bit-tech Shopping: Nintendo The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)

Rating: 10

Time with product: 2

Strengths: Pretty much everything

Weaknesses: I was hoping for more realistic sword swings with Wiimote

Summary: Everyone knows Zelda is one of the best game series ever made. This game is most likely the best one yet, coming in second next to Ocarina of Time.The minute you start the game, you are drawn into the story. If you've played any of the other games, your interest is piqued once Link is asked "Have you ever been to Hyrule?"Then when you transform into a wolf you know things are going to be interesting.The game takes a good 40 hours to complete. Savor every moment, its worth it.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 4 Months

Strengths: Long and satisfying, good use of motion control, great gameplay.

Weaknesses: A couple game-ending bugs

Summary: Zelda: Twilight Princess remains the best game to date on the new Wii console. Clocking in at a minimum of 40 hours to complete, it's an entirely satisfying romp through Hyrule. The mapping of motion control to button presses leaves something to desire, but since it works, it leaves a lot of anticipation for the first true Wii Zelda game. Please check out some forums to get the heads-up on a couple game-ending bugs that creep up (mostly involving save locations) that I was lucky enough to avoid, but other than that, no Wii owner should be without this masterpiece.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 5 Months

Strengths: Classic Zelda gameplay spiced up with Wii controls

Weaknesses: N/A

Summary: The fact that this game started off as a Gamecube game and was ported to the Wii so that Nintendo would have a AAA title available for the Wii launch is used by many to put this game down. However, in taking it's time, Nintendo was able to put a level of polish on this game that many other top games lack. This is a refined and solid Zelda game with all you would expect from the series. It also has some truly cinematic and epic moments, which is somewhat new for the Zelda franchise. Whether you play the Wii or GC version, this is a must-play game for any Nintendo fan. However, if you have a Wii don't hesitate to get the Wii version. The Wii controls are perfectly implemented. Once you shoot arrows with the Wii remote you won't want to go back to the old style of control. The graphics return to a "realistic" style from the controversial cartoony Wind Waker style (which I liked as well). While this is no HD game experience, the graphics are excellent for the system and have certainly complement the game well. The Wii features a true widescreen 480p experience, which is more than enough for some stunning visuals. As with most Zelda games, a new gameplay element is added to the standard ones (such as arrow shooting, bomb placing, etc). This new element is the ability to turn into a wolf and enter a dark version of the world. This adds more ways to solve puzzles and adds depth to already deep gameplay. While those who have played Zelda games before know what to expect, this game is also accessible for newcomers. While they may not know some of the secrets (such as the existence of upgradeable wallet and bomb bags) that is not an issue. It would be a great experience if this was someones first exposure to the Zelda franchise.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 4 Months

Strengths: Lots of Extras, Biggest Overworld Ever In A Zelda Game, Long Game

Weaknesses: Made for the GameCube and ported to the Wii (not exactly a weakness but could have probalby made better use of the Wii's features if built from the ground up for the Wii)

Summary: Zelda Twilight Princess is the lastest installment in the Zelda series in 3D and while it doesn't add anything that really differs much from past Zelda games (unlike what Resident Evil 4 did for the Resident Evil series) it does a tremendous job of doing what Zelda as always done well with great level design and an expansive world in which you can explore. Nintendo has been working on Zelda Twilight Princess for awhile for the GameCube and even ended up pushing back the release date for it about 1-2 years and while doing so have been working on also doing up a port for the Wii. While this may mean that this makes the game somewhat of an underdog even more so then other Wii games with visual appearance it makes up for in gameplay in level design. The first thing that should be pointed out is that you won't be doing any sea traveling like you did on Zelda Wind Waker & that the graphics ain't cel shaded like Wind Waker as it goes back to more of a traditional look like both of the Zelda games on the N64. Twilight Princes is a long game that will take most people about 60-70 hours to finish with more dungeons then any of the other Zelda games done in 3D. It should also be mentioned that the overworld is easily bigger then any of the previous 3D Zelda games to the point in which you could probably spend hours upon hours just looking for the misc secrets thoughout the overworld. You also have many different side quests you can do thoughout the game a few of the bigger ones being collecting things such as bugs and poes which are scattered about the world. The dungeons are just as well put together if not better then the previous Zelda games which is always good as I consider the dungeons to be the best part of Zelda as I'm sure many other gamers do also. I think it's also important to mention that many of the things done with the Wii-Mote like aiming work great but you really just shake the Wii-Mote to swing your sword so it's not like you actually pretend to be slicing like you do with Red Steel. I actually think that I had more trouble adjusting to the Wii-Mote (Zelda being the 1st Wii game I played) when navigating the menus. In short I would highly recommend Zelda to everyone unless they just don't like action adventure games at all otherwise it is a most buy game!

Rating: 8

Time with product: 3

Strengths: Level design, graphics (relatively speaking), pacing never keeps you doing the same thing for too long. Controls are functional, and make good use of the Wiimote's unique abilities.

Weaknesses: The puzzles are a bit new, but I can't shake the feeling like I've done this before. Swordplay still scratching the surface of Wii's capacity (I hope).

Summary: Aside from Link's sudden bout with ambidexterity (he wields the sword right-handed in Twilight Princess), the biggest change to the control scheme is Wii-swordplay. Unfortunately, the sword doesn't mimic the Wiimote. Instead, wildly swinging the sword feels more like hitting the 'A' button. That shouldn't be too surprising, since Twilight Princess was conceived as a GameCube game.It's too bad, since other weapons (like the bow) translate so much better to the new control system. The action and puzzles are Vintage Zelda, and the dungeons are a tribute to what made this franchise so successful.Don't get me wrong: this is a great game. I just can't help but feel like the Next Zelda game on the Wii (if there is one), built directly around the Wiimote, will be even better.If you own a Wii, there's really no reason not to own this game.