Curious destiny that of Kameo. Project initiated on GameCube before becoming an Xbox exclusive to end as the flagship product of the launch of the Xbox 360, we can not say that the course of the game of Rare was perfectly straight. However, rather than handicapping her, which would have been quite logical, this complicated birth turns out to be a real blessing for the game. Kameo is a real success due, in part, to the fact that the game is strongly imprinted with a spirit that many productions… Nintendo would not deny! The word is out, but how not to draw this conclusion after spending nine hours in the world of the Enchanted Kingdom. Charming character design, gameplay that is both rich and intuitive, but also a certain form of naivety in the scenario which may put some people off, so many elements that raise awareness. Fortunately, Kameo is not just an ersatz: it has a real personality that makes it, in our opinion, the most interesting game in the Xbox 360 release line up.
The most beautiful game in the world
The first quality of Rare's game is, without a doubt, to be truly magnificent. On an HD screen, it shows all its superbness and offers our dilated pupils and our eardrums quivering with pleasure a veritable symphony of colors and sounds. From the first minutes, the tone is set with, for tutorial, the attack of a castle by orc armies. From the grandiose sets to the finesse of the textures through the quantity of objects on the screen, everything shows us that we are facing a new generation console. Imaginable graphic effects seem to have come together and we never cease to marvel at the scenery we walk through. In addition, the work on the character design should be a reference, each of the characters having their own charisma. The animations are not to be outdone, and we rave about the size and the rendering of certain characters with a special mention for the beauty of the scales of Ash and the imposing scale of the trolls and bosses. In the same way, impossible to remain unmoved listening to the splendid soundtrack that will accompany you throughout your adventures, its epic character having nothing to envy to Hollywood productions. With Project Gotham Racing 3, Microsoft has its best asset there to demonstrate all the playful possibilities of its console, without a doubt.
ten little pearls
With 10 characters available, it would have been a shame not to offer challenges allowing everyone to be involved. However, Kameo will have to deliver these warriors one by one during fights against shadow trolls, friendly although a little too easy (the fights, not the trolls…). Once she has won the battle, she will then be able to absorb the warrior's power and call on him whenever she sees fit, the little elf having hardly any powers, except that of flying, jumping and giving a nice back kick. If I'm not going to give you an inventory of all the skills of each of the warriors here, know that it will be possible to improve them thanks to the fruits that you will find or that you will obtain as a reward for success in small side quests. Flex will use natural stretching abilities to cling onto distant wild plants, Thermite can both roll over molten lava and launch mortar fire, Gravas can use his boomerang boulder throw to rearguard protected enemies and Trap will be able to bite opponents and then spit them away. Beyond the myriad of moves at your disposal, it is even more interesting to combine the powers of each of your characters. If, in a very simple way, it will be possible to combine the rush of Major Ruin with the faculties of Chilla to project oneself towards an icy wall then cling to it, many other combinations are possible. You can, for example, throw oil on an enemy with Big Blue before igniting it with the breath of Ash!
All this gives Kameo a truly rich gameplay where the action never ceases to renew itself. In the phases of pure combat, you will preferably appeal to Frappedur the aptly named who, by dint of direct and uppercuts, will fill a gauge which, once full, will allow you to engage a mode similar to bullet time. You will then be able to stun a good number of orcs and catch them with a volley in order to make this effect last. Even stronger, in the shoes of the heroine, you will be treated to some of the most spectacular scenes ever seen on a console. Imagine riding through a phenomenal battle between thousands of orcs and humans with dragon runs and catapult bombardments in the background, all without any on-screen slowdown! These phases are absolutely incredible, so much so that we are often tempted to turn around and cross the battlefield from side to side when duty calls you to other places. In parallel to these pure action sequences, you will also sometimes have to think in order to unlock a given situation. Faced with an extraordinary enemy, you will also have to use certain tricks and, if you ever get stuck, your book/adviser will then be there to help you gradually over your failures. The game remains, therefore, of a very affordable difficulty, players attracted by the higher challenges can perfectly block the help. Mixing action, skill, reflection, first and third person views, Kameo does not really spare any type of gameplay, all without any drop in pace. This is all well served by flawless handling, except maybe for the underwater phases with Big Blue without me knowing if the problem was me or the game. Anyway, even in the most difficult areas wider or narrower, the camera system never poses a problem, the gameplay being almost flawless.
The intimate peaks
If there were to be only one criticism to make of Kameo, it would undoubtedly be the lack of thickness of its scenario and its universe, in general. Indeed, the story that you are going to live remains much too superficial, even ending with a conclusion bordering on silliness and, similarly, we would have liked to delve more into the worlds traveled to discover many aspects, the way of a certain… Zelda. From this point of view, Kameo only scratches the surface, so after nine hours of play, there is a small hint of disappointment with the feeling that Rare had a potential masterpiece, but does not produced only a very good game. This feeling is not, moreover, called into question by a two-player split-screen cooperative mode that is not really captivating, so that, apart from the challenge of finding all the fruit, there is no real interest in playing Kameo again.
Let's not spoil our pleasure, Kameo is both the most spectacular game available on Xbox 360, but also the richest in terms of gameplay. If it had gone a little deeper, it might have been able to compete for best game of the year. It will be satisfied with that of best game available on Xbox 360, which is already not so bad…
