Overall, I have very mixed feelings about it…
Sweet crap a lot has gone down today since I started this post… I opened semagic at 9:17… and I am just starting to write more than the topic and first line at 1:24. Nothing like bitchy clients who know the right email addresses to cc a letter to to motivate one… Ugh, there are definitely days I hate my job.
And a phonecall… heh, this post will never be done.
Anyhow, to my mixed feelings on Zelda. I was intially disappointed by the cel-graphics. However, after playing for about a half hour, my disappointment faded, leaving me enjoying the color, the attention to facial detail on the boy-hero, and the muscial score (which is repetitive, yet beautifully orchestrated). The play control was one of the things which irritated me… it was a “lock on” combat system, with a very elementary set of combat tactics. While the focus of the game is not necisarily beating things up, you sure spent plenty of time doing it, and I like versatility over siple repetition.
Furthermore, ther eis no jump button! I mean, really, in a game where you do an enormous amount of jumping, and a limited amount of crawling… would it not have made much more sense to make crawling a down jump combo? The few times I was truly frustrated with the game almost exclusively had to deal with the shabby play control concerning jumps. To jump, you just ran off soemthing. As long as it was elevated slightly, you did a little hop before landing somewhere. Pretty lame IMO.
Now, to the good stuff. Like Metrpid Prime, the game was very true to both its roots, and the series which sprung from those roots. While I admit that Windwaker has some pretty big holes in the plot, which were covered as minimally as possible, it still does a good job of sticking to the genre. The monsters are brilliant 3d renderings of what were once 2d bixelbeasts. The inventory, equipment, money, and even the little heart peices had me remeniscing while i was playing of the days gone by withthe golden cart. Perhaps that is not such a good thing, now that I think of it – to have a game be enjoyable because of nostalgia.
Anyhow, I do not feel it was a waste of time or money. I had fun playing it, despite its shortcomings. My overall verdict is that if they had gone with a game like what they promoed at E3 3 years ago (and somehting similar to the capabilities they showed in super smash brothers) I would be absolutely raving about this game. As it is, I see it as a lukewarm trip down memory lane, in an enjoyable new environment.Worth the price of admission, but not soemthing worth losing sleep over.
I need to find a new pursuit to take up my console time now. I am definitely fading fast on EQ. I want Star Wars Galaxies to come out so I can can my EQ account for good. Maybe I should switch over to Shadowbane in the meantime… I’ve heard good things!
Bleh, enough for now… must go seek sustenance.