The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Yeah, Wind Waker was a great game, but in looking back, it sure wasn't Twilight Princess. The darker direction takes our hero and the series into unchartered territory and fans will definitely appreciate the shift in mood.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is one of those few genre-defining games that while clearly dedicated to fans of the series, also serves as a wonderful adventure for those new to the series.

Whatever the hardware, Zelda is a brilliant adventure: a stunning achievement, and reason enough to dust off that abandoned GameCube.

It's an amazing epitaph to the GameCube's life and it's certainly the best game from Nintendo this year. If you've been on the fence in any capacity, then please rest assured that you'll not be disappointed. Nintendo's flagship game has arrived in style and you better damned well appreciate it. It's ultimately fantastic.

The GameCube controller doesn't quite offer the potential of the Wii remote, so slicing down enemies and firing arrows isn't quite as engaging.

Everything about it is a little familiar, the result of decades of refinement, tweaked gameplay and an ever more fully realized game universe. Although I was sometimes amazed or delighted by a new trick or character, I never felt really, truly surprised by anything in this game.

Over 40 to 50 hours of gameplay for your first time through. Every hour features challenging, rewarding, fun and entertaining gameplay. Excellent dungeon design and memorable locales.

The best the series has to offer up to this point.

As someone who has played both the GameCube and Wii versions of Twilight Princess, I can confidently state that I prefer the latter for its handful of extras, including what I consider to be enhanced controls and an exclusive 16:9 widescreen mode. That being said, though, I can certainly understand why purists might want to stick with the more conventional controls of the GCN build and as far as a traditional setup goes, Twilight Princess is definitely as good as it gets.

Twilight Princess was a long time in coming, but the game's depth will make it last even longer among the Zelda faithful. [Feb. 2007, p.95]

A spectacular, jaw-dropping send off for the faithful old GameCube. [Mar 2007, p.84]

But the moment the opening symphony plays until the concluding credits, all fear and doubt quickly vanishes like the cool whispering of an autumn's breeze. Though not flawless, Nintendo have once again demonstrated masterful craftsmanship, challenging design and imaginative artistry.

This game is more or less the latest version of a realm that has been long established and already seen. Yes, the story is darker, longer, and more character driven than anything before it. Yes, the dungeons and sidequests are remarkably well crafted. That doesn't mean that both seasoned Zelda fans and newcomers alike will enjoy the lacking difficulty and the other small problems that plague the game.

Even without the Wii's motion controls and an orchestrated soundtrack, Zelda succeeds with an ambitious quest that rivals "Ocarina of Time" and a control scheme that players will love.