E3 2008: Hands on with Elebits / Eledees: The Adventures of Kai and Zero on DS

Following its official unveiling a couple weeks ago, Konami eagerly showed off Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero (known as Eledees: The Adventures of Kai and Zero in Europe) at E3 in Los Angeles this week. What appeared to be nothing more than a kids' game surprised us with a deep and engaging mix of exploration and adventure in what is easily one of the best titles at the show for DS.

As a young boy named Kai, you strike out in Elebits in search of a makeshift fort to call your own. An abandoned bus proves the perfect fort; that is, until it turns on unexpectedly. Transported to another dimension with buddy Zero, Kai must now gather energy in the form of tiny creatures called elebits. Only by collecting enough elebits can Kai power up the bus to return home.

Like any form of energy, elebits require a bit of seeking out. Using the stylus to shake objects in the environment, you can locate standard elebits needed to power the bus home. For example, touching a tree and scribbling back and forth with the stylus shakes out a few of the little creatures. Once they've been found, tapping Zero instructs him to collect any elebits on the screen. We worked through the earliest stages of the game that had us shaking all kinds of trees and rocks to find as many elebits as possible.

In addition to standard elebits used to power up the bus, omega varieties grant Kai special abilities. Saving a villager from a fire accidentally sparked by a fiery omega elebit, for instance, resulted Kai receiving the troublesome creature for use. Equipping the elebit via a collapsible menu on the touchscreen allowed us to switch control from Kai. As the fire omega, we were able to breathe fire and burn up trees blocking the way to new areas.

A total of 64 omega elebits are planned for the final game, ranging from the fire one we played with to another capable of freezing water and one that turns darkness into areas of light. Each one offers a distinct new ability that enables you to solve puzzles littering the game world. In this way, Elebits is more about tackling platform challenges and adventuring than a game of hide-and-seek with the creatures themselves.

What really impressed us, beyond the fantastic gameplay formula, was the phenomenal presentation. Konami has engineered an adorable game packed with detail. All of the action occurs on the touchscreen, where you're able to use the stylus to move Kai around and search for elebits. The alternate world to which Kai is taken brims with style and color, giving it a unique flavour. Not much is made of the top screen, though, where a static map of your current level is displayed.

Although we'd like to see better utilization of the top screen, everything else we've seen of Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero has us super pleased. The mix of exploration and platforming serves as an ode to the earliest days of 2D action-adventure gaming. Expect more details when the game drops in North America this autumn (winter in Europe).