When elfin princess Kameo is chosen as successor to the throne and imbued with ancestral powers of transformation magic, her jealous older sister releases the evil troll king, Thorn, from his prison of stone, thus unleashing chaos upon the Enchanted Kingdom. As well as saving her kingdom from the ravages of war, Kameo must use her fledgling abilities to rescue her family, who have been captured by Thorn. In order to do this she must find and release ten imprisoned elemental warriors, gaining mastery of their powers if she is to have any chance of saving her people. And so begins an adventure of truly heroic proportions...

Along the way, Kameo is aided by several helpful characters. Foremost is Ortho - an irascible wizard who resides in an ancient tome known as the Wotnot Book, which contains everything Kameo needs to know about her rescued elemental warriors. The Mystic, a lizard-like creature with an all-seeing glass eye, sees things nobody else can, and dispenses useful advice. Along with several others, these characters serve not only to guide and teach, but also to flesh out the story. As well as the main 'save the world' mission, there are many miscellaneous quests to complete, too. These are usually given by characters met along the way, and often involve ridding someone's dwelling of unwelcome visitors.

The title character is more of a Tinkerbell-type elf than a Tolkeinesque one, and while she's able to hover and execute stylish flip-kicks, she's generally not the first choice when it comes to combat or physical obstacles. This is where the power bestowed upon her kicks in. It allows her to morph into a selection of elemental warriors, each with its own set of unique abilities, strengths and vulnerabilities. Initially she is able to transform into three of the ten elemental warriors, which gives you a taste of their powers - and when best to employ them.

Sometimes Kameo is required to switch forms in quick succession, a transition that is accomplished quickly and smoothly thanks to the use of hotkeys. For example, after assuming the form of Major Ruin (a kind of spiky armadillo that can roll into a ball), she must perform a mid-air transformation into Chilla (a yeti-type creature with icy spikes on his back), in order to leap across a chasm and climb a wall on the far side.

After completing the first level, Kameo loses the three elemental warriors, and must recover them along with the remaining seven, in the underworld realm of the shadow trolls - nasssty undead creatures that are impervious to physical damage. Once an elemental sprite is released from captivity and absorbed, it assumes its warrior form, appearing on the pages of the Wotnot Book, along with a description of its powers and a list of possible upgrades. These upgrades are purchased with elemental fruit, which are scattered around the kingdom.

There are two elemental warriors for each of the five elements in the game: earth, plant, fire, water and ice. We found the key to successful play was knowing which creature to use and when, as well as mastering the knack of quickly switching between them. Here's a brief description of the elemental warriors:

Rubble: a creature composed of boulders, which he is able to hurl at enemy

Major Ruin: a spiked and armoured "bowling ball", whose ramp talents wouldn't look out of place at a skate park

Pummel Weed: an excellent pugilist, able to send trolls flying with a quick one-two.

Snare: another plant-based warrior, with powerful jaws (think Little Shop of Horrors)

Ash: a fire-breathing dragon - compact in size, but able to deliver a world of char-broiled hurt

Thermite: the smallest of the bunch, but his lava cannon packs a real wallop

Deep Blue: a water elemental who can, amongst other things, fire underwater torpedo

Flex: another water elemental - all teeth and tentacles, who can skate across bodies of water

Chilla: the aforementioned yeti, who is equally at home scaling walls and thumping troll

40 Below: another sub-zero elemental, able to blast enemies with icy breath and summon a spiked snowball

Manoeuvring the various warrior forms is a breeze and as you upgrade them you'll see changes to their appearance as well.