I got a Wii last summer and bought Zelda based on research of the best Wii games. It came down to 2 games: Zelda or Metroid Prime. Since I was a D&D enthusiast, and Zelda was a longer game with the emphasis on adventure & puzzles rather than fighting, I went for it. This is the first computer game I have played in about 10 years, so the technology was new to me. The graphics were great, the motion and controls smooth, tight and mostly seamless. Even though Wii is not a SOTA gaming system, I was impressed as I had no idea that these little gaming consoles had come so far in terms of their graphics, processing power and game play. I played in 480p on my 42" Panasonic plasma. I knew nothing about the history of this game; it took me about 80 hours to complete it.

The game has at least 10 multilevel dungeons in addition to a lot of time spent roaming the huge open world, with numerous side quests and mini games. It has lots of puzzles, some of which were well conceived, difficult and satisfying, while others were simply tricks that were equally difficult but less satisfying due to their less thoughtful "random" solutions. In the advanced fights near the end of the game, the action goes too fast for the game and the controls take on a sluggish feel which is very frustrating. But overall it is a smooth, tight playing game.

The plot was interesting though immature at times, the level design was well thought out and the game seemed to capitalize on the Wii's capabilities. The Wii is not a SOTA gaming system but this game does a good job of making it look and play like one.

At the end I felt much the same way I felt when I used to play D&D and we completed a particularly long and satisfying campaign. Of course Z:TP doesn't come close to D&D in terms of realism or role play, but it has a taste of that D&D flavor. As a former Dungeon Master, I was intrigued by the possibilities in some of the level designs & puzzles. But are there any DMs still playing? It would be a shame if games like this superceded the classic old game of D&D, as it had so much more to offer in terms of role play and realism which gave the game a whole different level of depth and maturity. Yes I realize some may think it strange to put "D&D" and "maturity" in the same sentence :)

Anyway, I was amazed at the level of direction and production that went into this game. It seems to me that the best games are approaching movies in terms of the production quality and work that goes into them. I was also impressed by the overall quality of the implementation (graphics, motion, game world physics, etc.). It had clear limitations with some unrealistic behaviors, but consistent and nothing that got in the way of engaging gameplay.

Next up: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption!