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Critic & User Reviews
GF Rating
9
Excellent
Move over son, daddy's' turn
posted by silvaweb (NORTH WATERBORO, ME) Nov 26, 2007
Member since Sep 2007
3 out of 3 gamers (100%) found this review helpful
I originally put this on my queue for my seven year old son. It's been a few years since he's played a puzzle style game like this, (e.g. Pajama Sam) and he really likes the style. He did enjoy playing this one as well, but ended up just playing assist, his choice, I'm not that mean.
The game's puzzles got progressively harder, which gives a sense of purpose to the game and makes you want to see what's next.
The graphics are top rate for a Wii title and I would still consider them fantastic for any console. You'll never get lost finding your character or you next move point.
In a nutshell Zack & Wiki is fun for all ages that can read. The storyline flows well, the puzzles make sense and you won't feel like the surreal graphics try to overcome a boring game unlike some MYSTical games I know about. I absolutely recommend this game if you don't mind losing some sleep and want a change of pace from the over abundance of shooters on the market.
The game's puzzles got progressively harder, which gives a sense of purpose to the game and makes you want to see what's next.
The graphics are top rate for a Wii title and I would still consider them fantastic for any console. You'll never get lost finding your character or you next move point.
In a nutshell Zack & Wiki is fun for all ages that can read. The storyline flows well, the puzzles make sense and you won't feel like the surreal graphics try to overcome a boring game unlike some MYSTical games I know about. I absolutely recommend this game if you don't mind losing some sleep and want a change of pace from the over abundance of shooters on the market.
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GF Rating
5
Fair
Brilliant idea, horrible execution
posted by LemmyKoopa (MADISON, WI) Feb 1, 2011
Member since Jan 2011
1 out of 1 gamers (100%) found this review helpful
This game has a lot of charm; the puzzles, when well designed, can be a lot of fun; there's not much better than being told you're Smart or (a) Genius for solving the riddles. At times I was having a blast!
But at other times...
Many of the puzzles are poorly designed. If you don't notice the one thing you're supposed to click that may be hard to reach, forget it, kiss a half hour goodbye before you give up and look for help. If you don't remember that every now and then you can flip an item by shaking the Wiimote, forget it. Some of these puzzles just require monotonous trial and error. In some levels you could easily be killed and have to start again... and this is not a fast game! Sure, if you already solved part of the puzzle it's a lot quicker to get back to where you left off, but it's still annoying when you sometimes must do so again and again while trying to make forward progress. Other times, you can do things out of order and break a puzzle, but the game won't stop you from trying to continue on...
And then there's the motion controls. Sounds fun to make like you're turning gears, pulling levels, reaching for things... right? Only problem is, it doesn't work! I tried to give this game the benefit of the doubt, I was willing to kindly call the controls inconsistent... but no, they just mostly don't work. I found myself shouting "Up! Up!" in trying futilely to raise, not lower, a lever. Turning anything is a gamble. And it's all made worse because if you don't make just the right motions sometimes, the action won't work the way you expect and so you'll think you're trying to solve the puzzle the wrong way when you were really on the right track all along. Kiss another half hour goodbye for that!
All this said... if there were a sequel with better puzzle design and controls, I would go all-in again, because this has a lot of potential. If you have more patience than me you may get more out of this. But as it stands, I cannot recommend it.
But at other times...
Many of the puzzles are poorly designed. If you don't notice the one thing you're supposed to click that may be hard to reach, forget it, kiss a half hour goodbye before you give up and look for help. If you don't remember that every now and then you can flip an item by shaking the Wiimote, forget it. Some of these puzzles just require monotonous trial and error. In some levels you could easily be killed and have to start again... and this is not a fast game! Sure, if you already solved part of the puzzle it's a lot quicker to get back to where you left off, but it's still annoying when you sometimes must do so again and again while trying to make forward progress. Other times, you can do things out of order and break a puzzle, but the game won't stop you from trying to continue on...
And then there's the motion controls. Sounds fun to make like you're turning gears, pulling levels, reaching for things... right? Only problem is, it doesn't work! I tried to give this game the benefit of the doubt, I was willing to kindly call the controls inconsistent... but no, they just mostly don't work. I found myself shouting "Up! Up!" in trying futilely to raise, not lower, a lever. Turning anything is a gamble. And it's all made worse because if you don't make just the right motions sometimes, the action won't work the way you expect and so you'll think you're trying to solve the puzzle the wrong way when you were really on the right track all along. Kiss another half hour goodbye for that!
