Check out my thoughts on Rayman Origins (not a review). Were you satisfied with what the platformer delivered, or were you hoping for more?

Zelda Dungeon has responded to an article published on Just Push Start that argues against Hero Mode in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. ZD quotes the original five reasons and provides counter arguments, but considering that the wiki is run by volunteer Zelda fans, it’s up to you to read between the lines and decide whether fan loyalty is getting the best of the ZD writers.

When I finished Skyward Sword and researched the Hero Mode option, I didn’t care much for the way it sounded. The new mode, which raises the difficulty in combat, didn’t seem to offer much more than the normal story mode. If in the future I wanted to replay the game, I wouldn’t have much incentive to choose one over the other. Both Just Push Start and Zelda Dungeon bring up some worthwhile concerns and points, and I agree with some and disagree with others. Namely, I wish Hero Mode advertised secret content unavailable in the main quest.

What do you think of Hero Mode based on the information presented in these two articles? Is it a valuable investment of your time, or are the modes too similar for it to matter?

Nintendo has sold nearly 90 million units of their hit Wii console, hardware designed with families and casual gamers in mind. But for Wii owners whose dream game isn’t Dance Central, few titles stand out in its library. Core games like Donkey Kong Country Returns, Mario Kart Wii, and Smash Bros. Brawl might warrant a buy, but otherwise the little motion gaming system that could is probably used to playing third wheel to the bigger and badder competition: the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the last huzzah of a console soon to be replaced by the high-definition Wii U, but the game itself isn’t a hasty money grab or even a love letter to better days. Skyward Sword is more like end-of-the-night fireworks, the big bang finale that says, “This is what you’ve been waiting for all along.”

The fact is, you could draw a hundred comparisons to any Zelda game before it, but that still wouldn’t diminish the sheer might of Skyward Sword. I’ve even argued that the game is better than the hallowed Ocarina of Time, but don’t mistake that testimonial for flawlessness. I might like Fi more than Navi, who only adds to Link’s problems, but hey listen, they’re both 95% annoying.

The game lands its biggest achievements in three components: controls, sound, and story. Producer Eiji Aonuma has said in interviews that the development team viewed Skyward Sword as the first in the overall chronology, if you believe one exists, and I’m not sure I do. But officially naming Skyward Sword the first of the Zeldas actually makes sense: You begin your quest above the clouds and travel to uncharted regions below, and without spoiling what was for me a huge realization, you actually help to create something important—a key element of all other Zelda games.

After a sandstorm brews in the skies and Zelda is kidnapped by a metrosexually clothed antagonist (Ghirahim, rhymes with Agahnim) who likes to whisper dangerously up-close in Link’s ear, Link accepts his heroic destiny and, on the back of his Loftwing, plummets to the surface in search of his childhood friend. (To make matters more curious, Ghirahim looks a bit like the better dressed Minish Cap evildoer Vaati.) The story routes and reroutes Link to three expansive locations: Faron Woods, Eldin Volcano, and Lanayru Desert. Players also visit various places in the sky, but for the majority of the game you’ll be shuffled back and forth between these three points.

Granted, this trio of elemental-based areas contains some smaller settings that differ noticeably from one another, and sometimes whole landscapes receive dramatic makeovers, but the basic themes remain unchanged. You’ll still traverse large patches of sand in all corners of the desert, and you’ll find Bokoblins (Skyward Sword‘s answer to Moblins) on pretty much any map. And while fighting Bokoblins never bored me (they have cousins, and their cousins have cousins), I did wish for a new backdrop or two—for a chance to discover more to the surface world than trees, dunes, and lava. The endless loop of backtracking, even if it did always involve exploring new turf, only made the game’s fetish for fetch quests that much more ridiculous.

That’s not to say Skyward Sword isn’t a joy to play, because it is. But I think that joy lies more in the empowering act of unsheathing Link’s sword and slashing away at enemies than it does the repetitive, collect-a-thon nature of its gameplay. And for the enemy types it does offer, the strategies used to kill them never grow dull. Players can’t just blindly hack away at an electric Bokoblin after one successful encounter. They have to watch the enemy’s movements and strike when and how it’s appropriate, and that requires quick thinking, quick reflexes, and a little patience and perseverance.

Skyward Sword is also fun with items. On several occasions, I was amazed at how well seemingly useless items like the Gust Bellows and the Slingshot remained applicable throughout Link’s adventure. The Gust Bellows can be used to clear away large quantities of sand, leaving you to feel like you’ve been duped into janitorial work for the ancients, but it can also push around airborne pufferfish-type enemies (called Froak) that explode on contact, using them to blow up obstacles and other enemies. Surprisingly, the item also works in a main area besides the desert. As for the Slingshot, it simply came in handy when there weren’t any pots containing arrows nearby.

