Elebits

Once upon a time there was a world where creatures provided our electricity. They were tiny creatures – short, chubby little things that conjured memories of Pikmin, the ant-like plant people dancing in Shigeru Miyamoto's head (and in our GameCubes).

Referred to as "Elebits," the electrically charged creatures are not eager to power our daily needs. They're in no hurry to fuel our televisions, traffic lights, or vacuum cleaners. Elebits are greedy critters who want to take their energy and leave!

Fortunately for you, Elebits do not live in Perfect (the world Walgreens commercials speak of). They are trapped in a game named after their species, and can be hunted down and zapped up for use in a variety of household appliances. If there's an object, big or small, be prepared to lift and carefully examine its every crevice. No drawer is too narrow, no building is too big, no toaster is too ... toasty. Elebits will find a way to use objects to their advantage. Even crystal glasses can shield your vision from their existence.

If this sounds like a bunch of boring gobbledygook, you're not alone. I suppose I'd have agreed – prior to playing the game – had the Wii been out a while and I had already gotten my second or third dose of innovation. But I'll try anything, especially when consoles are new. Having no clue as to what Elebits was about, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it at this year's E3. My first impressions were no doubt memorable, but the demo wasn't more than a bit of things to come.

First-Person World Manipulation

It isn't hard to mistake Elebits for a first-person shooter. The game uses the tried-and-true Wolfenstein view, as well as the Wii remote for zapping (technically capturing) Elebits. If that was all there was to it, the game wouldn't be that entertaining. This is a slower-paced adventure that doesn't stand up to the top-tier shooters, let alone the smaller guys like Criterion's Black. And it isn't supposed to.

Elebits draws its fun from the game world and the Wii remote. Think back: what are the two things I say are most important in a game's success? (1) Controls and (2) world design. In addition to zapping, the Wii remote also acts as your world conductor. Every object you see – relevant to the mission or just there for visual purposes – is interactive. Pick it up and toss it aside. I mean that literally – point the remote over the object, press the A button to grab it, then flick the remote away from the screen and release the A button to throw the object.

I know what you're thinking – Wii games involve a lot of "flicking." I only used that word for lack of something better. But that is one of many ways you can deal with an object. They were not designed specifically for flicking – you may lift an object quickly and gradually bring the remote down to release it without destruction. Objects and your zapper are directly tied to the amount of speed you use with your motions. This is a crucial and wonderful element that gives you an unbelievable amount of control over what you're doing – and allowed the developers to create some very daring missions.

Breaking The Ice

You can break the ice. But please don't break the glass. Though the game was built to give you complete control over everything, the developers thought it would be fun to test our ability to be quiet and careful by adding restrictions to some of the missions. They were right – it is fun. But if you're the impatient type, it could drive you insane.

Missions that have a break limit demand that you do not destroy a certain number of objects. What this typically means is: do whatever it takes to keep the dishes from shattering. However, objects are not limited to things you'll find in a kitchen. They start out small: books, frozen turkeys, large blocks of ice, etc.

Things start to get crazy as soon as you leave the building. You'll quickly notice that everything you see can be grabbed with your zapper. Try to lift a heavy object, like a car or small structure, and you'll start to see your strength limitations. Zapper strength is increased by zapping special Elebits. They're usually yellow, and pop out of appliances and other objects as their power is rejuvenated. You rejuvenate their power by collecting enough Elebits to meet the appliances' wattage rating (example: a TV needs 10,000 watts. Reach that amount, then shoot the TV's power button to turn it on and release more Elebits).

That's great, and is certainly necessary to your survival in the game. But that can't compare to the super strength power-up, which gives you the power to lift almost everything you see. There are some buildings that are too big to lift and toss away. Everything else – cars, street lights, statues, steel beams, amusement park displays, etc. – is yours to manipulate.

A Bit of Repetition

As you can probably imagine, Elebits is not free of what plagues most video games: repetition. It's extremely fun and creative in what it does. But it's also very quirky, and tends to do the same thing – or same group of things – repeatedly throughout each mission. Even if that bothers you, as it likely will to any sane person, I encourage everyone with a Wii to give this game a few hours of your time. At the very least you'll get to experience one of the year's most original and creative titles, and have a great time using the remote in ways that could not be efficiently replicated with last generation's analog stick.

Gameplay: 8.0
Elebits brings an unprecedented level of world manipulation to Nintendo Wii. Despite its slow pace, the game is intense and unnerving as you struggle to unearth Elebits without breaking too many objects (restriction #1, for certain missions) or making too much noise (restriction #2). The controls are awesome, accurate, and reliable, and the world design is clever, involved, and full of secrets to uncover.

Graphics: 7.0
This game has several creative, intricately designed worlds, but the paint covering that detail isn’t overly impressive. Visually this is a low-end GameCube game with a few minor tweaks.

Sound: 8.0
A quirky and enjoyable soundtrack for a quirky and enjoyable game. Elebits’s graphics aren’t the only things that appear to have drawn inspiration from Pikmin. While the music doesn’t sound like Shigeru Miyamoto’s RTS, it has the same gentle and peaceful qualities that could annoy us to death in the wrong game, but is perfect in this zap, grab, and throw adventure.

Difficulty: Easy
With slight bits of “medium” every now and then.

Concept: 9.0
An entirely new kind of game. It’s not a first-person shooter, but it uses the ideas behind that genre to create a fun and unique adventure that is exquisite and specific to the Wii control style. You’ve never had this much fun grabbing and throwing stuff! Just remember to hold on to the Wii remote while you’re doing it.

Multiplayer: 7.8
Interesting but chaotic, and not designed with all players in mind. Elebits lets you and three friends play simultaneously. The catch is that it’s single-screen – every player shoots from the same perspective. The first player controls the camera and location of the level. It’s very unusual and works a lot better than it sounds, but is limited and will annoy some gamers (mainly those not in control of the camera).

Overall: 8.0
A must-play, but not necessarily a must-buy. Elebits is wonderful in its execution of an original idea. But like most original ideas in the gaming world, it is not free of repetition. This isn’t the kind of game you’ll want to finish all in one sitting. It’s short enough to do so, but you’ll enjoy it a lot more if you spread it out over several days (or a couple weeks).