All this said... if there were a sequel with better puzzle design and controls, I would go all-in again, because this has a lot of potential. If you have more patience than me you may get more out of this. But as it stands, I cannot recommend it.
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GF Rating
9
Excellent
Why are you reading this? Get this now!
posted by Guardian42 (GRAND RAPIDS, MI) Oct 29, 2007
Member since Sep 2007
12 out of 14 gamers (86%) found this review helpful
Z&W takes the adventure genre to a new level. On par with games like Grim Fandango, this games proves to puzzle and captivate anyone of any age.
Z&W's story is a basic one, one of treasure seeking and pirates. Humorous bits appear now and again. Graphics are well made and enjoyable. They are a cell-shaded style and really fit the game well. Now for the gameplay, it is simple and intuitive. You'll use different tools using the wiimote and solve puzzles by interacting with different objects you find. Although it looks kiddy, don't worry. Puzzles can be incredibly intricate and complicated.
My only vices against this game are two things:
1. The game has a harsh penalty for failing: having to start over or use an expensive ticket you can buy more of. It sucks when you're out of tickets and you spent 20 minutes trying to figure something out.
2. Some puzzle's answears seem not obvious or creative but confusing. It's a thin line of wondering how far the maker's went and how far the world allows.
Even with these, the game is well built and can take a lot of trial and error later on. Get ready for an adventure.
Z&W is quite simply one of the best third party titles on the Wii to date!
Z&W's story is a basic one, one of treasure seeking and pirates. Humorous bits appear now and again. Graphics are well made and enjoyable. They are a cell-shaded style and really fit the game well. Now for the gameplay, it is simple and intuitive. You'll use different tools using the wiimote and solve puzzles by interacting with different objects you find. Although it looks kiddy, don't worry. Puzzles can be incredibly intricate and complicated.
My only vices against this game are two things:
1. The game has a harsh penalty for failing: having to start over or use an expensive ticket you can buy more of. It sucks when you're out of tickets and you spent 20 minutes trying to figure something out.
2. Some puzzle's answears seem not obvious or creative but confusing. It's a thin line of wondering how far the maker's went and how far the world allows.
Even with these, the game is well built and can take a lot of trial and error later on. Get ready for an adventure.
Z&W is quite simply one of the best third party titles on the Wii to date!
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GF Rating
9
Excellent
Wii's first point and click adventure.
posted by MrMosei (SALT LAKE CITY, UT) Dec 10, 2007
Member since Nov 2007
6 out of 7 gamers (86%) found this review helpful
When I first heard about a new point and click adventure game called Zack and Wiki I was sceptical because it looked very childish. However, after playing it I have a whole new perspective on it. The puzzles are challenging but not too hard. And once you pick it up you can't put it down. It is a very awesome game and I would recommend it to EVERYONE seriously it's awesome.
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GF Rating
9
Excellent
Zack & Wiki - A great family game
posted by pickford (SNOHOMISH, WA) Dec 8, 2007
Member since Oct 2007
5 out of 6 gamers (83%) found this review helpful
My kids (5 and 10 yo) love this game. It was engaging, but not too hard at the 1st few levels. The graphic style is very anime. The Wii controls are integrated fairly well into the game play.
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GF Rating
10
Perfect
Great game thats different than the rest
posted by LSKennedy (CONCORD, CA) Dec 7, 2007
Member since Nov 2006
3 out of 4 gamers (75%) found this review helpful
Z&W is an excellent puzzle solving adventure game that makes great use of the motion control on the wii remote. The game is broken up into small areas so when you fail (and you will definitely fail many times) its not a big deal.
The graphical style makes it look like it is a children's game, but its definitely not a children's game. The problem solving is too difficult for most children especially later on in the game.
Its very original for a console game if your bored of bioshock, halo, gears of war games, etc. which are all the same.
The graphical style makes it look like it is a children's game, but its definitely not a children's game. The problem solving is too difficult for most children especially later on in the game.
Its very original for a console game if your bored of bioshock, halo, gears of war games, etc. which are all the same.
