Being in favor of adventure games,
Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure fit in perfectly with my
rotation of games. Having my fill of shooters and racers, I felt it was time to
invest countless hours accomplishing amazing feats through questing. I had a
feeling in my bones when I opened the package that this was going to deliver
infatuation on every level. Boy, was my intuition correct – Zack & Wiki
is an inspiring game for all ages.
Following a pirate boy (Zack) and
his pal, a monkey sidekick to be exact (Wiki), who are on a mission to find all
of Barbaros’ treasure, the game is fantastic all the way through. Exploring a
variety of environments such as gigantic castles, the typical jungles, and of
course, caves, the level set is diverse and brings to life the storyline. The
only lackluster thing about the storyline happens to be not enough concentration
on the characters themselves, but I’ll excuse the developers this time around.
So with the attention paid to detail, the developers (Capcom) provided a
thorough adventure title that thrilled me until the very end.
Reminiscent of The Legend of
Zelda: The Wind Waker, Zack & Wiki comes to life with beautiful cel-shading.
Please don’t stereotype Zack & Wiki as a children’s game either – the cel-shading
delivered here is extravagant with gorgeous lighting effects added in. The
lighting effects are done properly to the point where I could easily see Zack
& Wiki being compared to titles on the other two next-generation consoles.
After viewing the animations, I can see there was time spent on perfecting
Zack & Wiki’s in the visuals department. Regretfully, Capcom doesn’t provide
a stable frame rate, but I can excuse them for that one flaw in the graphics.
For all the naysayers that nag on
how many of the Wii games control, don’t worry one bit, Zack & Wiki
controls marvelously. Following the beaten path of point-and-click adventure
games, players will guide Zack & Wiki on their quest to solving puzzles and
conquering enemies. While this may turn off many with not having full control
over either of the characters, I assure everyone that Z & W is a stellar
game even with the simplicity in the controls. Though, don’t mix the ease of the
controls with the difficulty of the game; the puzzles are sometimes mind-benders
that potentially could stump several gamers.
Additonally, pointing the Wii remote
at the screen to the direction, item, or characters that you want Z & W to head
towards isn’t the only use of the Wii remote. Players are asked to hold the Wii
remote in dozens of separate ways to emulate the weapons, tools, and items Z & W
use on the screen. From turning a handle to put the gears in motion on a machine
to cutting down trees with a saw, Z & W permits players to get the most
out of their Wii remote with imitating utensils from the game. Plus, if you are
having trouble with using the Wii remote to control Z & W, Capcom has granted
players the chance to pull back the camera to get a better look at what is going
on.
I wouldn’t advise comparing this to
today’s adventure games. Being a point-and-click adventure title, there aren’t
too many adventure games nowadays that are quite like this. Along the lines for
the difficulty, starting off relatively easy, the game progressively gets harder
with complex puzzles. The best way to be successful at figuring out the puzzles
is of course experimentation. After awhile, players should get a knack for
solving the more difficult puzzles.
Now for the audio, players will
immediately notice that the game features text overlays to tell the story.
Without voice-overs for the characters, it could end up scaring players away
from finishing the game because of the simple fact of getting bored of reading.
It happened in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and it’s bound to
happen with Z & W. Though, Capcom did add fitting music to spice up the
adventuring, it may not be enough to keep a player’s interest that constantly
needs action and noise to fill their games.
Featuring more than 18 levels,
completing the storyline isn’t done in one afternoon. Finishing around the
18-hour mark, I had an excellent time with my journey through Zack & Wiki.
Capcom also added in the ability to replay stages and boost the score for each
with completing them in record time – so if you were to add that in, the replay
value is somewhat higher due to that though I have barely scratched that area of
playing the levels over again.
Review Scoring Details for Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure |
Gameplay: 9.0
The point-and-click system may not attract all gamers, but in all
seriousness, I fell in love with the controls. As of right now, the gameplay
stands out above everything else on the Wii.
Graphics: 9.2
I don’t care for all those detractors out there who say cel-shading is for
children; Zack & Wiki is a beautiful game with majestic environments to
roam through.
Sound: 7.5
Though it may a blemish to gamers who enjoy great voice actors, Zack & Wiki
features only text to display what is going on. Sure, I would have enjoyed
charismatic voice-actors reading lines, but I am sure many gamers won’t notice
the lack of voices.
Difficulty: Medium
The puzzles will stump veteran adventure fans, so casual gamers could have a
hard time picking up Z & W right off the bat. Also, this isn’t directly
aimed at children either with its difficulty – it took up to 45 minutes to solve
one of the tougher puzzles.
Concept: 9.5
Offbeat and unusual, the concept attracted me right from the get-go. It may
have been because of my love for adventure titles, but the execution and
controls implemented in Zack & Wiki makes it a surefire winner.
Multiplayer: 5.6
Not the most revolutionary multiplayer I have encountered, but Zack & Wiki
allows for up to three other players to assist the first player on their
adventure. Basically, the other players will point their Wii remotes at the
screen and highlight items that could potentially help solve the puzzles. So,
while it isn’t the most engaging multiplayer, at least it allows for friends who
are normally watching to jump in and do something productive.
Overall: 8.8
Smart and rewarding, Zack & Wiki will please every game that decides
to pick it up this holiday season. While it doesn’t have the most enticing
title, Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure is a game to be enjoyed
by all ages.
