4.1.2008

For those of you who don't know the style of the game, it is like the adventure games of old. If any of you played any of the Monkey Islands or Full Throttle or Sam and Max or Day of the Tentacle or any others, you will love this game. Myst players, too, will probably love this game.The premise is that you are an up-and-coming pirate named Zack who is searching for treasure with your more-than-adorable companion Wiki. You go through a series of incredibly clever and interesting puzzles that are themed in a variety of ways. There is a jungle section, ice, fire, haunted mansion, etc. You go through the level interacting with items in a very intuitive point-and-click way,picking things up and using them with other items in the game.One of the reasons Zack and Wiki is so inventive is that it is for the wii. Sometimes you will have to flip an item over to use the other end--you do this by flipping the wiimote. You loosen a dragon's tooth by twisting it back and forth; you saw with a sawing motion; you turn keys and locks. It sounds silly, but all these minor actions really bring you into the game and also make the puzzles just a little more challenging.Another cool aspect to the game is Wiki. Not only does the strange flying monkey creature have a great sense of humor, but when you shake him he turns into a bell. This bell is used to transform creatures into objects, like a centipede into a centi-saw. It's a very clever mechanic. A nice example of a puzzle would be turning a snake into a slither gripper (something that extends your reach), carry it to a frog on a ledge, and turn it back into a snake that will scare the frog toward you. Then you turn the frog into a frog bomb and put it into an ice crystal to make it fall and land on something else so you can...you get the idea.Two things that might surprise you if you have played a lot of adventure games are that in this one you can and will die, often (at least I have). The game utilizes platinum tickets that allow you to revive at the loss of some points and oracle dolls that give you hints. With this system in place death isn't so bad, but it is unlike other games I've played. Also, you don't keep items in an inventory; instead you can only hold one at a time. This is a cool choice that I think neither hurts nor helps the level of puzzle.Another feature included is that up to four wiimotes can be used. The other players can't do anything but draw on the screen. Basically they point at things they want you, the player, to interact with. It seems minor, but it makes this single player game more fun for everyone. Whenever I played it was with a group of three or four people. Everybody had a great time trying to solve the intricate and exciting puzzles together, and sometimes it helps to have someone to give suggestions when you're stumped.In conclusion, this game is amazing, and a great deal at only £30. The sound is wonderful, the graphics are great, and the humor can make you laugh out loud. Those are just the minor pros, though, for the real power of the game comes from its ridiculously creative puzzles. The way you use items and Wiki as a bell really makes for some challenging and rewarding puzzles. So I highly recommend this game to anyone who likes this sort of problem solving. It is not fast paced, but it is a lot of fun.

18.5.2008

The Wii's control system is perfect for the almost-extinct point-and-click adventure genre, so it was only a matter of time before they started to make a comeback on the machine. Thankfully, Capcom saw fit to lead the way with Zack and Wiki, bringing back all the usual try-this-on-that puzzling with a little added gesture-based interactivity and bucketloads of charm for good measure.The game is less dialogue-driven than the likes of Monkey Island or Broken Sword, and instead of acquiring an ever-growing inventory of bizarre items during the course of the game, Zack and Wiki is broken into different missions, each containing their own self-contained puzzle; the solution to which can be found in the items around you in that level.This sometimes involves turning animals into various tools using your sidekick Wiki as a bell. The puzzles themselves are on the whole ingenius and incredibly satisfying to solve - chances are on more than one occasion you'll spend hours scratching your head over something, leering dangerously towards an internet guide. More often than not the answer is there, right in front of you, which makes it all the sweeter when you finally figure it out.It's not perfect though. A couple of times through I hit a brick wall because certain puzzle elements are not called out very clearly. The game also has a habit of killing you instantly if you examine the wrong thing - which in my opinion is criminal in a game of this type. To add to the frustration, unless you had the foresight to stock up on 'Platinum Tickets', this means starting the entire level again. Using a ticket lets you restart from a previous checkpoint, a feature that - given how easy it is to die - really should've been included for free. (As long as you spend all the money you gain on tickets you should rarely get too frustrated - though you do get graded on their usage)Also there are design issues, such as the ability in some levels to lose a key item early in the level by using it incorrectly, only to discover it's real purpose later on - by which point the item is gone and you've no choice but to restart. To round off the bad points, some of the gestures are unresponsive - conversely, some actions are carried out accidentally when trying to work out what to do.These problems will no doubt have you cursing Zack and his cartoon buddies from time to time, but they were never enough to soil my overall enjoyment of the game. It's colourful, funny, makes good use of the Wii remote, and often makes good use of your own grey matter, long since rusty after hours of Generic Shooting Game No.21224. One last complaint is that it's quite short lived, but that's a problem that plays most games of this ilk - once you've solved the puzzles once, there's little to go back to, at least not until you've forgotten them all again. For this reason it's probably best off as a rental or picked up on the cheap, but one way or another everyone should give Zack and Wiki a whirl.