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GF Rating
5
Fair
The treasure ain't worth this
posted by JCDenton (FREEDOM, NH) Jan 15, 2008
Member since Mar 2006
4 out of 6 gamers (67%) found this review helpful
For some reason, Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure has gotten wonderful press as the big surprise on the system this year. Well, I was surprised at how annoying this game was. This was a real letdown for me. And it starts off promisingly enough. Zack is a young air pirate and Wiki is his flying monkey thing that turns into a bell. Delightfully quirky. Problems really start when the gameplay does. At first, I was under the impression this would be like Skies of Arcadia, but it's really a puzzle game. In order to interact with the environment, you must place your remote in a variety of positions. Your remote is also used to move you around the terrain, so you're constantly switching between pointing, waving, shaking and steering your controller. The responsiveness of all this and the ergonomics of the gameplay is all over the map. Sometimes it works well, other times it's frustrating to deal with. The puzzles, considering this is E Rated, are surprisingly hard and you can die by making a single mistake. Problem is, every time you die or even try something that doesn't work right, your score for each stage decreases, meaning you'll be looking do each stage perfectly. You'll also use your bell to turn animals into tools to complete stages, but again, using these tools requires a lot of manipulation of the remote. I understand that the Wii has the functionality for this, but it doesn't mean they had to use it. You don't really gain levels or unlock anything useful for the game. The shop in the game consists of two items (one for hints, one for lives). I've played much better puzzle games that had richer storylines. The game has a cartoony design and doesn't even require a nunchuk to play, but I'm wondering how a young audience will be able to play this game without getting aggravated in the process. Capcom obvious spent good time working on this game, but I wish there was more than overly-complex puzzle stages to the game.
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GF Rating
5
Fair
Forgot I don't like this kind of game
posted by HippyVock (FITCHBURG, WI) Apr 29, 2008
Member since May 2006
2 out of 3 gamers (67%) found this review helpful
I must confess I did not play very much of this game. The control interface, from the part I played, seemed extremely competent and may actually be fun as the game goes on. The point and click aspect (read trial and error) slipped under my radar, however, and I never would have played it had I for a moment thought it was like those old point and click/puzzle games on the PC. I enjoy games based on skill and this game has nothing to do with skill-instead you solve puzzles that you randomly guess the answer to and recieve points based on how lucky you were (read how many tries it took you to get it right). Every time you fail you get a point reduction making "perfection" nearly impossible the first time and subsequent tries can be confusing when you get half points for seemingly no reason. Redoing section after section gets a little tedious especially when listening to the character sounds that are not really voices over and over.
The game's look and sound is very cutesy for the young crowd, but if you (or your kid) likes jumping around and really controlling your character, then this game is not for you. If you like colorful worlds and scanning your Wii-mote over every object to see if you can interact with it, then sign up because the story/script is not too bad and the gameplay is solid.
The game's look and sound is very cutesy for the young crowd, but if you (or your kid) likes jumping around and really controlling your character, then this game is not for you. If you like colorful worlds and scanning your Wii-mote over every object to see if you can interact with it, then sign up because the story/script is not too bad and the gameplay is solid.
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GF Rating
6
Above Average
Good puzzler disappoints as it wears on
posted by Matt773 (ARLINGTON, VA) Dec 22, 2007
Member since Sep 2007
2 out of 3 gamers (67%) found this review helpful
Overall a well-crafted game, and certainly a unique puzzler on the Wii. Early levels provide some great challenges as well as unique uses of the Wii remote. Later on I found the levels shifted more into a mode of "try A, die, try B, die, try C, move on, try D, realize you needed to try E first, restart", and so on. Had the designers stuck to the rare-dead-end, rarely-get-killed model of the first half of the game it would have been great; overall it's worth renting, but be prepared to get frustrated towards the end.
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GF Rating
7
Good
Its No Monkey Island, But Still Fun
posted by Cent1ty (BROOKLYN, NY) Nov 8, 2007
Member since Jul 2007
2 out of 3 gamers (67%) found this review helpful
For those of you that know the great adventure series like: Leisure Suit Larry, Monkey Island, Police Quest, Sam and Max, Grim Fandango Etc. You may be a tad disappointed if you set your hopes too high.
Pros:
-The graphics are satisfying as with most cartoon/ cell shaded Wii games.
-What little dialog there is, is good but not as good as the more classic titles.
-The game is pretty addicting.
