Kameo: Elements of Power [X360]

Of all the Xbox 360 launch titles, Kameo is probably one of the most anticipated among long time fans, if only because the game itself has been around for quite awhile. Originally conceived on the GameCube, Kameo hopped over to the Xbox and then to the Xbox 360 last fall. For most developers, such delays result in a poor quality title, but not Rare. It saw each hop as a new opportunity and reworked the game to take full advantage of the new platform. The end result is a beautiful Xbox 360 launch title that truly looks next-gen.

Kameo tells the story of a peaceful land torn apart by war. Released from his prison, the evil Troll King Thorn has gathered an army and attacked the Enchanted Kingdom, home of the Elves. With her family taken captive, Kameo must harness the power of the 10 Elemental Warriors and take the battle to Thorn if she is to end the war and restore peace to the land.

The game starts out by quickly throwing you right into the action. You're storming Thorn's Castle, you've got three of the Elemental Warriors on hand, and plenty of opportunities to try out new moves. Of course, the initial battle ends with an ambush, which knocks you back to square one and starts the real meat of the story.

After recovering from the castle attack, you learn that all of the Elemental Warriors have been captured by Thorn's forces and it's up to you to get them back. In her natural form, Kameo may be sexy and sassy, but she's not much of a fighter. As a result, scoring the warriors is priority number one. The majority are held by the wraith-like Shadow Trolls, however, just getting to them can be something of a challenge.

In addition to the Shadow Trolls, there are three major bosses that stand in your way. Each is crafted with a great deal of detail and thought, much like the classic boss fights of old. From the massive tree demon, to the electrically charged water creature, and the frozen ice queen, each boss fight is a puzzle in and of itself. You'll need to experiment with the various Elemental Warriors at your disposal in order to discover their weak spots and emerge victorious.

Thankfully, none of the puzzles are incredibly obtuse. Some may take a little more thought than others, but there's nothing here that is impossible to attack. If you do get stuck, a built-in hint system progressively offers more assistance; up to and including just telling you the answer. It's a bit of a cheat, but it ensures that players of all sorts can enjoy the game to its fullest extent.

Gameplay is a solid mix of Zelda-style adventuring and Mario-inspired platforming. The large hub areas are wide open, and available for you to explore at your leisure, while the tighter action levels take a linear bent and focus on combat above all else. Mastering all of your Elemental forms makes fighting the Trolls much easier, not to mention helping increase your score. Because all of the unlockables are point-based, getting a high score is something of a necessity if you want to see the really cool stuff.

When you first start playing, you'll be tempted to stick with one warrior. But the futility of this soon becomes apparent. Although each of Kameo's warriors is a capable fighter, they become much more than the sum of their parts when used in tandem. For example, in the very first level of the game you can use Pummel Weed, the plant creature, to uppercut an enemy into the air before switching to Chilla, an ice yeti, and spearing the hapless floating Troll as he falls to the ground. Discovering these combo attacks is part of the game's charm, but they also increase your multipliers.

For the most part, the controls are solid, though underwater maneuvering does leave a bit to be desired. There is a bit of a learning curve when you first start playing due to the controller setup -- transformation buttons are on the face and actions are mapped to the triggers -- but after a half-hour or so it all starts to feel quite natural.

Where Kameo stumbles is in the multiplayer aspect. The game offers no Xbox Live support, and only split screen co-op play through selected action levels. Also, these levels can only be ones you've already played through in the single-player mode. No changes have been made to balance out the levels for two players, so there's not much of a point to it.

Now let's talk about the absolutely fantastic visuals that the game pumps out. No matter what the environment, the game is stunning when you see it in motion, especially when playing it in high-def. Characters move smoothly, wildlife flitters about, and the world just generally feels alive. At one point, we saw some dragons flying overhead, figuring they were simply background animation. Firing off a few spears proved that theory wrong as the mortally wounded dragon fell to the ground.

Kameo may not be "M" rated and ultra-violent, but it's a very worthy entry in the 360's launch lineup. Hidden underneath the heroine's cute, sly smile is a solid helping of classic Rare goodness, just waiting to burst forth. Layer on the excellent combat system, beautiful visuals, and an orchestral score, and you've got a game well worth checking out.