Xbox Live Arcade games often seem to come across as somewhat half-hearted, but there are most certainly several gems available on the service that are worth their weight in gold. Elements of Destruction is a relatively new Xbox Live Arcade release which gets major kudos for originality, and overall is a big success.
You are Dr. Edgar Herbert, an insane scientist who wants revenge on an international organisation called the AIC for firing him. Dr. Herbert has managed to discover how to manipulate the environment using his own being. He uses his machines to disembody himself and send himself out to locations around the world where he can then harness the power of nature. He can command tornados, lightning strikes and earthquakes and uses these with great effect to hit the AIC hard.
The game uses a combination of fast button pushing and spinning of the LS to power up the attacks. Attacks drain your energy meter however, but this will regenerate over time. You also have access to energy stations around the map which Edgar himself plants around the place to aid his attacks. The aim of most of the levels is to wipe-out a few key buildings. Attacking these results in the AIC sending out attack planes, choppers, tanks and small mech-units to attack you. Their attacks will drain your energy, and sap your life. Once your life reaches zero you need to restart the level so it is important to always watch the energy bar.
On top of every level having certain buildings to destroy for completion, you can earn Bronze, Silver and Gold medals by doing a certain amount of damage on the level. There are always a large number of buildings to destroy on top of the ones you're required to, but you will constantly be battling the clock to finish the level in time and this means you will have to carefully choose what you target first. Your score is calculated from the amount of damage you do in dollar terms. It's scarily entertaining watching your twister rip through multiple houses seeing the dollars tick over.
Any damage you do is then returned to your energy meter, which means you can keep going for longer if you are doing a large amount of damage. As you gain medals you will unlock points with which you can power up your attacks, and increase the amount of energy you have.
Your first encounter starts on a small farm in Canada where there are plenty of cows to throw around with your twister, and a few barns to knock over. The game starts out pretty easy but it does ramp up towards the end. Thankfully the rounds only last a few minutes so not too much time is lost with a restart if you fail. All up there are 10 levels to work your way through, across four different countries each with a unique feel. Each map tends to favour a certain type of attack and it's up to you to find out the best strategies, which is half the fun.
Graphically, Elements of Destruction is decent. The graphics are functional and they do give you a good visual impression of what is going on, whilst being dramatic enough to convey the destructive force of your elemental attacks.
A great feature is the inclusion of co-op. This means a friend can jump on in split-screen mode and together you will do twice the destruction. There is also an Xbox Live mode where you can either work together or against each other, however at the time of this review there was no-one to connect to.
Elements of Destruction is a solid game, but one which is hindered by a pretty short campaign mode, and little in the way of multiplayer company. The game has virtually no replay value meaning you won’t be coming back to this often, unless you finally do find someone to play co-op with. Nevertheless it is one of the better games on Live Arcade.