27.1.2008

I've never written a review without completing a game before, but Im doing it now as a plea for other Wii owners to buy this so we can get a sequel.I've only had it a few days but it really is brilliant. The Wii controls are brilliant in this game, and that seems to be the point of it - embracing the next gen Wii controls.The point of the game is to conquer a series of puzzles in order to find treasure chests that contain parts of an old ghostly pirate. Its done in the traditional point and click style of the Monkey Island and broken sword games. The wii remote though gives the genre a new lease of life as the gesture controls work so well.Most of the point and click adventures in the past

3.6.2009

I'm a big fan of adventure games, right the way back to Monkey Island, Space Quest, Simon the Sorcerer et al. This shares little in common with them. It has a minimal but existent plot and little dialogue, but it does have a great sense of humour and a number of tricky puzzles.Each level is a self contained puzzle, the objective being to reach a treasure chest containing your next find. Zack has the ability to interact with items and the world, during interaction you will often be asked to hold the remote in a certain way and do something approximating to the action Zack is performing, this amounts to a micro-game, screwing it up resulting in a failed action. Zack also has the ability to grab his flying-monkey-friend Wiki,

18.8.2010

I can't understand why this game didn't sell better! The only reasons I can think of are the aesthetics, which may mislead people into thinking this is addressed to a very young audience, and the difficulty of some puzzles, especially for younger kids, who may need a bit of help to complete them.This game has everything I look for in entertainment: it's funny, humorous at times, mind-boggling too. It will test your patience, since some puzzles are quite long and complicated, but perseverance eventually pays off. I think the idea is fantastic, the scenarios are varied and well designed, and yes, sometimes there are several ways to complete a puzzle.

3.4.2010

Since buying a Wii, we have bought a wide a variety of games to make the most of the varied gameplay options and actions with the wiimote and nunchuck. This game is the first in this catagory of point and click story telling, but half an hour into the game I have mixed views.The pros are the brilliant graphics and interaction with the wiimote. The cons are that you have to wade through the story to progress through the game without knowing who much there is to go. This frustration was improved when returning to a previously played part because you have the option to skip to the next part which moves things along.We have decided to play this game as a family,

16.5.2008

I received this as a gift for 22nd Birthday. When I opened it, I didn't know what to make of it - I'd never heard of it and the front cover did little to convince me. However, as soon as I put it in my Wii, I was laughing my head off at the dialogue and animations. It's brilliant. I've been playing for about 6 hours so far - not bored at all and I've only just passed the first boss level. It can be quite tricky to solve the problems but you can buy hints with the coins you find. You'll feel a great sense of achievement when you finally crack the level too. Oh, and this game is one of very few that delivers exactly what the Wii console set out to - a type of gaming where you can actually act out what you're doing rather than click a button and do a completely unrelated action.

