I have decided to review the Wii Zapper and Links Crossbow Training as one and give it a rating as a package because that’s how it’s sold in the stores.
Links Crossbow Training
Game Play
The Links Crossbow Training is the bundled game that comes with the Wii Zapper, the game its self has no real story line, you just get in there are start shooting it’s that straight forward and it’s a great game that anyone can enjoy.
It’s been based on the smash hit Wii launch title The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, reusing sections of stages and characters from the game, Links Crossbow Training doesn’t feel like a complete game and probably wouldn’t be a game you would go out of you way to buy separately at full price, but having said that it’s pretty obvious that Nintendo added this game to the zapper as a bonus and to help consumers get a feel for zapper.
Even though this game is composed of characters and stages from Twilight Princess, you don’t have to know anything about Twilight Princess to enjoy, basically Nintendo could have cosen any franchise to base this on and it still would be fun.
There’s eight player profiles to use all of which keep tab of your best scores and medal count, so there’s more than enough room for friends and family to get involved, just tag a profile with your Mii character and get started on racking up some high scores.
This game is very similar to older light gun arcade games like Point Blank, but with a mix of first person and third person stages. In the first person stages various targets will pop into view that you have to shoot accurately to succeed, these stages will be broken up into sections and once the set amount of targets have appeared, the screen progress automatically to the next section until the end. Simply shooting wildly at targets will only get you so far and to achieve a decent score shooting targets consecutively with out missing is the key, an extra bonus is given if all targets are destroyed, there’s also hidden goodies scattered through out the stages that can help aid hi scores.
The third person stages has you guiding link through out the level seeking out your targets while racing against the clock, some of the third person stages you have no control of your direction eg the horseback and boat stages. Just like the first person stages bonuses are awarded for destroying all targets and finding hidden goodies.
You begin the game with three playable levels each with three different stages, six more stages can be unlocked by getting medals, there are four medal levels to achieve for each stage, bronze, silver, gold, and the almighty platinum, a medal is awarded depending on your end of level score.
Three different game play mores are available, Score Attack, Multiplayer and Practice. Score Attack is as the name suggests, and this is the game play mode to play if you want to unlock all levels. Multiplayer has you playing against another person by swapping the Wii Zapper after each turn, the winner is based on highest score. Practice is good place to start and gives first time players a feel for the game, helping to remember the target sequences and the locations of enemies, but once you have familiarized your self with the game and top scores are all you can think of the Practice mode is great place to revisit because it displays the top score for each stage and who achieved it.
Control
This is one of the best aspects of this game; the controls are so simple to grasp any one can simply pick up the Wii Zapper and get straight into this. Point and shoot, the B which has now been transformed into a trigger with the Wii Zapper assembly is your fire button, and if you hold down the trigger for a couple of seconds you can unleash an explosive arrow, the Z button is the zoom button and the control stick directs Link in the exploration stages.
Graphics
The backgrounds for all the stages in Links Crossbow Training are plucked straight from Twilight Princess, Ordon Village, Hyrule field, Kakariko Village and more have been sectioned off to play host as a shooting gallery, along with matching Twilight Princess Characters to suit each stage. On most first person sections the camera scales and rotates around each level depending on what part of the stage you are on, and having played Twilight Princess my self(obsessively I might add) it was quit pleasant seeing another perspective of those stages at same time bring back a little nostalgia for the game.
For what the game the graphics are clear and detailed enough and suit perfectly, even though we’ve seen it all before there’s nothing to complain about really.
Sound
Just as previously mentioned about the graphics, the sound is all Twilight Princess with the addition of the rapid fire sound of the crossbow upgrade and noises from exploding targets. The sound is in Dolby Pro Logic and sounds pretty good cranked up and does give you that arcade feel.
Overall
For a game that’s packaged with a peripheral its pretty dam good, it would have been nice to see more content on the game, but it wins points because it’s simple to play so everyone can have a go, and it will keep you occupied for a while with 27 different stages to master, on top of that you can try to get platinum medals in all levels and beating top scores. Even though this is basically a demo game, Nintendo have set a bench mark in quality for future Wii Zapper games; let’s hope we see equal or better quality in the future.
