Super-frustrating boss fight in Kameo

by Vladimir Cole { Nov 20th 2005 at 4:47AM }

We know we're opening ourselves up to leeter-than-thou dudes who beat this boss multiple times with one hand tied behind their backs and with the monitor turned off, but we're hating the boss named Coralis in the Xbox 360 launch title, Kameo, right now.

This fight exposes several flaws in the game that have really begun to grate on our nerves. When a task within a game is difficult because the game controls themselves are deficient, we get frustrated.

Spoilers follow.

To win this fight, players must use the character named Major Ruin, a hard-shelled spheroid that looks like a pillbug (or roly poly, see photo at right). Using Major Ruin like a cue ball, you must line up shots at just the right angle in order to launch round bombs into the air. If you position your cue ball just right, you'll launch your bomb right into a monster by the name of Coralis who looks like a human brain atop octopus legs.

Once hit, Coralis dives into a pool of water and you give chase, dropping your spheroid shape and assuming the form of "Deep Blue" an octopus with just six legs (a sextopus?). Trying to control Deep Blue is frustrating for several reasons. For one, the player must suddenly control aim in three dimensions (on land, aiming is horizontal only, as the vertical component is automatic). Second, Deep Blue moves slowly. Third, to move forward you've got to hit the shoulder button, a counter-intuitive arrangement and contrary to movement in the rest of the game.

Repeat this pattern of bomb billiards followed by submarine action four times, and you've got the Coralis boss fight.

In short, no fun.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

ROFLROFFLES @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Lol, N00bs!

Efren @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Throw a few hadokens at it.

suh @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Use teh duel wield!!!

AnonyMoose @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Massively hyped X360 game in not-actually-as-good-as-everyone-has-said shocker!!!

Unfortunately most people will be suckered by the ass-kissing reviews on websites and magazines and will buy this generic piece of crap. It wouldn't have made the grade on the last generation of consoles.

Rymix @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

I've always had this problem with Rare: I love their games - every single one of them - but their characters are often unappealing, and there is always at least one section of their games where getting to grips with a weird control system is more challenging than the actual game itself.

snarfoogle @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

j00 nub. I beat this boss multiple times with one hand tied behind their backs and with the monitor turned off.

Aerodax @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

WoW...have you ever player Ninja Gaiden!...Cry more noobs, learn to play. Just because you have to do something other than spam the A or X button doesn't mean it's broken. Sounds like a personal problem to me.

rdj75 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

snarfoogle and Aerodax

LOL, can you say PWNDDDDDDDD

Jason @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

There are so many things about Kameo that annoyed us from beginning to end. This boss encounter is just icing on a bitter sweet cake.

bob @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

hextopus not a sextopus (i.e. octagon = 8 sides hexagon = 6 sides)

soul4sale @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Ah, Rare and their cheap difficulty. My experience with Kameo was also frustrating. Aside from the loose control, the graphics were kind of freakishly plastic. Couldn't really get into it.

noot @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

I'm surprised you haven't figured out the trick yet. This game is awesome.

Jesse @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

@ bob:

Sextopus would supposedly work also... i.e. "Sextet."

kgun @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

well actually bob since oct- comes from the latin word for 8 and sex- comes from the latin word for 6 then it would make sense to call it a sextopus. especially since we r not talking about shapes.

bd (formerly b) @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

I hope 'bandit' understands now why this game is mediocre, and hyped (at least in the reviews) as I said, which is natural because it's 'next-gen' (or should I say half-next-gen?).

Brian @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Ok, so Kameo isn't the greatest game ever. But, I think it defintely is a "next-gen" title at least by the standards of pretty graphics and everything else that people seem to care about. This title could NOT be done on the original Xbox or any other current gen system. This is especially true of the epic scenes riding a horse through hundreds of enemies without any slowdown. The gameplay is mostly variations on the platforming Mario/Zelda hybrid. The game isn't mediocre. It's a very good game and an extremely solid launch title. This is much better than the comparable games that launched with the original Xbox or PS2 or Gamecube.

bouncicles @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Septopus:
Beware the mighty Septopus
What a dandy guy
He lives on top of the submarine
And he's always eating pies
He's always eating pies up there
And throwing festivals
He's the grandest guy in town
With seven testicles
Septopus!
Septopus!
Septopus!
Septopus!
Septopus!
Septopus!

bd (formerly b) @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

I'd say it isn't comparable to Halo 1, an Xbox 1 launch title, but it is comparable to Silent Scope or SSX or Luigi's Mansion, titles that were promising, but fell short. Also, as I said, the title is hyped because it is "next-gen" (and what I mean by quoting, is that it is only next-gen in graphics, but it is in no way the best of next-gen graphics, let alone gameplay).

KrAzYmAn @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

When I played this game at walmart, the first time the controls took a little getting used to, and it took me awhile to get though the level. It took maybe 20 minutes. Then the second time I played it took me 5 minutes to do what I did in 20 minutes last time.

Corrupt Mind @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

New controls always take time to get used to. Personnally, i dont mind hard-to-get-used-to-controls because it makes the game more challenging at first and requires you put more time and thought into it. Mabey thats why the game is "short" (hard and short, as opposed to easy and long).

