•• Story ••
You are Kameo, a cute little fairy with a mean kick and the power to summon and turn into elemental spirit warriors. You are also young and a bit quick to fight rather than think. The story begins with Kameo's sister kidnapping members of Kameo's family and dragging them away. You are dropped straight into the story with very little information. As the game progresses, you learn more about your family, your birthright and why your sister is jealous. Not everyone is who they seem and his comes out further down the road. The story is good enough to support the gameplay, but not revolutionary. It doesn't need to be as long as it inspires the player to keep playing. And that it does.

•• Gameplay ••
The game pretty much begins in the think of the action. You are start with 3 elemental warriors and use them to get to the top of a castle, and escape to your hometown. This drop into the game can be jarring especially for those who aren't used to platformers. But this is not your typical platformer. Instead of just jumping around from platform to platform unlocking doors, it is combined with action and combat. As Kameo, you have your flip kick which does the trick in a pinch. By clicking one of the 3 main buttons, you can summon and elemental warrior and turn into that warrior with their powers. Example, Pummel Weed is a plant with several special powers. He's got a some mean jab combos including a wicked haymaker uppercut. He can also burrow into the ground and then pop up for that uppercut. This is a devastating blow. So each warrior has powers like that and throughout the game, your goal will be to rescue the elemental powers as well as your family. As a platformer, there is plenty of wall scaling, jumping from platform to platform by way of a sticky tongue (that will make sense when you play the game). There are puzzles to solve such as finding each torch in the area and lighting them on fire in the proper order or launching a rock into a statue's mouth at just the right time.

Kameo also borrows several aspects from RPG games. While certainly not hardcore, the elements go well with some of the platform features and combat. As you are kicking butt and taking names, those beasties you are beating will show above their head how many life points they have. This is very helpful in knowing who to go for first and is particularly useful against bosses.

There are several environment hubs. I use the term hubs because they are large areas where you are not on rails, meaning you have freedom to explore and do whatever. It is here that you can help the villagers by doing odd jobs such as using your rock power to build a bridge, light torches, etc. It isn't a mission per se like in Fable, but an extra puzzle. As your reward they will give you an elemental fruit which can be used to upgrade your elemental powers. For example, Pummel Weed can be upgraded to have blades on his leaves so that when he's spinning around underground, he'll do damage to bad guys he runs into. The elemental fruit is one more RPG aspect that makes the game less repetitive and far more interesting. Each elemental warrior has at least 4 new powers which can be bought. This combined with the eventual discovery of all 8 elemental warriors means quite a bit of strategy and thinking about which powers to upgrade.

Controls are basic. As you are positioned behind the main character, the game takes full use of not only the three main buttons, but also the triggers for attack moves and combinations for special moves. Of note, the one thing that was frustrating was trying to control the undersea elemental. His control scheme was so difficult that it became an exercise in frustration. Thankfully, I got use to it, but it took me a while.

This is mostly a platformer, so much of the game is on rails. it tens to be linear. but that's expected of a platform game. As you get a new elemental warrior, it is expected that the next level will require much use of that. However, there is no time where you can blow through the game or a level using only one warrior. One most occasions, I had to change into 3 different beings to complete the level.

This game is in the vein of classic Nintendo. Not only do we have rolling boulders to doge, but we have classic boss battles. A giant tree is very Nintendo as it is a giant, stationary being that throw objects at you as you do damage to it. There are several bosses and they all increase in difficulty. Some people have complained that the game is too easy. When they say that, I know they didn't play the entire game because some of these bosses are tough!

It should be noted the heroin feature of the game. The most addictive thing is the achievements. All Xbox 360 games have achievements which are basically trophies that add points to your overall gamer score, and Kameo has many. Not only do you get achievements for completing the game, you get them for rescuing members of your family, unlocking
warriors, etc. I don't know why achievements are so addictive, but they make me want to finish every game I start and Kameo is no exception.

•• Graphics ••
Hands down, this is the finest looking Xbox 360 title. If anyone doesn't believe me, I challenge them to look at the Badlands level where there are hundreds of trolls fighting hundreds more good guys as you charge through them on horseback. They all have different AI and the rag doll physics make them react differently to getting hit by the horse. As well, the environments are massive! Huge! Not only spacious from side to side, but way high, I was getting nosebleed from some of the distance you need to scale.

The character models are typical Rare, cartoony and fantastic. They are reminiscent of Grabbed By the Ghoulies (another Rare title), in that they look like a cartoon without being cel shaded. The characters are tremendously diverse, use high polygon counts and use effective bump mapping and lighting. Technical mumbo jumbo aside, the characters look amazing.

I don't recall seeing so many colors in one game. I've played this in high definition and of course it looks amazing. But even on my main 4:3 TV the graphics and colors pop out at you. It truly is a beauty to see.

•• Sound ••
The music is the standout piece of the sound design. The music score is fantastic, full of sweeping symphonic melodies which are often repeated with variance through the game. This is one soundtrack you don't want to replace with your MP3 player or burned CDs.

The voice work is good, but like 99% of the games out there, not fantastic. Granted it is better than most, but it often falls into cliche and Kameo's English accent slips in once in a while no matter how hard the actress tries not to.

Effects and ambiance are pretty standard, but varied. Each different environment has a different soundscape and they all add a good sense of mood. They are suitably understated and subtle. You won't really notice the ambiance unless you look for it. Hence the definition of ambiance.

•• Multiplayer ••
There is multiplayer co-op, but it isn't the entire campaign (like Perfect Dark Zero). You get to play split screen through a select few of the campaign scenarios, but only after you unlock them in the single player campaign. This kind of game doesn't really lend itself to multiplayer, so the inclusion of this adds some longevity to the game and is fun if you have some friends over. But it isn't a selling point for the game.

•• Parents Should Know ••
This game is rated T for Teen and is mostly harmless. Aside form the skimpy outfit, there is no sex and the violence is rather cartoony. The trolls bleed green blood and they can often die violently. One of the warriors can throw them up in the air, catch them on the spikes in his back and then rip them off and use them as a weapon. This sounds horrible, but keep in mind these are trolls, not humans. Nevertheless, you've been warned.

Related reviews:
Xbox 360 Console - The Comprehensive Launch Review

Recommended:
Yes