-you can actually die unlike other similar games (I personally think this is for the better and makes the game funner)
-Good difficulty (not too easy)
Cons:
-1st of all... NO VOICE-OVERS?! Whats wrong with you guys! games like this should always have voice-overs. And good ones at that!
-The game offers more of a puzzle solving than adventure feel. Meaning that the game is broken up in different sections which are short puzzles instead of a continuous mode.
-The inventory handling is not very good and there is no stock for it.
-Not a great deal of character development and practically no character interaction (EX. going around talking to characters and having humorous dialog) However without the voice acting this is probably for the best anyways.
Verdict: definitely worth looking at if you enjoy or have at some point enjoyed adventure type puzzle games. It keeps you playing but if your the impatient "I can't figure out what to do, this sucks so much" type then stay away. AND LUCAS ARTS ADVENTURE GAME FANS: don't get your hopes too high and you'll still have fun!
Pros:
-The graphics are satisfying as with most cartoon/ cell shaded Wii games.
-What little dialog there is, is good but not as good as the more classic titles.
-The game is pretty addicting.
-you can actually die unlike other similar games (I personally think this is for the better and makes the game funner)
-Good difficulty (not too easy)
Cons:
-1st of all... NO VOICE-OVERS?! Whats wrong with you guys! games like this should always have voice-overs. And good ones at that!
-The game offers more of a puzzle solving than adventure feel. Meaning that the game is broken up in different sections which are short puzzles instead of a continuous mode.
-The inventory handling is not very good and there is no stock for it.
-Not a great deal of character development and practically no character interaction (EX. going around talking to characters and having humorous dialog) However without the voice acting this is probably for the best anyways.
Verdict: definitely worth looking at if you enjoy or have at some point enjoyed adventure type puzzle games. It keeps you playing but if your the impatient "I can't figure out what to do, this sucks so much" type then stay away. AND LUCAS ARTS ADVENTURE GAME FANS: don't get your hopes too high and you'll still have fun!
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GF Rating
9
Excellent
Wow, what a great game
posted by pezboy92 (SOUTH AMBOY, NJ) Nov 2, 2007
Member since Sep 2007
3 out of 5 gamers (60%) found this review helpful
Zack and Wiki is one of the best third party efforts on Wii. It has a very good art stlye to it, fantastic level design, interesting gameplay, and brain teasing puzzles. The only complaint is that it only lasts 15 hours with no replay value after that. If you like great games...BUY THIS. It is only 40 dollars for one of Wii best games.
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GF Rating
2
Really Bad
For the love of your children do NOT rent this.
posted by dominoscr (ORLANDO, FL) Dec 18, 2008
Member since Oct 2005
2 out of 5 gamers (40%) found this review helpful
They will make you "help" them beat this. Not bad for most games, however after a little while you will discover the only way to beat this game is to literally destroy it. The audio combined with the controls is enough to make any sane adult violent. Then you will have to explain to your children why it's perfectly O.K. to break things that are truly evil, and have to pay gamefly for the game.
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GF Rating
3
Bad
Has potential, but controls fall short
posted by Bloodborne (AUBURN, ME) Jan 11, 2008
Member since Mar 2007
2 out of 5 gamers (40%) found this review helpful
This game has some really clever ideas and fun puzzles, but the heavy use of the Wiimote's motion controls is its downfall. The controls simply do not work consistently. You might be making a motion to do something one moment, but then the next it abruptly stops working and flailing your arms around is about the only thing that you can do. If a game is going to make such use of the Wiimote, it has to be perfect to be fun. Zack and Wiki is far from perfect.
There is also the issue of arbitrary dying. How fun is it in a puzzle game to die (!) by no fault of your own and then have to replay large portions of the game or spend in-game currency to purchase platinum (a.k.a. mulligan) tickets? Usually the levels devolve into trial-and-error as you find out what kills you and then trying to work around that on your second, third, etc., try.
I really wanted to like Zack and Wiki after reading good reviews about it. But it seems for the time being only Nintendo is capably of making decent games for their system.
There is also the issue of arbitrary dying. How fun is it in a puzzle game to die (!) by no fault of your own and then have to replay large portions of the game or spend in-game currency to purchase platinum (a.k.a. mulligan) tickets? Usually the levels devolve into trial-and-error as you find out what kills you and then trying to work around that on your second, third, etc., try.
I really wanted to like Zack and Wiki after reading good reviews about it. But it seems for the time being only Nintendo is capably of making decent games for their system.
