The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

THE BAD:
-The music around normal enemies suck
-Playing as the wolf is a little boring

SUMMARY:
--Story--
The evil Twilight lord, Zant, is spreading the Twilight zone across the land of Hyrule and of course it's up to Link to save Hyrule. Though as the game goes on, the story gets deeper and more exciting than the usual Zelda game.

--Graphics--
The Graphics are nothing short of amazing. This is the best looking Zelda game yet. The level design is amazing, the world is open and very expansive. The art style is amazing too. The graphics really make you feel like you're part of the experience.

--Sound--
I must say that the music in this game is nothing short of epic and adventurous. The boss battle music is just awesome, and then when your just wandering around your ears are treated to great adventer-some music. Though there isn't any voice acting, you do get to hear little grunts. The worst part about the music is when you approach a normal enemy, then the music gets lame, and seems uninspired.

--Controls--
If you've ever played a Zelda game then you know what to expect, if not shame on you, but the controls are very fluid and go perfect with the game. The controls the Wii are great too, they really help you get use to the Nintendo Wii's revolutionary controler.

--Gameplay--
This game is packed with all sorts of things to do. Instead of just going from a town to dungeon, you'll actually have other things to do. For example, you can sled around in one environment or race around on pigs in another. The gameplay is always changing before it gets boring to help keep things fresh. Plus the dungeons are better than they usually are too. I love going through them, some like the Lake Bed Tmeple even give your mind a challenge. Though I didn't really I really wish there was more to as the wolf.

--Replay Value--
After beating the game, you don't really unlock anything, but that doesn't matter much. This game was so fun I found my self replaying it multiple times. Plus there are hours and hours of side-quests to keep you playing too.

--Conclusion--
This game built up a lot of hype, and I have to say it delivered on everything. It took all of the hopes I had and went further. I definetely recommend this game. It's the greatest of the series so far, and won game of the year, 2006! Game Informer said that it might even be good enough for the greatest game in history too!

THE BAD:
My feelings on the controls for the Wii remote are mixed. Having to shake the Wii remote and nunchuck to slash isn't fun because it's not as fast and it doesn't always register. But being able to point and aim arrows and such instead of lining it up with a control stick is a huge improvement. Also, the beginning starts out a little slow, having you tasks such as catching cats, summoning hawks, and herding goats. But is good for new people because it teaches you a lot about how to play the game, and it also helps to familiarize yourself with the characters. But to replay, it can be quite boring. And as I mentioned before, the music sometimes gets annoying and repetitive. The wolf form can also get a little boring sometimes, especially when you are forced to be him for any period of time. This is because Wolf Link has no upgrades, and not many abilities besides biting, digging, and using your senses. Here is a summary:
-Bad sword controls on Wii
-Slow beginning
-Annoying music sometimes
-Wolf mode can be boring

SUMMARY:
This is an overall great game, and you will probably like it even if you have never played or even heard of Zelda before, because no knowledge of other Zelda games is required to understand it. Twilight Princess combines a fresh story with new characters and enemies into a fabulous Zelda game that is by some considered the best Zelda adventure yet. So go out and buy it now, for it's awesome and is available on both the Gamecube and the Wii. You'll be glad you did.

THE BAD:
- No multiplayer. Then again, if there was multiplayer, how good would it really be?

- In my own experience, the puzzles were too easy. I'm not showing off me "skillz" but maybe to others they would seem harder. I personally felt they were all common sense appliable.

- The fun "interactive" attacks can get boring after hours and hours of gameplay.

- Storyline, although in-depth, predictable and usual Zelda style. Almost on the verge of being corny.

- Dungeons were repeated and boring after a while. When I was playing it I almost just fought my way through so I could finish the dungeon. I just wasn't enjoying it.

- To put it frankly, I felt that this game was too easy. But maybe to others it would seem more fun...

SUMMARY:
Twilight Princess has received huge amounts of publicity and attention. The Zelda franchise has been waiting for many a month and day.

