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Elebits and Warioware - Bad Wii and Good Wii
Posted by
Zonk
on Thu Jan 25, 2007 02:01 PM
from the two-headed-nickel dept.
from the two-headed-nickel dept.
The anecdotal evidence that's been going around, now that the Wii is an established fixture in American living rooms, is that Nintendo's new console still has room for improvement. We all had fun over the holidays, sharing Wii Sports with our relatives and watching our aunts laugh themselves stupid. Now, though, it's a new year and it's time for the Wii to step up as a gaming platform. It needs to be more than a Zelda player, and the console needs to prove that this 'new gen' style of play is sustainable over the long term. The post-launch round of games has started to trickle out, and the results are definitely mixed. Today I have for you impressions of Elebits and WarioWare: Smooth Moves. These are two games that show quite a bit of promise, but only one of which actually delivers. Read on for my views, and a return to a numeric grading scale.
- Title: Elebits
- Developer/Publisher: Konami
- System: Wii
- Score: 3/5 - This game is flawed, but will appeal to genre fans. Any gamer might enjoy renting it, but this won't ever be a classic.
That's not to say it's unlikable. Quite to the contrary, the game wraps itself in an incredibly appealing package. Hung loosely on the hook of telling stories to a kid, each stage pits you against the wilds of a suburban Japanese home. Your goal is to use the electricity gun developed by the protagonist's parents to capture a certain wattage in Elebits. The miniature creatures literally *are* electricity, and snapping them up with your weapon powers up household gadgets left and right. The key is that you need to find the little buggers first, which requires a great deal of rooting around in closets and checking under beds.
The fun comes from the fact that you're interacting with the environment through the extremely smooth Wiimote controls. Your controller is represented in-game by the electricity gun, which can lift objects via a sort of energy field; think Syndrome's zero-point energy from the movie The Incredibles. When you start off a level your power is somewhat weak. Moving small objects is all you can manage. As you collect more Elebits, the weapon grows in power and larger objects can be manipulated. Later levels feature you lifting entire buildings in an effort to locate the wily creatures.
The core game mechanic is thus essentially a modified form of hide and seek. The first time you play the game, it will be sure to cause a smile. Subsequent play is equally entertaining, but there's never a real sense of a challenge. Elebits is a very easy game, and the duration of the main story mode only highlights that ease of play. It's quite possible to play through the entire game in one five hour session.
Graphical presentation on the Wii is not something I'm going to harp on very often, but I think a more thoughtful look could have given this game a little extra oomph. While the Elebits themselves are cutely designed, the game world is very boxy and uninspired. My hope is that Wii game-makers will take into account the limitations of the console they're working on when planning art design. Why fight the console's low power when you can make a statement? A more stylized art form would have made Elebits pop off the screen more, and would have alleviated some of the sameyness of later levels.
If you're looking for a quite weekend rental, Elebits isn't a bad call. It's very Wiimote-centric, and is another title you can use to show friends and family the potential of Nintendo's console. Just the same, don't put down hard-earned money for it. The long-term playability of the game is very low, and a few months from now it will end up as grist in Gamestop's maw as you purchase more worthy 2007 titles.
- Title: WarioWare: Smooth Moves
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Developer: Intelligent Systems
- System: Wii
- Score: 4/5 - This game is above average, and excels in the genre it supports. A classic for the genre, likely to be a part of a genre fan's collection, and well worth a look for every gamer.
The games themselves are, as always with a WarioWare title, crack-addled. Only a few seconds long, each minigame allows you only a moment to understand how you are supposed to use the specified form to complete the vague command associated with the game. It seemed to me that things were a bit less insane than the offerings from WarioWare:Touched, the DS title, but the games were still plenty strange. Some examples include : picking a nose, putting a old woman's false teeth into her mouth, drinking a glass of water, hula-hooping, driving a car, balancing a broom with one hand, fighting a samurai, and roasting a piece of mutton.
