E3 2009: Konami announces Zephyr: Rise of the Elementals

Following along the lines of games like Katamari Damacy and Tornado, Konami has announced that it will be releasing an environment altering game called Zephyr: Rise of the Elementals for the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii in Fall, 2009. The goal in the game, much like in Tornado, is to guide a tornado.

In Zephyr: Rise of the Elementals, the player’s character is tricked into thinking that guiding a tornado around the world, destroying everything possible, will help save a legendary hero and the world. The goal is to meet certain mission objectives. You can go through the game one mission at a time, or try to tackle all the missions within a level at once for a better score. It will even have multiplayer co-op play.

Konami also mentions Zephyr will have sandbox style gameplay. Perhaps this means that there will be some sort of free mode where you can go through the game’s various environments without any hampering guidelines and limits. If so, it could add more replay value and attract a wider audience to the game.

Zephyr almost sounds a bit depressing, since you’re tasked with tearing down and destroying absolutely everything. I wonder if Konami is going to face any backlash and criticism from people who live in areas like Tornado Alley. I hope there are no gimmick-y controls, like there was in the DS game Tornado. Motion controls in the Wii version could turn people away.

Read [GoNintendo] Site [Zephyr: Rise of the Elementals]