About a year or so ago, I heard a TV interview where it was suggested that the world's slowest James Bond villain, President George W. Bush, was somehow able to control the weather and caused Hurricane Katrina to hit the Louisiana coast. I'm not sure if the guys at Frozen Codebase heard the same interview, but it seems like we both came to the same conclusion - a game where you control the weather would be awesome.

As XBLA games go, Elements of Destruction doesn't look that bad. Some of the environments are a little too sparse and flat, but once the destruction starts, that doesn't matter. The size and power of the explosions that erupt as you tear through each area are satisfying and lend some real power to your abilities. Sometimes you'll set off massive chain reactions of explosions which can make it really hard to see what's going on. Also, it isn't always readily apparent if a building is completely destroyed. It may look in ruins, but many times a smoldering mess is still considered "alive", which can hurt gameplay. There are also some minor framerate issues, mostly during boss sequences.

Audio isn't that great. Some of the voicework is funny, but nature's fury sounds more like a whimper and doesn't always back up what you're seeing on the screen.

As a disgruntled scientist who was unceremoniously fired by his company, you take control of a weather-changing device and set out to destroy the company.

In each level, you play as a glowing ball of energy that can transform into one of three natural disasters. You can call down lightning strikes, twist into a tornado or summon a ground-cracking earthquake. The catch is that the professor has a conscience, so he only targets people that work for the company, sucking some of the fun out of the game. There isn't much to destroy in each of the targeted areas, and it gets worse the deeper you get. The first few sections are cool since you have lots of houses and trees to destroy, but once you get into the meat of the game, you're taking down heavily-fortified military compounds. As terrible of a person as this makes me sound, if you're going to go with a mad scientist premise, you might as well go all the way.

Each level gives you a list of key structures to destroy as well as a target score displayed as the total financial damages you caused. The catch is you have to destroy everything in a certain amount of time; otherwise the company's satellites are able to capture you (or something absurd like that). You also have to contend with a military that has the ability to drain your energy, making it hard for you to use your powers or hold your glowy-ball form.

Even for an XBLA game, Elements of Destruction is incredibly short. The single-player mode can be completed in under an hour. Survival and online modes (both competitive and co-op) add a little length to the game, but aren't that interesting unless you're going for Achievements, which are pretty tricky to unlock.

The time limit acts as your "push" through each level, but it feels a bit arbitrary and ruins the fun. Considering that using your powers drains the same gauge that acts as your health bar, it would have made more sense if that acted as your "timer". Balancing power consumption, especially when enemies can drain it, would be much more interesting. It also would have built on what is, at least on the surface, an interesting puzzle dynamic with the list of key structures and financial damages you have to cause in each level.

Your destructive fun is also hampered by a few ridiculously stout structures. You can drop a full-powered tornado on some structures and only do a little bit of damage. Meanwhile, swarms of tanks and helicopters drain your energy even more - reducing your chances of a follow-up bolt of lightning or earthquake. This isn't a bad dynamic and adds a decent amount of challenge, but at times it feels a bit cheap, especially when you're against the clock.

Each of your powers is activated by first selecting it on a radial menu and then pressing (A). After the power is activated, you can give it a little more juice by using one of three different controller inputs. Unleashing a fully charged bolt of lightning requires a timed button press, adding a few rumbles to an earthquake requires some button-mashing and quickly turning the left stick gives tornados a little more suck. As you progress through the game, you earn research points that can unlock more powerful versions of each power.

Powers can also cause other events. In one level, you can use an earthquake to set off a volcano and in another, you can set fire to a tree, which then spreads to other nearby kindling. These are the types of elements that really could have added more depth to the game, but instead they just feel like they were tossed in just because it sounded cool.

The company's main line of defense is their military, though you'll also come across defensive installations that can counter your powers. Tesla towers can suck the energy from lightning bolts and a seismic pounder can disrupt earthquakes. Later in the game, you'll come across mobile versions of these installations, which add an even greater rock-paper-scissors dynamic to the game. Figuring out how to get around these obstacles is one of the more enjoyable aspects of the game. Unfortunately, the time limit dampens the fun - especially when you also have to fend off swarms of enemies that are surprisingly difficult to destroy. You have to figure a fully-charged tornado would be enough to toss a tank a few blocks away, but they prove to be stubborn little things. Mobile "disaster blocks" also bunch up, placing you in situations where you can't use abilities.

I absolutely love the premise behind Elements of Destruction, but the execution comes up incredibly short. Its fun to destroy things, but there are too many missed opportunities to really exploit the idea and make Elements of Destruction as cool as its premise.