Wii Zapper
When the Wii Zapper was first show to the public many consumers were very sceptical about it, worried about its overall size and weight and how it would feel after playing for extended periods of time. We have seen an abundance of plastic accessories that the Wii Remote can be slotted into, with majority of them falling into the quick buck grabbing gimmick section. Well I’ve given the Wii Zapper a thorough road test so I’ll give you my thoughts on Nintendo’s latest accessory.
Assembly
The Wii Zapper assembly unites both the Wii Remote and the Nun Chuck into a single unit to become a light gun, The Wii Remote is locked into the front of the unit using a quick release clip and the Nun Chuck slots into place and is secured by two plastic prongs that are inserted into the sunken screw crevices on the Nun Chuck with a hinge that covers the flexible wire exiting the Nun Chuck, the Nun Chuck cable then channels its way to a cable storage compartment, this is where you hide the excess Nun Chuck cable and a cover is slid over to conceal it all leaving just enough cable to reach the Wii Remote.
Assembling the Wii Zapper for the first time is pretty much straight forward but Nintendo have still packaged some instructions to assist, this assembly process is not something you would want to do every time you have the urge to play a light gun style game, adding and removing the Wii Remote is quick and easy due to the quick release locking mechanism, but the Nun Chuck is the tedious part of the assembly process, my suggestion would be to purchase an extra Nun Chuck and just leave it in the Wii Zapper so all that’s required is to simply clip in the Wii Remote.
Functionality & Feel
As a light gun and for games that have been designed for this unit it serves its purpose, all Wii Remote/Nun Chuck buttons and controllers are accessible, by using this design Nintendo have opened many avenues for future games that can take advantage of the versatility of this unit because there are different ways you can hold the zapper depending on what buttons you want to access, the only down side to the design is using motion sensing, attempting to swing the Wii Zapper around in games that require feels a bit unco. Games that use the Wii Zapper as a light gun are fine until motion sensing is added, the gun is to large to be swung around and using gestures to simulate actions eg a knife slash just doesn’t feel right with a gun.
There is a fair amount of weight in the Wii Zapper but it isn’t too bad, your front hand is directly under the Wii Remote so it takes the majority of the weight, with your rear hand balancing it out, if you hold the unit in mid air for an extended period of time you will feel some strain in your upper body, but what I found for those really long gaming stints its best to find comfortable sitting position and rest the rear of the Wii Zapper on your body to absorb some of the weight.
The handles feel nice a proportionate and are spaced out just right, there’s also a more textured surface on the handles for that extra non slip grip.
Appearance
Well Nintendo decided to go with function over look which is a good thing, we do prefer it work rather than look pretty, even though the Wii Zapper isn’t winning any beauty contests it sill looks the part, the colour is a dead on match for the Wii Remote and Nun Chuck and the majority of the Nun Chuck wire is concealed so from a distance it all blends in, up close it looks a bit to busy. The overall look is up to individual interpretation either you like it or you don’t.
Package Value
With the average pricing at under 50AUD it’s pretty cheap considering you get a peripheral and a game that has 27 different levels, the Wii Zapper is a solid unit and backed by the Nintendo brand name, the game is great for the whole family and has that “I have to beat that score” addictive feel to it. Compared to all the after-market Zapper units out there at the moment this has to be best of the lot. If your after an arcade style shooter then I recommend getting this and if your in the market for Zapper unit then get the Wii Zapper and think of the game as a bonus.
In the Long Run
Links Crossbow Training will loose its appeal over time so in order for the Wii Zapper to avoid being tossed into the pile of ever growing plastic Wii accessories Nintendo and its third party developers have to get on board and keep releasing games that suit the Wii Zapper, because not all games work well with Wii Zapper, just because it’s a shooting game that requires you to point and shoot at the screen doesn’t mean the Zapper will suit. Let’s hope more games that have a similar game play style as Links Crossbow Training start to appear, even some older arcade ports would go astray as well.
Overall Rating of 8/10 as a package.
This review has also been poster on MyWii.com.au
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