Zack and Wiki is a must buy!

And, when you buy your copy, make sure to check the inside of the first Instruction Booklet page.

It is so awesome! Really reminds me of Windwaker with the art style....

I want to list my initial impressions, but I have only gotten to the second set of puzzles so take this with a grain of salt.

The game is really puzzle-focused, each little level is a big puzzle broken up into smaller puzzles and you need to figure out how to use your enemies in order to progress. What I just referred to is that Wiki (the flying golden monkey) can transform enemies into items. A centipede turns into a Centi-Saw, for example, and to transform the enemy you just shake the Wii-mote. Note that Wiki can change items back into enemies if need be.

Then you have to figure out where and how to implement the item. This part is pretty simple. Put the worm on the hook. Use the Centi-Saw to cut the wooden barrier. Use the Slither Gripper to get the key. You simply walk over to the location and waggle the Wii-mote in a specific way to get the party started. For example: you hold the Wii Remote horizontally and make a throwing motion to throw a Frog bomb.



An interesting thing is that you don't use the Nunchuck for movement. If you point at a spot at the screen and hit A, Zack will walk to it. There are some minor fumbles when you try to go down multiple floors in one go, but otherwise movement is excellent. The B button allows you to look around the area immediately around Zack and there is a camera icon in the top-right corner that lets you zoom out to see the entire level at once. When you are looking at the level, you can press B to zoom in.

You are scored on each individual part of the puzzle, based on how many times you failed to find the solution. There is a standard you have to reach to complete the level, and you can use hints if you are stuck. Hints have a cost, but as long as you check enough items you should have the dough. At the end of a level your score is lowered for each time you used a hint and each time you revived yourself due to failure.



Also, the multiplayer consists exclusively of the other players pointing at or encircling things that the first player should look at. It might be fun for a mother to play the second player to help out her son, but I can't see it being very popular. Hopefully, if the first game is successful, Capcom could make a sequel with some true Co-op play. And Voice Acting. And Online Leaderboards. And Downloadable Levels. And Replays. And one that ran at 60 FPS.

Hey, this is a new IP...you have to start somewhere, right?


Negatives:
- Frame Rate bogs down at times and averages at 30 f/s
- No Voice Acting
- Weak Multiplayer
- No Online Integration (Specifically: No Online Leaderboards and no plans for Downloadable Levels)

Positives:
- Puzzles well thought out, and fun!
- Hints available for babies (you have to pay for them, though).
- Excellent graphic style, the game looks great!
- Super implementation of Wii-mote (very similar to Form Baton system in WarioWare Wii).
- Medium replay value.



What do you guys think?