And Yet It Moves
There's no gameplay feature as engaging as innovation
Posted August 27, 2010
What's It All About:
In 2009, a small Austrian studio released And Yet it Moves a small PC game that got plenty of hype thanks to its unique and fascinating mechanics (not to mention its unusual, almost emo name.) Unfortunately, the hype and the subsequent critical acclaim didn't help move stock. But the developers have made the decision to bring this quirky game to the strange world of WiiWare, where similar games have been embraced to varying degrees of success. That the concept ties beautifully into the control system of the Wii just completes what seems like an adaptation of destiny.
Gameplay:
In an age where story has become increasingly important in video games, to the point where most of the big games are fairly described as epic, And Yet it Moves offers essentially nothing in terms of a tale. All you know is there's a curious-looking fellow, some ghost versions of him here and there pointing the way, and instructions on how to control the game. Beyond that, you're free to construct your own story, one that takes place in caves, jungles and some places that defy description. All that matters is moving forward.
The only way you can move forward though, is by turning the world around you. It's probably the freshest take on the platform genre in just about forever, as you control not only your character but the environment, and you have to control them in tandem to solve the puzzles and challenges that lay between you and your goal. This challenge is shockingly accessible, partially due to the unlimited lives and frequent checkpoints available to you, but also thanks to the fun, original obstacles the game places in front of you. Most of them are easy to grasp and take just a few tries to tackle, and even the harder tasks rarely annoy or frustrate you. But don't think the game is easy. Mastering the physics of the AYIM's world takes practice, as gaining too much momentum while rotating the world will smash you to bits with even a small leap.
Yes, there are traditional elements, like jumping from disappearing platform to disappearing platform, but adding the ability to rotate the platforms instantly makes for an entirely new concept. That ability to make something fresh from the tried and true is probably the creators' biggest strength (aside from their massive imagination.) Any veteran gamer will play this game and find a number of game-play concepts familiar to them, but you're unlikely to ever feel "been there, done that." If anything, you'll think, "Well that was fun."
In bringing the game over from the PC, a good deal of effort was put into taking full advantage of the Wii's abilities (see The Controls) but there was also some enhancement of the game as well, with new bonus levels added, along with unlockable modes and additions to the previously included bonus content (there's also a small, but valuable change to the display, as you now have a momentum meter to help you judge your landings.) These additions are pretty important considering the game costs 1,000 points, and the basic game shouldn't take a skilled gamer more than three to four hours to complete. Just the unlockables alone, which include modes that replicate the original game experience and create new ways to play, will easily give you plenty of reason to fire AYIM up again, especially when racing your friends in time trials.
Online Play
The game had some minor online features in its PC incarnation, including leaderboards, but there's nothing here, which is to be expected for the Wii.
Controls
One of the things that's so wonderful about the Wii is how adaptable the controls can be with a little effort. The creators of AYIM certainly put forth that effort, offering up four unique control schemes. They don't all work as optimally as each other, but at least it gives you the option to find what works best for you. For your reviewer, it was the Wii-mote/Nunchuk combo, using the Wii-mote for rotation, with the thumbstick controlling character movement and a twist of the Wii-mote rotating the world. The PC game only allowed for full 90-degree turns, but with the Wii, you have the full 360 degrees available to you, which gives you much more control. It does make certain tasks a touch more difficult, but it definitely makes for more fun.
You can also play using the pointer on the Wii-mote to rotate the world (a mode that was rather hard to make work, especially when rotations had to happen rapidly) or just use the Wii-mote, using the the D-pad for movement, while turning the whole controller like a steering wheel to rotate. As a big fan of the two-hand Wii control scheme, this felt less natural, but it still worked decently. The only relatively pointless scheme is the classic controller, which takes the physical turning right out of the mix. The game is still fun, but not as engaging. You can adjust the Wii-mote sensitivity to your own needs, but unfortunately you can't map the buttons, as the jump button is uncomfortably on the nunchuk in the combo scheme. The jump control also seems to fail at times, normally when running toward the edge of a cliff.
