and All Consoles

With all the hours I spent playing games from the Legend of Zelda series, I could have learned to speak a language fluently, or could have gotten a Master’s Degree in nuclear engineering, but no matter.  It was fun and engaging.  Zelda is the granddaddy of all adventure games as far as I’m concerned, and the new Wii A Link To The Past brings it all back.  Now, you can invest more of your life into exploring Hyrule!

Now receiving transmission… it’s a telepathic message from Zelda again!  Your mission is to find the Master Sword, then descend into the Dark World to do battle with the fearsome Ganon.  Defeating Ganon will bring peace back to Hyrule and, who knows, maybe Link and Zelda have a chance after all.  Eh?  Know what I’m saying?

But the real, exciting, totally new, super-cool feature of the new game is its multiplayer setting.  It’s called “Four Swords.”  You and up to three of your swashbuckling buddies can play the game together.  Four Swords is a totally different mission.  You get a message from Triforce, and the levels are set up so that you have to cooperate with each other to beat them.

In the Four Swords mode, you not only fight, but also have to solve puzzles.  For these, you have to work together with your friends.  You also collect rupees, just like in the original game, so you have a chance to compete with one another too.

Like all the games in the series, you meet strange men in caves who give you tips and sell you things.  You get crazy abilities from things you find.  You battle your way through the depths of Hyrule to get keys that open doors to the places you need to go.  One of the magical items that you use is a Magic Mirror that allows you to teleport from the Light to the Dark Worlds.

The graphics look great, and the music is fantastic.  It has the classic graphics from the old game.  They haven’t changed a thing, which makes it kind of charming.  The music is new, though, and it’s just as cool as you would expect from a new Zelda game.

One thing that’s caused us to lose hours of our life with Zelda games is that they are long.  A Link To The Past is no exception.  It takes forever to get through the whole game, so it’ll suck you in.  And, once you beat it, it’s been so long since you first started it, that you’re ready to go back through it all over again.  If you buy this game, you might as well take a lengthy vacation from work and hang up your social obligations for a while.  It’s engrossing.

A Link To The Past is the third Zelda game to be released on Wii in a relatively short time, but it is definitely the best of the three.  It was released some time ago on the Game Boy, but other than that, it hasn’t been available.  It’s definitely worth the money, especially if you’re a lifelong Zelda fan like me.

Developed by: Monster Games, Inc.
Genre: Racing
Players: up to 2 players
Release Date: November 19, 2006
ESRB Content Rated: E – Mild Violence

The Introduction from Nintendo:

In the grand racing tradition of Excitebike, get ready for a big-air experience like no other! Players rocket their trucks across dynamically changing terrain in this nitrous-injected, high-flying racer for speed junkies. Showing the Wii Remote controller’s versatility, players tilt the controller on its side to turn it into a wireless steering wheel!

Excite Truck:

Excite Truck is the first of the launch titles from Nintendo that will require you to sit in order to truly enjoy the experience. There is no need to think of Excite Truck as a traditional racing game, as it’s quite the opposite. As it’s greatly influenced by Nintendo’s Excitebike for the NES, Excite Truck is an arcade styled racing game. Simply finishing first is not you only way of winning.

Game Play:

One of the first things that you notice about Excite Truck is its incredibly fast paced action. The game play of the races is insanely fast and will require you to stay on your toes. Having one false turn and you’re toast. In single-player mode the game is not as exciting and can be quite short. In fact, there are only really about twelve playable tracks. This does ultimately provide a somewhat unsatisfying experience. The multi-player mode on the other hand, does try to improve things, but doesn’t help quite enough to keep you satisfied.

In the main multi-player mode the screen is split for a 2-player race. Although this is a much appreciated addition, I feel that having a 4 player would have been a much more interested experience. With the option of only a 2-play multi-player mode, as well as only having 12 tracks to race on, makes Excite Truck replay ability rather low.

Once you’ve completed the single-player experience, there is not really much to tempt you back for a second time. One benefit to the game play is how Excite Truck enables you to import your own music into the game. The is allowed via a SD Card. The handling in the game is also rather remarkable. It does take a little time to get the hang of things, however once you have completely mastered the controls, you’ll never want to return to a regular remote again.

