Posted Fri Dec 15, 2006 2:22 PM
I picked this up the other night. So far...the tutorials were rather drab and seemed really really drawn out. They almost work like separate missions rather than giving it all to you at once.
Example, In Katamari Damacy you do a training level, where you learn how to roll left, right, back, etc...and over stuff and everything. But you do it all in one nice tidy little space.
In Elebits, you're first told how something works, and then either told to do it yourself, or shown how it works. Then, you go another what seems like a small level load and the next item is talked about.
I prefer Namco's method as it gets you doing it all at once and really learning how it all works together. But with Elebits they break it up so much that you feel like some of the missions won't be commensurate of all you have learned, but just focus on that one thing you just learned. Which isn't the case.
In addition, starting at around Mission 4 and 5, you are shown more demos in tutorial mode for new gameplay elements that get added at that time.
However, as a game it is very addicitive! Each mission takes place in its own area. Could be a room, a couple of rooms to be explored, etc. And you always start at level 1 on picking up stuff. But you quickly build yourself up so that when you could only be picking up apples out of basket, you can now fling the entire entertainment center that the basket was sitting in. There are also some powerups scattered in the missions to help you with things. Some cause the Elebits to start spinning dazed and confused like, which makes it much easier to capture them. And some will turn your capture ray into a homing laser able to pick up lots of Elebits at once without having to aim directly at them all the time.
The graphics are really cute in a more detailed than katamary way, but same color styling. Nothing is difficult to tell what it is or how to use it. The elebits themselves are also varied and depending on the color will either help you in leveling up your capture ray during the mission, or build up your wattage requirement to clear the level. One thing I do like about the game is that once you clear a level, you can still continue to play until time runs out. In addition there are secrets within the missions to unlock other bonuses in the gameplay. As an example there is one bonus you unlock where you can replay the levels without a time limit provided you find all of a certain elebit type in the mission when you play it.
The game also features an editor where you can edit the missions and somehow, (I haven't looked up how to do this yet...), can send them to your friends on your Wii list and exchange them. The game also features the usual simultaneous multiplayer with up to 4 at once zapping elebits.
To me the shear fun of ripping cabinet drawers out of in the kitchen or tossing a piano around in the living room is all tremdous fun?!