Kameo Review

Kameo is a fairly old Xbox 360 game by now but I've recently played it through so I thought I'd have a shot at reviewing it. The story goes that Kameo's sister, Kalus, is a jealous bitch who, in reaction to Kameo inheriting the powers she wanted, awakens the King of the Trolls, Thorn. Kameo has her powers stolen and must get them back again one by one and then beat Thorn blah blah blah. The plot isn't that exciting or complex because this is a game for all ages. That's not to say it's a kids game exactly, more like, say, a Mario or Banjo Kazooie game that can be enjoyed by everyone for any number of reasons. Kameo is not, however, as good as Banjo Kazooie (both games incidentally are made by Rare). Throughout the game I felt that Kameo actually came close to being a great game at times but there was always a control issue or bad design that constantly inhibited the fun. Pressing both triggers at the same time to execute a specific attack, for example, is unnecessarily clumsy when the 2 perfectly good bumper buttons go unused. Character movement also feels a bit loose at times, with the controls either being over sensitive or unresponsive. Another example of bad design is when you are given the task of protecting a giant...thing while he walks along and breaks down gates for you. Sounds reasonable enough but protection missions can be pretty shitty sometimes and this one was particularly bad when the giant was crossing a bridge and in the process blocking it off from me. So whilst I struggled to circumnavigate this large creature about 20 enemies were happily slicing at his giant Achilles tendons, completely unchallenged. The game is also a little short but I can't say that I found this to be too much of a problem because had it in fact been any longer it would've only drawn more attention to it's lacking design. Anyway, in the end Kameo is a short game that can be gotten relatively cheaply these days. There's enjoyment hidden away behind some flaws but maybe Kameo would be best enjoyed as a rental, not a purchase. 7/10