Is it worth getting?

Ok so you're wondering - should I get the Wii Zapper?  Well, if your like me and you fondly remember games at the arcade like Virtua Cop and you see the very low price point of $18 on Amazon.com then your probably not going to listen to the reviews from people who say that the Zapper is not needed and the game included is short.

I say phoey on them!  The Zapper is a lot of fun and the included, Link's Cross Bow Training, is a blast!  For less than $20 you get a whole new sort of game for your Wii which is especially great if you had one for a while and are tired of playing the same sort of games.

A closer look at the Zapper

So let's take a look at what you get in the box.  The Zapper itself is a gun shell peripheral for the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk. (The name is a reference to the NES Zapper).   The remote fits into the barrel of the gun and the nunchuk into the handle. The arrangement allows easy access to all buttons except for the top buttons on the remote.  In the included game you use the b button for firing the gun and the nunchuk controls for zoom and moving.  Looking around and aiming is handled by moving the gun around.  All cords are neatly hidden.

The Zapper's goal as a peripheral is to allow players to keep a steady hand when playing fast paced shooting games.  The Zapper keeps your arm from getting tired.  Development of the gun came in part from the The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess development team.

Link's Cross Bow Training

The game included with the Zapper is Link's Cross Bow Training and turns out to be my wife's favorite game out of our begining collection of Sports, Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz and Lego Star Wars.  Its great stress release at the end of a work day when you get to blast weird fantasy creatures to smithereens.  The game includes nine levels with three sublevels in each.  You have to earn high scores to unlock the various levels.

Each level is different in feel and somewhat different game play but all are in the setting of a fantasy world ala Zelda.  Some levels are rail shooters where you don't control the movement through the world (like Virtua Cop) and others you need to walk or run using the nunchuk controller.

At first you simply blast everything you see for points and to watch things explode!  Then later after you start to figure out how the level advancement works, you start to control your shots and go for accuracy which is paid off in multiplying point scores.  Some reviewers have said the game is short but there are 27 levels to complete so I'd say this game will keep the average player busy especially at this low price point.

If you like zapping, other Zapper compatible titles include "Ghost Squad," "Medal of Honor" with 32 person online matches, and "Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles."

Final Thoughts

The only drawback I see with the Zapper is that it takes a while to put the remotes into the Zapper.  Once in you don't want to be taking them in and out every few minutes.

Overall the Zapper is easy to use, inexpensive, useful Wii peripheral and the included game is a complete blast to play!