The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

The Good
This Zelda game starts of very well by featuring a complete new characters cast with barely any characters from previous installments. I like that a lot because using characters from previous games often causes me to lose interest because I already saw them before and know how they act (like the Mask Salesman from Ocarina of Time that also appeared in Majora's Mask).

Using the Wii remote also feels better than in most other games on this system because using it actually feels natural. You swing your sword, aim with your bow or throw objects and never did it feel forced or unnecessary. Combat also works perfectly fine although it is a bit easy at times.

The graphics look great and I especially like it when you go to the Twilight Palace which looks just as creepy as it sounds. You can't expect much from the Wii, but this game can beat most Xbox 360 titles in terms of graphics.

Playing as Wolf Link is a lot of fun and although the combat is a lot slower due to the absence of a finishing move, it is still a fun game mechanic that can be used for both puzzle solving and fighting.

The story is well told and most characters you get to meet actually play a role in it rather then just standing around waiting for you to do it. Something I have always missed in the Zelda franchise is the feeling that Hyrule is actually at war, but in this installment you can see that the country is caught in a conflict. The story is also a lot darker than most other Zelda games with characters actually fighting back and dying.

The Bad
The world is rather big and while that sounds like a good thing, in order to make a big world have impact on the player that world also has to be interesting. Hyrule Field is a good example: There is literally nothing to see there and travelling all the way through it takes the same amount of time as it took to get from one place to another in Oblivion.

Most characters try to be funny way too much and feel out of place considering the darker story. The goofy major, the weird bomb vendor and the "wise" (read demented) Goron elders all fail to endear themselves to you. And please Nintendo, get rid of all the cowardly soldiers!

Some dungeons and most of the music is copied straight from previous Zelda games. Especially the music takes the piss because the only song I enjoyed that wasn't ported from another Zelda was the Hidden Village song. Music is to the Zelda games what cheese is to macaroni, you can still go without, but it just cries out for something more. The dungeons are a bit cheap, but not to apparent. The Water temple and the Arbiter Grounds took the piss because those were copies from the most annoying dungeons from Ocarina of Time.

The Bottom Line
This game is a good sign because it shows that the Zelda franchise is far from over. The game looks and plays great and the new story filled with fresh, new characters is really enjoyable. The game made me laugh at times as well and that is always a good sign.

It does fail big time in the music department and some characters try to be funny way too much, but I was able too look past that while playing the game. If your a fan of Zelda game then you'll love this game and for newcomers this isn't a bad start either.

The Good
The huge open world to explore, the amazingly designed dungeons and puzzles, the story, the characters and the wolf transformation mechanics. It all works so well to create an amazingly enjoyable experience.

The Bad
The incredibly long and boring introduction/tutorial segments. These could have been toned down a lot and it would really help replay-ability!

The Bottom Line
An action-packed adventure game with a huge world to explore, intricately designed dungeons and puzzles and the ability to turn into a wolf and travel between worlds in order to stop your own world from being engulfed by the other.

The Good
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is one of the best games in the Zelda series. First of all, it can appeal to people who have been fans since the beginning, as well as newcomers. I also disagree with GameSpot about the Wii version's controls. While they are at times slow or unresponsive, I don't believe that they were "tacked on", as their reviewer put it. One thing I found funny was the shapes of some of the heads of animals. The monkeys look like someone shoved bananas through their ears and there is a bird with an Afro selling oil. Of course, Ganondorf/Ganon (one of the greatest villains in video game history) makes an appearance.

The Bad
Although I enjoyed this game overall, there are a few things I feel I must talk about. First of all, the controls were sometimes late or unresponsive, which led to much frustration (especially when trying to pick up bombs). Another thing I didn't really care for was the Midna character. More often than not, gameplay will be interrupted by a (mostly unhelpful) statement from her. Although she is sometimes helpful, she mostly appears to point out the obvious. One of my main complaints, though, is playing as wolf Link. This feels very crippling and, if you dislike Midna, you're going to be in for a long few levels because she feels it's necessary to ride you.

The Bottom Line
Overall, Twilight Princess is a very good game. It has it's flaws, but every good game is bound to have a few.