Jennifer Garner recently starred in the girl-powered movie Elektra, the spinoff of Daredevil, in which Elektra Natchios was the titular character's love interest--apparently both on and off the set. This adventure is free of smarmy blind men in red latex, but it's absolutely chock-full of ninjas. This latter group proves enticing to young Abby, who is the object of contention in the game. The Hand, apparently the governing body of the ninjas, wants to train Abby as one of their own, while Elektra just wants to be Abby's cool, liberal aunt with an apartment in the big city. Everyone needs one of those! You play as both Abby and Elektra in this below-average beat-'em-up, which spans 12 very short levels.
Elektra skips the movie's prologue, in which our sai-toting vixen befriends the Miller family, including their nimble and deadly scion, Abby. The towheaded aspirant assassin uses a retractable weapon with a much longer reach than Elektra's sai. The trade-off seems to be that Abby must hit her opponents at the exact range of her weapon or she fails to damage them at all. One wonders whether this was the intended design.
Both characters can use a special attack, which can be triggered when their respective rage meters are filled. Apart from basic attacks (executed with a single button), this is your only recourse. Dealing and receiving damage boosts the rage meter, as do the "+25 Rage" power-ups that fallen ninjas sometimes drop. Dying ninjas will also proffer up health-boosting salves and time-extending potions. Both characters have separate life and rage meters, so there are essentially two lives for you to use to complete each level.
Most levels end with a mindless boss fight, along with a few licks of horrible dialogue. After you triumph over one boss, by rapidly slamming on the attack button, you'll read the following:
Abby: Cool, more ninjas! I wonder what it's like to be one!
Elektra: Don't even joke about that, Abby! They have given their lives to the Hand and to its endless quest for power, no matter the cost! Believe me; I know.
Abby: Oh, but they look cool!
Elektra: You don't want that, Abby. That road only leads to pain.
This sort of melodramatic exchange is almost so bad, it's good. Mostly, though, it will just make your brain hurt. Since the martial art duo must face a pair of boss characters multiple times, expect the same leitmotif throughout. The central conflict is a cheesy rip-off of Star Wars' divergent paths of good and evil in the Force. Except, instead of the light side versus the dark side, we have Greek diplomats versus ninjas.
The graphics in this sprite-based game are simple and depthless, but they move at a very zippy frame rate on the powerful LG MM-535. The diminutive characters and lifeless backgrounds can be somewhat excused in light of the gameplay speed.
Elektra's sound is practically nonexistent--at least during gameplay. After each level, you'll hear a repetitive koto riff. The inclusion of sound in the actual game would have made it far more worthwhile.
Elektra can be completed in under an hour, and it isn't really worth replaying, despite an online GameLobby high-score list. Unless you're a fan of the Elektra continuum, there's no reason to choose this game over similar and superior offerings.
