Kameo: Elements of Power

Overview

Kameo: Elements of Power is an action-adventure game and a launch title for the Xbox 360. The game was developed by Rare and published by Microsoft Studios. A sequel was also originally planned for the game but was eventually revealed as being cancelled in November 2009.

Plot

Kameo: Elements of Power puts you in the skirt of a youngest of the Elfin family, Kameo. As the daughter of King Solon and Queen Theena, the right to command Elemental Warriors will eventually be passed on to Kameo or her older sister, Kalus. Kalus had always been spiteful and self-centered person, and when Theena decides to pass the Element of Power to Kameo, Kalus reaches her tipping point. As a revenge she frees Thorn, the evil Troll King, once imprisoned by King Solon with the help of the Elemental Warriors. Thorn quickly masses his army and begins an assault on the Elfin lands with machinery unlike anyone had seen. Kameo's ancestors are captured, and when Kameo rushes to help them, she is beaten and loses all 3 of her Warriors.

The mysterious Mystic manages to revive Kameo, and after convincing wizard Ortho that she is the right person to hold the repaired Wotnot Book, Kameo is almost ready for her journey. Ortho explains that when an Elemental Warriors are separated from the Wotnot Book, they turn into a weak and helpless Elemental Spirits. Thorn's minions didn't waste any time, and Shadow Trolls have captured many of the Elemental Spirits, and hold them hostage in the Shadow Realm, where their power is at its strongest. To gain the Warriors' power once more, Kameo has to travel around the Elfin lands to find the portals to Shadow Realm and free the vulnerable Elemental Spirits.

Elemental Warriors

• Pummel Weed - A plant warrior that packs a mean punch. Close combat fighter that uses jabs and uppercuts. The first elemental warrior you encounter.
• Rubble - Simply a pile of rocks. Though he may seem useless at first glance, this warrior proves to be essential on Kameo's quests. Rubble is able to shoot his stone limbs at enemies.

• Ash - A powerful dragon often underestimated by his enemies. Although he is relatively small for a dragon, he can easily turn an imposing Troll into a mobile candle.
• Deep Blue - A water elemental warrior resembling an octopus and a jellyfish who is most at home underwater. A weak-out-of-water creature that should mainly be used for underwater fights and fire creatures. He is able to swim at fast speeds and can shoot torpedoes underwater, as well as shoot water and oil when on land. Combine Deep Blue's oil with Ash's fire to create an instant Troll barbeque.

• Major Ruin - An armadillo. He is able to roll up into his shell and plow through the enemy at high speed, sometimes picking up the occasional 'hitch-hiker'.
• 40 Below - A large, legless ice warrior that travels around atop a snowball. 40 Below has an icy breath and can create a large, spiky snowball that he can use for a variety of attacks.
• Snare - A plant warrior. Snare has powerful jaws and has the ability to bite, swallow, or spit out enemies, as well as spit toxic bile.
• Chilla - An ice elemental warrior that resembles a yeti. He has multiple ice spikes protruding from his back which he can detach and throw at enemies. Chilla is also able to climb ice walls and grab small enemies and use them as clubs.
• Flex - A water elemental warrior with four tentacles that has the ability to stretch its body and grab and attack enemies from a distance. And whereas most people would use Deep Blue to go through water, not many think to use Flex to go over it.
• Thermite - A small insect that carries a large volcano-like cauldron on his back. He is capable of unleashing several devastating attacks out of this cauldron. He is the last warrior you acquire.

Development

The development of Kameo was a long and troublesome one. Kameo was originally developed for the Nintendo GameCube, along with other games made by Rare including Donkey Kong Racing and Star Fox Adventures. When Microsoft purchased Rare in 2002, Kameo's development was halted for a short time. It was then decided that Rare would make the game for the original Xbox, but after several problems happened in the development, Rare finally decided to change Kameo to an Xbox 360 game. Rare finally released Kameo: Elements of Power as a launch game for the Xbox 360 on November 7, 2005.

Downloadable Content

The following pieces of downloadable content have been made available:

Kameo Power Pack (80) - Expert mode, new achievements, Armor pack, versus mode, time attack co-op. Requires installation of the co-op pack.

Kameo Design-A-Skin Pack (Free) - Skins designed by fans of the game.

Kameo Masquerade Pack (80) - Ten new costumes.

Kameo Fright Warrior Pack (80) - Horror themed costumes.

Winter Warrior Pack (80) - Holiday themed costumes.

Kameo Co-op Pack (Free) - Allows co-op over Xbox Live.

Xbox 360 Game Installation

Kameo: Elements of Power requires 5.9GB of space to be installed on an Xbox 360 HDD.

Soundtrack

Kameo: Elements of Power's soundtrack was composed by Steve Burke and scored with Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. It was well received for its movie-like production that complemented the games' medieval fantasy settings and epic battles. It released November 8, 2005 and is also available for download on iTunes and Amazon's MP3 store.