Wii Zapper

Picked up the Wii Zapper with Link's Crossbow Training a couple weeks ago. Definitely worth 20 bucks. This isn't necessarily because the Zapper is a perfect thing, but as a package with the game it's a must buy. The all in one design with the nunchuk attached isn't comfortable to hold for a long time. I would much prefer a pistol style, especially for games like Ghost Squad that don't really require the nunchuk. Link's Crossbow Training, on the other hand, is a tight shooting game. Each level is divided into three segments changing the method of getting around the state. Sometimes all targets appear within the frame, others allow you to rotate in place to find targets, while the third mode lets you roam with the nunchuk to clear a level of enemies. The key is in stringing together consecutive hits to get high multipliers for gold and platinum level performances. Quite good.

The other game I picked up at the same time was a pretty good deal for $30 - Ghost Squad. I recall playing this in the arcades before. You wouldn't think that there would be much replayability, as the three levels only take about half an hour to complete. However, every time you complete a level successfully, you unlock a more difficult runthrough of that level. In addition you unlock many different weapons with different spread fires or penetration abilities. Combined, we get a game that my non-gamer wife will actually play through in co-op with me. She says she prefers this one to Link because when you're playing co-op it doesn't matter if you're playing well, so long as you have another person playing. Link, on the other hand will let you know that your score isn't quite up to snuff, as you need to get a medal in order to unlock the next level and combo runs are the only way to do that.

Overall, I really enjoy the zapper games and feel that the odds of my buying more co-op shooting games in the future are very very good. I may even snag a single player one for myself.