There are 13 character stories in Smooth Moves (two of them revolving around Wario), and in total there are about 19 different controller forms to master. Only one of these, 'The Diner', uses the Nunchuck; most of the game is playable with just the Wiimote. Playing through all of the stories and learning all of the moves won't take most gamers very long. A determined player could almost certainly play through the entire game in one sitting of about four hours.
That brevity may seem like a problem, but what is a problem for so many other titles is a strength for this series. WarioWare titles are endlessly replayable, even in a single-player state of mind. There's always a drive to refine your skill at the various games, to see how far you can make it through the endless series of games before succumbing to a missed cue or a slow hand. The Muliplayer component of Smooth Moves is especially well constructed, and allows for up to an astounding twelve players to compete against each other using one Wiimote. There are about six modes for multiplayer mania, with multiplayer-specific games joining the minigames playable in the single-player mode. My favorite is the nose-shaped rocketship piloting course.
WarioWare: Smooth Moves is exactly the kind of game the Wii needs in these post-launch days. It's a ridiculous amount of fun, contains an endless amount of multiplayer, and (most importantly) shows off the Wii control scheme in a way few other titles can match. The only thing holding this game back from perfection is the incredibly short single-player component, and even then it's hard to argue with the developers choices. If you ever plan to have friends over to your home again, this title deserves a spot on your shelf alongside Zelda. The game's multiplayer element is as close to perfect as you can ask for, sure to elicit laughter and invite play by any and all interested parties. Smooth Moves is a title that deserves a look from every gamer who enjoys the act of playing games.
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A really good game to have for this platform. (Score:2, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Good Wii, Bad Wii, I need to go Wii, Wii (Score:3, Insightful)
Besides, who wouldn't be charmed out of their socks by a giant R.O.B. the Robot waving a Nintendo Zapper at your Starfox Arwing fighter? I mean, can you get any geekier?
BTW, it's worth noting that the Wii does have a few non-minigame games. Call of Duty, for example, is apparently a well liked FPS even if the graphics aren't quite as nice as the 360 version. Also, by the time that most people get their Wiis, Metroid Prime 3 will be blasting on the scene, ready to kick some Space Pirate booty!
Re:Good Wii, Bad Wii, I need to go Wii, Wii (Score:5, Interesting)
Including Madden...which I've rented and is IMO a great version. It really uses the Wii Remote and Nunchuck in ways that often approximate actual football motions.
The graphics and commentary are pretty good, and the gameplay itself seems fresh and fun versus more of the same from EA.
Parent
Zonk's bias (Score:4, Insightful)
I thought the anecdotal evidence was that it's hugely successful and so in-demand that you still can't find it any in stores. Everything in the world has "room for improvement;" what a totally meaningless statement.
Parent
Re:Good Wii, Bad Wii, I need to go Wii, Wii (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Good Wii, Bad Wii, I need to go Wii, Wii (Score:5, Insightful)
If they are fun, why wouldn't they hold appeal to you? I thought the idea of the wario games were pretty stupid, till I played them and found them to be pretty fun.
Will they engross you...no. But that doesn't mean they aren't worth playing
Parent
Re:Good Wii, Bad Wii, I need to go Wii, Wii (Score:5, Funny)
I am a single male in my late teens/early twenties who lacks self confidence and am very concerned that owning these game will cause my insecure single male friends to question my sexuality in a derogatory fashion. Games must be overtly violent and/or sexual in nature and not contain any bright colors to be considered 'cool'. Anything with a pink box is to be avoided like the plague, regardless of the game itself.
Parent
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Reality Disagrees (Score:3, Insightful)
You're wrong. Adults very much play with dolls and toy cars and read children's books. I even have an uncle who collects toy cars, and has a huge slotcar game in his garage. Many of the adults I know read books from Eoin Colfer or J. K. Rowlings. All in all, adults generally do whatever they like to do without thinking too much about the impression it may give to others.
