Kameo: Elements of Power

Kameo: Elements of Power
Developer(s)	Rare
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios
Designer(s)	George Andreas
Artist(s)	Mark Stevenson
Composer(s)	Steve Burke
Platform(s)	Xbox 360
Release date(s)	NA November 22, 2005 EU December 2, 2005 JP February 2, 2006
Genre(s)	Action-adventure, platformer
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Distribution	DVD

Kameo: Elements of Power is an action-adventure beat 'em up video game developed by Rare and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was exclusively released as a launch title for the Xbox 360 on November 22, 2005 in North America and December 2, 2005 in Europe. The game was under development for four years and generally received positive reviews from video game publications. It follows the elf princess Kameo as she attempts to thwart the evil machinations of her sister Kalus and the troll king Thorn. A planned sequel for the game was ultimately canceled.^[1][2][3][4]

Gameplay

Kameo‍ '​s main objective during the game is to return the ten Elemental Warriors back into the Wotnot and gain the ability to become them, which she must do to progress through the game. At the beginning Kameo has the power of three Elemental Warriors, but these are lost during the opening battle. When the warriors were released from the Wotnot they reverted to their physical forms where they are called Elemental Sprites; in these forms they are powerless and have been captured by the Shadow Trolls. Kameo collects the warriors from the Shadow Trolls, or from her relatives when she rescues them.

The concept of playing a shapeshifter who collects more and more shapes was first used in the classic PC game Shadowcaster. Kameo differs due to her ability to sprout wings, and is one of the few characters who can jump. With her hover ability she is one of the faster characters, and she is the only character who can pick up items. Kameo also gains the companionship of a horse and a raptor in the Badlands. To upgrade the warriors, to unlock their full potential, collecting Elemental Fruit is necessary.

Plot

In the game's prologue, the Elf Queen passes down the mystical Wotnot Book and the ability to become all of the Elemental Warriors to her younger daughter Kameo, but this causes Kalus, the first daughter, to grow jealous. In an act of revenge, she releases the ancient curse which held the evil troll king Thorn captive in stone by kissing him on the lower lip, allowing him to unleash his troll army upon the world once again. Working with Thorn and his army, Kalus kidnaps her mother, her two uncles and her aunt, then proceeds to torture them. The game begins with Kameo dashing to their rescue, only to be knocked unconscious by Thorn and left on The Mystic's doorstep. The Mystic informs her that the Elemental Warriors are now Elemental Sprites who have been captured by the Shadow Trolls. She now has to rescue and absorb the Elemental Sprites, save her family and defeat Kalus and Thorn.

After getting all of the sprites, freeing three of her family members (who also tell her more about her past, such as her really being an orphan that Solon, the Elf king found and brought back to his kingdom and his wife Theena as well as Solon being murdered by Thorn) and making her way to Thorn's Airship to save her stepmother, Kameo confronts the two villains and wins after knocking Kalus out with Chilla's ice spikes. Whilst unconscious, some flashbacks occur through Kalus' mind which reveals that The Mystic caused the death of Solon and Kalus' betrayal by tricking them into getting involved with Thorn in whatever possible way she could think of, revealing her as the true villain behind everything that has transpired. Kalus then regains her composure and attempts to avenge her father (as well as make up to everybody else) by attacking Thorn, but is no match for a simple punch thrown by the troll. Kameo quickly catches her stepsister and then the two of them combine their powers by hugging each other. They then charge straight towards Thorn and when Kalus gets a chance, she grabs hold of his head and once again kisses the king (this time on the nose) which turns the two of them into a stone statue. Before completely turning to stone, Kalus asks Kameo to apologize to the rest of the family for what she did. Then the statue slides off of the airship.

After that happens, the ship starts to explode and fall apart and Kameo is seen falling to her doom whilst unconscious. She eventually lands on something, which (by the time that the clouds have gone by) is revealed to be the top of a small blimp that her friends stole from the trolls which is heading straight for the Enchanted Kingdom. On top of that, Theena also survived the explosion and landed next to the now awake Kameo. With Thorn gone, the troll army is stopped, and once the camera is done focusing on everybody cheering down below as well as the blimp, the player then sees what happened to Kalus and Thorn. It's revealed that the two fell to the bottom of the sea, never to be seen or heard from again. After the credits, The Mystic's shadowy silhouette is seen as she laughs to herself.

Development

Kameo was originally slated for the Nintendo GameCube, and was set to be one of Rare's flagship titles for the system, along with Star Fox Adventures and Donkey Kong Racing. However, when Microsoft announced its purchase of Rare in late 2002, Kameo‍ '​s future was put in question. It was decided that work would continue on the Xbox, and a planned release date of 2003 was given. After several revamps, causing repeated delays, Kameo was put on indefinite hold in late 2004. According to the Official Kameo Strategy Guide, approximately 20 copies of the first level of Kameo were printed on retail discs for future inclusion in the Official Xbox magazine, but these discs were then recovered and given to team members at Rare and Microsoft. Following this, rumours began that the game was once again undergoing a platform change, this time from the Xbox to the Xbox 360, where it was the first announced game for the system.^[5][6]

Release

The downloadable content (DLC) is not available in all Xbox Live Marketplace regions.

• Rare released a skin set for Kameo and her Elemental Warriors shortly after the game's release called the Winter Warrior Pack. This dressed each character in festive, holiday-themed skins. It is currently available from Xbox Live Marketplace. Later three more skin packs were released: the Fright Warrior Pack, the Masquerade Pack and the Design-A-Skin Pack.
• Rare has also released a free download to enable cooperative play over Xbox Live and System Link. Previously, the feature was split-screen only.
• In September 2006, Rare released a new download on Xbox Live Marketplace, called the Power Pack. This download adds three new modes to the game with the emphasis on multiplayer content. The first mode is Expert Mode, which can be played in both single-player and multiplayer. In this mode, the levels are mirrored and enemy placement is a lot tougher. Many things also happen which never happened the first time through. In multiplayer mode, players share continues. The second mode is Rune Battle. This is purely a versus mode with each player trying to have the most runes by the end of the level. Runes can be earned by defeating enemies, smashing open objects and attacking the other player. Many new powerups exist to further enhance this mode. The final mode is Time Attack, which is multiplayer only. Players must get to the end of the level before time runs out. Each checkpoint passed adds a little more time to the clock. Working closely with your partner is essential for this mode.

Soundtrack

The launch of the game brought with it the sale of an official soundtrack featuring 27 musical tracks from the game. Kameo Original Soundtrack was developed by Steve Burke. It was released on November 8, 2005 by Sumthing Else Music Works. The soundtrack is also available for download on iTunes.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 80.85[7] Metacritic 79/100[8] Review scores Publication Score Electronic Gaming Monthly 6.0, 6.0, and 7.0 out of 10 Game Informer 7.5 out of 10 GamesMaster 95% GameSpot 8.7 out of 10[6] GameSpy [9] IGN 8.4 out of 10[10] Official Xbox Magazine 8.5 out of 10 Official Xbox Magazine (UK) 9 out of 10 TeamXbox 8.8 out of 10[11] X-Play 4 out of 5

Critical reception was generally positive, receiving an aggregate score of 80.85% at GameRankings.^[7]

References

External links

• Official website
• Kameo Soundtrack official website