Although the game world is massive and visiting Link's old hangouts is a lovely chance to remind the untrained and uneducated of what you did there in years gone by, it comes as a disappointment that Twilight Princess' world isn't completely different to what we already knew. must have some of the most talented teams of developers in the world and we know that Wind Waker's sea-fairing, treasure-seeking style didn't sit well with many hardcore fans, they must've known it wouldn't, but they still went ahead. It's a shame that they couldn't have demonstrated the same fearless approach once again, instead they've played it safe with a tried, tested and ultimately conservative effort in terms of Nintendo's reputation for innovation.

,p>In part, the same kind of pessimism must also beeline in the direction of Twilight Princess's graphical style. The other Wind Waker gripe from zealots was its cel-shaded, cartoon-like presentation. It upset fans desperate for the 'real-life' Zelda hinted at in early trailers. In fact, Wind Waker is widely regarded as the most accomplished of any game in terms of artistic style. Every inch of the world dotted upon the Great Sea beams with colour, personality and an unmistakable style. In contrast, Twilight Princess' world is, well, drab. That's not to say that it isn't pretty or unimpressive in parts because it is. In fact, as artistic direction goes it is very impressive indeed. However, the overbearing pallet of greens, browns and golden yellows throughout Hyrule just don't cut it in next to the wondrous, striking hues of Wind Waker. Of course, if we move the graphical comparison away from a title built for yesterday's generation of consoles, then the flaws are blindingly obvious. The machine's limited power means that you'll find jagged edges aplenty and a host of blurred textures that, in cut scenes especially, don't really stand in equal stead to the standard that the rest of the game sets.

That said, the game was built from the ground up for GameCube hardware, and, by those standards, Twilight Princess looks remarkable, certainly one of the best-looking titles on the console. The animation throughout is faultless, while every location oozes with natural beauty and architectural character. While you might not care about the plight of troubled individuals you meet along the way for hours after you've rescued them, for the cinematic moments in which their plight is revealed, it's difficult not to feel at least a twinge of determination to help. Nintendo also seem to have focused more attention than ever on making the story-telling sections of the game as professionally constructed and emotive as possible, and for the majority of the time they pull it out of the bag. A special mention has to go Link's teleportation to and from the Twilight Realm; a moment where he is snatched with surprising force by a gigantic, glowing fist into the unknown.

Link is Nintendo's most famous mute. Other than core emotional signifiers such as shouting and screaming, he has remained silent, relying on non-playable characters to fill in the gaps with regards to his mini mutterings. This tradition continues in Twilight Princess, but in an era where audio quality and memory restrictions are no longer an issue, many might question why the rest of the game's characters also rely on text alone to express their thoughts. It's a fair point, but one that doesn't really matter that much in a title that doesn't rely too heavily on words alone to convey its narrative. As mentioned, there is enough emotion in any of the characters facial and bodily gesticulations to communicate their thinking. As the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words and, fortunately, Twilight Princess excels in proving this phrase true. That's not to say in-game speech shouldn't be a consideration for Nintendo in the future, but for now they seem to have gotten away without its inclusion.

The same, unfortunately, can't be said for the game's midi-based soundtrack. Much of Twilight Princess's musical accompaniment consists of re-workings and remixes of OoT's much-loved melodies, providing, as with many of the games other elements, a delightful sense of nostalgia. However, once again it's difficult to believe that a brand new batch of compositions couldn't be created, especially since this was the case with Wind Waker, which certainly had its own share of tones, memorably etching themselves into players' psyche. Also, why stick with midi when a full orchestral backing is becoming the standard, especially in games of such grandeur? The and Zelda Big Band (great live CD, by the way) proved how wonderful some of the series' musical pieces sounded when played by a diverse ensemble of instruments, so it is no less than gutting that the effort wasn't made for Link's most epic adventure yet.

Regardless of the criticisms penned in this article, do not doubt for a moment that Twilight Princess is one of greatest videogames you will be lucky enough to play, not just this year, but also one of the best you will ever have experienced. As the beginning of this piece outlined, such great expectation for a game along with its almost absolute excellence can easily draw attention to some of its shortcomings, which for the most part are aesthetical and do not detract from the gameplay in the least. Every minute of Twilight Princess throws up a new challenge, laugh, puzzle or emotional scene, enough to put lesser titles in the genre to shame. With upwards of 40 hours of game play (that's excluding side-quests and the hours you could spend exploring and simply messing around in Hyrule), screen-filling, imaginatively designed boss fights and just so much to do, there's no complaints here about getting your money's worth. It might not be the utterly revolutionary Zelda title that we all expected and its not without its faults, but one thing is clear: Twilight Princess is worth the Wii's price tag alone, even if the fishing does put you at risk of a coronary.

94%

By Andrew Macarthy