Title: Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure

The Good:

When I first saw this game I thought to myself, this is just another lame game created by Nintendo to keep their younger gamers happy.  They created some random character and his little sidekick to go up against the big bad pirate to get some crazy treasure. But then something caught my attention, the description of the game stated that it is a puzzle solving game.  I do like puzzles, so why not give it a chance.  I soon found that this game is not for any ordinary puzzle solver.  The game begins by having you help this legendary pirate, Barbaros, restore him to his old self by collecting his body parts throughout the levels.  Barbaros promises to lead Zack to Treasure Island and give him his ship.  Armed with your friend wiki, a little furry flying friend who can turn into a bell at the shake of the wii-mote is your only source of a weapon.  You turn enemies into useful items to help you on your journey to collecting the many pieces of Barbaros. So of course all pirates lie, so when Barbaros is all put back together again, he turns on Zack.  Zack must now defeat Barbaros to receive what was promised to him by the old pirate.

The Bad:

Two main items stand out in my mind as being negative aspects of the game.  The first is the amount chatting that takes place between characters.  Sure it gets better in the middle of the game, but if you don’t know where the skip button is on the wii-mote, learn it quickly! Those conversations can get quite lengthy at the beginning and the end of the game.  The second negative thing I found about this game is its unexpected difficulty. WOW! Just when you think you are the all amazing puzzle solving master, think again.  The beginning levels are not so bad, you can kind of get a feel for what you are supposed to be accomplishing.  You can complete the mission in a decent amount of time. When it comes to the middle of the game, without a strategy guide you don’t stand a chance.  If you don’t use a strategy guide, you will find yourself spending hours upon hours trying to solve these elaborate puzzles and still not pass them.  Not to mention the final boss is almost impossible to conquer.

Closing:

This game would be recommended by me as a party game, but only one person can control the main person, Zack.  Everyone else playing can point their icon to help the person controlling Zack.  People who own Wii’s already know that most games created for the system are meant for group play.  This is a great party game because it will take more than one mind to solve these puzzles. The collaboration of ideas will help immensely and relieve the stress of playing it by yourself.  Having friends lend their ideas and be able to draw them on the screen is a great advantage or you can just draw funny figures that are not helpful at all, that is always fun too!

Game Length: 17-19 Hours
Relationship Status: Improved if played together, degraded if played alone.
Health Risk: Very likely if played alone
Price: $29.99 New Wii  - via Amazon
Final Verdict: 6 out of 10

If you agree or disagree with my review, please feel free to leave comments. Special thanks to IceMaiden22 & HBDumbasz