But is it really up to the hype? I beat the game, and gave it a 3.0. To sum up this entire review in my own words: It was too boring and easy. Especially with the arrival of the Wii, it has been looked at as the next generation Zelda game. However, I felt that after the first couple of fights that the sword system (Where you could stab, lunge, swing, swirl) got very repetitive. Unless you unlocked a cool new technique, I felt that fights were almost a pain.

The storyline. The storyline I thought was in-depth. You had a lengthy storyline which lasted until the last boss battle. However, after the arrival of the proagonist and the antagonist, I felt that it was drag and repetitive; it seemed to be dragged along by Midna, your companion in destorying evil. The ending I felt was good, and surprisingly unexpected. However, the meat of the story was boring.

The game play was fun at first, I'll admit. It was fun defeating baddies by slashing the remote or thrusting the nunchuk. And the puzzles. The puzzles were at first interesting. There was the old block puzzle, where you moved blocked to land on a certain square. However, once you got into the meat of the game, I felt it was repetitive and dull. It was just one dungeon after another, one boss after another. Oh, the bosses! They were some of the most pathetic battles I have ever done. Not only was it easy, it was too easy. The bosses had virtually no mind of their own, and I could almost say they were the easiest part of the dungeon. The dungeons and bosses definitely let me down in this game.

I must admit, the graphics were good. They weren't spectacular, like the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360, but they were good enough to make the game feel like you were actually inside it playing, along with the somewhat interactive controls. The animations were realistic, and the blocking and jumping and running made it feel like they were real people.

In conclusion, let me sum up my main points. The graphics were well done and thus were a positive. The controls were, although fun at first, overall a downgrade with the repetitiveness and ease, and thus that gives it a negative. The storyline was catching and interesting at first, but like many other things, got dull and boring towards the middle but heated up in the end. The gameplay itself was, yet again, head turning in the beginning, but sadly got dull and in my opinion easy towards the middle and especially end. The dungeons and bosses were a complete letdown.

And thus this ends a moderately lengthy Twilight Princess review. Well, I hope you liked it, and hopefully like Twilight Princess. Although I may not have loved it, compared with other games on the Wii I think it is worth a buy and hey, maybe you have different tastes than what I have. I gave this a 3.0, which is better than average. This game especially leaves the Zelda franchise a lot of promise.

THE BAD:
-Wolf gameplay could have been better
-Bosses are too easy.
-Some of the game's textures are bad close-up.
-Some tools are not used as often
-Graphics are not as great as they could be.

SUMMARY:
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is the sequel to Ocarina of Time, and, in most part, it kind of shows. Many of the places, like Zora’s Domain, is back. Along with Hyrule Field and many other places, they make their comeback in the game. The game play also feels the same as Ocarina of Time, and so do the temples you go into. With the game play being said, it is different with the Wii. With the Wii remote, you use it as your sword and you using the Wii remote as if your sword. Don’t worry about breaking your arm off, just quick flicks of the wrist will do fine and it feels a lot more innovative and fun.

A lot of people are happy to see Epona make an appearance, Link’s horse. Not only does this make it an easy way to explore Hyrule Field, it adds more game play. On Epona, you can still use your projectile weapons on her back, but now you have more freedom with how far you can go. Also, a big addition, is that now you can do swordplay on her back, which is helpful when traveling around Hyrule Field.

The graphics of the game are very spectacular, though this is a port of the Gamecube, so it is not the full extent of the Wii, and in some spots you can see that. The textures of the environments are sometimes blocky and don’t look good when you are close-up. Getting past that, though, you will see a pretty game with amazing lighting affects. The lights that appear when the sun is rising over Hyrule Field just looks great. If this is not the full extent of the Wii, I want to see what the graphics look like when they are pushing the Wii’s power, like what RE4 did with the Gamecube. The character design is also very well done. The facial looks and movements look very realistic, no person has the same looking face, which makes the life of the game look very realistic and like it is full of life, also the characters are very quirky and have their own personalities. Each character has their own thing to say, although there is no voice-acting, but you can say we are avoiding bad voice-acting.

