The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Title: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Publisher: Nintendo
Copyright: 2006
ASIN: B00204AA0O

Description
In Twilight Princess, as in the many other Zelda games, it is up to Link to save the world from the powers of evil. This time the villain, Zant, is trying to transform the kingdom into a twilight world, stuck between night and day, where his power will reign supreme. As Link, the player must find the Master Sword and the lost pieces of both the Fused Shadow and the Mirror of Twilight. To do this, Link has to complete several major and side quests that take him to various settings: a forest dungeon, an underwater temple, a city in the sky, etc. In these different settings he needs different powers, tools, and skills, such as breathing under water and swinging through the air with grappling hooks. He is aided in his quests by Midna, a mysterious fairy-like creature. Throughout most of the game Link also has the power to transform into a wolf, and can only perform some of his tasks while in wolf form.

Critical Evaluation
Twilight Princess is too advanced a game for my meager video game skills, but I still found it exciting and fun. (It’s even fun to watch.) Playing it is a creative process—you can essentially go where you want and take on tasks in the order you choose (with some restrictions). (This is termed non-linear gameplay.) There are lots of puzzles to solve, and you often have to think fast. The fantasy world has many interesting places and creatures that are fun to discover. The eerie mood and the possibility of being attacked at almost any time contribute a sense of urgency.

The graphics are good, but not groundbreaking. The music has a nostalgic quality that goes well with the fantastic character of the world of the game. Play is controlled with a joystick and remote, which are pretty easy to use. The Wii platform allows you to select things on the screen simply by pointing and to engage in sword fights with just a flick of the wrist.

Why is this title included?
I included this title at least in part because my husband has been addicted to the Zelda games since he was a teenager. Twilight Princess is too advanced for kids, but still accessible to people who aren't necessarily hardcore gamers. The fantasy setting makes it particularly appealing to teens.

Mario Kart Wii

Title: Mario Kart Wii
Publisher: Nintendo
Copyright: 2008
ASIN: B000XJNTNS

Description
Mario Kart is a racing game with characters and setting elements from the Super Mario Bros. universe. This edition, for the Nintendo Wii system, has a total of 32 tracks, 16 from previous Mario Kart games and 16 created for this game. Players can choose from among 24 characters (such as Mario, Baby Peach, Toad, and Donkey Kong) and several different vehicles (depending on the selected character’s size). Characters are controlled using either a Wii remote-joystick combination or a plastic steering wheel in which a remote is placed. There are several different modes of play—solo, one-player against the computer, and multiplayer (against either only other humans or with computer-controlled characters, too). Multiplayer games can be done in-person (with up to four players racing at once on the same Wii), online (with friends or strangers around the world), or in some combination of these. In addition to races, there are two kinds of “battles” in which characters drive around an arena either collecting coins or trying to avoid getting the balloons on the backs of their vehicles popped.

Critical Evaluation
Mario Kart Wii is endlessly entertaining. Allow me to describe a race on my favorite track, Mushroom Gorge. I’m racing as Daisy on a motorcycle. During the countdown I rev my engine so I get a burst of speed to start. By “drafting” (staying directly behind an opponent for a few seconds), I get a second burst of speed that sends me to the front of the pack. I pick up my first "item" from a rainbow-hued cube in the middle of the track, which turns out to be a shell that I can launch at my competitors. My husband (who’s racing as Funky Kong on a really big bike) has pulled ahead of me, so I nail him with the shell, allowing me to pull ahead coming into the first big obstacle. This is one of three gorges for which the course is named. Giant mushrooms span the gorge, so if I jump from one to another without falling through the gaps I can make it across without losing speed. Half of the mushrooms are bouncy. Whenever I get some air I shake the controller, so that as soon as I land again I get a speed boost. The race is three times around the course, with shells flying thick and fast, banana peels and other obstacles on the track thrown down by the other racers, and the ever-present possibility of getting shrunk, squished, or knocked off course by my opponents and their items.

All of the courses have different settings (another of my favorite tracks is inside a mall) and different kinds of obstacles (such as deep snow). It takes many enjoyable hours to become familiar with the tracks, as there are all kinds of clever tricks to them (like secret shortcuts) and they vary greatly in difficulty. The characters are relatively easy to control with the remote and joystick, but I find the “Wii Wheel” extremely difficult to use. Beginners can adjust the difficulty somewhat by making the computer-controlled characters slower and less aggressive and by choosing vehicles with more responsive “handling.” The music is catchy (sometimes a little too catchy), the graphics sharp, and the settings detailed, though all are intentionally cartoonish--this is not a realistic racing simulator. The racing is realistic enough to make extremely sensitive people motion sick (as I know from the sad experience of my dad), but for those of us with more robust stomachs, it is thrilling.   

Why is this title included?
This is a great game for all ages. It's especially fun to play in groups, making it perfect for teens who like to play video games with friends and/or family. One of the most popular activities my husband ever put on for the teenage boys in the youth group he used to mentor was a Mario Kart Wii tournament.

World of Goo

Title: World of Goo
Creator: 2D Boy
Publisher: Brighter Minds
Copyright: 2008
ASIN: B001ENOVP2

Description
In this physics-based puzzle game players use sticky, stretchy balls of goo to construct towers and bridges. The goal of each level is to build a structure (by stretching the goo until it snaps into its rigid form) that reaches from the base provided to the pipe where unused goo balls are collected. A minimum number of leftover goo balls is required to pass each level. As the levels increase in difficulty, players must learn to stabilize their structures and creatively avoid obstacles. More types of goo are added as the game goes on, including balloons that help keep unstable structures up, spiky goo balls that stick to hard surfaces, skulls that protect goo structures against spiky objects, and match-like goo balls that conduct flame. As each new type debuts it is explained by “the Sign Maker” whose wooden signs (à la Wile E. Coyote cartoons) provide tips and warnings. The game is divided into four “chapters” plus an epilogue. The edition shown here is for PC, but the game is also available for other systems, including the Nintendo Wii.

Critical Evaluation
I appreciate that you don’t have to be good at computer/video games to play World of Goo. Adequate explanations are given along the way so you don’t need to know anything before you start playing, and you don’t have to remember lots of fancy moves. You don’t have to move a character in 3-D space (something at which I invariably fail miserably), and you’re never attacked. Nevertheless, there are plenty of thrills in this game—the levels quickly go from simple to challenging, so each successful finish provides a big sense of accomplishment. Also, you do sometimes have to work quickly to prop up your structures and save them from collapse.

Like role-playing games, World of Goo has cut scenes and a story. These didn’t add much to my enjoyment of the game, though, because the story was hard to follow. (I just read a plot summary, and it didn’t make much more sense than the plot did while I was playing the game.) However, the different chapters and levels within the chapters have very different atmospheres—some eerie—that do make it more fun. The music is good, though it is very prone to getting stuck in one's head.

Why is this title included?
This game will appeal to boys and girls, older children, teens, and adults. It provides great brain exercise in addition to being addictively fun. The Wii version works well with two players, making it a good choice for teens who like to play with friends (or even their younger siblings or parents).