As I played Project Gotham Racing 3 and Ghost Recon for hours on end, Kameo sat on my shelf. I played the begging mission maybe about a month and a half ago and didn't get excited about it, so I put it back on the shelf.

This past weekend, I was looking at a profile of my friend, who had played through Kameo and was always trying to convince me that it was fun and noticed that there were some serious Achievement points to be gained by playing through a “short” game (as I've read). I decided to finally play the game even if it was going to bore the hell out of me for 12 hours (cause I had nothing better to do anyway).

If you haven't guessed by now, the game really surprised me and I enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than I thought. I couldn't put it down all weekend, except to write about it and watch Wrestlemania.

The game was created by Rare, so you know you'll find all the lovely platforming action found in their other games on the N64. You take the role of a fairy-like woman by the name of Kameo and help her on her quest to find her identity, save a kingdom in trouble and collect all the missing creatures that she can morph into.

The game takes you to different worlds where you must use the most appropriate creature to get the job done. While you're trying to save the world, there are enough mini-quests that will have you spending more time exploring the lands than you probably want to. The more fruit you get, the more power-ups you can give to your creatures. Although you can get through the game without increasing your warrior's strengths, completists will love the challenge of unlocking everything.

Even when you complete the game (it took me about 15 hours to do so) you'll have more to do in co-op modes that get unlocked and level replays in which you try and score an “A” rating to get even more Achievement points. Most won't bother with such things, but I think it's a nice little bonus. People will try and beat their best time in a racing game, so why not on a platformer?

I wouldn't play this one through again immediately, but I do think I will be keeping it in my collection. The game looks amazing and has good sound to boot and you shouldn't be ashamed to rent or play this one although it does look like it's targeted towards younger players. While it's not really hard to finish the game, I think most gamers will be satisfied with Kameo AFTER you get past the initial level. Trust me. (8 out of 10).

Looking for some insider tips? Email Peter at popeyepopsolive@hotmail.com