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So, you want to know about Twilight Princess do you? Well, there are two different types of people out there with respect to this game: those who played Ocarina of Time, and those who have not.

If you have played Ocarina of Time
Well, you’re going to love this game. You’ll see the similarities are astounding. Epona is there, your quiet farm boy Link is there, Hyrule Castle is definately there, and many of the baddies that you know from Ocarina of Time are there as well. It’s amazing to think of how similar the games are.

But I think you’ll think Twilight Princess is better…

If you haven’t played Ocarina of Time
Well, you’re going to love this game, too. This game takes no prior knowledge into account. It builds on past versions for sure, but it doesn’t require foreknowledge.

So, here’s a quick run-down of the pros and cons:
Pros

• Wiimote really sets you up for a more comfortable control.
• This story is deep. Legend of Zelda games have always had dark under-tones, but this is the first one that really is up front about it.
• There is some very nicely done foreshadowing. Not too obvious, not too subtle. Just about right.

Cons

• Why wasn’t this game voice-acted? Nintendo needs to start doing more voice acting. Seriously. It adds depth to the game and brings characters to life.
• Why wasn’t this music orchestrated? It could have been much better than it is.
• What’s with the wolf mode not letting you use items that add health?
• The howl mode could have been used more, and to the benefit of the story.
• Nintendo’s copy protection mechanisms are causing discs to go prematurely bad.

The bottom line is that this game blew my mind. Absolutely blew my mind.

Popularity: 57%

So I finished Hotel Dusk last night at like 0100. It’s insane how much fun that game was. It was a great story and the graphics and sound were exceptionally clever.

In Hotel Dusk you’re a washed up NYPD detective working as a travelling door-to-door salesman and you’re trying to solve some mysteries… because that’s what washed-up detectives do.

I must confess that this is one of the few DS games where I’ve actually used the stylus for the majority of the game, and it felt really natural. You hold this game sideways (yes, it is lefty friendly; being a lefty I noticed) and interact entirely with the stylus. There are some complaints that I have though.

Some of the controls in Hotel Dusk left me feeling stuck and WTFing. There was one moment where I had to resuscitate a woman, and I was feeling a little lost. They actually wanted me to close and reopen the DS in order to perform mouth-to-mouth. That just didn’t make sense to me. Also, with how linear that game is I found myself trying to anticipate the game rather than following the story.

Despite these complaints, I found myself really digging the story. It’s a real time-burner… it’s hard to put the game down. With the save-anywhere functionality, as long as you’re not in a cut-scene you’re good as gold saving anywhere you want (always a good decision). Also, if you made the wrong choice it allowed you to back up and start over again.

I recommend this game to old infocom and Myst buffs, but also for people who’re looking for something new and different. This game really got me in the mood for story games, so look forward to some Phoenix Wright reviews shortly. Good night kiddos.

Popularity: 31%

Wow, have you ever played a football game before? Gosh, Lord knows I have! I’ve been playing football games for almost 15 years now. I have never seen one as well put together as this one. Puts all other football games to shame, and with this past Super Bowl it’s even starting to put the NFL itself to shame (thanks a lot for that horrible Super Bowl coverage CBS).

So for the high points, I have to start off by telling you how I play these types of games. I’m not the kind of person who plays shooters and sports games only with other people… particularly my brother Richard. Over Christmas this past year, my brother an I spent more than 30 hours over the course of 2 weeks playing that game. What a blast. That game was so fun it should be illegal (and probably is in California).

Some features worth mentioning are…

• Real-feel passing
• A training mode that it is second to none
• A sound-track that’s simply blowing my mind
• Excellent graphics
• Real-time weather
• Really intuitive camera control
• You can use the light-gun to point to select players on the field
• No more horrible button combos to perform audibles

It is insane how cool this game is, and Wii pulls it off so well. It’s always fun to have such a blast with my brother, and this game really enables it. Cooperative multi-player is something you just gotta have with a football game.

Popularity: 26%

Everybody, say hello to my little friend… I mean the new author: jarhead. I think you’ll all like him.

Jarhead likes long walks on the beach, stargazing with his best gal, and relieving alien scum of all appendages above the shoulder.

I think you all will find his reviews refreshing and new, if for no other reason than for his love of the shooter. Jarhead is quite the console shooter connoisseur. He will be reviewing games primarily for the Xbox and Playstation 2. He’ll also put up some stuff about the Nintendo DS.

If you’d like to become an author on AnyConsole.com, please email editor@anyconsole.com with a sample review of anything (not necessarily a game, just anything) for consideration.

Popularity: 18%

Okay, so my wife just picked up this game as a birthday gift, and I’ve just started playing it. OH MY GOODNESS the graphics are neat. The sound is well-done thus-far as well.

I’ll keep you updated, but man, this seems like one neat game. 1up.com gave it some good reviews as well.

Popularity: 37%

Well, I got my Wii on Thursday last week, and I must say I’m surprised what game I’ve ended up playing more than any other. It hasn’t been The Ledgend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (though I have cranked 10-12 hard hours in on this one), it hasn’t been Excite Truck, Trauma Center: Second Opinion, WiiSports, nor has it been Red Steel.

No my friends, the game that has won out with a whopping 17 hours of game play has been UbiSoft’s most unique, interesting, and overall stupid-crazy-fun game Rayman Raving Rabbids that has stolen my play time.

This is not at all to say that any of the previously mentioned games aren’t good. Quite the contrary; Twilight Princess is an outstanding game. It’s beautifully crafted and a masterpiece to be sure… but that’s not why I’m insane about Wii.

Wii to me means a new way of playing my games. I can’t think of how many times I’ve been in my local GameCrazy asking my buddies there what is new to play… most of the time to a dismayed “not much” response. Wii changes all of that.

Rayman Raving Rabbids really strikes at the heart of this desire for me. I didn’t want a strictly linear game that was over when I finished the story. I wanted something where I could try many different things, have some good laughs, involve my family and my friends, and be able to walk away when I’m done satisfied. Rayman does this.

Instead of the platformer that Rayman has traditionally been, Raving Rabbids is a very loosely knit series of mini-games that really showcase the unique control capabilities of Wii, and are so silly that it put me and my wife in stitches. That is what gaming is supposed to be about. That’s what I wanted. That’s what Rayman delivered.

If you want my recommendation on a must-have for Wii, it would be Rayman Raving Rabbids.

Popularity: 38%