Review - Electroplankton (DS)
Overview:
Electroplankton is weird. Electroplankton is not a game. Electroplankton is not a music maker. Do not taunt Electroplankton. Electroplankton will never sell well in the US. If Electroplankton is anything, it is a work of art.
Many games can fall into the "video games as art" classification. Resident Evil 4 was beautifully rendered and thoughtfully put together, you could call it art. Katamari Damacy was stylish and innovative; also art. Electroplankton is what we call in the world of pretentious art jerks: "art for art's sake". As opposed to the other "arty" games mentioned, there is no plot, no end goal. You don't beat a giant plankton and the credits roll. Electroplankton is the end result of an artist's vision (in this case, Japanese artist Toshio Iwai) and it is nothing less than trancendental. You can control 10 different types of creatures, each one with its own ability. The "Tracey" follows a trail you draw for it, the "Rec Rec" records your voice. Each creature generates sound and beats and color and light which is hypnotic, fluid, and ultimately very entertaining. But it will never sell in the US.
Shininess
Electroplankton is one of those titles that doesn't push the envelope of hardware capabilities. The artist knew what he wanted and knew that the DS was capable of his vision and went forward. The graphics are almost vector-based, they look like a high quality Flash animation, like something you'd see on Orisinal. I wouldn't be surprised if Iwai was at all inspired by Orisinal.com, or vice-versa. The cuteness, fluidity and undescribable sense of play you get from both Electroplankton and Orisinal are uncannily similar.
Electroplankton is primarily graphics and sound. Ambience sewn together so seamlessly with custom beats and effects you'd think you were a musical genius as you play. It is entrancing: watching the plankton be guided by your stylus and acting organically in the space of the touch screen on your DS. The menu interface is solid, the interface with the plankton is solid, all coming together to make a very shiny title indeed.
Funness
This is where Electroplankton gets tricky. In the Western world, we seem to enjoy more action-based games. Things that play to our competitive nature, like shooting people and various kinds of intricate scoring systems. This game has neither. It's not even really a game, it is more of a toy. It doesn't even exist as a toy, but as an interactive piece of art. As a student of art and an artist myself, I am completely familiar with art for art's sake, interactive art and other esoteric means of getting your vision across. This is not a game you can pick up and play for an hour or so and feel accomplished. There are no quests to turn in for experience points, no princess to rescue, no secret unlockables. What you do get, however, is a highly enjoyable, relaxing and sometimes moving experience. Experimenting with the different kinds of plankton is immensely satisfying, they almost tend to take on a life of their own. It is a curious, thoughtful game that will definitely appeal to curious, thoughtful people.
Worthiness
Should you buy Electroplankton? Besides the age-old argument for artists about whether you should make art to make money or make art to make art, you might not even be able to find Electroplankton in stores; it had a very limited release in the States (and otherwise). I have certainly enjoyed my time with it, and I have shown it to people around the office who never play video games and were enthralled for prolonged periods of time. It is a fun thing to sit for five minutes and fool around with, it might be fun for a time to hook it up to your home speaker system and do a little performance, but I can see it getting tiresome after a while. You can't really discuss replay value, because there is no end, no plot or "game" to be replayed. It is a curious oddity, Electroplankton, but definitely an enjoyable experience. I will cherish it in my DS collection for a long time to come.
---Frodo (frodo@weeklygeekshow.com)
Score: 4/5 Buy it!
What say you?!