Kameo Impressions

One game that really surprised me was Rare’s Kameo: Elements of Power. I’ve seen this game transcend two different companies – Nintendo and Microsoft – to ultimately make the jump between three differenent consoles – GameCube, Xbox, to Xbox 360, and Kameo really shows what over six years of development can do for a game. Microsoft doesn’t really have a Zelda-esque like action adventure title in its launch arsenal, and Kameo has a good shot of filling that need.

Rare’s been known to do amazing things graphically with any hardware they’ve worked with, but Kameo on Xbox 360 is near Pixar-standard graphics. If you have a HDTV, this game should most definitely be on your launch list just to show your friends what the next generation of gaming looks like. Incredible lighting, brilliant detail, and it looks like they’ve drained every palette imaginable to make this the most colorful game I’ve ever seen. Not like visuals have ever been a shortcoming for the company.

Gameplay wise, we’re talking about a company who’s learned almost everything they know from Nintendo, and while they haven\'t always delivered, Rare can add a visual flair like no other. However, from what I\'ve played and seen, I think they may have hit their mark this time. Rare’s ditched one of the things that’s plagued many of their titles in the past – collecting a truckload different stupid crap. Also, while they’ve made incredibly huge worlds previously, it’s been very easy to get lost in them and Kameo’s got a map that’s always on screen which helps to point you in the right direction. Not only that but Rare’s offering up some interesting Xbox live possibilities that haven’t been announced yet – someone say online cooperative play? Folks, keep an eye out for more information on this one from Microsoft’s upcoming show in Amsterdam. This game could be the sleeper hit of launch.

>>>Link<<<

The two things I was concerned with on upcoming Rare games are the collect-a-thon gameplay and the sometimes humongous levels that are easy to get lost in.  It looks as though, at least for Kameo, that those two problems shouldn\'t be an issue.  I hope the other Rare teams follow suit.

If you were curious as to which team is making Kameo I found out that it\'s the same guys resposible for Jet Force Gemini.  I don\'t recall that game having the problems of collecting a bunch of crap or having unneccesary size in the levels.  I believe my only complaint for that game was that there was no aim assist or lock-on, which made the game a difficult for me.

[Jumpman]

yeah it sounds like a rare game id like to play

i mean banjo-kazooie and goldeneye matched the quality of anything nintendo did on the 64(save Zelda). They were pretty damn all-star until they moved to GameCube. If they can recapture their former level then it would be great.

Jet Force Gemini was supposed to be good, but you did have to collect something.. I think it was little fuzzy creatures. I got bored of it...

Banjo Kazooie, Tooie and 007 were indeed awesome, though. DKR was decent. Blast Corps was good fun. Donkey Kong 64 was average at best, though, and I never thought PD lived up to 007 save for bots and the laptop gun.

S\'pose that\'s them in a nutshell, heh.

-Dan

Originally posted by Jumpman
yeah it sounds like a rare game id like to play

i mean banjo-kazooie and goldeneye matched the quality of anything nintendo did on the 64(save Zelda). They were pretty damn all-star until they moved to GameCube. If they can recapture their former level then it would be great.

Banjo-Kazooie is still one of my all-time favorite games, but it\'s too bad I can\'t say that about the sequel.  I thought the levels were far too big and easy to get lost in, and it wasn\'t always clear what the objective was.  I also didn\'t like playing as Mumbo to activate only one panel, or going to Wumba to become something I needed for only a few minutes.  The whole industrial feel to most of the levels was kind of a turn off as well.  There were some positive aspects of the game so it\'s not all bad, but in the end it was just a little better than average for me.  

I also just recently played Conker Live and Reloaded on Xbox (I never bothered with the N64 game).  Conker is classic in the respect of that it\'s different, surprising, and the gross-out humor is great.  I will never forget the battle with the All Mighty Poo, the tune is stuck in my head forever.  The context panels are awesome, I love it.  There are problems with the game though, such as I usually didn\'t know what to do next, the camera was rarely where I wanted it to be, and the controls aren\'t as tight as I would have hoped.  The new multi-player aspect of it isn\'t very good, imo.  The class system makes it really hard to just pick up and play, and the difficulty is frustrating.  I won\'t go into the details, go read a professional review, but the game is very average for me.  I hope it\'s not an indication of Rare\'s games to come.

I\'m very anxious to read more impressions on Kameo, and get some impressions on Perfect Dark Zero.  I want to revive the Rare fanboy in me.

Originally posted by Eiksirf
Jet Force Gemini was supposed to be good, but you did have to collect something.. I think it was little fuzzy creatures. I got bored of it...

Banjo Kazooie, Tooie and 007 were indeed awesome, though. DKR was decent. Blast Corps was good fun. Donkey Kong 64 was average at best, though, and I never thought PD lived up to 007 save for bots and the laptop gun.

S\'pose that\'s them in a nutshell, heh.

-Dan

I thought Diddy Kong Racing owned, I\'m very much hoping that Rare makes a new kart racer.  The only aspect of it that I think was sub-par is the battle mode.  The battle stages had very poor layouts, imo, and they were too large.

Blast Corps was great, it needs an update.  

Donkey Kong 64 was okay from what I played of it.  This was another game were I was a little put off by the enormous environments.

Ya know I was thinking about Kameo and if it is as good as we\'d hope, I might buy it. That\'d mean two Rare titles for me on X360 and nothing else.

And the Nintendo fan in me thinks that\'s the way it should be. ;]

-Dan

[Living-In-Clip]

Best modern Rare title? Blast Corps. I would KILL for a sequel to that game. Any other Rare game just seemed....borin\'.

[Jumpman]

Goldeneye was better.