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Puzzler That Racks People's Brains

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

"Zack & Wiki" is a fun puzzler that require players to think very hard, almost too hard.

The plot is simple. Zack and Wiki are two new members of the Sea Rabbit pirates, out to seek treasure to pay off the group's debt. One day, after a run-in with their rivals, the Rose Pirates, they discovered the talking skull of Barbaros. Wiki says that this guy is a legendary pirate, with a treasure ship hiding in Treasure Island. Barbaros promises to show them the treasure if Zack and Wiki put his body together again and break the curse on him.

The game is a masterpiece. Although this is a point-and-click game where players explore an area with the remote, this also involves a lot of movement. In order to move all the items and switches, players need to perform the actual motion with their remote. So if the person wants to pull down a switch, he/she has to hold the remote sideways and pull it down.

And there's so many items with different hand motions. The mole drill works like a crank. The saw operates in a back-and-forth movement of the remote with two hands. And Wiki operates as a bell which transforms animals into these items. Simply shake the remote, and they turn into items.

There's plenty of secret items to find as well. I found everything from playable music to the Megaman sprite to movies from "Zak and Wiki." Although they're hidden in the level, I sent out my rabbit minion, Madfrey, to find all the goodies for me.

But the game is very challenging. In fact, it almost gets frustrating in the second-to-last level trying to swing that sword against mummies because the controls were frustrating. And I had to restrain myself from throwing a fit during the really long levels. The game needs checkpoints, because I really hated playing each level over and over again, just because I forgot to tighten the rope or I shot the harpoon at the wrong time.

Thankfully, there are few complaints. The controls are extremely innovative for a game. I really hope Capcom continues this excellent puzzle series, because it is pretty groundbreaking. I never thought sawing trees or pouring liquids with my remote would be so much fun. Let's just hope that Capcom can fix those sword controls before the next installment in the series (in case there is one).

Zack & Wiki Review

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Fun game, especially for teens. The puzzles get really hard in the end. Nearly impossible without reading a walkthrough. Still haven't finished the last level.

A workout for the brain! Great for kids and parents!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 23, 2008
Author: Amazon User

What a GREAT game this is! We have many different Wii games, but this one tops them all. My 5-year-old son loved the story--having to hunt for treasure to collect all the bones to make the pirate Barbaros. In order to uncover each treasure, however, one has to solve a puzzle. Each puzzle requires a different way to use the Wii remote (from flute to fishing pole and everything in between). The game progresses evenly in terms of difficulty and every single stage is unique in terms of how to solve the puzzle.

The game has so much to offer and is not one that can be finished easily or in a short amount of time like so many others out there. Zack & Wiki is an exercise of the brain. It requires keen observation, critical thinking skills, patience, and lots of trial & error. For the younger player, parental help is a must. However, don't assume this is an easy game for adults--it's not! We had lots of fun "arguing" about how to solve many of the puzzles. Quite honestly, I was probably right only 25% of the time! And at that, a few times I actually had to cheat by looking up a walkthrough on the Internet.

Overall, this is a fantastic and smart game for anyone looking for a challenging game that is fun for both kids and their parents.

A fantastic point and click adventure game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: July 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2XVEJHPVOLSKX I review games for the Wii on youtube. To see more of my videos go to www.youtube.com/wiiviewr.

not a great game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: July 16, 2008
Author: Amazon User

this got great reviews... it was not engaging.. really slow.. Puzzles are hard,, which not good. I'm sorry I listened to the experts..

Fun Game For Puzzle/Adventure Types

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 10, 2008
Author: Amazon User

If you like puzzle adventure games, this is a no brainer. It's less adventure than straight puzzles. And by that I mean stuff you really have to think hard about how to solve a puzzle. I've spent literally 9 hours playing this and I'm only halfway done. The very first few puzzles are easy, but once you finish a few puzzles it starts to get quite challenging. There are a few issues with the use of the wiimote here and there - nothing terrible and it has yet to hinder my gameplay. If you've played any intense wiimote games like Rayman then it's not even an issue because of the practice you get with those types of games using the wiimote. The game itself allows you to buy cheats if you get stuck ( or you can check a walkthrough online if you like ).
There are some secrets to be found and a weird skeleton character that makes you move the controls to the time of his music - I've given up getting all the secrets and I've only been able to get the skeleton to work twice after what seemed like 50 or attempts. I tend to just solve the puzzles and get coins - good enough for me.
For those of you who prefer Tetris or shooters, it probably won't interest you. If you like the challenge of figuring out situation puzzles - and there are some tough ones in here - then this is a great game to buy or rent.

great game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 10, 2008
Author: Amazon User

One of the best I've played on the wii. Puzzles are challening, theme is fun!