Achievements
Achievements? On the Wii? Well, actually, there are achievements, 28 in all, though they obviously aren't system-based like those on X-Box 360, just in-game. Even so, it adds another element to extend gameplay, as you can try and reach these milestones, including the unique "Random."
Graphics
Like the best Wii titles, this game looked at the limitations of the system and pushed against them with a stylish layered torn-paper look that camouflages the Wii's graphic shortcomings, creating screens loaded with depth, texture and detail. Though things get a bit busy in spots, most obviously during the psychedelic later stages, to the point where you sometimes don't know where you can stand, your avatar has a clean white, sketched style that stands out from colorful settings. The animation on your character is particularly smooth, making his leaps rather charming. The rotation effect works very nice as well, with a blur on your avatar that enhances the move. The only negative, and it's not a big one, is the way the game zooms out in places to show more of the landscape. It results in very small sprites that can be difficult to see, especially during the "shadow" challenges.
Sound
The sound here isn't too complex, but it's effective in partnering with the graphics to give the game a quirky feel, via ambient music and sound effects. The sound you make when you "die" is actually rather amusing, and takes the edge off the many, many times you'll meet your demise. There's one place where the sound is a bit of a problem, and that's whenever you arrive at one of the sections with disappearing platforms. For some reason, the soundtrack becomes an aggravating electronic rave that will wear on you if you have any trouble navigating the area. It's the the one and only time the music stood out, as the game is otherwise well integrated. The sound does though betray the game's humble origins, as there are times when sound effects drop out for no apparent reason, including your signature death yell.
And in the End...
Though it began life as a PC game,And Yet it Moves is yet another game that shows just what's so entertaining about the Wii, as it takes the innovative and engaging concept of the game, turning the world around your character, and uses the Wii's motion-controls to make that function intuitive and enveloping. Everything about this title is fun, from the concept to the look to the mechanics to the attitude. Yes, the game is a touch light on length, but it's got tons of unlockables and goals to keep you turning your Wii-mote well past your first run-through. If you like a game with real imagination and unique gameplay, you owe it to yourself to pick this game up. You'll be hard-pressed to find a game like it (until someone tries to copy it.)
In 2009, a small Austrian studio released And Yet it Moves a small PC game that got plenty of hype thanks to its unique and fascinating mechanics (not to mention its unusual, almost emo name.) Unfortunately, the hype and the subsequent critical acclaim didn't help move stock. But the developers have made the decision to bring this quirky game to the strange world of WiiWare, where similar games have been embraced to varying degrees of success. That the concept ties beautifully into the control system of the Wii just completes what seems like an adaptation of destiny.
Gameplay:
In an age where story has become increasingly important in video games, to the point where most of the big games are fairly described as epic, And Yet it Moves offers essentially nothing in terms of a tale. All you know is there's a curious-looking fellow, some ghost versions of him here and there pointing the way, and instructions on how to control the game. Beyond that, you're free to construct your own story, one that takes place in caves, jungles and some places that defy description. All that matters is moving forward.
The only way you can move forward though, is by turning the world around you. It's probably the freshest take on the platform genre in just about forever, as you control not only your character but the environment, and you have to control them in tandem to solve the puzzles and challenges that lay between you and your goal. This challenge is shockingly accessible, partially due to the unlimited lives and frequent checkpoints available to you, but also thanks to the fun, original obstacles the game places in front of you. Most of them are easy to grasp and take just a few tries to tackle, and even the harder tasks rarely annoy or frustrate you. But don't think the game is easy. Mastering the physics of the AYIM's world takes practice, as gaining too much momentum while rotating the world will smash you to bits with even a small leap.
Yes, there are traditional elements, like jumping from disappearing platform to disappearing platform, but adding the ability to rotate the platforms instantly makes for an entirely new concept. That ability to make something fresh from the tried and true is probably the creators' biggest strength (aside from their massive imagination.) Any veteran gamer will play this game and find a number of game-play concepts familiar to them, but you're unlikely to ever feel "been there, done that." If anything, you'll think, "Well that was fun."
