_Alkaline_
Member
Spoilers, of course. But since it came out in 2005, you should know better than to expect me to cover them up. Anyway...
As a semi-recent owner of the Xbox 360 (got the red Resident Evil bundle early last year) Ive made an effort to catch up with the earlier titles on the system, starting with the launch titles. Kameo was the first on my list to try. Back before the 360 came out, Kameo was easily the title I was most excited about. I hadnt heard the greatest things about Kameo. I knew that it looked and sounded fantastic (though I did wonder if both held up over four years after their release), but what about the game itself? Most of what I heard was that it had potential but was unrealised, not least due to its incredibly short length.
And after playing it, would that be a valid criticism? Most definitely. The game is short, but not in the sense that its over before you know it - no, this is still a 10-15 hour game (it actually took me nearly 20 hours since I took my time to soak everything in). No, the reason why its too short is because whats there is actually very good, but could have so much more fleshed out. Not to say its mechnics are flawless, but considering its troubled development and the fact it was a launch title, its impressively fun, cohesive and deep.
Whether it be day or night, the Enchanted Kingdom is magical.
For those who dont know, Kameo is an action-adventure game in the purest sense. Theres a great deal of exploration to be found here, and doing so will reward you with various items that help make you stronger and more versatile. This includes fruit (of which there are 100 pieces these can be used to grant your warriors extra moves in combat), elixirs to increase your max health, and several crystals that boost your abilities (but negatively affect others at the same time, making them balanced). Most warriors have abilities that help you gain access to new area - in a very similar way to series like Zelda and Metroid, youll see items and areas you cant reach until you acquire the right elemental warrior to get you there. Unfortunately, this does lead to several warriors being glorified keys (albeit very fun keys), but their versatility in combat usually makes up for it.
Which brings me to the combat I was expecting it to be pretty mindless and repetitive like most brawlers are, but theres actually a great deal of variety in Kameo. Each of your warriors has a variety of moves that can be used to take down trolls youll end up mostly using Pummel Weed since he effortlessly unlocks focus (slow-mo) mode, but a bit of playing around and experimentation can be very rewarding. Grabbing trolls with Chilla and chucking them off cliffs or into explosive barrels; creating a pillar of flame with Ash and leading trolls into it; dragging trolls in the abyss with Deep Blue; and more are just some of the ways you can finish them off in brutal fashion. There are also various elemental various, a cheap tactic perhaps to force you to use a variety of warriors, but it works. The various multipliers that are rewarded for clever/fast kills also add replay value and incentive to complete the A-rank challenges in the games action stages. Most of the stages are the classic beat one room, move onto the next-style temples, but the formula works fine and Rare throw in just enough set-pieces and variety to keep things from becoming tedious and repetitive.
Killing trolls somehow never manages to get old.
The real creativity comes with the game's boss battles. They are simply spectacular, and superior to any Zelda boss battle in recent times. Theyre difficult, but not too hard. Theyre gorgeous to look at and are really quite intricate. All of them require use of multiple warriors, and its these battles where the games creativity truly comes alive. The Snow Temple boss is one of the best bosses I have ever faced, and Ive played a shitload of games. Its ingenious and fun as heck. Even better is the fact that the boss is not just randomly placed at the end of the temple nope, it comes into play right at the beginning, eerily watching you from above and attempting to impede your progress. It makes finally reaching and defeating the bastard so satisfying. Its moments like those that I couldnt help but think damn, Rares still got it.
But, of course, its not all good.
The main issue I have with Kameo aside from some small control issues (falling off cliffs because of poor turning circles is quite common in Kameo) and other minor things that Ill get to later, is simply that there is so much potential here, but the game doesnt make the most of it. In fact, you dont get the final elemental warrior until right before the last stage, and its a real shame too because that particular warrior (Thermite) is especially fun to use. Indeed, quite a few of the warriors are underutilized 40 Below has his moments but aside from the Snow Temple boss and a couple of ice slides in Snow Pass is pretty much unused, Snare is only used for two puzzles (one which was a bit obtuse, even for a Zelda veteran like me) and a boss fight, Rubble is used for a few early fun puzzles and isnt seen after that (although he absolutely rocks the hidden tests), Flex is only used in Snow Pass, and Ash is too slow for the combat and is essentially only used to light torches and burn ice blocks. Its frustrating because you can see how much potential is there, but there just isnt many opportunities to use it. The game sometimes combines the powers of two warriors (such as Major Ruin and Chilla) but these moments are few and far between, which is a real shame.
