WII GAME RECOMMENDATIONS |

[#] Link's Crossbow Training (Nintendo, Wii, 2007)

Twink's crossbow training.

Link's Crossbow Training is a shot of arcade fentanyl directly into my spinal fluid. Light gun games came back in a big way thanks to the Wiimote, though a TV remote is a slightly less satisfying sidearm than a proper gun accessory, y'know? To this end, Nintendo released the (silly, but actually quite effective for steadying your shots) Wii Zapper, a plastic shell accommodating the Wiimote and Nunchuk, and Link's is its pretty damn electric pack-in title. Seriously, "quick" and "precise" don't mix in me, but Link's has this phenomenal way of onboarding you to the challenge and encouraging you to go for better.

Effectively a light gun-centric expansion for Twilight Princess, Link's Crossbow Training gives you nine levels, each with three 90-second stages covering its locales and enemies. Stages generally consist of a target practice stage (where you traverse a field of wooden targets aiming for the bulls-eyes as best as you can), a defense stage (where waves of enemies converge on Link), and a free-roaming sentry stage as you clear out a goblin encampment or suchlike. There's other wrinkles in there, including a clay pigeon-style skull shoot and two bosses, but that about sums it up. Medal to advance to the next level, good luck.

Where Link's becomes habit-forming is that accuracy makes big scores. You can spray all you want, and there's no dying in stages, but each successive hit increases your multiplier, incentivizing you to be nastily accurate as your scores go exponential. A good run on a target or sentry stage can net you a platinum medal on a level all by itself. Pair that with some great sound design (bulls-eyes sound like bowling pins), plenty of background objects to shoot for extra points, and a pretty manageable difficulty curve, and Link's overcomes how short and shallow it is with the visceral pursuit of number go up.

Recommended for... score attack junkies.