In bringing the game over from the PC, a good deal of effort was put into taking full advantage of the Wii's abilities (see The Controls) but there was also some enhancement of the game as well, with new bonus levels added, along with unlockable modes and additions to the previously included bonus content (there's also a small, but valuable change to the display, as you now have a momentum meter to help you judge your landings.) These additions are pretty important considering the game costs 1,000 points, and the basic game shouldn't take a skilled gamer more than three to four hours to complete. Just the unlockables alone, which include modes that replicate the original game experience and create new ways to play, will easily give you plenty of reason to fire AYIM up again, especially when racing your friends in time trials.
Online Play
The game had some minor online features in its PC incarnation, including leaderboards, but there's nothing here, which is to be expected for the Wii.
Controls
One of the things that's so wonderful about the Wii is how adaptable the controls can be with a little effort. The creators of AYIM certainly put forth that effort, offering up four unique control schemes. They don't all work as optimally as each other, but at least it gives you the option to find what works best for you. For your reviewer, it was the Wii-mote/Nunchuk combo, using the Wii-mote for rotation, with the thumbstick controlling character movement and a twist of the Wii-mote rotating the world. The PC game only allowed for full 90-degree turns, but with the Wii, you have the full 360 degrees available to you, which gives you much more control. It does make certain tasks a touch more difficult, but it definitely makes for more fun.
You can also play using the pointer on the Wii-mote to rotate the world (a mode that was rather hard to make work, especially when rotations had to happen rapidly) or just use the Wii-mote, using the the D-pad for movement, while turning the whole controller like a steering wheel to rotate. As a big fan of the two-hand Wii control scheme, this felt less natural, but it still worked decently. The only relatively pointless scheme is the classic controller, which takes the physical turning right out of the mix. The game is still fun, but not as engaging. You can adjust the Wii-mote sensitivity to your own needs, but unfortunately you can't map the buttons, as the jump button is uncomfortably on the nunchuk in the combo scheme. The jump control also seems to fail at times, normally when running toward the edge of a cliff.
Achievements
Achievements? On the Wii? Well, actually, there are achievements, 28 in all, though they obviously aren't system-based like those on X-Box 360, just in-game. Even so, it adds another element to extend gameplay, as you can try and reach these milestones, including the unique "Random."
Graphics
Like the best Wii titles, this game looked at the limitations of the system and pushed against them with a stylish layered torn-paper look that camouflages the Wii's graphic shortcomings, creating screens loaded with depth, texture and detail. Though things get a bit busy in spots, most obviously during the psychedelic later stages, to the point where you sometimes don't know where you can stand, your avatar has a clean white, sketched style that stands out from colorful settings. The animation on your character is particularly smooth, making his leaps rather charming. The rotation effect works very nice as well, with a blur on your avatar that enhances the move. The only negative, and it's not a big one, is the way the game zooms out in places to show more of the landscape. It results in very small sprites that can be difficult to see, especially during the "shadow" challenges.
Sound
The sound here isn't too complex, but it's effective in partnering with the graphics to give the game a quirky feel, via ambient music and sound effects. The sound you make when you "die" is actually rather amusing, and takes the edge off the many, many times you'll meet your demise. There's one place where the sound is a bit of a problem, and that's whenever you arrive at one of the sections with disappearing platforms. For some reason, the soundtrack becomes an aggravating electronic rave that will wear on you if you have any trouble navigating the area. It's the the one and only time the music stood out, as the game is otherwise well integrated. The sound does though betray the game's humble origins, as there are times when sound effects drop out for no apparent reason, including your signature death yell.
And in the End...
Though it began life as a PC game,And Yet it Moves is yet another game that shows just what's so entertaining about the Wii, as it takes the innovative and engaging concept of the game, turning the world around your character, and uses the Wii's motion-controls to make that function intuitive and enveloping. Everything about this title is fun, from the concept to the look to the mechanics to the attitude. Yes, the game is a touch light on length, but it's got tons of unlockables and goals to keep you turning your Wii-mote well past your first run-through. If you like a game with real imagination and unique gameplay, you owe it to yourself to pick this game up. You'll be hard-pressed to find a game like it (until someone tries to copy it.)