Kameo: Elements of Power

Kameo has had had a pretty bumpy start in it’s video game journey. Going from a gamecube game to be released in 2002 to an Xbox exclusive completely revamped, it has been a long strange trip for Kameo, but it looks like it may have been for the better… Kameo: Elements of Power is developed by Rare (Grabbed By The Ghoulies, Conker) and i must say they’ve made some serious improvements since the game’s inception back in late 2001. they have changed many aspects of the game including the graphics (including the way the characters look), the level of detail, and even the characters names! But before i get ahead of myself, let me explain the story. You play Kameo, a special race of elves (in the Gamecube game Kameo was a fairy) who pass their magic on generation to generation to a chosen son or daughter. Many years before Kameo was born, her village fought a giant ogre named Thorn. They stopped him from destroying their way of life by magically transforming him into stone. Fast forward a few years later and Kameo’s parents are deciding who to pass on their magical powers to: Kameo or her older sister, Kalus (the parents can only choose whichever child they think will carry on their beliefs and the traditions of their family) The parents choose Kameo and this puts Kalus in a state of jealously, so much she shuns her family and is able to free Thorn from his frozen state. Thorn Quickly gets back to his old tricks and kidnaps Kameo’s ancestors!

Kameo’s main goal is to free her ancestors and defeat Thorn. Kameo herself isn’t too powerful, so she has the magical ability to change herself into a different creatures. (the creatures are known as “warriors” according to Rare) There are 10 creatures overall, including: Chilla the gorilla, Pummel weed the flower, Major ruin the Armadillo, 40 Below (also known as Zero D) the ice creature, Rubble the rolling ball of rocks, Ash the fire dragon, Snare(a second plant creature), and Deep Blue, a squid/octopus-like creature. 2 characters are being kept a secret for the time being. Kameo has been upgraded since earlier reports, and she has been given a few new moves, so players don’t see her a totally helpless. She can perform a flip kick, a sweeping kick, an air jump (where she jumps into the air and then swoops down onto her enemies) a grapple move and her hover move (where she uses her wings to hover over the ground, allowing her to move faster over each level. Each warrior has moves that you upgrade to through out the game, and since the game will take 20+ hours to complete the first time through, you’ll want to play through a second time in order to upgrade all of your warriors with their cool moves.

One thing Rare has always been about is their creative design. Rare has made a strong point about the type of game Kameo is, and despite popular belief, it’s not designed as a platformer as many people think. It does have a little bit of jumping, but most of the game is designed as a action/adventure with a dash of combative areas. For an example, there is the “Focus Meter”. Rare implemented this to further drive home the point that Kameo is not a platformer. The focus meter is a gauge that slowly builds up over enemies you defeat, and when the focus meter is full you can slow down time(ala bullet time), allowing you pummel multiple enemies at once in a ferocious blaze of, well, whatever warrior you are using at the time. You could activate the focus meter using Pummel Weed, punch several enemies into the air, then switch to Chilla, and use the ice spikes to cause further damage. Rare has decided to use a Zelda style control, where you can map warriors to each of the 4 face buttons(you use the left and right triggers to attack), so you can switch between each warrior in an instant. When Kameo has the ability to switch to more than 4 warriors, the additional warriors will be kept in Kameo’s inventory, where she can choose the warriors she wants to use.

The combat system is a step up above normal “platform smashers” (you know, where you find yourself with the same character, doing that same move over and over until you’ve beaten the game. Kameo’s combat system changes things a bit. First, because you can switch between different warriors, you won’t find yourself staring at the same character doing the same punching animation you’ve seen a hundred times. You can beat up a few enemies as Kameo, then switch to Chilla and beat up a few more, then switch to Major Ruin and use his ball rolling abilities to run down the rest. Rare has bumped up the AI a bit to match, this way players will still get a challenge, even though they have all this power in their fingertips. Some of the lower enemies will be pretty easy, and in fact they might even hit another enemy by accident!! the higher level enemies will recognize the character and react, so if you switch to Major Ruin and start the ball attack, they will dive out of the way, causing you to think on your feet. Switching applies to more than just taking care of enemies, you will have to use different characters in order to get through a level. For example, you find yourself looking across a gap at the bottom of a hill. It’s too big to jump over, but you can hover to the top of the hill as Kameo, then switch to Major Ruin and roll down the hill to gain speed and distance, and in midair, switch to Chilla to grab on to the side in order to climb to the other side!

Kameo is very impressive in it’s beta form. It has great graphics, awesome special effects, great old school bosses, and the overall result is a nicely polished game that should surprise us all. Kameo’s release date is scheduled for January 2005.