Review: Kameo: Elements of Power (360)

Xbox 360 It took a while, but Rare have finally decided to pull their finger out. Since the Microsoft buyout in 2002, the British-based company's only Xbox game has been the decidedly average Grabbed by the Ghoulies - so it was about time they produced something worthwhile. Besides Perfect Dark Zero, there was another game seemingly stuck in development hell - moving from console to console with no firm release date - Kameo: Elements of Power. So Gamestyle approached this title with caution; after all, many would argue that Rare haven't made a truly great game since 1999. Not expecting much, we can happily report that Rare have proven the doomsayers wrong.

If you've played any of Rare's previous platforming adventures, a great feeling of deja vu will befall you. Locales feel like they've been cut and pasted from Banjo Kazooie and the character designs are reminiscent of Donkey Kong 64 - Kameo: Elements of Power appears to be your typical Rare game. Of course, this isn't a bad thing: Gamestyle is very fond of the characters created by Rare - particularly the bosses which show real imagination (the Tree boss being a firm favourite) - but perhaps a little more spark was needed for the environments (because a lava level, ice level, and even a Forest Temple are provided in all their clichéd glory).

The storyline is also similar to many other fantasy-themed stories. You play as Kameo, a fetching young Elf who has to capture these Elemental Sprites that she finds on her journey (in order to thwart her jealous evil sister Kalus and the enormous King of Trolls, Thorn). Once captured, these Elemental Sprites become Elemental Warriors and Kameo's quest is driven by the ability to transform into them. Capturing these Sprites is routinely played out in battles with Shadow Trolls, and each battle will be slightly different. Although Light Energy defeats them, the difficulty rises each time - sometimes a Troll will disappear more often or other times it can throw skulls at you.

Each Warrior has a special ability - be it a Thermite who can hurl lava bombs at the surroundings and open new pathways, or the brilliantly-named '40 Below' who can hurl snowballs at his enemies and send them flying. The warriors aren't only useful for battling foes, they are also crucial for navigating your surroundings. For instance, you have Major Ruin who turns into a ball and can travel at high velocity up ramps, or you have Chilla the mighty yeti who can scale the treacherous slopes of ice-covered mountains. Changing into each one is done by using the four face buttons, which takes a while to get used to. More often than not, Gamestyle accidentally turned into a warrior it didn't mean to - made even more irritating due to the abundance of platforming sections that required much patience and precision timing.

The gameplay is divided again by puzzles, some harder than others, that will test the patience of most. If, however, these challenges prove too much, and after a few minutes of trying everything (and failing), your 'partner' - the hilariously-named Wotnot Book - will offer you advice through the start menu. Rare have also felt the need to make Kameo a more linear affair, with a map and a flashing marker telling you where to head next. This is actually a blessing in disguise, though, as the game world is quite hefty in size (and had Rare taken a more Zelda-inspired approach, there would've been too much aimless wandering at the expense of evolving the storyline). Besides, Gamestyle wanted to experience every part of Kameo's world just to savour its lush graphical finesse.

Speaking of which: from the opening sequence to the spellbinding first chapter in the game (the Enchanted Kingdom), your jaw will hit the floor. Rare have created a gorgeous-looking world filled with vitality and colour. After the initial shock has subsided, prepare to be floored again by a Lord of the Rings-type battle in the Badlands - where the amount of trolls on-screen is truly staggering (and each troll behaves independently; some will charge at you whilst others attack your Elf friends. On horseback however, they're easily trampled). The whole game is split into battles like these and each one overrun with new elements - be it towering machines or enormous trolls. While Kameo is a feast for the eyes, it's no less pungent in the musical department.

The huge battles over land were seemingly inspired by Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings - and the fact that Gamestyle feels the need to draw a comparison with what many are calling the greatest movie trilogy of all time shows you how highly we regard the orchestral score. In fact, it's hard to describe how much of an impact the music makes on the game - but let's just say that its beauty holds up from the opener right down to the dramatic conclusion.

Kameo: Elements of Power is one of the biggest surprises of 2005. Although there are problems - for instance, the game is very short (it only took Gamestyle around seven hours) and the online co-op mode seems more like an added extra - we ultimately succumbed to its storybook charms. So it took them quite a few years, but maybe Rare is back on form after all? We certainly hope so.

Rating: 8 / 10

Words by Adam Gulliver