Items are just pleasantly easy to use. Bringing up the B menu (some confusion in the manual made this feature almost inaccessible to me at first) lets players quick select any major item, and aiming is a cinch. Bombs, which cutely resemble bulbous blueberries, can be harvested and stored within seconds. The Clawshot can mimic the stun effect of the bow and arrow, which can be substituted in a pinch with the aforementioned Slingshot. Maybe the developers could have programmed it so that opening the B menu temporarily froze the gameplay, but this really only posed a problem when dealing with those pesky laser-shooting towered robots (Beamos), when you need to rapidly withdraw the Gust Bellows and turn their head turbines in circles until they get dizzy.

And the upgrades. Skyward Sword heaps on the upgrades—for your shield, for your sword, for nearly all your possessions. Of course, you have to collect (sigh) a small sum of different bugs and objects like bird feathers to concoct the different upgrades, but for most of them you’ll have plentiful opportunities to snatch the required ingredients.

The more you play and face different enemies, the more you learn about how to defeat them—and how not to. Chuchus will actually seek out and swallow any launched bombs, hoping to deliver them back to you. Players can make short work of Skulltulas if they clip their web lines with the Beetle first, and large bird enemies can be splatter-brained by using the same item to transport a live bomb to the sides of their heads. Enemies actually have smart AI—the final boss even tries to fake you out—and the way you beat them one time may not be the tactic that works the second. Even better, you might learn backup strategies for taking them out. Enemy types might be glaringly limited in Skyward Sword, but the possibilities for defeating them are not.

Boss battles are even more richly rewarding, providing some of the most challenging ones in the series in years. In any game, boss fights aren’t just an excuse for developers to flaunt their engine’s graphical power and players to pump as many bullets as possible into their target. These fights are supposed to rally up everything players have learned up to that point and test them on it. Skyward Sword is one of the few games nowadays that puts that into play.

The game does feature some smaller segments that you’ll either love or hate. I didn’t care for Link’s excursions into the Silent Realm, alarmingly intense spiritual trials that have you running around collecting fifteen Sacred Tears while searching out Light Fruit to reveal their locations and while avoiding sentries called Watchers and hotspots known as Waking Water, both of which rouse Guardians and alert them to your location. If they attack you, you fail the trial and have to start over.

Another such segment involves using the Mogma Mitts to burrow underground, where Link has to clear a path to a hole where he can reemerge, on the way breaking rocks with bombs, activating door mechanisms, and fighting Moldorms in the confined space. At any rate, with these two action-breaking segments at least Nintendo is trying to spice up the scenery, even if it means going under it or entering another dimension of it.

If you feel like putting the sometimes tedious main quest on hold and delving into side quests and light exploration, either by helping your fellow characters or by hunting for Goddess Cubes, you can do so at any time. I love that Skyward Sword hardly ever pressures you to engage in any of its extra content, so you can finish the game without doing many at all.

So far I’ve discussed mostly the gameplay and the controls, which are not only fun, but work well. As it happens, sound is just as crucial to the enjoyment as anything else. Nintendo’s orchestral score makes the game sound beautiful, but it never stops impressing in the minor details. Different tones and themes and variations on them complement every sword swipe, character moment, and environment interaction, whether Link is window shopping in the Bazaar, sneaking up on bugs with the net, or entering and exiting time shifts in the desert (listen carefully for the subtle difference in musical pace and complexity). The sound adds invaluable creativity and personality to the game.

The stylistic graphics, while frequently washed out and even blotchy, are gorgeous and vibrantly colorful, especially in sections where you’re actually returning color to the land. It makes you wonder how amazing the game would look if it were actually rendered in HD.

Even if you’re bored of the view, tired of retreading familiar ground, or just good and sick of collecting and dowsing—and you may very well be—what really sets Skyward Sword apart from other video games on the market today is its story. Zelda takes more of an active role here than in any other Zelda to date. She actually embarks on her own quest alongside Link’s, and she has more character and more lines of dialogue than any Zelda performances before hers.

But the story itself is funny, and grave, and touching—especially near the end. Zelda and Link share an honestly heartwarming dynamic, and a few other important characters come through in unexpected ways. This is truly a game that should be played to completion, and thanks to the immense effort that went into it, allowing for smart design and polished controls, you’ll likely be compelled to. Would I play Skyward Sword again? Yes, in a heart beat. Even if it meant venturing into the insanely frustrating Lanayru Mining Facility over again.

