Similar to the early days of the Nintendo DS, the Wii game line-up in its current form of infancy has turned out to be something of a parade of gimmicky tech demos that show small glimpses of the motion-based control scheme's potential but don't exactly capitalize on the technology to create what could be called a complete gaming experience. One of the few titles that has avoided this pitfall, however, is Konami's brilliant Elebits, an ingeniously crafted game that fully capitalizes on the Wii technology and injects some true innovation and personality back into game design.

In the world of Elebits, a mysterious race of cute, electrically-charged little beings obviously known as the Elebits generate all of the energy that powers the technology that is a part of everyday life, and throughout their existence they have lived peacefully alongside humans. However, that all changes when a storm rolls through town and a blast of lighting knocks the power out, sending the Elebits into a tizzy. Playing as a young ten-year-old boy named Kai, who hates Elebits and whose parents just happen to be renowned Elebit scientists, you take up the Capture Gun (an invention of Kai's dad's) and set out to collect the creatures while his parents have left for their laboratory to get to the bottom of what's ailing the Elebits they love. The story itself is clearly skewed towards a younger audience, as the scripted dialogue is on par with what you'd read in a children's book, but it's presented wonderfully via some of the most stylized and distinctive cut scene artwork I've ever seen.

Capture Gun in hand, you venture through nearly thirty story missions on a virtual scavenger hunt to collect every last Elebit you can and restore power back to the world. The Elebits have gone into hiding within the many indoor and outdoor stages, taking place in various rooms inside Kai's house and larger outside environments like the entire town and even an amusement park. Using the Capture Gun, controlled via a simple and intuitive point-and-shoot control scheme using the Wii Remote (with character movement handled with the Nunchuk thumbstick), you must lift, push, pull, twist and shake every object in sight, from desks, lamps, beds, sinks and ovens to bushes, trees, cars and even entire buildings, in order to scare the little critters out into the open so you can suck them up with a quick zap from the gun.

As you collect Elebits you will build up Watts, and by accumulating more and more Watts the surrounding environment brightens and household appliances and other objects begin to activate. By flipping the switches on these appliances once they become activated, turning on a TV or pulling open a refrigerator for example, special Power Elebits cascade out that, once collected, power up the Capture Gun to stronger lifting capabilities. Because of this, each stage has a gratifying sense of progression, as you begin with limited power, only capable of lifting the smallest of objects, then you gradually open up new areas of the environment as you gather Elebits, generate Wattage and advance the gravitational forces of the Capture Gun.

The addictive joy of the gameplay is easily comparable in spirit to that of the Katamari Damacy games in many ways, and the tremendous physics engine behind Elebits is the key ingredient that makes it such a blast. I wouldn't necessarily call the physics realistic, but even so it's hard to find anything more chaotically satisfying than the simple fun of haphazardly tossing objects around and watching how everything reacts bouncing to and fro - if you remember that first feeling of playing around with the gravity gun in Half-Life 2 then you'll know what I'm talking about here. Ingenious puzzles are strewn about as well, cleverly hidden to test your problem solving. Things like sticking a piece of bread in a toaster, popping a turkey into the oven or aligning items in certain patterns are secret little puzzles that aren't actually required, but are fun to search for and help add some depth.

Many other subtleties further develop the gameplay beyond merely tossing junk around and zapping Elebits as well. Over time, mission objectives evolve to throw new challenges in your way. In one stage you may have to do your Elebit scavenging with a strict limit on how many objects you can break, while in the next you'll have to refrain from making too much noise in your search, which makes for more methodical play as you carefully lift and replace rather than lob around. There are also many different types of Elebits, some of which even pose a threat. Black Elebits, for instance, do you harm if you try to capture them, while Yellow Elebits merge with others to form a larger Elebit monster that will begin to toss items at you. There are even a few boss stages spread throughout the game that really highlight the originality demonstrated here; I only wish there were more of them! To aid with your capturing, special power-ups are also scattered about each level, briefly granting you abilities like homing lasers that lock-on and zap groups of Elebits all at once, a vacuum laser that sucks up everything in your path and a force field barrier that protects you from attacks.

Thankfully, Elebits' thoughtful gameplay is equally matched by its robust feature set. Completing the story mode alone should take at least five or six hours on a straight shot through, with a ton of replayability providing hours and hours of fun thereafter in the form of optional secondary objective modes, such as score attacks and special challenge missions that must first be unlocked by finding the rare Pink Elebits hidden in each stage. If that wasn't enough, a hectic multiplayer mode lets up to four players battle it out to earn the most Watts within a time limit and only adds to the fun factor, although the fact that the host player is the only one who can control the camera and other minor inconsistencies hint that the multiplayer isn't quite as fully developed as it could've been. Extending the lifespan another notch is a sweet Edit Mode, allowing you to take the base layout of existing stages and customize your own scavenger hunts to play around with yourself or trade with friends online through the Wii's WiiConnect24 feature. During play you can snap your own screenshots, which can be traded online as well, and other bonus features such as a movie library and collection viewers that compile all of the objects and Elebit species you've collected so far combine to round out the package very nicely.

If Elebits has any plausible weaknesses I can see some gamers pointing to, it would be its graphical and audio elements, but unless you're comparing this to games on the PS3 or 360, what's presented here is impressive for a launch window Wii release. Sure, the textures are modest in detail and the level and modelling geometry are both kept rather basic, however the art direction is dead on point, featuring alluring color palettes, Pikmin-like Elebit designs that are as adorable as can be, and an overall toy-like charm that, in yet another way, hearkens back to a Katamari Damacy-esque style. The complex physics engine and sheer amount of interactive objects on-screen at once also stand out, as do the quality lighting effects, but unfortunately these effects tax the framerate from time to time when the on-screen activity gets particularly crazy - the gameplay is never hindered because of it, which is more important than anything, but when the slowdown does occur it is noticeable. The audio also has a couple of minor snafus, such as the cheesy voice acting and an upbeat but generally forgettable soundtrack, however the sound effects do make up for these shortcomings. Simply listening to Elebits peacefully snore while hidden away or frantically chirping and scampering around after you lift away their shelter melts the heart and greatly enhances the game's already paramount charm.

While Twilight Princess has been collectively anointed the Wii's top killer-app by virtually the entire gaming community, I would wholeheartedly disagree and offer up Elebits as my choice for the best overall Wii game to date. It may not have the prominent franchise name behind it, but when it comes to game design, nothing else on the Wii can match the charisma, interactivity, creativity and innovative qualities that Elebits extracts from the Wii hardware. As such, Konami deserves major props for actually going out on a limb with its debut Wii project, unlike the many other publishers and developers that played it safe.

Reviewed by Matt Litten for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).