 Review By: Andrew Joy |
Developer: | EAD |
| Publisher: | Nintendo | |
| Genre: | Light Gun | |
| ESRB: | Teen | |
| # Of Players: | 1-4 (alternating) | |
| Online Play: | No | |
| Accessories: | Pack-in with the Wii Zapper, requires Wii Remote & Nunchuk | |
| Buy Now: |   |
Thanks to its controller’s light-gun-esque IR pointer, gamers have been calling for a new Duck Hunt game ever since the Wii burst onto the scene at E3 2005 (when it was still codenamed Revolution). We’ve had no luck so far, though. Rumors of a Virtual Console version of the NES original (however unlikely) have continued to crop up every few months, and Nintendo even came close to delivering a new one with the "Wii Bust a Cap" portion of Wii Play, but it left a lot to be desired (like that grinning dog at the bottom of the screen). All hope is not lost, however, as Link’s Crossbow Training goes (in my opinion, at least) above and beyond anything the hallowed Duck Hunt ever achieved.
By now you know the story. The Wii Zapper has been shown off with the Wii ever since the system was first made playable (that would be E3 2006, for those of you following along), and with it, the above mentioned rumors always followed closely behind. However, the big break in the case, so to speak, didn’t occur until this year (now 2007, but not at E3), when whispers began to leak that Nintendo would be showing off a Wii Zapper pack-in at a retailers' conference. At first, the stories seemed reasonable – I mean, on its own, who would buy a mere shell of a controller? – but things soon took a turn for the far-fetched. There was no way they’d try to pawn off our beloved Legend of Zelda franchise in an archery game for a gun-shaped controller.
(For the record, yes, crow tastes delicious.)
Anyway, despite the fact that Link has never used a crossbow in any of his games (I suppose that is why he needs training), here we are (still 2007). Even though the idea frightened me at first, I did, eventually, warm up to Link’s Crossbow Training...so much so, in fact, that I made my purchase of a Wii Zapper solely for the game, with little interest in the Wii Zapper itself. This was, I believe, a very wise decision – while I was a little disappointed with the Wii Zapper (more on that here), the game included provided a fun introduction to how future games might make use of it in the future, even if it does skimp out on almost everything else. For one thing, there is no story presented in this game. However, as it uses the same engine, locations and more, I guess we’re left to assume the events take place sometime during The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Of course, that’s hardly a bad thing and, in fact, it actually works to the game’s credit.
The first thing you’ll notice when you start playing this game is how utterly fantastic it looks. Now, we’re not talking anything along the lines of Super Mario Galaxy, but if you liked Twilight Princess, you’ll dig this, too – the levels are practically torn straight from the game. On the same note, however, you also shouldn’t go in expecting to play Twilight Princess – Link’s Crossbow Training’s levels are the small, confined spaces you expect to find in this sort of on-rails shooter, not wide-open expanses. However, the locations and baddies are practically identical to their counterparts. You’ll also hear some familiar sounds and a sampling of Twilight Princess’ music, but as you’d expect in a pack-in game of this sort, it is nothing to write home about.
Posted: 2007-12-11 16:20:02 PST