E3 2009: Zephyr: Rise of the Elementals impressions
posted:
6/9/2009 9:40:00 PM
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E3 2009
Want a game to help relieve some stress by destroying trailer parks and major cities? Zephyr: Rise of the Elementals just might be the game for you. From Konami, Zephyr has you playing tornado and from the demo the gameplay very much resembles Katamari Damacy.
As a tornado, you’ll be traversing various environments while destroying buildings, outdoor furniture, trees, and other items. The more you destroy the bigger you will grow as a tornado. Gameplay wise, it’s just guiding your tornado over items and you’ll be able to destroy them provided you are big enough. Now you won’t see items that you’ve destroyed swirling inside you or attach to you like Katamari but you will see your tornado expand as the game progresses.
From the screenshots you can see that the game is all about humor and it’s something you can quickly play and just have fun with. You’ll also be able to play with a friend in co-op mode as two of you can create a path of destruction in your wake.
Besides just general destruction there are also some other game elements as well. I saw one race sequence where you have to steer the tornado through the rings. There are other additional game modes as well but I was only able to see two with my short time with the game.
You might be wondering what can damage a tornado. Well, sunlight is harmful to you and will cause you damage. In one level I saw, various beams of sunlight shown through the clouds and it was your job to avoid these things on your way to destroy a totem. There might be other things as well but again, my short time with the game didn’t let me see what else is dangerous to the tornado.
To coincide with the humor of the game, the graphics are very cartoony in style. From the tornados themselves to the farm animals Zephyr’s not one to take itself too seriously and children should also like the way things are modeled. They do evoke some crazy Saturday Morning cartoon style that helps add to some of the humor in the game.
Zephyr: Rise of the Elementals looked like a very easy game that will be accessible to all ages. There might be some small control scheme added to support the WiiMote but the person who was demonstrating it said it wasn’t going to be anything big. The game is also scheduled for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and will have 11 levels for you to destroy as a powerful elemental.
As a tornado, you’ll be traversing various environments while destroying buildings, outdoor furniture, trees, and other items. The more you destroy the bigger you will grow as a tornado. Gameplay wise, it’s just guiding your tornado over items and you’ll be able to destroy them provided you are big enough. Now you won’t see items that you’ve destroyed swirling inside you or attach to you like Katamari but you will see your tornado expand as the game progresses.
From the screenshots you can see that the game is all about humor and it’s something you can quickly play and just have fun with. You’ll also be able to play with a friend in co-op mode as two of you can create a path of destruction in your wake.
Besides just general destruction there are also some other game elements as well. I saw one race sequence where you have to steer the tornado through the rings. There are other additional game modes as well but I was only able to see two with my short time with the game.
You might be wondering what can damage a tornado. Well, sunlight is harmful to you and will cause you damage. In one level I saw, various beams of sunlight shown through the clouds and it was your job to avoid these things on your way to destroy a totem. There might be other things as well but again, my short time with the game didn’t let me see what else is dangerous to the tornado.
To coincide with the humor of the game, the graphics are very cartoony in style. From the tornados themselves to the farm animals Zephyr’s not one to take itself too seriously and children should also like the way things are modeled. They do evoke some crazy Saturday Morning cartoon style that helps add to some of the humor in the game.
Zephyr: Rise of the Elementals looked like a very easy game that will be accessible to all ages. There might be some small control scheme added to support the WiiMote but the person who was demonstrating it said it wasn’t going to be anything big. The game is also scheduled for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and will have 11 levels for you to destroy as a powerful elemental.