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GF Rating
6
Above Average
Great first half of a game
posted by JimDScott (SAINT PAUL, MN) Jan 3, 2008
Member since Sep 2007
1 out of 3 gamers (33%) found this review helpful
Zack and Wiki is a half of a great puzzle game. For the first half of the game, you guide Zack through a series of stages solving point and click puzzles. The stages build in complexity, but are essentially linear. These early stages are engaging, fun, and leave the player satisfied with finding the solution.
The second half of the game goes steadily downhill. All the skills and techniques learned in the early stages are steadily abandoned. By the time the player reaches the final stages, the game becomes trial and error with terrible consequences for failure. Point and click games are fun the first time through -- but when forced to replay a level multiple times through while learning how to solve the last puzzles at the end of stage, the game becomes excruciating.
You can buy hints and extra lives, but these must be used sparingly. Money to purchase the extra lives is very short. Perhaps there's a way to earn more money during the game, but I didn't find it.
The second half of the game goes steadily downhill. All the skills and techniques learned in the early stages are steadily abandoned. By the time the player reaches the final stages, the game becomes trial and error with terrible consequences for failure. Point and click games are fun the first time through -- but when forced to replay a level multiple times through while learning how to solve the last puzzles at the end of stage, the game becomes excruciating.
You can buy hints and extra lives, but these must be used sparingly. Money to purchase the extra lives is very short. Perhaps there's a way to earn more money during the game, but I didn't find it.
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GF Rating
1
Horrible
Oh Wow.
posted by tr1nity (TOMBALL, TX) Nov 28, 2012
Member since Apr 2011
My daughter would not play it. Far too scripted. She kept wanting to do random things and you can't do random things in this game. Not fun, funny or anything at all.
If you rent you will waste a rent slot.
If you rent you will waste a rent slot.
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GF Rating
8
Very Good
Instant classic for the Wii
posted by jalapeno (COLONIAL HEIGHTS, VA) Jul 14, 2011
Member since Jan 2009
If you are reading this review, chances are you are a Wii owner looking to rent this game. Silly reader, you do not want to rent this game. You want to buy it. The puzzles in this little gem are ingenious and thought-provoking and the mechanic of transforming enemies into items is clever and makes you feel accomplished every time you succeed. Even once I knew the solution to a puzzle, I still got a kick out of going back in and doing it again just to watch some of the funny animations and feel the joy of solving a puzzle again. The length and replayability depend on the gamer, but I know this is something that I'll be playing long past the Wii's heyday. If you have a Wii, you owe it to yourself to have this in your collection.
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GF Rating
4
Weak
Lights a cigarette
posted by SkakLoading (OAK HARBOR, WA) Jun 12, 2011
Member since Jun 2011
Wow...this game is a pain. I don't mean to come out the gates with such negativity but seriously. It's not that it's difficult it's just frustrating. You remember that scene from Happy Gilmore when Happy keeps on trying to shoot the ball into the clown head and it keeps spitting it back at him? Yeah, that's what this game is like. "Hey good try but not good enough" hock a loogie, spit in your face. And yes you do wish to have the satisfaction of smashing the nose of this game with putter. And it starts right from the beginning.
For starters, the moment you begin to play the game you can't help but have the urge to want to mute the game, due to the continuous annoying sounds that the characters were ill-programmed to make (if that's made up word I apologize, it just seemed right). Between the main character's zelda-esque grunts to your(more notably) annoying side kick's pokemon like sounds, the mute button will be in your future.
Another annoying thing in regards to sounds made by characters is that when a character has a dialogue box appear, whether it be for character info or actual dialogue, they get stuck in (what I will call) a loop stance or loop expression. This is when a character is supposed show a certain action stance or expression in order to show what he/she/it is saying and will repeat it until you continue to the next dialogue box. Similar to older Square Soft games (minus the whole being a good game part). While they do this they will sometimes make sound as well....and continue to make this sound....until you press continue. This almost makes you not want to finish reading the dialogue box just to keep your sanity. I mean I already have a wife who gets stuck in these loops. Seeing them in a game just blurs the line of reality and imaginary. At least here you have the option to skip through. (inhales)....That' enough about minor annoyances lets get to the major ones...if we must....(exhales)
out of space contact at FB (Ranier Aponte) for full review
For starters, the moment you begin to play the game you can't help but have the urge to want to mute the game, due to the continuous annoying sounds that the characters were ill-programmed to make (if that's made up word I apologize, it just seemed right). Between the main character's zelda-esque grunts to your(more notably) annoying side kick's pokemon like sounds, the mute button will be in your future.