Here's another interesting tidbit: Kids prefer the PS3 and 360 over the Wii [kotaku.com]. I actually think it's mostly adults who buy the Wii. Kids pre
Good stuff but short lived maybe? (Score:5, Insightful)
However I need to ask the question, What is going to keep X-Box and PS3 from stealing the Wii thunder? They simply need to make a remote to match their systems and Nintendo will be off the board, perhaps for good. I guess Nintendo will still have the low price but that is about it other than fanboys.
Re:Good stuff but short lived maybe? (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Good stuff but short lived maybe? (Score:5, Interesting)
R.O.B.
Trackmeet pad
Power Glove
U-Force
Eye Toy
Sega CD
If you can find me a list of ones that have worked I will be impressed, the only ones I can add to webrunner's list would be the Nintendo Zapper (admitedly, only 2 games I can remember), and the Guitar Hero controllers (Again, only for a specific game).
Parent
Guitar Hero, Hello? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Good stuff but short lived maybe? (Score:5, Insightful)
Secondly, there's a lot to prevent the PS3 and 360 from stealing Nintendo's thunder.
1. R&D. In order for this to work they need to put time and money into it. If they don't, the quality of their work will suffer and not come close to what Nintendo offers.
2. Copycatting. Sony came under enough fire for their SIXAXIS being a cheap knock off aimed at stealing the Wii's thunder. Imagine the jeers at an outright, blatant copy.
3. Difficulty. The Dual-Shock was extremely easy to incorporate into existing games because they were basically mini-joysticks. Joysticks had already been around for years, so there were plenty of people already experienced with them. However, the Wii's remote has no predecessor in the gaming medium.
4. Cost. With the Wii, you're spending $250 for the whole package. Because any other console would require such an addon to be bought separately, you're looking at $60 extra minimum for a single remote and sensor combo, which is in addition to however many of the $50 regular controllers you bought. All of that is on top of $300 minimum for the cheap Xbox 360, or $500 for the PS3. The Wii is obviously the cheapest option.
5. Development. As neither Sony nor Microsoft has announced an add-on, it is highly unlikely any titles currently in developement would use such a tool. Given the development time on AAA titles, chances are we wouldn't see one completed using this system on the PS3 or 360 until past the midpoint this generation.
6. Default. The Dual-Shock did well when it was introduced with the PS1, but it did not come unto its own until it was made the default controller for the PS2. The importance of being the default control mechanism for a system can not be stressed enough, as developers tend to target the lowest common denominator. It's safe, and keep them out of the red and get bought by EA.
It is entirely possible that the remote will never have a game that truly shows what it can do. It's also possible that Sony and Microsoft will successfully release their own copy-cat controllers to combat Nintendo. However, their success isn't guaranteed and will require more than a rushed R&D job to be a serious threat to Nintendo.
Parent
Instead of copycatting, focus on strengths (Score:4, Insightful)
This generation, it appears that all the major players have their own strengths that they can focus on, to try to distinguish them apart from everyone else. Nintendo, obviously, has the Wii-mote and everything that new interface can bring. MS is focusing a lot on all of the software/services of the 360, especially with Xbox Live. Sony, well, it's hard to say, but I imagine they would have to build their strength on just the raw power of the PS3, and really prove to gamers that their system is far more sophisticated than the others. Oh, and that Blu-ray thing too I suppose.
Parent
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I don't have much doubt that eventually the graphical differences between the 360 and the PS3 will become clear. In a year or two (or three) there won't be much question that the PS3 has the greater horsepower. The Cell simply has that potential, however excruciatingly difficult it may be to access.
Which is why Microsoft definately needs to either kill Sony now (unlikely, despite the bad press Sony seems to attract) or buil
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Sony has already made a half assed attempt to do this with their new stock controller, but all reports point to it as a tacked on mess versus the Wii Remote and Nunchuck.
If history is a guide, console developers are very unwilling to design gameplay around optional controllers. It is a lot of extra work to come up with gameplay that works well on the Wii remote and really takes advantage of the
Re:Good stuff but short lived maybe? (Score:4, Insightful)
I smell... I smell a blockbuster if someone releases a good starwars game for the Wii featuring a lightsaber
Parent
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If developers can't count on this hypothetical controller to be on every system, like the Wiimote, it's always going to be a secondary peripheral. That's why it's too late for Microsoft and Sony to try and copy it completely this time around, since their systems are launched and established.
