This preview was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Matthew Call.
Kameo: Elements of Power began its creative process over
five years ago. Originally slated for the GameCube, the game’s developer, Rare,
was bought by Microsoft and the game was developed for the Xbox. The game was
almost complete when Rare decided to switch consoles once again, this time to
the Xbox 360. After years of development, Kameo is expected to be a launch
title for the 360 and should be on shelves later this month.
The protagonist, Kameo, is an elf who has the unique ability
to shape-shift into 10 different elementals of power. These elementals are
based on the elements of plant, water, fire, earth, and ice and are unlocked as
the game progresses. Kameo, with her elemental forms, must challenge her evil
sister and restore goodness to the world by battling evil trolls, orcs, and
other creatures across the various levels of the game. Much of the gameplay
involves the use of these elementals to solve various puzzles and eliminate the
enemies who are attacking the peaceful inhabitants of Kameo’s world.
The various elementals in the game are all very distinct. The
first elemental Kameo uses in the game is Chilla, a blue furry giant with
spikes on his back and arms. Chilla can pick up trolls and jam them into the
spikes on his back, then take them off and use them as clubs against other foes
in the game. Another elemental at Kameo’s disposal is Pummel Weed, who
resembles a giant Venus flytrap with the boxing abilities of Mike Tyson. Rubble
is a ball of rock that rolls around the level flattening enemies. In what is
certainly a nice touch, enemies who are rolled over by Rubble will sometimes
become flattened and stuck to the outside of the giant rock ball. Each
elemental in the game starts off with a couple of basic attack moves and there
are also four unlockable attacks awaiting the player’s discovery.
Where the game really shines is in the creative use of
combinations of elementals. For example, players can hose down an area with oil
using Deep Blue, a giant squid elemental. Once the area is thoroughly soaked,
players can then shape-shift into Ash, a fire elemental who will quickly turn
the oil into a raging inferno. There are several unique combinations of the 10
elemental abilities that can be combined to create interesting possibilities
for problem solving as well as dispatching enemies. Rare also focused on
allowing puzzles to be solved by using more than one combination of elemental,
which means players will be able to solve the puzzles the way they want to,
instead of being forced to play the way the game forces them to.
The game begins in a “lobby” world, where Kameo can explore
her abilities and choose which level to play. In addition to the regular game
levels there are also four battlefield action quests, which are massive battles
that Kameo can jump into at any time from the game’s starting level. These
battles are enormous, with literally thousands of characters fighting on the
screen simultaneously. Kameo can wander around and jump into the fray at any
time to turn the tide of the battle in favor of her elven kindred. These levels
really show off the horsepower under the hood of the 360 as games with thousands of characters on-screen at
once have yet to grace the current generation of consoles.
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