Using the Controls:

Excite Truck does really display how versatile the Wii remote can be. You simply hold the remote on its side and use it as a steering wheel. The control and accuracy are really fantastic. Although the control will at first take a little bit of getting used to, simply because you’ve never really played a game in this way. You also have the option a use a steering wheel attachment that is available but not entirely necessary to play. It does retail as a separate item.

Look and Appearance:

The graphics in Excite Truck are actually rather beautiful, although with the fast pace of the action you’ll never have any time to actually stop and look at them. The game does feature great textures and visual effects, as well as some excellent level design.

Sound Effects:

If you start out using the default soundtrack for the races it will rather quickly seem quite sub-par. However, as Excite Truck will allow you to import your own tunes via an SD Card. This is an excellent addition that adds that much appreciated personal touch to the game.

And the Pros Are:

+ Excellent graphics
+ Ability to import your own music into the game
+ Intuitive and accurate controls

And the Cons Are:

- Limited replay value
- Lack of multi-player support
- Low number of tracks

Overall: 7.5 / 10

Published by Darren Lintern

Published by: Nintendo
Genre: Sports
Players: up to 4 players
Release Date: November 19, 2006
ESRB Content Rated: E – Mild Violence
The Introduction from Nintendo:

This is what video games should be: fun for everyone. Wii Sports offers five distinct sports experiences, each using the Wii Remote controller to provide a natural, intuitive and realistic feel. To play a Wii Sports game, all you need to do is pick up a controller and get ready for the pitch, serve or that right hook. If you’ve played any of these sports before, you’re ready for fun!

Wii Sports:

Wii Sports is the first game that has been packed with a Nintendo console since Super Mario World was released with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is a compilation pack of 5 different sports events: baseball, boxing, bowling, golf, and tennis.
Game Play:

Each of the five sports games does it’s best to represent the sport; however they are all simplified versions. If you take tennis for example, all you are required to do is control the movement of your tennis racket. The players are automatically controlled and run where ever they are supposed to. Although these simplifications to take away some of the game play from each sport, there are still quite a few of options for each sporting event.

The most exciting of the five games in Wii Sports is the bowling game. Getting the hang of using the Wii remote can take some time, as it is very precise, even too precise for some games. Golf tends to be the game that suffers from the over-precision of the Wii remote. The least entertaining game out the compilation is the baseball. As all the fielding is taken care of for you, it is only necessary to concentrate on throwing the ball, and hitting the ball. For many this may just seem too dull. This game does however shine is in the multiplayer mode.

With the option to play some of the games simultaneously it will be necessary for more than just one Wii remote. Other games, such as bowling, are played in turn. Each player takes their own turn and then passes the remote to the next player.

This game also allows for the use of “Miis”, which are caricatures that can be created with the Wii console. Nintendo intention for this game was not for it to win Game of the Year awards; it was to offer an exciting and fun experience for the casual gamers as well as the non-gamers. They have ultimately reached their goal, as the Wii Sports is a great deal of fun, even for the core gamers.
Using the Controls:

The controls for each of the five sports are exactly what you would hope for; a throwing motion to throw a ball, a rolling motion for bowling, a swinging motion for swinging a baseball bat or tennis racket, etc. Only with the exception of golf, the controls are very user-friendly and intuitive.

Look and Appearance:

The graphics in Wii Sports are not what you could call amazing; some are referring to them as terrible. In fact, they are probably worse than terrible. However, this was intentional on Nintendo’s behalf. They wanted to create a game that had basic graphics and absolutely fantastic game play.
Sound Effects:

The sound is similar to the graphics, nothing really to get excited about. Simple music and sound effects are used throughout these games.

And the Pros are:

+ It’s FREE!
+ Fantastic for multi-player
+ Mostly intuitive controls
+ Infinite replay value
And the Cons are:

- Terrible graphics
- Some games are too simple

Overall: 8 / 10

Published By Darren Lintern