Since the Wii came out, fans of the arcade light-gun genre
have been crying out for a gun to use with shooting games. The Wii Zapper will
satisfy some of those longings, but many will find much to be desired. The
Zapper comes with Link’s Crossbow training – similar to Wii Play/Wii-Mote pack
— and this review will take that into effect.
The Wii Zapper is a simple, white rifle frame that docks the Wii Remote in the
front and the Nunchuck in the back. But before you start shooting Zombies and
Link’s crossbow like some deranged psychopath, you have to put the thing
together. First, slide the Nunchuck down into its dock where it will fit over
two little plugs. There is a little plastic door that feeds the cord around the
bottom, but it feels a little cheap like it would break off the 10th time you
did it. Second, slide off the cord-storage compartment under the belly of
the Zapper and start wrapping cord like you were putting up your Mom’s vacuum
cleaner. Lock the Wii-Remote into place, on top of the barrel, and then plug the
cord back into your Wii-Remote. Woolah! The trigger is
situated below the B-button of the Remote and is nestled against a trigger
mechanism of the Zapper. One of the many design flaws of this gun, that would be
my number one. The trigger mechanism is not pushing a spring of any kind
against the B-button, and is merely using the spring already in the Wii-Mote.
The results make the action of pulling the trigger a little soft — not the
definite click of pulling an arcade trigger. The nunchuck is positioned in
the back so you can rest your thumb on the analog stick and still grab hold of
the Z and C buttons comfortably. Honestly, I would like to see developers
make use of the Z button on the nunchuck as the trigger. I think it is more
natural to pull the trigger from the back of the gun and works better than the
faulty trigger.
Another qualm I have with the gun — which could just be a matter of taste — is
the location of the trigger. If you’re right-handed, meaning you pull a
trigger with your right-hand, you would expect your right-hand to be in the back
on the trigger and your opposite hand to be in front, on the barrel, guiding the
gun. The Wii Zapper is just the opposite. If you’re right-handed,
your right hand will be on the front of the gun pulling the trigger and guiding
the aim. I’m normally right-handed when shooting, but when I got out the
Wii Zapper, I automatically grabbed it left-handed, which is a testament to the
confusing setup of the gun. In reality, though, the designers of the gun
had to get the IR sensor in front, leaving little room for better design
choices. On top of all the criticisms, I still enjoy using the Wii Zapper.
Some of my complaints could just be personal taste, but I do find some of the
designs to be inherently confusing.
Link’s Crossbow training is the pack-in title that comes with the $20 Wii
Zapper. In all honesty, if you love shooters and are just aching to get a
hold of a great party game, unloading $20 for Links’ Crossbow Training is a
no-brainer. Within the game is a relatively deep single-player campaign,
multiplayer mode, and practice mode. While there is only about 2 hours or
so of gameplay in the single-player, if you have a friend, the multiplayer mode
will keep you busy for a long time. The missions are of 3 basic types:
on-rails target shooting, stationary shooting, and free-range shooting.
The target shooting is my favorite and really works great. The camera will take
you through many familiar Twilight Princess locales as targets and enemies pop
up. Stationary shooting is only a little more difficult because, as you
are turning your view, the camera moves very slowly. The same criticism applies
to the free-range missions, where you are using the analog stick to walk and
strafe Link around the level. The later two modes add reply value but
ultimately don’t compare to the fun of target shooting.
This is the first game I’ve seen that includes any sort of IR calibration.
You can adjust the height of the cursor, making it nearly match where your Wii-Remote
is physically pointing. The cursor speed can also be tweaked, faster for
the steady-handed or slower for the shaky-shooters out there. To score big
points and combos in the game, you have to get consecutive hits — which means
not missing. Trying to get the gold medal on each of the levels can range
from easy to incredibly hard, but playing it with your friends will make a great
party out of any gathering.
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Review Scoring Details or Wii Zapper / Link’s Crossbow Training |
Gameplay: 8
The inclusion of different modes, like free-range and on-rails shooting, is a
nice addition. Target shooting never gets old!
Graphics: 7.5
Uses the same graphics and environments from Twilight Princess. That isn’t a bad
thing.
Sound: 7.5
…It also uses the music and sound from TP.
Difficulty: Easy
Getting through the game is relatively easy, but going for Gold and Platinum
medals can really test your marksmanship.
Concept: 8.0
This is a great use of the Zelda license and it in no way dumbs down the
franchise (*cough — Mario Party — cough)
Multiplayer: 8.5
Great way to spend an evening with friends, and family!
Overall: 8.0
For $20, it’s hard to go wrong. The Wii Zapper is a decent peripheral, but
it feels cheap. While I question some of the design choices, however, they’re
easy to get over. Link’s Crossbow training is a great introduction into
shooting games for those just now getting over Wii Sports.