Rating: 9.5/10
Pros: Groose; Kikwis; Link’s voice is turning Japanese, I really think so
Cons: Mining Facility music, watching Fi sing, watching Fi dance

If you consider Ocarina of Time the best 3D Zelda, you might have to rethink your argument, or at least come up with some better reasons. Here are mine for why Skyward Sword outclasses everyone’s favorite Zelda.

Ubisoft backtracks to a prettier prince with the prequel to Warrior Within. The sands make a comeback, along with a female sidekick, a common move for the Prince of Persia series. As the Prince and his brother Malik break an ancient seal, they release King Solomon’s sacred army, a misnomer. These skeletal and armor-plated fiends operate under an evil spell that threatens to cover the world with a sandstorm. With the help of a magical Djinn named Razia, the Prince wields the elements of water, wind, fire, and ice as his only hope against the power-hungry Ratash.

The Forgotten Sands sits more comfortably among earlier PoP games like Sands of Time than the recent experimental ones, such as the cel-shaded remake that, as gorgeous to view as it was, made a lot of players grumpy (who wouldn’t be after that cakewalk and story ending?). This run-around takes a step down in graphics, but it does construct a stable balance between traversing obstacle courses of spikes and whirly gigs and engaging in combat. Players can rewind time as usual, but what makes this edition unique is how it challenges gamers to mix environmental and water manipulation and aerial boosts on command. Thanks to Razia, the Prince can solidify water and interact with it like he would a wall or beam. Timing is key, camera clues are vital, and specialized aerial jumps and area restoration add an extra edge to the gameplay. A few instances will leave players exasperated with buggy missteps, but for the most part, the Prince follows orders (nudge, nudge).

The game quickly immerses players by introducing various fighting methods and enemy types. The selectable upgrade system, based on experience points gained in battle, enhances combat and allows for a better grip on health and magic (longer water and time control, more powerful elemental attacks, etc.). Over the course of the game, these upgrades feel as unnecessary as opponents are redundant. The Prince swings a mean sword, and it does the job right.

A little more dedication to the adventure could have saved players from occasional boredom. Scattered throughout the palace, the blue sarcophagi that award bonus XP act as the sole incentive for careful exploration. Forgotten Sands falls into fits of uninspired gameplay, only to pick up its pace and then lapse into a creative coma again. While the narrative blows over more like an bothersome breeze than a strong sandstorm, at least the vigorous final boss fight justifies the investment.

The Forgotten Sands isn’t altogether unwelcome, but it does little to earn a valuable place as a member of the Prince of Persia series. 7/10

Hooray! It’s been half a year since my demo and Konami interview at San Diego Comic-Con, but I finally sat down to play Shattered Memories. So … did I enjoy it? Well, that’s a tricky number. The game is quite a mixed bag of good and bad, but ultimately one lone feature redeemed the entire game for me. Find out what over at OneMetal.

Silent Hill has dramatically evolved since the original game, presently a decade behind us. Now Shattered Memories lifts the ashes and exchanges the rust-colored decor for a colder touch. Put down the chainsaw and stop running—the latest installment dares you to revisit the classic town and remember everything you, and Harry Mason, tried to forget.

Shattered Memories logs a relatively short length, and the gameplay and story elements are profoundly redesigned. In fact, fans will recognize the changes before they even start pressing buttons. The game invents more personality for characters, polishes familiar locations with fresh attributes, and incorporates the depth absent in the first run-around. Borrowing the first-person technique utilized in The Room, the psychologist sessions allow the game to profile you by translating various exercises, like coloring a picture or answering intimate questions, into Harry’s adventure. The characters and locations might remain, but this isn’t the game you remember. Shattered Memories molds to your unique personality and develops a new and engaging spin on an old story.

Appealing to the stealthy ninja wannabe in all of us, Mini Ninjas sculpts eye-popping animation, cutesy forest animals, and all-ages entertainment into one package. Of course, more cynical gamers know that flowery aesthetics don’t equate to full genius, and even the stealthiest of heroes can’t ensure a mighty punch. Well, rest assured, because Mini Ninjas infuses all of its ancient samurai muscle into a presentation as reliable as bamboo-chomping pandas … predictable, mind-numbing pandas.

