Making The Case: An M-Rated "Zelda"

When The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was released, it got massively positive reviews, with critics praising the tried-and-true formula that had worked for so many years. But critics and fans agreed that the new graphics style, which was much more realistic and less-fantasy based than previous games, was absolutely astounding.

In fact, the new graphics brought upon something that, in my eyes, could be seen as a milestone in Nintendo's game development. It was the first Zelda game to receive the "T for Teen" rating, with the ESRB citing "fantasy violence and animated blood" as the reason for the new rating. But why stop there? We already know a new Zelda game is coming (it's been confirmed to include Wii MotionPlus), so why not push it a little farther: a Zelda game rated "M for Mature"?

Nintendo has been repeatedly criticized for not catering to their hardcore audience, and while they have revealed an impressive line-up of games that fit this requirement at this year's E3 (which included the aforementioned Zelda game), this could be a perfect opprotunity for Nintendo to step up to the plate with a truly gory Zelda game.

Link's weapons are famously his Master Sword and bow (the former oddly missing in a recently released image of him), which would easily translate into a game heavy on blood. Sure, there are problems with the idea; potential backlash at Nintendo for straying from being "family-friendly", less of an audience able to buy the game, but could the benefits outweight these risks? Possibly.

Link, seen without his iconic Master Sword

A quick glance at sales figures for the three warring consoles - Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 - will show that the Wii is dominating, hands-down. But a closer look suggests that the Wii isn't winning anything - in fact, it's not even competing. Games like Wii Play and Wii Fit destroy all competition, even first-party Nintendo franchises such as Super Mario Galaxy.

Which is exactly why an M Rated Zelda would work perfectly with the Wii's upcoming strategy to catch the hardcore gamer. Some could call such violence in the classic series "gratuitious", but would it not be more realistic? As graphics increase exponentially each generation, it may be time to re-tool this classic franchise for the upcoming years.

In other Wii news, many fans are pushing for a price cut for the Wii, despite it still being the cheapest console available. With the recent announcement of the PS3 and Xbox 360 dropping their prices to $299, it's the perfect time for Nintendo to do the same, only at a lower price: $199. Coupled with the release of games such as Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M, it could strongly increase sales of the Wii and it's games.

Image credit: computerbild.de (here), GCN (here).

Review: Wii Sports Resort

I'm going to be perfectly honest here - chances are, if you're an avid gamer, you will not be buying Wii Sports Resort for the twelve sports, but rather the Wii MotionPlus peripheral. And even though you may consider the game itself more of a demo for the new peripheral, you may be pleasantly surprised by the fun it provides.

The game plays much like a fleshed-out version of the original Wii Sports. Instead of having a meager five sports to play, Resort includes more than twice that, coming in with twelve sports for the family to enjoy. Theser sports include: Swordplay, Wakeboarding, Frisbee,

Archery, Basketball, Table Tennis, Golf, Bowling, Power Cruising, Canoeing, Cycling Air Sports.

While you may have seen some of these before, such as Golf, Table Tennis, and Bowling, the experiences are differed in the fact that Wii MotionPlus makes the experiences feel more physical. But the new sports are arguably even more fun - Swordplay in particular. The motions are now 1:1, and the whole time I played this particular sport, I could only think about how it would integrate into the next Zelda game.

Archery is another favorite game of mine, and with good reason. Long be

fore the Wii MotionPlus, I came up with my own theory for how a bow and arrow could work on the Wii - by pressing a button on the Nunchuck, pulling it back, and letting go of the button. While this did not happen in Twilight Princess, it was implented into this Archery game. I also enjoyed how gravity and wind factored into the game.

Wakeboarding makes great use of the Wii MotionPlus peripheral

Still, the games aren't as expansive as they could be. The game comes in at $50, and the Wii MotionPlus peripheral is sold seperately for only $20. So, is the game worth $30? While I personally think so, you might not want to buy such a casual game for that price. More "hardcore" gamers would probably be more willing to buy the game if it had Wi-Fi connection, a feature I sadly realized it did not have.

If you're a casual gamer, without a doubt, pick this game up. But if you're looking for a more meaty experience, there are better games for you - though don't forget to buy the Wii MotionPlus peripheral seperately, because it has been confirmed it will be used in the next Zelda game. 7.5/10

Image credit: Gamer Tell (here), Chewing Pixels (here).

Post E3: Lack Of Zelda

Despite some major announcements at Nintendo's E3 Conference, there was a surprising lack of Zelda information. The already announced Spirit Tracks was only briefly mentioned, and we only have a small bit of information regarding a sequel to Twilight Princess - a picture of a grown-up Link (apparently, without his sword) that has not yet been released to the public.

However, some potential good news for the series came out of the Conference. When showing Wii Sports Resort, the first game that will use the new Wii MotionPlus, it was mentioned that we should pay attention to the sword-fighting and archery, as they could be put to use in later games. Although Wii MotionPlus does not allow the use of the Nunchuck controller yet, this shows that they are at least willing to attempt to implement it in future games.