Having garnered a respectable amount of buzz and positive impressions during its debut at E3 last May, Elebits hit store shelves this December with some pretty high hopes attached. Released by Konami, the title was designed from the ground up to take advantage of Nintendo's new console and its unique interface, capitalizing upon the company's bold gameplay-over-graphics paradigm. Games developed this way are likely to be the strongest in the Wii's catalog, so it's understandable that gamers were excited to get their hands on Konami's eccentric experiment. The good news is that Elebits makes good on the promise it showed at E3, as it is genuinely enjoyable to play and also a very good indication of the types of new gameplay ideas we're likely to see from the Wii. Elebits features an odd but simple plot: gamers take on the role of a small child who inadvertently "wishes" all of the Elebits away. In Konami's alternate universe, it seems that the Elebits are the source of all of the electricity in the world, so their absence poses a big problem. Armed with his father's trusty gravity gun (every family has one of those, right?), the child sets out to correct his mistake by finding all of the tiny creatures and putting them back in their rightful places-inside lightbulbs and small electrical appliances. It's a weird and silly story that's related via beautiful still images and horribly acted voiceovers, but it's serviceable. The bottom line is that gamers are given the ability to pick up just about every object in the game via a simple point-and-click interface, and the quality of the narrative is ultimately unimportant.

The gameplay is where Elebits places all of its bets, and it turns out to be a wonderful gamble. The game boasts a full-featured physics engine, and picking up various objects in the game world and tossing them around is strangely liberating and a lot of fun. The physics aren't entirely realistic, as relatively few objects actually break and really heavy objects tend to bounce off of surrounding surfaces the same way that small objects do, but they're consistent and that's what's important. The stages are designed in such a way that players begin with very little ability to manipulate their environment, but collecting more Elebits results in more power and more access to heavier objects and complex devices.

The game's pacing is really where most of its enjoyment comes from. Because players are initially limited in each stage, the designers were able to design levels in such a way that multiple challenges and puzzles present themselves over the course of the game. All stages are timed, so the most common challenge is figuring out how to power up enough to complete the stage before the time runs out, but later levels introduce additional restrictions. Sometimes, players will need to avoid making too much noise, while other levels will restrict the number of objects that can be broken without failing. Also, the arrangement of the objects in each room often presents subtle obstacles and environmental puzzles in itself.

Additional features help to add some longevity to the game, even though the standard mode lasts a decent amount of time. A multiplayer mode offers support for up to four players, and it can be fun if a bit too chaotic. Basically, all players attempt to control objects in the environment and collect the most points, while only one player has control of the camera. Elebits also offers an "Edit" mode that allows players to use the spaces and objects in the game to create new levels and challenges. These creations may then be shared with friends via WiiConnect 24, and it's likely that a very large number of user-created levels will soon find their way online. That's a pretty big selling point, especially since most other Wii games offer no online support at all.

At the end of the day, Elebits is fun because it tries something new. Tossing things around in the air and demolishing bedrooms and kitchens is more fun than it ought to be, and the controls in the game are usually spot-on. Occasional frustration exists in the form of random glitches with the pointer device, but these problems are rare. The visual presentation is solid, if not attractive, and the audio is terrific, complete with pleasant and enjoyable background music. Most players will be pleased with the game, and it's nice to see Konami supporting the Wii and trying to push gameplay in new directions.

Score: 84%

Dec 27, 2006 | 1 comments
David Tolin