19.7.2008

Through the myriad of sequels and knock-off clones that are poisoning the games market, this is a game that is a real treat.You play as Zack, a pirate-in-training who goes off with his monkey Wiki to find all manner of treasure and loot. Zack is aided by his pirate pals (a feisty bunch of rabbits and clown-like things...) as he goes through a variety of environments where a large treasure chest holds a bounty full of loot. It is your mission to help Zack get this treasure and win the level.This may look like kiddie game but do not be fooled, it becomes a devilish puzzler with great graphics and some of the most lovable characters I have seen on the platform. The Wii may not be a polygon powerhouse,

19.5.2008

So many people compare this game to Monkey Island, but it is not really anything like. This is more similar in concept to the Goblins game that was around at about the same time as Monkey Island - lots of individual puzzles that stand on their own.The puzzle elements of this game are good (albeit not that tricky) and the graphics and sounds are polished and atmospheric. Just two things let the game down: un-skippable cut scenes (including some that show you how you need to hold the remote to solve each puzzle, which kind of removes the element of working it out for yourself) and poorly scripted pirate dialogue.The dialogue is the thing that bugs me most. Instead of Genuine Pirate-Speak(tm),

18.4.2008

There are lots of things to say about this game. For a start it's not exactly a toddler game like the plot or animation suggests. It's very hard if your brain isn't wired into the game's way of thinking (which mine isn't) but you do slowly get better, just not faster enough to keep up with learning curve. Sure you could use the internet walkthroughs, but on a puzzle game that defeats the purpose!Then there's the graphics, I wasn't sure about them because I've never been manga fan and although they aren't full-on manga they are very stylised. In the end it doens't make much difference except they fit the attitude of the game well. The characters are slightly bland,

2.6.2010

This game is a real rarity; Something that actualy makes you think.I mean, really, really think. The puzzles are diverse and often require a good deal of effort to solve. And I *love* that.Far too many games have puzzles that basicaly amount to nothing more then pressing switchs in the right order, or (at best) Sokuban Variations.But this game has lots of nice physics based puzzles, latteral thinking all in a very consistant universe with sensible rules and logical solutions. (No "chuck brick at ghost" or "selotape phone to cat" style solutions here).Its a real breath of fresh air. This isnt a game about finding the right item-combinations either. You know what items to use,

21.1.2008

Just buy this game.It's colourful, fun, inventive, head-scratching, puzzle solving fun and anyone could enjoy its unique charms.Puzzles revolve around using the Wii remote in the correct way; make a digging motion to use a spade, pull it like a lever for, well, lever pulling.Some of the levels are bite-sized whilst others will take much longer to complete.It's funny, cute and satisfying; we've had people all sat around throwing ideas about how to tackle the next problem and we're all nearly 30 so don't be put off by it's seemingly kiddy looks.If you're only interesting in shooting enemies in the face then this won't be your cup of tea,

26.1.2008

From the moment you load it up you know you're in for an amazing and very funny gaming experience. As others have said, it may look like it is aimed at young children but for anyone who enjoys action adventures/puzzle games this must be one the best. Unlike other Wii games this uses the Wii remote very well, making for a better gaming experience rather than just being used for the hell of it, Unlike other Wii games It isn't a simple group of mini-games but easy enough to get into, with a good learning curve and becomes more and more challenging. If you own a Wii, I urge you to go out and buy this game, without third-party games like this, the Wii will never get the kind of titles you see on PS3 or 360,

22.3.2008

personally im not usually someone who goes for puzzle games of most sorts but i gave this a try and i think its really great!!! it may look more of a kids game but its challenging, fun and takes ages to work out. its been in my wii for ages now and im addicted to it. it uses the wii remote in really imaginative ways to solve puzzles and is probably one of my most favourite games. and thats saying lot. its also got a load of replay value!!!and the only bad thing is that its not getting the attention is deserves! its a true hidden gem and my whole family loves it. if you dont give this a try, you're missing out on something very special. its possibly the game that shows what the wii can actually do.

2.3.2008

This game truely is unique. It takes all that is great about point-and-click adventures, adds it's own quirky sense of humour, colourful cartoon graphics, and most importantly: it adds the Wii-mote!!!Each level is a puzzle, the objective being to open the treasure chest located somewhere in the level. To get to it, you have to interact with the environment, using object X on object Y, which causes Z to happen. Need to shake a coconut out of a tree? Then click on the tree and shake the Wii-mote until the coconut drops. Need to turn the lever? Then hold the Wii-mote horizontal and imitate a turning action.This is great fun for everyone, and some of the puzzles are fiendish!!!

Zack & Wiki - Quest for Barbaros Treasure (Wii) - Reviews

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