Nintendo Wii's "first person shooter" of the new generation is all about Link and his little crossbow. Everyone wants to learn to fire a virtual crossbow, right?
This little Wii title is shipping on November 19th, 2007 as a shooting title packed complete with the Wii Zapper, based on that prototype device we may have seen at E3 2006.
The game includes the Wii Zapper chassis which holds your Wii controller and Nunchuck for play. A little about the game:
Link returns from The Legend of Zelda®: Twilight Princess to pick up the Wii Zapper and take aim at a host of targets in this shooting-gallery-style game.
- Anyone can pick up the Wii Zapper and become a master marksman in the quick-play shooting galleries of Link's Crossbow Training. Dozens of fast-paced stages offer a wide variety of game play, from shooting stationary targets to defending a supply wagon from onrushing hordes of enemies. Multiplayer modes let players and their friends share a Wii Zapper to shoot for the high score.
- Link's Crossbow Training comes bundled with the Wii Zapper. After a few rounds of Link's Crossbow Training, players will be more than ready to pick up any of the future Wii Zapper titles, like Medal of Honor Heroes™ 2, Ghost Squad™ and Resident Evil®: The Umbrella Chronicles.
Don't get too excited, this isn't like the original "light gun" games. Simply aiming the Wii Zapper moves the targeting reticule on the screen. Pulling the trigger fires Link's crossbow. By aiming off screen, players can turn Link to face in a new direction.
The game will have three basic game styles: target shooting, defender and ranger. You'll have 27 total stages with a goal is to earn the highest score possible within the time limit. All rounds can be played with multiple players: Players pass the Wii Zapper around and then play one at a time and compete for the high score.
The round system is defined as the following:
Target Shooting: In target-shooting rounds, players shoot bull's-eyes as they pop up on the screen. In early stages, targets are stationary. As the game difficulty increases in later levels, the targets move. Hitting the center of the bull's-eye nets more points, and hitting targets in succession without missing earns combo multipliers. Link can aim anywhere on the screen.
Defender: In defender rounds, players remain stationary but can look and aim in all directions - sometimes even in a full 360 degrees - by aiming off screen. Hordes of enemies assault Link, and he must fight them off. These battles have a great deal of variety, from fighting off skeletons in a desert to defending a wagon from boar-riding Bokoblins.
Ranger: In ranger rounds, players can move throughout the level using the control stick and aim anywhere they want by aiming the Wii Zapper wherever they want to look. In these missions, Link storms enemy encampments, fights his way through a forest and seeks out his foes while exploring the environments.
If you're a Wii owner this may be a cheap title you can pickup and gain yourself a new Zapper chassis for your controllers. Perhaps it will give you an edge in other shooter games? We're not sure just yet but Nintendo is getting big into the idea of shipping little games with their accessories. Not a bad addition... if the accessories find themselves used for more than a single title.
