Hardcore Crushes on Kameo

Oh sweet Kameo™: Elements of Power™, how you enchant this jaded gamer. Your dewy sweet world is now seared into my rods and cones: my eyes, which are more accustomed to the doom and gloom of a sci-fi FPS, the dingy dungeons of an RPG, or the fixed isometric view of an RTS. Yet your vibrancy and accessibility do not dismiss Hardcore and his minions, they challenge us.

The hardcore won't be bullied.

That's right boys and girls, while Kameo: Elements of Power is bursting with next-gen beauty, the game design from the much-heralded developer Rare® is up to snuff with its achingly gorgeous worlds. For every kajillion particle effects swirling about, there's a succulently designed action, platforming, or puzzle sequence to greedily devour.

That said, yours truly cannot acquiesce (that's your word of the day) to Kameo's ease of use, enticing as that may be. Luckily, while Rare has crafted a gem playable by all, it has also hidden some hardcore-friendly pursuits just beneath its glittering surface … and what sort of hardcore host would I be if I didn't hail you with challenges and nudge you towards the more difficult, rewarding road?

Score Display
For those of my brethren who read this now with the game in question illuminated on their monitor of choice, I salute you and command you to do the following: hit the Back button, select Game Options and make sure Score Display is set to "Always On." With this option in effect, you'll monitor your points throughout the game.

More importantly, you have a readout (a meter) that shows your combos as they build and build, eventually birthing a slow-motion effect (a bonus for an extended combo), giving you the opportunity to craft some simply staggering combos, filled with Brutal and Frenzy bonuses. Utilizing this meter in combat is both a tool for building points, and a catalyst for more intense action.

Troll stompin' time.

Brutality!
While reigning never-ending blows on your opponent does wonders for your score, so does creativity. Earn Brutal kills by disposing if your enemy in interesting ways, ideally using the environment (or lack thereof—tossing a troll over the cliff), so make sure you impale, light afire, explode, dowse, hammer into the ground, and fling your enemies into the abyss at every conceivable opportunity.

Boss Fight Perfection
Rare tosses some truly classic boss fights our way in Kameo. They're huge slavering beasts that take more than brainless brawn to defeat. Boss fights are all about rhythm and routine: Find the rhythm to avoid damage and analyze the routine for the boss's weakness, which, I may add, should not require the use of any purchased special ability.

Two requirements here for the hardcore gamer: never get hit and never use a purchased special ability to defeat the boss. Stick to your skills as a gamer—don't use the upgrades as a crutch. Get it? Got it? Good. Let's move on.

Stick a Sock in Ortho
You may be stuck or bewildered or just plain lost, but never, under any circumstances turn to Wotnot for advice! Need to open up the fabled book and pick an upgrade or read an elemental warrior history?That's dandy, but never click the A button on Ortho's face and let him get you out of a jam.

Need an even bigger challenge? Keep the Ortho Hints feature under Game Options turned to Adaptive. That way you test your gaming mettle as he teases you with crucial information you've sworn to discover on your own merits, not the game's hint system.

Got to Collect Them…
Put simply, there are established collectibles and important items scattered throughout the lands in Kameo, so before you put your game face on and open up a can on Thorn, make sure you got your collectible ducks in a row. There are:

• Twelve Elixirs of Life
• One hundred Elemental Fruits.
• Four magic crystals.
• Alternate skins for every elemental warrior.

Make these items a priority, and find them! Find them all!

Make the Top Grade
Open up the Wotnot, make sure not to talk to Ortho, and take gander at the Scores menu. You see grades and scores for every single level. Don't have top marks in all the levels? What are you waiting on? You've got to hone that Kameo skill till it shines. I want to see my face in that *$%#!

Article by Hardcore