No Skill Involved, Really Wacky, Really Fun

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 08, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is a good, wacky game with interesting graphics. Don't worry, you can't do anything wrong in it.

This is supposed to be a kids' game?!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: June 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

40-plus hours of gameplay is no exaggeration, but you're a better person than I if you can get more than an hour or two into it without wanting to spike your Wiimote into the TV.

Zack & Wiki is a puzzle/adventure game with a heavy anime flavor; although the tiny amount of voice acting is in English, it's obvious that the actors are speaking their lines phonetically ("Sea Rabbits" becomes "See-Rabito," for instance). Not that I mind, except that it's sort of incongruous with the written dialogue. Other reviews have compared the gameplay to old-fashioned point-and-click adventures, but honestly, I don't think I would have made that connection if I hadn't read it beforehand; there are inventory items, but you don't keep them from one level to the next, and there's almost no plot to speak of.

To be fair, there are good things about the game; it's certainly original, and aside from the issue with the voice acting, the characters are pretty endearing; Zack's facial expressions are a hoot, and Captain Rose is adorable, in her anime-girl way.

Unfortunately, the thing that cripples Zack & Wiki is the gameplay itself. The designers made it possible to die, for instance; that wouldn't bug me, except that way too often, the thing that kills you is something that you never in a million years would have seen coming unless you either worked on the design team or you possess the gift of second sight. (Occasionally, especially in the "Flute of the Growlin' Goblins" level, the thing that kills you is the Wiimote misinterpreting the motion you're trying to make, or not make; in this level, there's a crank-operated gondola thing that sometimes keeps going even when you've stopped flailing your Wiimote.) What's worse, the game seems intent on punishing you, and punishing you dearly, whenever you do get killed; not only do you lose all of your money and points, but unless you've got an expensive "platinum ticket," you have to go all the way back to the beginning of the level. There's a hints system, but not only are the hints even more expensive than the platinum tickets, they seem to have no bearing on the progress you've made; if you've made it halfway through the level and you buy a hint, you'll most likely be told something that you figured out for yourself twenty minutes ago. (Plus, as you already know if you're reading this, we have an "internet" nowadays; why screw around with in-game hints when you can get all the hints you need from GameFAQs or any of a million other places? I'd maybe understand if Zack & Wiki was made back when there was no internet to be had, but the thing's only a year old. It's especially dumb when you realize that you can access that very same internet right from your Wii.) And yeah, you can go back and replay levels to recoup your losses if you want, but why not make it reasonably possible to get through them on the first try instead of artificially lengthening the gameplay by making you repeat everything?

To be honest, I have no idea who the designers had in mind with this one; the overall tone suggests they intended the game for younger players, but I'm a full-grown adult and I can't even get through more than five minutes with my sanity intact. I haven't beaten the game yet, and I'll probably keep trying, but at this point, it's more like a vendetta than anything else. (Plus, it seems a shame to waste the money I spent on it, although I have a feeling that ship has already sailed.) I should point out also that I totally saw the "plot twist" coming. Be smarter than me, and avoid Zack & Wiki at all costs.

fun, but frustrating controls at times

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 12, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The game is entertaining and clever. I often find myself stuck in a level for a long time, giving in and searching for help online, and realizing that I would never have figured that out without help. It's definitely challenging. There's a lot of gameplay here... many, many hours. The humor and writing aren't terrible either.

There are a couple aspects of this game that are particularly frustrating. The controls aren't amazing responsive, this becomes a big issue later in the game (especially swordfights) and in the musical mini-games (which sometimes seem to be offbeat to the music playing, but as a musician/percussionist, I'm never happy with the accuracy of music based games).

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