Legend of Zelda: Twighlight Princess

Legend of Zelda: Twighlight PrincessPlatform: Wii
Rating: 12+
Type: Puzzle Action/Adventure
Graphics: 8.5/10
Story: 9.5/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Multiplayer: 0/10 (No MP)
Sound: 9/10
Wiimote Ussage: 7/10
Overall: 9/10

Legend of Zelda is the game for the Wii that EVERYONE has. It is the only game released with the Wii that is critically accepted, mature and sold a lot of units. The game is popular because it is Legend of Zelda. The game is renowned and was sold out at launch. The game features excellent puzzles and an explorable map.

In this game you play a character named Link. You start off in a small peaceful village where you are a polite young boy who everyone likes. To get you used to the controls you have to complete a number of mini adventures involving riding your horse to shepard away goats to fighting a scarecrow to learn how to use your sword. The story line in this game is fantastic. This game demonstrates that consoles are still a very viable media for telling a story.

The graphics have a very artistic style. So although they are not beautifully rendered, they look cool and some elements of the game have been sharpened and when you kill a boss, it does look good. There aren't any graphical errors were something impossible happens. Also, the draw distance is fairly impressive. Rocks and core grass aren't very impressive but the grass that you can cut down is nicely animated. The design in to the enemies is excellent, each type is unique.

I would go in to detail about the story line but what makes it so good is the twists and turns that makes it good. It is suffice to say that it is very good and even if this game had absolutely terrible game play, the story line could almost single handedly save it.

The use of the Wiimotes capabilities is a little more suspect. All the different sword moves are controlled by holding down different combinations of buttons and simply waving the Wiimote. How you wave the Wiimote has no effect on the move. A couple of moves make use of the Numchuq , but once again it isn't intuitive or logical. This element of the game could be improved if say, you wanted to do a jump attack, you brought the Wiimote down in front of you. Or a spin attack was done by swinging the Wiimote round you, even if the stab was you stabbing rather than swinging the game would be better. In credit to the game, the aiming for bow and arrow is well done and there are nice touches like when you are fishing or flying a bird. Both of these use the Wiimote well.

The gameplay in the game is both good and bad. The good, the puzzles are integrated seamlessly in to the environment and are compelling and tricky. The majority of the time they can be solved without going completely insane. The map works well and there are virtually no load times at any point. Nor is there any lag. The combat is quite repetitive but simple and fun. The bosses are too easy to kill but are fairly rewarding as you have to work out how to use you new piece of equipment to kill them. The problem lies mainly in the temple, sometimes there are a few puzzles that require you to run around the temple. Now, because all the temples have to fit in to the style all the rooms look quite similar and so at first it is quite confusing. On top of this, the second you leave a room, all the enemies re spawn. This is both good and bad. It is good because it means that if you get stuck you can go back and kill some creatures. It is bad because in combat you can get quite disorientated and so you end up going to wrong way. This feels more annoying than challenging. The length of the game is good and there are plenty of minigames littered around the game. On top of this there are a large number of collectables that will keep you entertained for much longer. Over all the gameplay is good despite some of the problems.

The music deserves a special mention as it is very good. You will find yourself humming the tunes for where you are at the moment. They do not distract from the game and react to what's happening so builds a sense tension. Also, character design needs recognition too. Some of the characters will make you crack up with laughter, others will make you cry and they all work and develop well in the story. There is no multi-player but that is not surprising and it does not feel like it is a missing element.

In conclusion this is a very good game, with good graphics, fantastic puzzles and a great length. The problem lies with the lack of use of the Wiimote. I think that if you have a Wii and a GC controller, if you can get the GC version cheaper, get that as the Wiimote is not used well enough. The story line has gripped me as I am dieing to find out how some of the characters develop, this is a credit to NIntendo. If you have a Wii, this is a game to get. So much so, it was sold out long after the console!