Perhaps their next consoles will be
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What is going to keep X-Box and PS3 from stealing the Wii thunder?
Maybe patents? I don't really know if Nintendo has anything significant patented, but it's possible that there's something key to the Wii remote.
Either way, it'd take Sony/Microsoft a while to bring anything to market, and even then it might take some sort of firmware upgrade to make it work (not that I really know about such things). Not that it's impossible, given that all of these consoles are internet-connected computers, and can be u
Re:Good stuff but short lived maybe? (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Ok this is post launch (Score:2)
Established fixture? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Established fixture? (Score:5, Informative)
I was fortunate to get one last Sunday. Here's my recipe for success:
Hope this helps even the playing field for the Wii competition. Now if I could just find another Wii-mote...
Parent
Mario - Wario - Wii? (Score:2, Insightful)
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You forgot Metroid, Starfox, Donkey Kong, Zelda, Kirby, and a half-dozen other characters/franchises I'm probably forgetting about. All of which are available for the Wii NOW as Gamecube games. (See if you can pick up the $10 DK: Jungle Beat from Gamestop. The bongos make the game a blast to play!) If you wait a few months, they'll also be available as Wii games.
While you're understan
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Donkey Kong? Yoshi? Link? Star Fox? Kirby? Captain Falcon? What are they, chopped liver?
I "humbly suggest" that the last thing Nintendo needs is yet another mascot! What Nintendo really needs is to make games without a mascot (i.e., where the character is "you" or where there isn't a character at all).
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One trend I've noticed with the Wii is that the majority of games are simply collections of mini-games. That doesn't inspire confidence to me, and TFA's claim that Warioware is "exactly the type of game the Wii needs" really makes me think that the Wii will become nothing but that: a mini-game console with little in the way of traditional (long
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I really don't get this whining about Nintendo and their franchises. They aren't just churning out incremental sequels as fast as possible just to make a quick buck. Nintendo takes good care of their franchises, and almost always creates high quality games. They might make 100 different games that take place in the mario universe, but there will be at least 80 different types
Re:Mario - Wario - Wii? (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Can't help it (Score:2)
Sometimes spellcheck isn't enough!
Elebits - equal time. (Score:5, Interesting)
Those that are observant/patient enough to explore into the levels a little more will realize that there are hundreds of little, unrevealed puzzles. For example, find a basketball in the drawer and put it through a hoop in the next room, and Elebits pop out. The same of putting books in order on the shelf, or finding a disc to put in a CD-ROM drive. The time limits are probably the most challenging/frustrating aspect of the game -- these are relatively massive levels with tons to do and explore, so it sucks when your time runs out at the expense of finding enough Elebits to turn on various appliances and tools that allow you to solve puzzles and turn on further appliances and tools. I truly envy those that have scored high enough to unlock Eternal Mode on a good number of their levels.
The control method (drag the wiimote to the edge of the screen to rotate) sounds a lot like the same Red Steel catastrophe, but it was more responsive and easier. Unlike other games (like COD3), you have smoother, more gradient speeds of rotation as your wiimote approaches the edge. Controlling your character is incredibly simple and fun -- I'd play more FPSs on the Wii if they were all like this.
My one beef with the entirely gameplay aspect was the Capture Gun power-up method. In Elebits, you have both regular elebits that increase your wattage (turning on appliances and such), and special elebits that power up your Capture Gun to lift heavier objects and thus find more Elebits in general. Unforuntately, they chose to make the gun reset to its lowest power at the beginning of each level, so if you want to get into the more challenging puzzles, you're doing it in the last two minutes of the level because you have to power up your gun the same way every time. I think I would have liked having fewer powerup elebits in conjunction with the "leveling" method a little bit more, so I could go back and use the newfound power to discover secrets in older levels I had already played. As it is now, I'm forced to unlock Eternal mode for a level if I want to power up my gun with few restrictions. I suppose the level they have now is more challenging, but I think another system might have been more fun and had more replay value.
