It is currently Fri Mar 29, 2024 6:17 am

All times are UTC




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 1 post ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Wii - Zack And Wiki: The Quest For Barbaros' Treasure
PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 6:12 pm 
Offline
Level: 78 Chump
HP: 12910 / 40346
12910 / 40346
MP: 19263 / 19263
19263 / 19263
EXP: 18622 / 18735
18622 / 18735
User avatar

Joined: Sat May 10, 2008 11:51 pm
Posts: 18622
Location: Bradford, UK
XBL Gamertag: Blokeh
PSN ID: Blokeh
Steam ID: Blokeh
Wii system code: 2445-8086-3386-0718
Zack And Wiki: The Quest For Barbaros' Treasure
Nintendo Wii
Capcom
7+
1 player


Pirates are awesome. Fact. I mean, when was the last time you saw a ninja getting drunk with his friends before making his way to bed with a couple of busty wenches? Never. Pirates do it all the time, in between killing giant squid and swashbuckling the keelhaul, whatever that may be.

In Zack And Wiki, there is none of that, unfortunately. But don't be dismayed, because the lack of cleavage and alcohol is replaced with fantastic visuals and puzzles the likes of which haven't been seen since the old Monkey Island days, and anyone who has played the Monkey Island games will know this can only mean good things.

The games tells the story of young pirate wannabe Zack; member of the Sea Wings pirate clan, and his sidekick Wiki, a kind of flying gold monkey. One day they are flying along in the clan's airship when the dastardly Captain Rose blows them out of the sky. Crash landing on a deserted island, they uncover a mysterious golden skull going by the name of Captain Barbaros. Despite having the voice and mannerisms of the atypical bad guy, Wiki is taken in by him and agrees to uncover all of Barbaros' missing parts and revive him in return for Barbaros' ship, which will lead him to the infamous Treasure Island. Cue the start of an epic adventure crammed full of exciting and mind-boggling puzzles.

Or so they say on the back of the box....

The controls are quite simple. A Wiimote-only game, you aim a star at the screen and press "A" to move. Hover over items and the star changes colour, so pressing "A" will allow you to pick up or otherwise interact with it. Give the Wiimote a shake and Wiki will transform into a magical bell, which will turn nearby enemies into useable items. Snakes turn into grabbers, centipedes turn into saws, moles turn into drills, and that's just for starters! Bat Umbrella anyone? It literally takes mere minutes to get a grip of the controls and to get right into the game, and from then on you will get quick tutorials for every new item you come across.

Gameplay-wise, standard point-n-click puzzle fare all around. Use object A with object B to open door C. But not everything is that straight forward. You see, and I mentioned before, shaking Wiki like a bell will transfer some enemies into useable items. So it may be “Use object A to get object B, turn object B into object C, use object C to break object A to reveal key D, then use key D on door E”. It can all get very confusing, but as long as you stick by the game’s favourite phrase - “Shake your Wiimote at EVERYTHING!” – you’ll eventually work the puzzles out. Each level is given it’s own difficulty rating on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the hardest, so you can always see beforehand if you can do it blindfolded, or if you’re gonna need a good night’s sleep and a fresh pair of eyes before heading out.

The graphics are wonderful too. Yet another example of cel shading done right, each area of the game looking great. Trees move realistically, grass and bushes move when you walk through them, ice reflects light, and lava gives off a convincing heat haze. It's also very colourful, but without being garishly so. The characters that parade around this world are also well animated, and the creatures that inhabit the lands look like they really do belong there, while some bosses (namely the Ice Guardian) look fiercely impressive.

The music, while hardly noticeable, is still great. It's there in the background, good enough for it to not get grating, but not good enough that you have to purchase the OST right away. Each area has its own “theme” or style of music, and every one of the various sound effects you hear through the game are really good, although the occasional Japanese whine that passes for speech can sometimes get a little annoying.

But all this graphical wonder and auditory marvel doesn't really mean much when the main selling point of this game is the puzzles. And this is where I’m going to upset some people.

In most games of this nature, more prevalent in the aforementioned Monkey Island series, there are puzzles and obstacles at every single turn. Progressing from one area to another can sometimes require a lot of picking up items, combining items, backtracking, etc. Normally in this type of game, if you make even the biggest mistake, you're simply knocked back, making you realise you need to try something else. In Zack And Wiki, you make a mistake, you're dead. Plain and simple. Oh sure, you have infinite lives so you can just hit "retry" and start again, or you can use an item called a "Platinum Ticket" that will save you if you're about to do something that will either get you treasure or get you dead, and it turns out it's the latter. In this game, there are no second chances. And when you die you have to redo EVERYTHING from the start of the level. In some of the later levels, this can be very frustrating.

But no game is perfect, regardless of what Famitsu say, and despite my own personal shortfalls with this game, it still keeps me coming back for more. It seems to have all the ingredients of a great puzzle game, but with a side dish of great humour and a nice frosty pint of insanity thrown in. And no matter how many times you throw the Wiimote across the room screaming “Ah screw this freakin’ game!”, ten minutes later, you’ll have the Wiimote back in your hand, trying to cut down a tree with a centipede. Stick with it, keep your cool, and you’ll have an absolute blast with Zack and Wiki.

As for replayability, each problem you overcome gives you “HirameQ Points”. Essentially “IQ” points, if you solve a particular problem on your first try, you get top points. If it takes you 2 or 3 attempts, you’ll get less and less points. At the end of each stage, your total is tallied up and you get a ranking showing you how “intelligent” you are. If you don’t make first place, you can go back and do it all again, this time knowing exactly what to do. And with plenty of treasure to loot, musical minigames very similar to those in Rayman Raving Rabbids, and hidden treasure maps, there’s enough to keep you happy for a long time.

Ratings
Graphics: A
Sounds: A
Gameplay: B
Replayability: B

Overall score: A-

_________________
Image

╔══════════════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ══════════════╗
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Repost this if ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ you are a beautiful strong black woman ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ who don’t need no man ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
╚══════════════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ══════════════╝


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 1 post ] 

All times are UTC


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Blue Moon by Trent © 2007
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group