Kao the Kangaroo - Round 2 review

If there's one type of game guaranteed to be classified as "suitable for all ages", it's platformers. In fact, that's the very claim made on the box of Kao 2. From the early days of Manic Miner and Super Mario Bros to the recent successes of Sly Raccoon and Jak and Daxter, platformers have always been able to draw a reasonably wide crowd and it's this open market that Jowood tried to tap with the original Kao and now Kao 2. Unfortunately, Kao wasn't that great a title, especially considering the fact that at the time of its release, the aforementioned recent titles were wowing folks with their slick presentation and action. So, has Kao made a leap in the right direction?

Leaps and bounds

I have to say that things certainly don't appear to start well upon firing up the game. The opening sequence, that of a parrot circling the main playing area, is one of the slowest and least inspiring scenes I've seen in a long time. It's made up with in-game graphics but nothing on show makes the player feel like you have to dive in immediately to see what treats await you in the game world. The main menu is basic but functional and it doesn't take long to get into the game proper. Which is where things take a downward turn.

As the game kicks off, a cut scene shows us how Kao's been imprisoned since his last adventure. A clumsy parrot in need of Kao's help accidentally frees him at which point you're left to your own devices to try and find the path to success. The cut scenes at this point are as basic and uninspiring as the opening screens. The voiceovers are wooden, the graphics are plain boring, and the characters very unanimated. Anyway, off you go into the main town area which, in a similar vein to other recent titles, acts as a main hub. There's one particular path you have to follow to help the victims in Kao 2 but you've got to find 3000 pieces of gold first. To achieve this one has to build up credits from other attached areas which are opened up one by one.

Waltzing Matilda

The areas leading off the main hub are basic platformer fodder: a wooded area, a snowy area and other such staples. It's in these areas where you realise this game just hasn't been put together fantastically well. Throughout each area in the game, I was reminded of every other platformer that's gone before, but the main inspiration behind Kao seems to have been Mario 64. Some might ask "What's wrong with that? It's one of the best platformers ever created" and they'd be right to bring up that point, but Mario 64 is a ten year old game and things have moved on immensely. Everything from the level design to the characters to the graphics engine is actually below the standard even of that ten year old game.

Progress is made relatively quickly thanks to the fact that there is no lives system in place; if you die, you simply restart at the last checkpoint (signified by a bell on the landscape). Saves will only ever take you back to the start of the last level but as each level is only short (taking no longer than around 15 minutes to complete) this isn't much of a problem. One issue I do have with this system is that the coins you've collected prior to dying or saving will not reappear. I can understand why the developers have chosen to do this, but as certain levels map out paths you have to take by using coins and items, it can make things tricky if you're trying to attempt certain sections for the second and third goes.

As well as the fact that the graphic engine appears to have been lifted from the N64 (albeit slightly more shiny), the sound effects in the game are lacklustre to say the least. As mentioned before, there's no level of emotion in the cut scenes at all and the in-game effects are made up of very basic repetitive samples. I can promise you they will annoy and very quickly, too.

Boxing (not so) clever

Despite all the negativity in the previous paragraphs, there are some redeeming moments in Kao. The river rafting section is fun and, whilst it may have been lifted straight from Crash Bandicoot, the bear chasing section is exhilarating. However, for each fun area within Kao, there’s an equally annoying fall through the floor bug or overly-frustrating pixel-perfect jump required.

Unfortunately, as much as this game would like you to believe it’s suitable for all ages, I believe it’s been made with kids in mind and at the same time, someone in the Quality Control department at Jowood has thought that low quality will be fine for said same children.

Please, do yourself (or your kids) a favour and pass this by in favour of genuine treats like Voodoo Vince.