Rating: 6 out of 6 Crows - Work of Art (perfect. buy it, love it, worship it).

I’m losing sleep lately… staying up late nights to awake the next day with a Gamecube controller in my hand and one word floating through my mind: Zelda. Yes, that Zelda.  You see, Max went out and picked himself up a copy of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Nintendo Gamecube and has been having it out with those creatures from Ganon for nearly forty magnificent hours of game time to date.  And this time around our hero Link is thankfully nearly an adult and sets out to battle the twilight that is beginning to overtake his homeland. 

Now, the traditional landscape of Hyrule may seem familiar to you as its general design is taken from the N64 classic Ocarina of Time but it’s been updated beautifully.  The hardcore fans among us may remember Nintendo’s last foray into the world of Zelda and its cell shaded graphics with some dismay.  The Wind Waker tended to fall short of what the fans seemed to desire in many ways.  Well trust Max -

Twilight Princess does not.  Cell shaded, cartoon-like graphics have been replaced with the sharpest rendering of Hyrule to date. 

Every creature from our hero Link to the fish-like beings the Zoras to the faithful old mount Epona look and move absolutely perfectly.  The massive plains, mountains, and forests you’ll explore are staggering in scope, with massive peaks and treetops soaring off into the rendered distance. Even the little details like the hopping fish and swaying grass maintain their graphical perfection.  It seems very much as if Nintendo heard the complaints about childish graphics from the previous installment and decided to put the masses into their place with Twilight Princess’ amazing visuals.  The audio too has been updated yet still manages to bring our favorite Zelda noises into the 21st century.  All the classics sound effects and musical notes have remained, and it’s hard not to crack a smile when that all too familiar six note tune plays as you discover a new secret. 

This game does more than just look and sound good though, she plays well too.  The controls are predictably right on.  Link responds perfectly and despite the varied control schemes for the huge variety of different weapons, items, and so forth you will have no trouble getting him to behave exactly as you want.  The one and only complaint I have is the ‘auto jump’ feature.  This is an example a small detail that was probably included in an attempt to help to make the game more accessible but can be a bit annoying.  The feature works exactly as it sounds.  In other words, when Link gets to an edge, depending on his speed, he automatically leaps off in the direction you are heading.  Though this is extremely helpful in avoiding the all too frustrating moments of not being able to time a jump right, it will cause the occasion leap into the abyss for no reason other than you happened to roll near an edge.  That small complaint aside though, Twilight Princess still handles as well as

a perfectly weighted katana, even when you are fighting hordes of enemies from atop your trusty equine mount Epona.

Yes you read that right; they added horseback combat this time around!  That’s right.  Not only do you mount up to ride across the countryside you now take on mounted enemies in some of what I feel are the game’s coolest moments, including a few jousting sequences that take place on huge span bridges.  Nearly anytime you ride across the fields of Hyrule you are likely to be assaulted by companies of mounted enemies.  Don’t worry though as Link is properly equipped with sword, shield, bow and arrow, and many more weapons to battle his foes with. 

One more completely new feature that should be mentioned, the transformed state you enter when Link travels to the twilight world.  Upon entering this realm for the first time our elfin hero drops to all fours and becomes one bad ass wolf.  At first it may not be clear whether this is actually a cool feature or a lame gimmick, and I can’t blame you.  However, after spending plenty of time in wolf form I have to once again assure that it is awesome.  Nintendo has integrated the transformed state perfectly into the Twilight Princess plot so as it doesn’t feel forced or unoriginal.  Wolf-Link’s heightened canine senses are put to some pretty cool work as you use them to track your friends, find those ever elusive ghosts (Poe’s for those of you who are familiar with Zelda terminology), or just discover hidden secrets.  It ends up being a great addition to the game and a nice bit of variety added to the series’ already successful formula of exploration and dungeon crawling.  

Speaking of the dungeons, they are impressive.  Ranging from the classic woodland temple to the huge battered Ruins of Snow Peak they will consistently amuse and challenge you in every way a game should.  The new weapons you discover along the way are integrated into the dungeons you find them in and are always useful for back tracking to unlock even more secrets. The bosses are still named and introduced in a quick little cinematic before you battle them, true to Nintendo’s style. There are even mini-bosses strewn throughout the later dungeons that provide some pretty amazing rumbles for you to test Links continually growing arsenal of weapons, items, and attacks.  These all increase in difficulty to keep pace with your ever improving ability to kick ass.  So too do the puzzles the game throws at you, beginning with simple ‘move the block to this spot’ solutions to multi room challenges that can take a

good few minutes to really get a handle on.  It’s all enjoyable though! Which brings me to my overall feeling about the experience: somehow Nintendo just manages to keep every second of this game fun.

Even the few times I was stuck I wasn’t really having a bad time.  Many games tend to be maddening when you can’t figure out what to do next, but Twilight Princess is able to avoid this simply due to the sheer amount of freedom you have a detail to explore.  If you can’t figure out a solution to one of its puzzles, there is always something else you can do.  Even if it’s just a little errand in a remote corner of Hyrule, it comes in handy to spend ten minutes away from a few of these puzzles then go back and solve them with a fresh perspective.  Plus you’re likely to enjoy the play experience while doing even the most menial of tasks.

This all ties into Nintendo’s trademarks when making a flagship title game: enjoyable and user friendly from start to finish.  Twilight Princess has this in abundance via its unique sense of humor and little touches that make you think to yourself: “Damn that is cool and clever!” over and over again.  A final example of this is Link twirling his sword around when you are locked in combat with an enemy.  It takes those tense fights and adds even more realism as you and your foe circle each other, looking for a break in the others guard.  Even after you vanquish enemy baddies Link sheaths his sword with some flair that feels well deserved after many of the battles.  All the different characters you’ll meet in Hyrule also have their own little touches.  From the dog on the street that you can pick up for absolutely no reason other then you can, to the bug-collecting girl who seems bat shit crazy but actually is full of useful items and secrets.

As I’m sure you can tell, I love this game and with damn good reason.  The Legend of Zelda series has truly regained its place as one of the greatest series on the market with Twilight Princess.  It’s a quality piece of software from start to finish filled to the brim with little details that make for an entirely rich and unique gaming experience.  When you pick it up for yourself let us know what you think in forums.  Right now I gotta get back to Hyrule, Zelda is waiting!

Max out.

PS: For more on The Legend of Zelda, check out Wikipedia's extensive entry on the history of the series.