I am glad to say that the game’s story is a lot better and darker. The cinematics of the game are better also, Nintendo has brought more attention to the cut-scenes, which are dramatic and create the mood of the game that Nintendo is trying to create.

The twilight is an alter-ego of Hyrule. It is like a terrible disease spreading across the land and engulfing it with its dark embrace. The mood is very well done. Dark particles float around and the creatures look creepy and dark. What people have been awing over is the fact that Link transforms into a wolf. Link does this early in the game, when he first steps into the twilight on accident. In this form, Link can dig in certain places, and use his senses to see spirits and scent trails. The controls are similar to those of when Link is in human form, flick the Wii remote to attack with his claws and A to dash. You can do a quick dash and attack with your teeth. Also, by pressing and holding B, you can make a circle and anyone caught in it will be destroyed when you let go of B. Doing this, you will quickly dash from opponent to opponent. Though this is all very satisfying, the game play feels a little dull.

Now, going on to the tools you get, there are some similar ones (The bow and arrow) and new ones (The spinner) which all are used in creative ways and make the game feel more immerse. Each tool has a specific ability and feels very smooth in the process. I would have liked to see a few items used a bit more though. The spinner, for example, is a wonderful tool, but it is not used as often as I would have liked, only a few times. You can ride on it, but it slows down without a track to ride on, which would have been fun to ride around without slowing down.

The temples are in this game, of course. The temples are the ingredient of the Zelda series and what makes them so great, and it is good that they do not disappoint. Each temple poses a different situation, new elements, and each item you get is used in very creative ways. Each temple is very complex and have puzzles that are challenging. Of course, at the end of each temple, there is a boss that hides some item you need to progress through the rest of the game. This is no disappointment either seeing that the bosses are big and creepy, though there is the problem that they are a little too easy. Some bosses are copies of the Ocarina of Time, like the boss in the Temple of Time, but, the good thing is, that they are not exact copies, but some are very similar.

The massive size of Hyrule is jaw-dropping. It takes forever just to walk from one point to the other in Hyrule Field and you can see other places in the distance that make it feel life-like. If you can see it, you can basically go there, which is really great.

The game is fun, big, and challenging. It is also very long. It will take around 50 or more hours to beat the entire game, and that includes the enormous amount of side-quest that are available (including the hard, Cave of Ordeals) Everywhere you go, there is so much to do that has nothing to do with the main storyline, which is great, ‘cause if you so happen to get too bored with the main storyline, there are many other thing to do to entertain yourself with.

The simple thing is that if you are getting a Wii, you have to get Twilight Princess. It will leave you entertained for a very long time, since the game is enormous. The game gets a four out five, for being very fun, but some flaws that keep it from being the best it can be.

THE BAD:
1. A bit of a slow beginning, but anyone can get along with it.
2. Long dungeons, however, this can be a good thing.

SUMMARY:
Of course, in a game such as this, the pros heavily outway the cons as another fantastic Zelda game comes to life.

Gameplay 10/10

The game play is amazing, as it is on the Wii, there are many new experiences, the fighting keeps you involved, or you can take a break and go fishing. The whole world is yours to explore in a captivating new environment. You can even fight while atop your horse, Epona, if necessary.

Graphics 9.5/10

The graphics are what you would expect from the Wii, with some cool cut-scenes to back it up and little room for improvement. The vast world has many unique things which make the experience all the more fulfilling. Prepare to have Zelda come to life.

Music 10/10

The music is just music if you don't really care. But for those who do, the music goes well with the game including more intense music when foes are near, your attention will stay peaked.

Storyline 10/10

Link embarks on another journey to save the land of Hyrule from being taken over by the forces of Twilight. The adventure takes new heights with over 7 dungeons and many side quests in between. You will receive help from a creature named "Midna" without saying too much... let's just say her unique abilities will come in handy.

Overall 39.5/40

The newest Zelda game and possibly best launch game ever is worth more then Nintindo is charging. With great soundtracks, a fabulous story, and fantastic game play, you'd have to be insane to not like it. It's definitely worth every penny.