player into the action. If a
scene is tranquil, you can expect the soft sounds of flowing
water, chirping birds, gentle footsteps, and maybe the
occasion gentle splashing of a child playing in some body of
water. However, once the action picks up, you will be treated
to the clank of metal striking metal, the whooshing of strong
wind gusts, the roaring and hissing of open flames, and the
grunts and screams of people in the throws of combat. The
effects will always sound real and match the mood with near
perfection. Even footsteps will change in their sounds
depending on who's walking and what surface they are walking
on.
The music,
like the ambient sounds, also matches tightly to the situation
at hand. In a village, one could expect soft music that feels
like the jovial tunes that fit in in a Hyrule (Zelda) village.
Once combat begins, trumpets will blare, cymbals will crash,
and the tempo will pick up. The music, while never quite
memorable, is definitely always appropriate.
Conclusion
While some
people can call Kameo short, uninspired, or confused on it's
target audience, the truth is not so bad. In reality, this
"short" game supplies just as much entertainment as
any other title in the genres it covers (brawling or Zelda-esque
adventure). There is a good 10+ hours to the game, and there
is far more if you take the time to explore some of the more
hidden of goodies. When you throw in co-op for any completed
levels and the chance for getting high scores and unlocking
extra secrets through replaying past levels, you have a
massive game for it's genre.
As for that
crap about the game being confused on it's audience...sigh.
The simple truth is the game is a lot like Beyond Good or Evil
was (or like the novel Stardust by Neil Gaiman). This is a
fantasy game for a more mature of audience. In other words,
this is a game that is perfect for someone who's advanced to
more mature of themes, but still longs for the colorful days
of Mario and Zelda...a lot like how Conker's Bad Fur Day did,
but with a more involved plot and a lot less (as in none) poor
jokes.
So, in the
end, Kameo gives a brilliant level of visuals, audio, and
technical aptitude, a deep and interesting plot, and one hell
of an addictive game play engine. Throw all of that together,
put in some extras to enhance replay, and you are left with a
great gem of a game. The only thing one could reasonably ask
for, at the end of the game, would be more (which is what we
should always leave a game wanting). So, only for a few
unpolished and underused elemental spirits I
give Kameo a 9.25 out of 10.
Malik
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