Elebits Review

Elebits Background

A young boy broods over the fact that his parents never spend any time with him. They're scientists who study the famous Elebits, small creatures that provide electricity to the game's virtual world. The boy wishes Elebits were never created, and in a mysterious set of circumstances, his wish seems to have been granted. Now the house has no power and all he has is his father's Capture Gun, a strange device that is capable of lifting objects from afar. Using the gun you must turn the house inside out, searching for hidden Elebits and restore power to the neighborhood.

As you capture the strange little creatures, a voltage meter increases. When you reach certain milestones, some appliances will be powered, allowing you to turn them on and find even more of the small critters. You also level-up your Capture Gun to enable it to lift heavier objects. Playing a stage is a simple matter of manipulating small objects to find enough Elebits to be able to lift larger things in the house.

Game Mechanics and Physics

Konami obviously spent a lot of time refining the control scheme in Elebits. It's amazingly simple and works very well. Moving the Wii Remote aims a small reticule ("target") on the screen. Press either the A or B buttons to fire the Capture Gun and attempt to pick up an object. If the energy is red, it's too heavy for you to lift. As you level-up the gun, you can pick up larger objects. The nunchuk accessory lets you move about in the world as well as duck and stand on your toes to find hidden Elebits.

The physics are superb in the game, allowing you to stack, smash, open, twist, rotate and zoom in and out on everything you can get your hands on. Picking up and sliding objects around is as simple as moving the Wii Remote. You can even bring them closer to the front of the screen by pulling the remote away from the TV! The physics are what gives Elebits great replay value and makes it worth your time to simply dive in and start throwing things around.

Elebits Level Editor

A fantastic inclusion to the game is an easy-to-use level editor. Once you complete a stage, you can access it through the editor to create your own puzzles. All you have to do is scroll through the list of items, then place them with the B button. Then move, rotate and manipulate everything to your liking. You can do some crazy things with the editor and can even change the gravity!

Conclusion

For all of its simple fun, Elebits is a remarkable game that is worth experiencing. The physics are superb, the gameplay is easy to pick up, and almost anyone can enjoy playing such a light-hearted game. Unfortunately, it's quite a short game. There are only about a dozen levels to complete in the main quest, and after half of them, you'll begin to feel the game's gimmick wearing a bit thin. Collecting certain Elebits in stages will unlock different play modes, so that does add some replay value to the game. That said, it's tough to shake the feeling that, once you turn a room inside out with the stellar control scheme, you've been there and done that. It's this lack of variety that will prevent Elebits from becoming an everlasting classic. Nonetheless, it's unique and fresh enough to try out.