Ash isn't as good in combat as he should have been.
That said, at least Rare managed to get the most out of a few warriors Pummel Weed is brilliant in combat, Major Ruin is used constantly for traversing the environment (and for good reason, since his morph-ball-esque mechanics are brilliant), Chilla is used for a great deal of climbing and puzzles that require projectiles, and Deep Blue virtually gets a whole temple to himself. This guy gets a very bad rap from most Kameo players, since his underwater controls are different from the norm. Me? Once I learned to NOT touch the right stick and instead solely use the left stick, the controls were fine. Play around with them and figure them out and the water temple boss (a sticking point for many) is no problem. Im not making excuses for Rare either. Deep Blue controls ok. Weird, but ok.
As for the warriors themselves, they are full of personality and superbly animated. Despite there being two warriors for each element, they are all varied and distinct, and a real pleasure to play with. Especially of note is Flex, who is hilarious to watch and listen too. To be honest though, perhaps Rare would have been better off sticking with maybe five warriors, instead of ten. That would have allowed them to flesh out the warriors, give them some more moves and ensure that the level design got the most out of them. Instead, we got four or five that reached their potential and the rest were sorely underused.
Flex is awesome.
The overworld itself doesn't quite live up to its potential either. It's generic in design - essentially a round hub (not unlike OOT) with entrances to the game's various areas along the border. There's not much to find unfortunately - there are only about 8-10 abandoned houses overall, and though these do feature helpful items (including new skins for your warriors, which all look pretty cool) and a few secret caves, you can't help but feel that the game could have done a lot more with it. There was definitely potential for multiple towns or dungeons, so it's a real shame that it turned out so simple and barren. That said, the game does chuck a few set-pieces into the overworld every time you complete a dungeon most of which involve you having to protect shrines, and though these moments aren't particularly special, they do help keep you on your toes and prevent the game from becoming too formulaic in its structure. Indeed, the instance where you are midway through snow pass and suddenly need to rescue the kingdom is really quite engrossing.
Yet, for all its faults, the experience itself is just too magical for me to really care. Im not saying that these problems dont exist, nor that they dont matter they most certainly do. But sometimes a game can really draw you in and make you forget about some of the things that you would otherwise take more notice of, and I think Kameo is just one of those games. The world while decidedly generic captures the fantasy feel perfectly. Theres a real serene, ethereal feel to the world of Kameo, and its something that Ive rarely experienced in a game before. Its a combination of many things not least superb art and visual design.
Kameo is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous, and screens dont do it justice. Naturally by 2010 numerous games have surpassed it, but for a launch title Kameo is damn good looking. Superb texturing, fantastic lighting, brilliant particle effects (throne room goddamn), an incredible draw distance, and a real attention to detail make Kameo a visual feast. The best looking area in the game is most definitely the Forest Glade, an early area that just looks ridiculously good in motion. Rare put a lot of effort into that area and it shows. Most of the other areas in the game also look great, particularly the Enchanted Kingdom. If the initial foray in Thorns Castle doesnt impress, then stepping out into the Kingdom surely will. That place is simply magical. I also have to mention the treasure cave in Mountain Falls, for some reason the lighting and shadowing in that area really wowed me.
The garden in the Enchanted Kingdom is simply beautiful.
Its not all great, however. Some areas are a fair step back visually, and its these areas where the games troubled development makes you think that they didnt get quite as much attention in the rush to release. Prior to playing the game I had heard that the game was unbalanced in its visuals and this is true to an extent, though I was surprised at how consistent the visuals actually are throughout the game. The only places that look average are areas within the Badlands and the gateway to Thorns Pass, which is positively ugly and I have no idea how that one didnt get looked at. The areas surrounding the Badlands look fine, it's the stuff in the middle that is simply too sparse and dull. Rare made a big deal about having tons of enemies on screen at once, and though it definitely improves the scope of the overworld and helps convey the battle (and it's a ton of fun to plow through trolls on your horse), all of the trolls animate virtually the same in cut-scenes, which looks odd and prevents it from being truly spectacular.