4/5.
Re:Elebits - equal time. (Score:4, Informative)
i agree the time limit is probably the worst part of the game, but maybe someone will find a cheat/hack that stops the timer. i'd love to take my time to explore every stage.
Parent
Re:Elebits - equal time. (Score:4, Informative)
Yet at the same time he gives Wario ware accolades even though it ignores it's predecessors and instead of allowing people to play a single game for a best score gives extremely limited modes. Even the multiplayer is a mixed bag.
Both games are good but Elebits is the second best game I have for the system, Warioware was good for the 2 hours it took to unlock it all and now is just an ok addition.
Perhaps Zonk doesn't like the katamari damacy style games but Elebits is far from a mediocre game in the same way katamari wasn't a mediocre game.
Parent
Elebits Camera Control (Score:3, Informative)
I'm not sure gamers are the right people to judge (Score:5, Insightful)
Now, though, it's a new year and it's time for the Wii to step up as a gaming platform.
Maybe it would be more useful to look at the Wii this way: Do people who bought a Wii enjoy it three months, six months, a year after purchase? The target audience is broader, and the games are different than those for PS2, XBox 360, et al. I'm reminded of all the early analysis of how the iPod was going to go down in flames. The analysts didn't understand that the target audience wasn't technophiles, but regular average everyday people.
Exactly ... two major audiences involved here (Score:3, Insightful)
The way I see it, there are two major audiences involved here. You've g
We all.... (Score:5, Funny)
No we all didn't motherfucker...no...we all didn't.
*sobs quietly to himself as he waits for some store...any store in Washington State to get another Wii*
A few things about Elebits the review got wrong: (Score:3, Interesting)
Then, once the basic story is finished, there is a LOT or replayability in the form of finding special items/elebits to unlock additional modes, and then trying to beat the challenge missions. Taking the entire game into consideration, there is easily 30-40 hours of gameplay.
Of course, you also have to factor fatigue into the equation. Frantically clicking the zap buttons for 20-30 minutes straight will actually wear out your hand, so while it may be possible to "beat" the game in a theoretical five hours, few individuals will be able to actually do it that quickly without stopping to rest the hands.
Also, Zonk's description of multiplayer is not entirely accurate. The camera control is not always attached to player one. Player one is the default camera control, but during the multiplayer game setup, you have the ability to chooose another player to control, or you can choose for the control to randomly switch between players every 10/30/60 seconds. This switching of camera during play can be a little confusing at first, but once you get used to it yields a more balanced and ultimately more fun multiplayer arrangement.
I'll agree that the game isn't necessarily the best that we will ever see on the Wii, but is is a good solid launch title and should be rated more like 4 out of 5. Definitely worth a rental, especially if you're a fan of the Katamari games.
Elebits, great Mulit player game for Young Kids (Score:4, Interesting)
I picked up Elebits last week, and I am finding that it is one of the few Wii games I can play with my 3 year old son. It took him a couple of games to figure out the targeting system, but after that, he had a blast throwing around the furniture, and generally making a mess, and concentrating very hard to line up a shot to capture elebits.
The fact that the camera control can be restricted to one player is a plus for us. My son does not get how to control the camera yet, so we have fun with me controlling the camera, and him blasting away at furniture.
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Regarding pointing...
In a FPS on a typical console controller, you are required to use one joystick to aim your target reticule. Imagine trying to do the same thing on a PC. Any PC gamer would tell you it's ridiculous and go back to using their mouse.
The beauty of pointing is that it is simple and realistic, while freeing my thumb up for more important matters. I point where I want to shoot, and I shoot. Soldiers in real life do not fiddle around with joystick
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1.1 million according to NPD's figures. 1.25 million for all of North America by Nintendo's figures. Which means that using your 50,000,000 household figure at 1 wii per household, Nintendo currently has about 2% market penetration. Not too shabby for a brand new console.
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4498866
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