G-pinions

Elebits is immediately fun, and I can't really say that for any other game on the Wii that I've played; I can appreciate a conscious learning curve, games like Zelda couldn't really be accomplished without it, but there's something to be said for instant, intuitive enjoyment. As universally successful as the system has been thus far, it's potential versus current software output is even more shameful than the PS3.

But anyhow, Elebits! Yay! It's an easy comparison, but I don't think that the Katamari aesthetic will be lost on anyone who has played both games. It's very Japanese, yes, but it's also very colorful, flourishes with sparse but memorable visual design, and revolves around a similarly simplistic but perpetually rewarding game mechanic. Ignoring the downright stupid story (replete with perhaps the most poorly acted, lazily translated dialogue since R.A.D.), you're tasked with collecting tiny Elebit creatures around your house, and eventually the world at large, with your gravity gun (of sorts). Half-Life 2 meets hide-and-go-seek.

Levels involve wandering around various parts of your house (though you do explore the world further in later stages I understand, I'm just speaking from what I've played), tearing the place to shreds looking for Elebits. They hide in drawers, under magazines, in the toilet and on the ceiling rafters. And every other goddamn place in-between, in every nook and cranny you could possibly theorize. You have to collect a certain amount within the time limit, and can keep playing until the end of the time if you finish early (remind you of anything?). Collecting them slowly turns on the power around the house, and if you activate eletronic they'll spit out powered Elebits, which increase the strength/wattage of your grabber gun, allowing you to lift heavier objects to find more Elebits to activate more electronics. Phew. It's a fun little cycle, and it makes each level perpetually rewarding.

There are lots of other little quirks beyond that basic gameplay premise too, such as specific items that need other items to function (find some laundry in the mess you've made to put in the dryer), levels with certain restrictions (keep the noise level down, don't break delicate items), and the different moods an Elebit can be in when captured (the most points being for when he's sleeping or singing, I believe). It's ultimately a very simplistic game, but these few variations and the utter gratification of the main gameplay elements (trashing a house, collecting cute lil' Elebits) keep things clipping along at a very nice pace.

My collecting hand is jittering as I type this, wanting to throw my new iMac across the room, just for the slim chance that a little green demon may be underneath. I should probably go play more now and write more later.