Another annoying thing in regards to sounds made by characters is that when a character has a dialogue box appear, whether it be for character info or actual dialogue, they get stuck in (what I will call) a loop stance or loop expression. This is when a character is supposed show a certain action stance or expression in order to show what he/she/it is saying and will repeat it until you continue to the next dialogue box. Similar to older Square Soft games (minus the whole being a good game part). While they do this they will sometimes make sound as well....and continue to make this sound....until you press continue. This almost makes you not want to finish reading the dialogue box just to keep your sanity. I mean I already have a wife who gets stuck in these loops. Seeing them in a game just blurs the line of reality and imaginary. At least here you have the option to skip through. (inhales)....That' enough about minor annoyances lets get to the major ones...if we must....(exhales)
out of space contact at FB (Ranier Aponte) for full review
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GF Rating
7
Good
Fun, but also annoying
posted by ceejay11 (RENO, NV) May 14, 2010
Member since May 2010
The puzzles in this game are reasonably fun and easy to solve. However, one flaw that I found seriously annoying was that on many levels if you don't react fast enough or take a wrong guess on how to solve a puzzle, you die. This means that you spend a lot of time on each level redoing pieces you've solved over and over again to complete the level which gets really old. So, worth renting if you like puzzle games, but you can also expect to get seriously annoyed by it as well.
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GF Rating
8
Very Good
Great Puzzle Game
posted by RamCow (HONOLULU, HI) Feb 26, 2010
Member since Aug 2007
It's a shame this game has been overlooked. I hadn't even heard of it until years after it was released.
This is one of the few games for Wii that makes excellent use of the Wii's motion controller without trying to over-do it.
The game is an excellent puzzle game. Highly recommended.
This is one of the few games for Wii that makes excellent use of the Wii's motion controller without trying to over-do it.
The game is an excellent puzzle game. Highly recommended.
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GF Rating
9
Excellent
AWESOME
posted by nmquinn (ELYRIA, OH) Dec 22, 2009
Member since Oct 2009
AWESOME!!!!!
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GF Rating
5
Fair
Great Puzzles, Hampered by Poor Controls
posted by IllogicalJ (BROOKLYN, NY) Jun 21, 2009
Member since May 2005
By now, the Wii has proven that its motion controls are not a gimmick--used right, they can greatly enhance tried and true franchises, like Mario, Metroid, and Zelda. But for a first-timer like Zack & Wiki, the controls seem haphazard, and the one-item-at-a-time system makes some of the levels quite laborious.
As such, the game is notoriously difficult, but not always because of the brain-teasers: a lot of levels are "timed" in some way, so you'll keep getting killed as you try to figure out a device for the first time--and if you don't have a Platinum Ticket, you'll have to restart the whole level from the beginning, which can be quite a chore. (It'd be great to have Prince of Persia's "rewind" here.)
Also, while, Zack & Wiki is crammed full of great, self-contained puzzles (each is one level), there's little else (unless you love the cellish graphics). Riddles provide some replay, but chances are, once you've finally frustratedly finished a level, you'll never want to do so again.
As such, the game is notoriously difficult, but not always because of the brain-teasers: a lot of levels are "timed" in some way, so you'll keep getting killed as you try to figure out a device for the first time--and if you don't have a Platinum Ticket, you'll have to restart the whole level from the beginning, which can be quite a chore. (It'd be great to have Prince of Persia's "rewind" here.)
Also, while, Zack & Wiki is crammed full of great, self-contained puzzles (each is one level), there's little else (unless you love the cellish graphics). Riddles provide some replay, but chances are, once you've finally frustratedly finished a level, you'll never want to do so again.
