Elebits
Developer/Publisher: Konami
Platform: Wii
Release Date: December 12, 2006
Posted: August 24, 2008
The stylized still art comes off very glowy and color saturated.Bits of electricity, dubbed Elebits, supply the power for all the world’s electronics, but something has caused them to go awry and it is up to you to contain them. Much like the Katamari Damacy series, this game requires the player to collect Elebits in order to gain the ability to unlock access to more Elebits.
Letting the main menu sit untouched will activate an introductory movie. This cut scene describes the original lightning bolt that brought the Elebits to the humans, and how they have been working together in harmony ever since; having brought us light, happiness, and dance apparently. This video puts the player up close and personal with many dancing Elebits who flaunt their partially furry bodies.
Story mode is the game’s main form of play. Short still-frame cut scenes pop-up before certain missions to give the player an idea as to what is going on. It turns out that the power has gone out all over the town and the Elebits have begun acting strangely. It just so happens that the main character’s parents are Elebits experts and they get called into work. This leaves their small child, Kai, home alone in the dark. To protect himself, and to attempt to power the television, Kai takes his father’s capture gun in order to collect the Elebits that are running rampant through the house, yard, and city streets. Capturing the Elebits allows electricity to be gathered to power the lights, toys, and varying sizes of electronics. A certain amount of power must be collected in a given amount of time for each level to be completed successfully, save for a few boss levels.
Powered items that require an action will pop-up a yellow box that somewhat describes what the player will need to do to release the enhancement Elebits.
The gameplay is kept simple, little more than seeking the “hidden” Elebits. Capturing the Elebits is done by pointing and shooting them with the Wiimote. The capture gun also allows the player to lift items and toss them by flicking the Wiimote. The Nunchuck is used to move the character around the area.
Elebits can be broken-up into two main types: power ones that give the player wattage and enhancers that power-up the capture gun so the player can lift heavier items. While many of the power Elebits can be found sitting out in the open, they also hide within items, causing the objects to shake. The enhancement Elebits always require an action to be performed to a powered item before they will appear. With each type of Elebit there are multiple colors that are worth differing points of wattage and enhancement. These colorful power Elebits will each perform different actions if they feel threatened by the player. For example, the red Elebits will sound off an alarm warning the nearby Elebits, and yellows will attempt to merge with other Elebits to create a larger, uncapturable Elebit.
There are a few special kinds of Elebits as well: giant yellow, rare pink, black, and boss. The giant Elebits can be split back into their original Elebits if they are thrown around a bit. Three rare pink Elebits exist in each non-boss level, and they will unlock extra challenge modes for the levels they are captured in. Black Elebits are to be left uncaptured, as they will take off a point of life for each one captured. They can be a bit tricky at times and will attempt to clump together with groups of other Elebits. Boss Elebits are much bigger than their cousins and will require strategic action to be captured.
As adorable as the black Elebits may be, capturing them will only hurt the player. Giant black Elebits will appear if the player makes too big of a mess; these Elebits have blue spikes rather than pink.To make capturing Elebits more difficult, many levels include one or more limits for the player to keep track of: damage taken, items broken, and noise volume. In most levels there will be a health bar at the bottom left corner of the screen; this represents the gun’s endurance and will cause the mission to fail if it drops to 0. Damage is dealt by mini-artillery in various areas and bosses that shoot at the main character. Typically in the house levels there will be a limit to the number of items the player can break. Breakable items are generally fine china, glasses, and vases, and if they are thrown around clumsily they will break. The noise level limits are relatively infrequent and require the player to keep it down. Instead of throwing items around, more care must be taken to ensure the Elebits do not get too riled up. This is the most difficult of the three limits to follow.
Temporary weapon enhancements can also be found lying about every level. Some will affect the Elebits by stunning or attracting them, another will prevent the player from taking damage, and other will make picking up Elebits a breeze; all will help the player in some way. One of the more common power-ups is a homing laser that will automatically select and lock on to Elebits for capture. Each is temporary however, lasting from 30 to 60 seconds.
The first Boss Elebit that the player encounters within the house.The soundtrack is one of the better for such a simple Wii game. It includes jazzed-up grooves that make the player want to get up and shake the Wiimote. There is a unique track for each of the 29 levels. The mix is very appropriate for one of the first Wii titles to be released, as it probably did help get people off of the couch and jumping around.
Besides the three extra challenge modes from capturing rare pink Elebits, completing a level with a decent score will unlock that mode for editing. These levels can be shared and played with others over the Wii’s Internet connection. Offline the game can be played with up to four players in multiplayer mode, offering many options for replay.
Charming little Elebits are just misunderstood, and Kai must overcome his fears of them in order to save the town. And besides, making a mess out of someone else’s room is always fun.
TLDR: This kid-like first person shooter incorporates a simple yet ingenious mechanical use of the Wii system’s new controls in an engaging and enjoyable manner.
