The golden Compass for Wii is a refreshing game experience, especially for fans of the series and books.
I got this game for friend for Xmas, and while clearly they prob. rushed this a bit on textures/polys, its clear its not as bad as many of you make it out to be and that the target audience ( children/adults that enjoyed the movie /books etc. ) will probably enjoy this quite a bit. Games dont 'need' to have stunning visuals as long as gameplay is at least 'ok', and this game does a fine job of that along with effects that are definitely worthy of mention, and voice acting very nicely done.
http://n-europe.com/review.php?rid=347 < this helps prove that not all reviewers are created equal , so thank goodness we have so many that do it , and you should note this right up front that this is your opinion only and other reviewers may vary widely from your own.
I have clearly seen some gamespot reviewers be rather harsh on many wii games, and maybe sometimes its deserved but sometimes they are not and thats really a shame they can't be more objective.
I think some forget that games don't necessarily have to contain state of the art graphics to be enjoyed wink Just look at wiisports, its not what you would call 'realistic' graphics, but its done well enough and you dont care about the rest because well, its just a great deal of fun wink
The game visually wont compare for example to super mario galaxy etc.,( honestly few do ) but what is here for example are the amazing sound track ( which fits the game in a stunning way ), the weather effects being done nicely I thought and overall platforming and puzzle fun are I think enough to warrant this especially for fans of the series and books, but I think many gamers would enjoy these overall well done game. I know some have mocked its visuals and overall bad gameplay , but I see the game from a different perspecive in that the visuals are sufficient, the platforming is alot of fun and nicely integrated and the giant bear has very well done animations. It may not be a 'A' title, but it holds its own very well I think.
Older fans may even find pleasure in the title, but need to be simply aware of the games goal to appeal as best they could to a wide variety of the audience spectrum, and they have easily achieved that.
Enjoy the game , movies and books, as they contain a postiive message any parent would be proud their child was intrigued by.