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Kameo: Elements of Power - E3'05 First Look Preview
Chris Leyton
26/05/2005
Rare's latest character-driven title appears to have come through the various formats looking stronger then ever...
Perhaps largely because of the fact Kameo has in some shape or form been in development for the last four years, and since then taken on three different formats, Rareās new character-based title appeared to be one of the most complete demonstrations of the Xbox 360 at E3ā05.
Once again we were reminded that the single-core alpha dev-kit represented approximately 30% of the Xbox 360 true power, however there was little denying that the rich and vibrant changeover looked nothing short of stunning.
As a brief recap for any of those that have happened to miss Kameo: Elements of Power throughout the years or simply thought that it was released on the GameCube years ago, the game puts players in the role of the titular Kameo, a fairy princess with the supernatural power to transform into various creatures and use their special abilities against Thorn, the evil troll king.
The Lead Producer on-hand to give the demonstration had been under the employment of Rare for the past ten years, having previously worked on the likes of Donkey Kong Country 1&2, Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo-Kazooie.
The demonstration began with a close look at what High-Definition and the Xbox 360 technology brings to the table, comparing various shots from Kameo running on the Xbox with identical shots from the Xbox 360; the resulting difference was profound to say the least! Already looking impressive on the Xbox, Kameo transforms into a vibrant, luscious world with greater definition, HDR lighting, dynamic animations, immense draw distances, much more of everything and Rareās buzz-word of the day āParallax Mappingā techniques.
The guyās from Rare pumped out various facts, such as one particular level now incorporating over 150 NPCās compared to the 20 found within its current-generation Xbox origins. Much like Rareās previous former glories, charisma oozes through with Kameo and the inclusion of full-speech for every character should further to heighten the experience. Once again highlighting the technical intricacies at work, the dozens of squirrels that populate the level each feature the same āfur-shadingā technique as Conker does in the forthcoming āConkerās Live & Reloadedā. A luscious new day/night cycle has also been implemented within the game, perfectly demonstrating the vast visual enhancement that High-Definition-Range Lighting will bring to the Xbox 360, as environments and characters naturally change in the light and cast realistic shadows ā“ screenshots donāt do this game justice, you simply have to see it on a HD TV to realise the true beauty of Kameo!
Thankfully it is however the gameplay that continues to shine through and weāre personally hoping that Kameo continues forward and could possibly mark a return to form for the beleaguered, illustrious UK developer. Each of the ten creature transformations grant the player with various new abilities; examples during the demonstration included Chiller who can climb icy walls and launch a freeze attack; Ash, a fire-breathing dragon who can set creatures a light with his fireballs, which in turn creates a domino effect or use his 3-way fireball technique for true devastation; Rubble as you may well gather from his name is literally that, a pile of rocks who can throw them like boomerangs, shoot them in rapid succession and finally a 360 degrees attack; Pummelweed a bad-mouthed plant was a favourite for the team and one of the first characters to be implemented all those years ago; while the final creature demonstrated was Major Ruin who had the ability to roll into a ball and access secret areas ala Metroid Prime style.
The truly innovative aspect and what could propel Kameo into gaming goodness is the ability to link techniques between various characters, essentially creating your own custom combos based on your knowledge of the creatures. One particular example of this in action saw Chiller freeze a group of trolls in place, while Kameo quickly transformed into Major Ruin to roll through them like a bowling ball in a 10-pin alley! Another saw the opposite in effect, rolling down a hill as Major Ruin only to leap off a cliff edge, transform into Chiller while in mid-air and cling to the icy wall across the chasm.
The demonstration largely focussed on the battlefield area that is featured in the assortment of screenshots, something that the team wanted to include on the Xbox but simply couldnāt bring to life and stick true to the original vision at the same time. Now however with the power of Xbox 360 (or 30% at least) Rare have literally gone to town with the Artificial War Engine (AWE); the area serves as a Hub to other stages and draws a self-admitted main influence from the Hyrule field featured in The Legend of Zelda titles. The scene depicts what can only be described as an epic battle between Kameo and thousands upon thousands of Trolls, as she rides atop a horse crashing into the hordes and throwing them in all different directions. As the demonstration progressed the battle further developed; an all-new scene to the Xbox 360 saw an Elf reinforcement come to the assistance of Kameo, which in turn led to 3 gargantuan boats float into view ā“ each holding around another 2000 Trolls to enter the battleground! Chuck in a handful of HUGE ogres into the mix, dragons flying in the sky above, a 20-mile draw distance and all the candy visual effects you can shake a stick at, and the result is one of the most ludicrously relentless scenes youāll ever see in a videogame ā“ action is every direction you look.
Another element deliberately highlighted during the demonstration was the complete overhaul that water has undergone within the game. Water effects have increasingly become a staple benchmark when it comes to comparing graphics engines, with Rareās boastful claim that NO other videogame has ever done water properly merely resorting to cheap gimmicks. The water within Kameo is entirely based on mathematics, so every object that comes into contact with it will realistically affect it, creating wakes, waves and other such effects.
tommof14h
Date Added:Sat 6th Oct 2007 23:35
euphoria
Date Added:Wed 19th Sep 2007 02:41