Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros's Treasure (Wii) Preview

The game starts off with a story revolving around Zack, a young apprentice pirate keen on seeking out treasure. During his escapades he comes across a talking skull that once belonged to a legendary pirate by the name of Barbaros, who long ago stole a fantastic treasure and left it hidden within the depths of a mysterious island. Whilst others have been allured by the promise of wealth beyond their wildest dreams, all have failed. In this case, however, should Zack promise to help remove Barbaros' curse then the key to the island will be revealed afterwards as a reward. But do not think you will be breaking that curse any time soon, since Capcom has already confirmed there will likely be around forty hours of gameplay, which is extraordinarily long for this particular style of game.

PC fans may remember how brief certain 'classics' were, with Broken Sword 2 being one particularly short-but-sweet entry. But there are some games where longer is certainly not for the better, with events dragging on considerably. From all reports, though, this game avoids that by being laid out in short, sharp bursts of fun puzzle-filled gameplay, helped along nicely by an amusing side-kick simian called Wiki and the fact that the Wii controller is the main key for solving the majority of puzzles, giving you a constant hands-on feel that makes cracking the conundrum all the more satisfying than when you just have to press a button. Also, as implied before, the gameplay is not so slow-paced that most will become bored easily, as you will quickly realise that there are numerous traps along your path, some that come in quick succession and require rapid reactions or else you could be squashed by a boulder bounding down a staircase or pincered by treacherous spikes.

Players wander around levels in a manner akin to point-and-click games, with the Wii controller acting as a mouse, moving an on-screen cursor and awaiting a click of the A button to execute the desired command (in this case 'walk to'). The first level (of three shown so far) had players faced with a plane crash, having to collect various items from the wreck. Then, upon reaching a waterfall and dead end, you must figure out how to proceed. Queue some first-person tree shaking, using the Wii-mote, and the revelation of a centipede that must be dispatched using Wiki, who conveniently changes into a large bell that can be swung repeatedly. When dealt with, the Centipede becomes a Centisaw and the tree can then be cut down (again using the motion control, this time in a first-person viewpoint) and used as a bridge for crossing the waterfall. Very simple stuff, but when you are against the clock (with the chance of death looming) it proves to be quite engaging.

Next up the scene moved to an Egyptian-style locale, where there were lots of ancient statues, a lever and several large rocks. Here the aim was to pile the heads of the statues in the right order, again by lifting with the Wii controller. Obviously it was not that simple, as flipping was required at times, literally done with the Wii controller in a manner similar to turning a key. When done, a handle appears that can be used in the hole of the lever, then you must move the controller in a circular fashion until the statues are moved into the right position before you can grab the treasure. Again, as with the last main puzzle, any incorrect moves result in death

The game takes place over various colourful, well-animated locations, such as the ruins of a jungle, an airship and even an ancient castle, complete with a very attractive cel-shaded look that is somewhat akin to that of Zelda Wind Waker, except with more of a Japanese anime feel to it and humorous little scenes. Certainly a far cry from some of the shoddy first generation offerings released so far! As for longevity, the game gives you a rating dependent on how quickly you completed puzzles and whether or not you asked for hints along the way, which is aimed at increasing the replayable nature of the game. The game also does not hold you hand unnecessarily, leaving you to wander into an area and have to quickly figure out what is going on all on your own. All-in-all a pretty solid package.