Not a very, um, manly soundly game title but it is nonetheless the latest in the Zelda series where you play the young male hero named Link in this 3rd person 3D action/rpg/platform/puzzle/fighting/fantasy/rpg game set in a fairly large world.

I completed it in about 60 hours (over two weeks of evenings and weekends) – I have binges of game play, then nothing for months – and it was quite addictive and enjoyable in places.  60 hours isn’t quick, but at least I feel like I got an hour’s worth for every dollar.

The game starts off very slowly and it seems like it’s going to be quite dull, but over time, the items at your disposal become far more interesting and practically an extreme sport for some.

The Nintendo platform has a reputation for child-friendly cutesy games and visually this Zelda edition is no exception for the mos tpart, but it is rated T for Teen.  The story, environments and characters get a little PG in terms of potential scariness to <10 year olds perhaps (not to mention the dodgy balloon-ride man), and the skill and patience required to beat the bosses at higher levels is something only the die-hard 5 year old video game addict would put themselves through.  I’m not sure what rating previous Zelda games had, but I could easily see parents buying this game, thinking they were getting something that starts off with cute music, but actually turns into something else.

Once you get passed the slow start, the game is very engaging, and the world map starts to grow (with city, castle, villages, open plains, underwater, snow, sand, twilight worlds…).  Also, just when you think you’ve got all the pieces to put the world to rights, the adventure takes a new turn and you’re collecting for something else.  The number of successive bosses at the end is perhaps too many.  One could easily lose the background plot if the game is played over a long period of time.

Most of the challenges support the main plot and you have a guide available – she (once you figure out the gender) provides useful tips for the most part.

The use of the Wii sensor technology is mostly limited to the controller being a sword (and something else with the nunchuck), and you soon turn off the cursor as it’s not necessary and as annoying as having tinkerbell buzzing at you all day (you’ll see what I mean if you play it).

It was annoying that there can only be 3 save slots (a Nintendo trait it seems), so if you have more than 3 people in your family…  I also didn’t like that you can’t save the game after you finish it to do further exploring (put I did save before engaging the last boss).

If you like open world adventures with fantasy characters and a good balance of exploration, dungeons, puzzles, fighting and a very light sprinkling of rpg elements then this is a very engaging game – it’s not for young children, but then you wouldn’t want the embarrassment of them beating you anyway right?