	Kao the Kangaroo: Round 2
	Developer: Tate Interactive Publisher: JoWood Productions Release Date: Out Now Players: 1	Words By:
Kao is a Kangaroo who’s under an obligation to save “all the animals” from a Hunter called… Hunter of all things. However, the only way of being able to board Hunter’s pirate ship is to pay off the boss man at the docks by collecting coins from various levels where Hunter’s baddie friends live, who also deserve a bit of a pasting. How Hunter came to be friends with a monstrous octopus is anyone’s guess. Incoherent stories in video games are commonplace, and the very least of this Kao’s problems. It’s a 3D platform game. It does everything one would expect from 3D platform games. Switch pulling, longevity-inducing coin collecting, double jumping, stamping on boxes, timed races, flying levels, button-mashing mini games, no surprises at all. Other reviews on this site have mentioned this sort of highly derivative gameplay that every other platform adventure seems to have. However there’s often something that’s different or original enough to latch onto that make the game unique or involving (Jak 3). Kao 2 does not. This game has nothing new. It is yet another tired example of a 3D platformer in a games market that includes much better examples of the genre, and yet is dominated by lower quality examples such as this. While playing through the various sections of the games, I found myself thinking of all the other games from where the current bit of the game could have been lifted. The problem was that in all cases, it was carried off better in the original where the idea was fresh and new. The only reason I have not awarded this game the lowest possible mark is that it is not quite bad enough. It is a bog standard game deserving a bog standard score. Graphically it looks okay. The music and sound effects are okay, although the voice acting is especially poor. It’s all just okay. This game may be of some worth to children who like all the pretty colours and funny characters. In which case, there are prettier colours and funnier characters to be found in other budget titles. Failing that, some paper and a set of crayons would be more worthwhile.

Best Bits
- Obviously one for the kiddies, as long as they're not too discerning.

Worst Bits
- Supremely unoriginal.
- Bad voice acting.
- Seen it all before done better.


by: Jason Rainbird