Mini Ninjas markets as a game satisfying to both children and adults, and the influence leaves a clear trail throughout the game’s entirety. The difficulty setting can be adjusted with one quick trip to the options menu, and even your enviable Kuji magic integrates various hint methods for when you get stuck chasing fireflies and picking tiger lilies. Luckily, there’s a lot to admire about such a feel-good game that doesn’t hesitate to pull at the heartstrings. As you zip through mesmerizing, gorgeous painted environments, you’ll relax with soothing music one moment and then glide into unleashing your fearsome ninja moves the next. Along with the user-friendly controls and activity pallet, the result feels virtually therapeutic—certainly advantageous when you need to unwind after a long day.

Regardless of the many hints sprinkled about, Mini Ninjas shows you the courtesy of free-style gameplay. You follow a basically linear course, but gamers are encouraged to meddle with different scenario approaches and take-down methods. The six ninjas at your beck and call each bring a distinguished technique to the array of challenges, and some are better suited to the present situation than others. Everything stacks together neatly; each level’s finish totals your score of freed animals, compiled potion ingredients and scrolls, special gold tokens, and Jizo statues and allows you to replay sections at more convenient times. The weaponry and equipment at your disposal wield impressive versatility, as well. Your ninja hat, for example, acts as a boat, snow sled, and overall protection against flying arrows and falling debris.

But behind the smoke and mirrors parlor tricks essential to the ninja trade, a handful of flaws rear their ugly heads. Mini Ninjas strays from its own beaten path disappointingly little. Eventually you’ll tire from gathering dainty plants, decking silly mini (or in some cases, giant) enemies, and breaking probably expensive pots. The commonplace hunt-and-gather missions render the more carefully hidden treasures into cheap yard sale trinkets. When the game does veer towards something new, it either fails sorely or taunts you with a fresh taste of ephemeral action. The avalanche aka sledding sequence nudges excitement with a stick, but the technical frustration nips any possible thrills before they can flourish.

Mini Ninjas sustains quite a few odd yet minor bugs concerning maneuverability and functionality, including rotating your makeshift boat and aligning your character with the ropes spanning buildings. Plus, although enemies gradually advance in more ambitious and trying waves, you’ll practically be swimming in health and other replenishing items; even in the toughest battles, deaths are few and far between. Despite all that extra magic and commodity, your supposedly convenient Ki wheel never expands slot-wise, forcing you to rummage through your inventory menu instead.

Mini Ninjas delivers better as a rental: It has an innovative concept and inspiring visuals, but replay value and entertainment rewards simmer down after several hours. Character extras delightfully tell the ninjas’ origins, but the in-game storyline could have benefited from such charming personality. Like the breathtaking world, the dominating features might be superficially breathtaking, but the qualities underneath lose their polish, sucking the mystery out of the ninja heart. 7/10

More rage than you can shake a stick at! That’s usually the tone of the ongoing Bleepin’ Blips feature over at RadNerd, but this time the rage really was sculpted in a positive way. In fact, you can barely tell it’s there at all … but it is, trust me. I mean, it’s New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Have you played that game?! It’s brutal—war in the disguise of little Italian plumbers and cute, apple-gulping dinosaurs.

Here’s a preview, but you can catch the full article over at RadNerd.

Do you suffer from uncontrollable, bleepin’ rage at something in the gaming industry? Have you smashed TVs by flinging controllers, or made your thumbs bleed with all that unrewarded determination and mad skillz you’ve been dishing out? Here at RadNerd, we feel your pain. Literally. This new ongoing feature will channel our anger in a healthy way … we hope.

New Super Mario Bros. for the motion-sensitive Wii stomped into living rooms, basements, and dorms this past month, inciting enough fun and backstabbiness to make Bowser take a willing dip in steaming lava just to avoid the quips. The game ropes in players by offering them a slice of the co-op pie and then chucking it in a Goomba’s direction at the last moment. Friends can work together to overcome the latest of Bowser’s princess-capturing antics, but more often than not gamers find themselves kicking their allies in the ye ol’ plumbing. The gameplay physics actually encourage such vicious cartoon behavior by causing an instant bounce reaction when one character collides with another and by allowing players to toss their fellow adventurers into an unassuming Koopa.

Our appointment with the psychiatric Silent Hill remake, Shattered Memories, has been moved … again. The game that was supposed to debut in late October was then pushed back to early November, and now Amazon and other sources have the title listed for even later dates. Currently, the Wii version is expected to hit shelves in early December, but for PlayStation 2 and PSP owners, Konami will be keeping the game on ice even longer. The inexpensive alternatives won’t be ready until late January.

That’s just cold.

On the other hand, a prolonged release usually means a better game.

Would you rather have the game now or later? What console will you buy the game for?