The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess [GC]

Nintendo's newfound attention to spinning a good yarn seems to clash with its reluctance to join the new millennium and populate its breathtaking worlds with characters whose words are voiced and not bubbled. This, of course, remains a point of heated debate amongst die-hards and we're willing to wager that fans will be copy-and-pasting this very critique to message boards before the virtual ink has dried, but we're not backing down in our assertion that it's time for real, true voice-acting. We understand that Link is a heroic mute and that's fine by us, but the remaining populace has something to say and we don't want to read it. Although the bustling city of Castle Town is the centerpiece of Hyrule, there is an air of claustrophobia surrounding it because the characters never really speak.

Some gamers have resisted the Wii version of Twilight Princess because they feel that the new control scheme is unnecessary. The GameCube build of the title provides a more conventional alternative that feels very familiar to anybody who has played a Zelda entry before and incidentally as polished as ever. There are even a couple advantages to playing with a traditional controller over the Wii remote. For one, players who enjoyed titles like Wind Waker will understand immediately how to maneuver Link like a pro in Twilight Princess because the same fundamental controls still apply. The character is moved swiftly with the left analog stick and the right opens access to the camera - an option missed in the Wii incarnation. Swordplay is assigned to a button instead of gestures and is easily executed. Drawing and using Link's blade maybe quicker, especially where the spin attack is concerned, but that said the Wii build does facilitate a welcomed layer of immersion made possible by acting out sword slashes with gestures, and that is missed from the GCN build.

Where the GameCube build comes up short is the area of aiming, whether it's for the Hero's Bow or the Gale Boomerang. Now that we've played through the Wii version of Twilight Princess and experienced pinpoint targeting accuracy via the console's unique remote, it's difficult to go back to the archaic analog stick-based aiming mechanism that the GCN utilizes. Don't get us wrong because it still works just fine. However, in comparison to the Wii remote, it's slow-going and imprecise.

Early on in the game, Link becomes trapped in the Twilight and - in wolf form - must fight to break free, at which point he returns to his human shape. Later in the adventure, he can switch between the forms at his whim and this mechanic is integrated into level designs and puzzles. Controlling the wolf is similar to maneuvering Link, but the beast form offers you greater speed, the ability to jump at will, a spectacular energy field that encapsulates and destroys the Twilight's enemies (known as Shadow Beings) and sensory equipment. The wolf can, for example, use the sense of smell to find hidden items, see the trapped spirits of Hyrule's inhabitants, and even follow a character's scent. All of these animal powers are not only integral to progressing, but quite a lot of fun in practice, too. Perhaps most importantly, though, is that Midna herself becomes accessible in wolf form and she is able to guide the beast to areas unattainable by Link. As you can imagine, some clever puzzles are based around all the above functionality. By mid-game, Link can also call upon Midna to warp all over the map, cutting down on what could be tedious travel, especially if you need to go back and forth between provinces, as you often must.

Twilight Princess is a gargantuan adventure filled with a dazzling variety of places to see, people and creatures to meet and things to do. The scope of the game is epic and you can play it however you please. For the purposes of this review, we tore through the main adventure and oftentimes overlooked the meaty selection of side quests. We later came back to them and were amazed by their depth. In one corner of the map there is a beautiful, lifelike pond whose primary purpose is to house fish. You could conceivably spend hours upon hours at this location doing nothing but casting your lure. A robust fishing mechanic has been enhanced through the use of the Wii remote and nunchuk and as a result the process of catching a big one is all the more engrossing. In contrast, though, you could speed through the game and never so much as bother with the fishing options. There are an impressive number of other side quests and mini games that follow this same, impressive structure.