Great game!
We start Twilight Princess off with Link living in Ordon Village. He is the head of a ranch. He is asked to deliver a sword to the royal family for the village. Before he can, the village is attacked and the children are taken. Link chases after the monsters, only to find something blocking his path into the woods. A hand reaches out and pulls him into the twilight. Link is turned into a beast, a wolf. He is taken to the castle and locked up. There he meets an imp girl named Minda. She helps him escape, but now she is his master. It's up to you two to restore the world from the twilight, save the kids, and beat down anything that gets in your way. Sounds like any other Zelda game, right?
Through out the game you take on two forms, human and wolf. Both control the same in some ways, but both are useful for different things. Human Link can open doors while Wolf Link can dig under stuff. Human Link can swing his sword while Wolf Link can bite. About halfway through the game, you are able to switch between the two at will so you don't have to enter the Twilight Zone just to become Wolf Link. This becomes very helpful for some of the task and side-quests. Too bad you have to be hiding to change between the two forms. Maybe people shouldn't freak out about a man turning into a wolf just to smell a scent to track something down.
So, let's start with Human Link. You'll spend most of your time as him as you travel through dungeons and temples. How do you control him? Simple, to attack with your sword you just swing your Wii-Mote. As you progress throughout the game, you'll learn new fighting moves like ending blow and mortal draw. These attacks are explained and are simple to pull off if you take the time to learn them. They also can be fin to use in fights. Shield attacks, as well as spin moves, are done with the Nunchuk, and sometimes the game while know the difference between a spin attack from a shield attack, so you're more then likely going to pull off the wrong one at the wrong time.
Items you pick up in the game include, but are not limited to, the Hero's Bow, the Ball and Chain, the Double-Claw Shot, and the Spinner. The items are easy to use. Most you just use by pointing your Wii Mote at the screen and pressing the B button to use it. It is also very easy to switch between the item your using, your sword and shield, and another item. You can have up to four items ready to use at one time. There are many side-quests in the game that will upgrade you wonderful items likes more bomb bags and bigger quivers. And of course, there is always the quest for more heart pieces that takes place through out the game. This time it takes five pieces, not four, to make a heart.
When Link feels like entering the Twilight Zone, he goes under a change. He turns into, like I stated before, a wolf. His mission as a wolf in the beginning is clear. Find the Tears of Light and clear the area of twilight. You have to do that three times. It's kind of gets repetitive. How will you take on this task? Simple, just like you swing a sword with Human Link, you swing the Wii Mote to have Wolf Link attack his prey. There are so different fighting differences between the two forms. One is that Wolf Link can't using any of the cool attacks that Human Link picks up, well duh. He can't pick up a sword, why would he be able to do that? But instead, he can target multiple foes and kill them all at the same time. This comes in handy when you are fighting shadow beasts that you can't leave one standing. Once you kill a group of shadow beasts, you can warp from place to place. This feature kills off anything the horse would do. And this is about all the Wolf form is good for after you can switch freely between the two forms, besides some key story based events and some mini games.
One of the greatest parts of any Zelda game is the boss fights and the temples that lead up to them and Twilight Princess is no different. The temples in the game are filled with puzzles that will give you a good challenge if you're not careful. None of them are going to make you want to throw the controller at the TV for any reason, but they can get challenging at times. All of the boss fights in this game are fun, minus maybe those key horseback fights. Though they are still fun, they are a bit more of a challenge to pull off because the controls can get funny.
Twilight Princess looks stunning. It's has a dark realistic look to it. Even though this game came out very early in the Wii's life cycle, it looked great. Everything is very detailed in the game and looks sharp. The Twilight has a much darker feel to it and looks great as well. There are glitches to be found, though. Link's hat always finds a way to go through his shield and shadows can flicker all over the place at times. There are other places that don't look right, graphically.
Musically, the game sounds great. The game is filled with typical Zelda songs and themes that will make you roll in the nostalgia. There are many songs from past games like Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time. The game is still text, though that's not really a bad thing. What is, is all the moans and grunts that get repetitive over time as you play the game. The Twili have their own moan as you walk past them that isn't really needed. Sounds that come out of the Wii Mote itself are kind of low quality since the speaker in it isn't the best.
Overall, Twilight Princess is another great Zelda game that will be loved by many. It does what it needs to do, it brings The Legend of Zelda series to the Wii in an epic adventure. It has it's problems, most control wise, but shouldn't be turned down by anyone who loves Zelda games, or owns a Wii. This is a must have for all Wii owners. It is fun to play and it goes to show that Zelda will be around for a while to come.
Pros and Cons:
+Mortal Draw
+Great Side-Quests and Mini Games
+Good Story
+Fun Items
-Controls Can Get Freaky At Times
Scores:
Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 8/10
Story: 9/10
Sounds: 8/10
Replay Value: 7/10
Fun Level: 8/10
Overall: 8.4/10