The character design, for the most part, is pretty good as mentioned the warriors are superbly designed, but the various NPCs throughout the game also look pretty great, particularly the ones in the Kingdom with their excellent fur shading. The human characters, however, are not so good. Kameo herself is generic and, really, totally uninspired. In fact, the warriors completely steal the show, and since you only use Kameo occasionally throughout the game anyway, shes not nearly compelling enough for someone who has the game named after them. Her various relatives, who you save throughout the game, are pretty dodgy in their design as well, though I did have a soft spot for Yeros and the Mystic.
The badlands, whilst impressive in scope, suffers from mediocre texturing and sparse areas.
Animations can be a bit rough too. The warriors and NPC animate great, but Kameo looks ridiculous when running, so youll get used to pressing the hover button whenever using her. Lip-synching is also pretty poor. The game also features a few pre-rendered cut-scenes, and these arent very good at all. They have this weird cell-shading look to them, but Rare didnt commit enough to it, so they come off looking pretty ugly. The final cut-scene is well-designed though, I will give them credit for that, but I think most of that has to do with the freaking awesome music.
Snow Pass is probably the best-designed area in the game, requiring the use of nearly all your elemental warriors.
Which brings me to the soundtrack. God damn. If you ever wanted to hear what Zelda should sound like, this is basically it. Completely orchestrated, its simply a treat for the ears. Early on in a game youll hear The Legend Unfolds, a theme that reccurs during the games various temples. This is simply one of the best tracks Ive heard in a long time in gaming, and it has to be heard in-game to really appreciate. Hearing it as I was making my way up Thorns Castle was one of those magical moments in gaming it gave me chills, and I havent had that kind of feeling in a while. Other great pieces of music throughout the game include Thorn's Pass, Lament of Solon, and the Water Temple battle. The subdued stuff is great as well, particularly the various house and cave themes you hear through the game, one of my favourites being Cave of Echoes. Also, although the Hero's Theme ended up being the games theme, the original intended theme can be found in one of the games houses. There was also a piece of music that was scrapped for some reason Feast of Kings, which can be heard in Forest Glade Cafes jukebox. Its brilliant. That said, the whole soundtrack is quality its easily one of the most consistent soundtracks Ive heard. Steve Burke did an amazing job with this game. If theres one thing we can all agree on about Rare, its that theyve never really lost their ability to create outstanding music hence why the loss of several key composers in recent times is such a shame.
The voice-acting isn't quite as good. Some of it is ok - in fact a lot of the NPCs are voiced well and have a great deal of character - but once again, Kameo herself strikes out hard. Thorn turns out to be pretty lame too his lines are completely generic. Also, something I noticed immediately was that he appears HUGE in the pre-rendered cut-scenes, but hes not big at all when you end up facing him at the end. Thought that was pretty odd. The story itself isn't anything particularly special, but it's conveyed well-enough and the superb musical score makes it seem a bit more epic than it actually is. There's a "twist" towards the end, but the constant (and painfully obvious) hints towards it ruin any chance of it having an impact. The actual ending sequence, however, was surprisingly engrossing and though cliche, a suitable finish to the game. Kameo does a much better job of creating a fantasy world than it does in creating a fantasy story.
Did I mention Flex is awesome?
Is Kameo the game that it could have been? No. Rare had a potential classic with this game, and for as much promise as it had, it never quite reaches the brilliance that it should have. But, when you consider how many times it switched platforms and the fact that it was rushed to launch, Kameo is a pretty damn good game. I cant help but think about how good it could have been if Microsoft gave them another year to develop, but what we got is still a pretty magical experience. Theres a real charm to Kameo it pulled off the feel of a fantasy game really well, and when you consider how rare games like this are these days, you really start to appreciate what Rare managed to create a team that was being rushed to the deadline to make launch, and one that was under real pressure to deliver. The great thing is that Kameo turned out well. The bad thing is that it could have been so much more. But what we got is still something pretty special, and its one of those games Ill look back on with real fondness.
For those of you who have never played it and are considering it, I really encourage you pick it up and see what you think. It's an experience that you don't get too often in the HD generation, and there's a certain magic to Kameo that you rarely get these days. For those of you who have played it, what are your experiences with the game?
