Kameo: Elements of Power

Written by Ryan Genno  on June 08, 2005

Xbox 360 Preview: I think it's actually going to be released this time!

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It has been a long road for Rare's Kameo, that's for sure. Originally the game was supposed to be on the Nintendo GameCube, but then Microsoft bought Rareware from Nintendo and so that game got axed. The game was then planned to be on Microsoft's own bad boy (the Xbox of course) and Rare themselves even said the game was completed, but it now looks like that game has been cancelled too. When Microsoft made the big announcement about the successor to the Xbox (the Xbox 360), surprisingly Kameo was there at the show ready to be one of the launch games for the new system. Although the constant delays are annoying, especially for gamers who just want to play it, see why this upcoming 3D platformer game just might be worth the long wait.

If you are new to the world of Kameo, the story takes place in a fantasy-based universe and you still control a young female elf (she is half naked too by the way) who is a leading a fight against an army of invading ogres and trolls. The elfin princess herself isn't too powerful, but she has the ability to transform into 10 different creatures - like a giant rhino or a sneaky plant - to help her even out the odds. The game play itself is an Action/Adventure quest much like a Zelda title, so the basic game play and story hasn't changed much in its many years of development.

One can argue that the game could have stayed on the old Xbox since not much has changed in the game play department, but where the new Kameo differs from the older editions is the upgraded graphics. Not only does the game have improved textures and improved animations that take advantage of the power of the 360, but one new scene even shows an epic battle scene with literally over a hundred characters fighting on the screen at once! The game still has a very cartoon style to it, which may limit its appeal to this bloodthirsty Grand Theft Auto generation, but maybe gamers can look past that if the game is good enough, eh?