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GF Rating
4
Weak
charming game ruined by death and story
posted by horsumhack (MINNEAPOLIS, MN) Jun 14, 2009
Member since Mar 2009
yeah yeah yeah, i'm a bitter gamer never satisfied with anything but, well, i am right to be so. this game has a billion reviews as it's been out for awhile and few will read this, but, to go against the tide of fans i offer this:
zack and wiki (actually a good title in my opinion- i have seen only complaints on this issue) is a game full of charm iand cleverness that, like so many games, goes off into itself and shoots itself in the head. developers and gamers may shake their heads at a fine undergroundish sort of title that sold poorly, but they probably don't understand the curious hostile gap between the serious game and the casual game. this game could have been lovely and could have sweetly bridged the gap but it seems the designers couldn't resist the sadism and illusion of credibility of killing off the hero of the game 8 million times, in an adventure game, no less. they are cowards and i am glad their game failed. they are also clever game designers and have a good side so i hope they get another chance and redeem themselves by going gentle on the six-year olds. could have been a wonderful game.
oh, about the story, i though it started great, but lacked progression and development, though it was better than nothing. the stat viewing clubhouse hub was no help on this matter, but it was mainly the death that just set my teeth on edge. but you, you should probably try it. it's free (so to speak) and hardly anyone agrees with me on this stuff.
zack and wiki (actually a good title in my opinion- i have seen only complaints on this issue) is a game full of charm iand cleverness that, like so many games, goes off into itself and shoots itself in the head. developers and gamers may shake their heads at a fine undergroundish sort of title that sold poorly, but they probably don't understand the curious hostile gap between the serious game and the casual game. this game could have been lovely and could have sweetly bridged the gap but it seems the designers couldn't resist the sadism and illusion of credibility of killing off the hero of the game 8 million times, in an adventure game, no less. they are cowards and i am glad their game failed. they are also clever game designers and have a good side so i hope they get another chance and redeem themselves by going gentle on the six-year olds. could have been a wonderful game.
oh, about the story, i though it started great, but lacked progression and development, though it was better than nothing. the stat viewing clubhouse hub was no help on this matter, but it was mainly the death that just set my teeth on edge. but you, you should probably try it. it's free (so to speak) and hardly anyone agrees with me on this stuff.
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GF Rating
7
Good
Zack and Wiki
posted by Choosak (FORT KNOX, KY) May 29, 2009
Member since May 2009
I honestly thought this would be a great game for my 4 year old when i first read the details.
Holy Mother of Christ, it was alot harder than i thought, my daughter loved watching zack ring the wiki bell. She thought it was cute, but its too hard for her age bracket, but I enjoyed it immensley.
The levels start out really easy, and the graphics for a kids game its really cute.
I was very surprised at the detail in the characters and the complexity of the levels. I gave it 7 stars. !!
Holy Mother of Christ, it was alot harder than i thought, my daughter loved watching zack ring the wiki bell. She thought it was cute, but its too hard for her age bracket, but I enjoyed it immensley.
The levels start out really easy, and the graphics for a kids game its really cute.
I was very surprised at the detail in the characters and the complexity of the levels. I gave it 7 stars. !!
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GF Rating
5
Fair
Fun and challenging
posted by 7gamers (INDEPENDENCE, MO) May 26, 2009
Member since May 2009
At least 16 levels of challenging fun. We enjoyed this game, but many times had to resort to an internet 'walk-thru' to assist in getting a level completed. Good for ages 10+ due to the puzzle skills, almost too difficult for younger children (they got too frustrated).
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GF Rating
9
Excellent
Harder Than It Looks
posted by leftathome (OCEANSIDE, CA) Jan 8, 2009
Member since Oct 2008
My son and I played through Zack & Wiki together and made it most of the way through. It's got some great (sometimes fiendishly great) puzzles and comes from the "Learn by Dying" school of game design. At one point we realized we needed to start a puzzle over (losing 20 minutes' work) because we missed a step early on in the level.
The animation is great and the look and feel of the characters is quintessentially Japanese. Sometimes the Wii controller usage is a bit gimmicky, but they're thorough about it - at one point I realized the "flip this tool over" button was to actually make a flipping movement with the Wiimote (oops).
Adventure/puzzle games aren't for everyone, but if you like the pacing, figuring stuff out (or at least looking it up on GameFAQs) and the elastic farcical anime style, queue this one.
The animation is great and the look and feel of the characters is quintessentially Japanese. Sometimes the Wii controller usage is a bit gimmicky, but they're thorough about it - at one point I realized the "flip this tool over" button was to actually make a flipping movement with the Wiimote (oops).
Adventure/puzzle games aren't for everyone, but if you like the pacing, figuring stuff out (or at least looking it up on GameFAQs) and the elastic farcical anime style, queue this one.
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