Tor Bjornrud @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Please change this to have a SPOILER WARNING! Not only do you name a boss, you list the method to defeat him. A lot of people only care about plot spoilers, but there's plenty of us who don't want to know anything outside of promo material before playing a game, and prefer to figure it out on our own...

Donald @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Writer sucks at playing Kameo. I'm so happy I know this awesome news.

Sean @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

This game is what it is.

It's a platform title that was originally developed for the Gamecube, and was supposed to appear on the Xbox, before being moved to the 360.

Although not my type of game, I have to admit in HD it looks pretty cool and I had fun playing it.

Andrew @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Man, why you gotta bash 360 launch titles just 'cause you suck at 'em?

Kameo ain't my cup of tea anyhow.

euxneks @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Time to get anal on etymology kids!

Octopus literally stems from octo (eight) and pous (foot). So, if you're looking for a name to call a six legged octopus, you should probably go by hexa (six) pous (foot) or, hexapus. A sextapus would mean "sixth foot", which isn't really what we're looking for here. Yes, there is sextet, but that stems from literally meaning "the sixth", usually talking about the sixth child.

Mike @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

That was definatly the most annoying boss fight in the game for me. Luckily there wasn't all that much underwater play other then that one level. That boss fight was one of the few times I actually used Kameo in a useful way. She was the best character to avoid the lightning attacks since she is fairly quick and can hover.

Most of the boss fights sucked, but at least Thorn was really fun. I smacked that bastard up good.

levi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Wait until you guys actually play it before moaning. Trust me, the Deep Blue controls (and camera) are terrible.

jason w @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

I have only played the game at Comp USA and loved it. It looks great, but im not sure about how it works with a long term control issues. I hope i win it in the contest. If you guys have not tried to win go and post now. Good luck.

Kenofthedead @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

I can't say that I'm all that impressed with the game.

Sure the graphics are good, and the riding through the war is very nice to see, but the game play (the most important part) isn't all that grand.

Now this game could have been done on the X-Box or Gamecube, just lower the graphics some and take out the riding through a war (which really isn't needed and does not add that much).

Most will rank it high because it is a launch title and it is good to buy now, when there is not much else out there for the 360 (for action). But if this were to come out next year, it would get at least one point lower.

It's a good game, but not a great game.

roy179 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

This is why I'll never play another 3D platformer, especially from Rare. After beating Conker L&R I've had enough. Somehow developers never figured out the camera or the fact that the controls shouldn't change for every different world or boss fight etc.

bd (formerly b) @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Every Rare game after diddy kong racing sucked.

Kerri @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

My 360 came with that game. Are they trying to force it upon us? Of course I played it. I think it's boring and terrible. I bought Condemned today and that's more my style!

Derrick @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

The game is awesome, and that boss fight was really easy... It only took me 2 tries to beat that boss... I do not see what all the fuss is about.

dutchb0y @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

I thought the game was good, overall, but not amazing. I do have to agree, that this Boss Fight was not at all fun. I can't stand Deep Blue in water.. for exactly the reasons mentioned. Sure, I could control him, but it was so counterintuitive... also, why does he swim in the same orientation he walks? Octopusses and Squids propel along head first, generally. Don't they? Anyway.. a good rental, but not a buy.

AK @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

I rented the game from Gamefly since I wouldn't normally play that type of game. After the beating the game I can say two things. It's a little short and it's a great game. I like the challange that it sometimes brings (I refused to pay attention to the talking hint book most of the type unless I was completely lost). The graphics were very nice and I had no problem with the controls. Yes, Deep Blue is a liitle awkward to control, especially near the surface, but once you get the hang of it, it's not really much of an issue. It would have been nice to have more abilities underwater though. Overall, eventhough the game is not my typical cup of tea, I nevertheless had a great time playing it.

james @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

"I rented the game from Gamefly since I wouldn't normally play that type of game."

Gamefly rox!

No this is not a paid advertisement.

WillGonz @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

The camera sucks in this game, because you have to keep moving it around.

I beat this level. I plan to go back to it and use 40 Below to spin those fire berrys into the water,

Gaye Mann @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

Snow Crash is cool. I'm pissed off he took such a cool name.

Christian @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM

***MAJOR SPOILER HERE***

For the easy way of defeating Coralis, without much challenge, you should first change into Kameo when the lightening attacks begin. Be sure to hover so that you can even float over the puddles. Just float away from the lighting attacks, whenever they start. This eliminates the worry of being struck by electricity.

Time it so that you fly close to one of the ramps with bombs when the lightening stops. Now, just change into Major Ruin and position yourself so that you form a direct line between you, the bombs, and Coralis. Charge up and ram one of the bombs into Coralis, while quickly diving into the water (if the bomb hits him).

Change into Deep Blue and blast away. If you're a good shot you can actually destroy 2 or more of Coralis' orbs in one turn of him being in the water.

When Coralis jumps back out of the water, quickly get back to dry ground, while changing back into Kameo. Be sure to make her float again and continue to repeat this process until Coralis is defeated.

NOTE: If you are really still having problems controlling Deep Blue. Try to load an earlier level and just practice controlling him. Somethings come naturally, while others need much effort to succeed--just don't give up. It is supposed to be challenging.

P.S. If you think this is a challenge, then go beat the original Ninja Gaiden on the NES. . . It honestly made me want to destroy the game *twistedly grins*.