Reviewed: January 16, 2007
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Publisher
Konami

Developer
Konami

Released: December 12, 2006
Genre: Action
Players: 1-4

8
8
8
8
8.2

Supported Features:

The premise is simple. Elebits are small (almost cuddly) creatures that generate their own electrical current. One day a lightning storm strikes and the Elebits get all weird and go into hiding…in your appliances and other electrical gadgets. Using your dad’s trusty Capture Gun you now get to go on an electrifying scavenger hunt of sorts. Capture these cute creatures and use them to power-up other items so you can capture more. It’s part puzzle, part action, part adventure, and totally fun.

Apparently, most of the budget went into gameplay because the presentation for Elebits is extremely lacking, even by Wii standards. We get a bunch of static story screens and some cheesy voice acting that might send some skeptical gamers running for the next title on the shelf. Don’t do it!

Using both the remote and nunchuk you will aim at the screen and press the A or B button to fire a capture beam that can manipulate items and capture Elebits. The game almost plays out like an FPS with the analog stick used for strafing and the remote used for aiming. C and Z buttons stand and crouch, which is more a function of exploration than trying to dodge anything.

You’ll attach your beam to objects and shake and flip them around. Almost everything in the world of Elebits can be manipulated in some fashion and almost all of them release a colorful assortment of Elebits you can use to build up that wattage meter. You’ll need this wattage to power all sorts of everyday devices like lights, ceiling fans, microwaves, and even remote control cars. Turning on these devices usually leads to you accessing more powerful Elebits which in turn charges your gun allowing you to access bigger items like a real car and even a house.

My only complaint with Elebits would be the level timer. I hate timers, especially on games that reward you with creative thinking and exploration. While the time limit is usually quite generous, I still hate the clock ticking away in the corner of the screen and would have enjoyed a mode with no limits.

Elebits wouldn’t work if it weren’t for the outstanding physics engine in place that makes everything move and react just like it would in real life. You’ll come away from this game thinking an anti-grav gun might just exist somewhere…probably in a bunker at Area 51. But even though items can be turned and stacked, when you throw some items, especially the heavier ones, there is a degree of floatiness to them. It keeps things from getting too destructive or violent, which should please parents.

There are 30 levels or areas ranging in size and complexity with time limits ranging from 5-20 minutes. You’ll explore indoor locations as well as outdoors, always in search of anything you can latch onto and shake around in your attempt to find every last Elebit who has gone into hiding. You can only move on to the next level when you have acquired the necessary number of Elebits and powered your gun sufficiently.

Clever side challenges start to appear as you explore deeper into the game. Sometimes you are not allowed to break a certain object, and other times you have to watch the noise level – make too much noise and you get to restart the level. There are even boss battles of sorts, all of which combine to add a lot of strategy and challenge to what could easily have become a game of “Where’s Waldo”.

Elebits also offers four player support, and nothing is quite as exciting or confusing as having four players all aiming and firing their color-coded beams onto the screen, shaking and moving items, and racing to collect the most Elebits. The only downside to this is that player one is in charge of actually moving the camera so in some way he has a slight advantage over the other players.

There is also a level creator included with Elebits that allows you to use levels from the main game and insert your own items and Elebits into the scene. Your list of available items is limited until you unlock more during solo play. But perhaps the most impressive element to this feature is the ability to share your levels with other gamers using WiiConnect24. Not even Nintendo has a game that uses their own network at this time. Great job Konami.

With 30 levels there is a nice selection of styles and locations so things don’t get too boring or stale. Each new location brings with it a new assortment of items to manipulate and electronic puzzles to solve. These items also work extremely well as puzzle pieces in your own creations using the included level designer.

I really enjoyed the splash screen story pages, which just goes to prove that classy artwork can replace next-gen CGI if you do it with style and a unique vision.

The sound effects are where Elebits really shines and there is a great sound mix of all sorts of electronic sounds and sci-fi effects for the capture gun as well as impact sounds as you manipulate the onscreen world. It all comes together in a nice 3D Dolby Pro Logic II mix that sounds great.

The level editor is a great feature, although not everyone will use it, but there is already some interesting level designs floating around the WiiConnect24 network. Check ‘em out.