To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from Kao the Kangaroo 2 and can you blame me really? The first one on the Dreamcast wasn't very successful at all - it was always dominated by something infinitely or modestly better, namely the Sonic series [And don't forget Ecco the Dolphin! Ecco Mad Ed]. In this day and age, people have moved on in every gaming aspect - platforming games display a fine example of evolution; games that used to be linear now have freedom found in titles such as Jak 3, a highly respected platforming game.

So then, with every game sporting freedom, what's the next step? I suppose you could incorporate some 'sky's the limit' system that would allow for even more freedom, but I can't see platforming games pushing the boundaries all the way to free will. The not so obvious step has been taken with Kao the Kangaroo Round 2; going back to basics with a linear storyline packed full of action, with not a minute to stop and think. In all sincerity, I find Kao the Kangaroo 2 to be a breath of fresh air - there's a lot to be said for just powering up a game and playing that hard level over and over again, until you perfect it.

The story starts off with you as Kao, in a cage, and a dumb parrot is looking for you, flying around some nice looking islands. He knows you're trapped on a ship but his dumb nature prevents him from finding you right off the bat. He eventually spots the ship and flies down to find you trapped in the cage. He calmly explains that these bad guys are taking all the animals - think Noah's ark but evil. Apparently you're the only animal with enough courage and power to save the animals, so you have to get out there and do your thing!

You jump off the ship and onto a dark island, which is probably one of the only non-linear areas of the game; here you can unlock doors with crystals found in the linear levels and around the dark island. A certain amount of crystals opens a certain door, all of which lead you onto some bonus level of some description, which are always nice to break up the platforming gameplay. There's a pirate on the island too and he wants 3000 coins before he'll let you past, which undoubtedly leads onto something big. While coins aren't hard to come by, 3000 is a high number to save up, so it's great to be on the lookout for both coins and crystals while playing the levels.

So when you're ready to get off the island and venture off, you just talk to one of the characters and they send you to the first level; Beaver Forest. At any point you can return to the island and then you can go back to any level when you are ready. If you don't return to the island regularly, the game just carries on, level after level, which is great in my eyes, because you don't pointlessly have to break off unless you have to, or want to, because you have some crystals to spend.

The platforming side of things reminds me a little of the old Crash Bandicoot games on the PSOne. Basically the levels consist of you getting to the end via one path, although saying this game is like the old Crash Bandicoots isn't quite fair, because there is a small degree of digression allowance to find hidden items, but the fun factor is comparably at the same level. As with both Crash Bandicoot and Kao 2, the action never stops. One minute you could be jumping from moving platforms to rocking platforms, the next minute you could be running away from a bear, chasing you at light speed. Then you'll see yourself on a badger and before you know it you'll take to a snowboard - not to mention the bouncy clouds and the trampolines, making Kao one of the most varied and fresh-feeling platforming games to date.

Kao has a few things at his disposal to get rid of enemies fast. First of all, there are boomerangs to throw but you only have a limited amount, as Kao can only carry twenty. Boomerangs aren't a crucial part of the game, so the gameplay can still thrive without the projectiles - it's just nice to have one in your back pocket for emergency uses. Other than that, you have your trusty fists of fury and superb boxing gloves, which allow for some combo attacks on enemies, barrels and boxes alike. Then there are some nice jump attacks, the old classic 'jump and slam down' move is here, as is the tail whip, akin to every platformer's high jump kick. There are plenty of moves here to keep the gameplay simple yet rewarding at the same time.

Something that's quite odd about Kao is the fact that he's allergic to water. If you dip your toe in the water, you dies instantly, which really does become annoying, especially when you miss those over water jumps. Fortunately there are loads of checkpoints scattered about, so you'll restart at the last checkpoint you ran into and all the items you collected after that checkpoint still remain intact, so there's no dying on purpose to get double the crystals! Other than that and a couple of sloppy textures that you can put your fist through, the gameplay is polished enough to be very entertaining.

The graphics surpass in some areas and disappoint in others. There's not much disappointment but there is enough to mention. You have the odd funny looking background here and there that looks flat, drab and on par with the Nintendo DS - commonly found on hills, with hardly any third dimension there. However, this is a cartoony looking game so we can forgive and forget to an extent. The rest of the game does fantastically well. The frame rate manages to keep up with the fast-paced platform action, while most of the colours on screen are bright, crisp and look great! We have plenty of nice looking water effects, even though Kao can't touch the stuff and there are lots of fitting effects for the every unique looking level.

The music in this game is apparent and while it doesn't annoy me, it doesn't really impress me enough to talk about it. It's there and it fills the background up with vibrant noises and typically jolly platform tunes. Voice acting is another mix of good and evil. The evilness appears in Kao's voice, which sounds somewhat weird. It's almost as if he is using a drive-through speaker, sat in his car and parked a couple of feet away, which doesn't make the muffled employee any easier to hear. That's the only way I can describe it really but I was glad to find out that Kao doesn't really speak much, which is really fortunate. Other voices are done reasonably well, most being clear, but others, again a little on the muffled side. The French beavers and bees are quite hard to understand too, mainly due down to accent and the fact that they are so quiet!

Kao the Kangaroo Round 2 had the odds stacked against it to start off with. I never liked the first, I didn't think there was any more room for platforming games and the fact that the main character is a camp looking Kangaroo put me off somewhat. But boy, am I glad that I gave Kao 2 its rightful chance to shine, because it proved me wrong in so many aspects. Even though it might be over too quickly for platforming veterans, those who like action from the word go will find their long lost pal in Kao the Kangaroo 2. With an enormous and linear breath of fresh air feeling, this game puts the cool back in old school and will have most gamers jumping for joy for as long as it lasts!

Reviewed by Dexter Pearson for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).