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The elephant in the room
PlayStation Network has been privy to some refreshingly different software, and Elefunk is no different. Find out why you should pack this one in the truck and have a go...
Publish date: 17/07/08
Of all the creatures in the animal kingdom, elephants haven't had the best of deals. Sure, they're distinctive looking and huge but those massive ears have often been the point of ridicule (see Dumbo) and their rather large bulk means they've rarely had the chance to shine in videogames in comparison to the more majestic likes of lions, tigers, bears, and especially not their simian counterparts, the often used monkey.
Elefunk is here to change all of that. PSN gives everyone the chance to shine and this quirky little puzzle title offers our mammal friends their long deserved time in the sun.
Popping the trunk
Elefunk is about making something out of nothing. Okay, not quite nothing - your fairly elephantine task is to guide a herd of the friendly trunk-waving animals to safety through a dangerous wilderness. The poor things are trapped between piranha infested swamps, massive ravines, raging rivers and more, leaving it up to you to build safe passage to an exit.
This is where your engineering inventiveness quite literally comes into play. Given a batch of materials such as wood, metal and rope in various struts, ties and boxes, you have to construct bridges, ramps and pathways before ushering one or more elephants on their way. A poorly designed creation will quickly collapse from its own bad form even before the weight of the elephants test its sturdiness.
To make matters trickier, there are only a limited number of materials available, so if you find your construction lacking, yet without any more resources to do the job, then it's back to the drawing board. And you know what they say about a bad workman blaming his tools...
Animal magic
The concept may well appear simple, but the level of depth to Elefunk is astounding, able to challenge you even from its earliest levels. While the various coloured pachyderms wait in place for you to build a path until you're ready for them to go, your score and bonuses rely on speed and efficient use of materials, meaning the less you use and the quicker you work, the better your rank will be - which lends a nice extra factor to consider as you go about your already tricky task.
This means there's a strong sense of satisfaction when you get it all right, not to mention appreciation from the elephants themselves who sport bandages and plasters from previous mishaps if you've been a little careless.
Keeping the variation strong in Elefunk are the different styles of puzzle over the 20 levels, which have you collecting golden statues, or even firing a bike riding elephant over a ravine in a daredevil attempt to hit a target - made all the more entertaining with some motion control shaking to build up a handy nitrous boost before you launch. There are also specifically timed challenge and multiplayer modes (on and offline) to take part in, so if you get stumped on one level there's enough to divert you in the meantime.
An elephant never forgets
The range and challenge offered by Elefunk makes it one to keep playing, with its fiendish puzzles, attractive presentation and quirky sense of humour. Not to mention it's a little bit different from the norm... but what else would you expect from a game which features elephants? Don't forget about this one - get downloading now.
