Summary: For the price tag of $2, it can be an okay time, but there are so, so many better 3D platformers out there from the 1990s and early 2000s that I cannot possibly give this game a positive recommendation.
Kao the Kangaroo is not a particularly memorable 3D platformer when compared to other games of the genre from this time period. I showed a friend this game and his thoughts was it looked like "K-Mart Crash Bandicoot", which is actually a pretty apt description now that I've finished it.
Kao himself controls quite well; I always feel like I'm in full control of him. Timing my jumps is easy, and his movement is fluid. It's in other facets of gameplay where I feel this game falls short.
For starters, the movement speed is annoyingly slow. The movement speed provided to Kao makes more sense in some of the tighter platforming segments, but when you're in a more open area (which is often), the game feels painfully slow. There's a power-up that provides a temporary speed boost for about five seconds; however, for the life of me, I have no clue what exactly the point of this power-up is aside from accentuating how slow Kao really moves.
But, I can take the slow speed. What I found truly frustrating was combat. Kao defeats enemies by punching them with his boxing gloves. The main issue with this is his reach is deceptively short, and the usual camera angle makes it difficult to time punches. You'll often find yourself not entirely sure when the right time to punch is, so you'll end up either whiffing (and then taking damage when the enemy attacks you) or taking touch damage because you didn't hit the attack button in time. So, combat can be a real irritant. In fact, I'd say it's the weakest aspect of the gameplay.
Finally, there's the level design. This game's levels are very hit-or-miss. Some are quite solid; some look like they were quickly slapped together and end up being a random assortment of floating platforms. My main issue with the levels in this game is how easy most of them are. Even the final levels pose very little challenge.
There are also boss fights in this game. Unfortunately, all five of them are pathetic jokes. There's one boss you can beat in 20 seconds if you know what you're doing. I realize boss fights in 3D platformers are often relatively easy compared to the rest of the game (Crash Bandicoot, for instance), but in this game they're just comically bad.
The visuals often come off as more primitive than retro. I've played a lot of 3D platformers from this time period, and Kao the Kangaroo manages to look worse than most of them. In fact, I'd say it looks worse than a lot of PS1 3D platformers, which is not something I should be able to say about a game whose only initial home console release was on the Sega Dreamcast, technically putting it in the same generation as classics like Jak & Daxter, Super Mario Sunshine, and Sonic Adventure 2, which feels weird to say because this game hardly looks like it belongs in that generation. Some levels look pretty good, but then there others with some of the muddiest textures you'll ever see in a 3D platformer. You'll see how poor this game's production values are as soon as you get to the level select screen, which has to be the laziest level select screen I've ever seen in a 3D platformer. The levels themselves don't even have names or even a number assigned to them. They're just represented by an icon that vaguely summarizes what you can expect from the level.
The sound design? Unfortunately, the music is bland and unremarkable. If you had me listen to a random track from this game and asked me to name the level, there's a 90% chance I'll guess wrong. Hell, I beat the game about 30 minutes before writing this review and I can barley remember the music even now.
It's good this game is only $2, because even if you end up liking it, you're beating it in less than four hours. Replay value is minimal. According to the manual, you get something for getting all the coins, but that would involve replaying the vehicle levels over and over again, which is a gonna be a no from me, dawg.
Finally, there is a glitch that occurs where the game crashes if you minimize it.
In the end, this game's main problem is while none of the issues I bring up are game breaking (except that easily avoidable glitch), this game is so bereft of positive qualities that the issues it does have are always in the forefront of your mind. If I were to give this game a score from a traditional 1 to 10 scale, I'd give it a 5. It's not a BAD game, but it's definitely not good either, and with so many other better classic 5th and 6th Generation 3D platformers out there, I can't bring myself to give this a thumbs up.
