Girl Game Zone

The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess brings you back tot he land of Hyrule, as you uncover the mystery behind its plunge into darkness. Link, a young man raised as a wrangler in a rural village, is ordered by the mayor to attend the Hyrule Summit. He sets off, oblivious to the dark fate that has descended upon the kingdom.

When he enters the Twilight Realm that has covered Hyrule, he transforms into a wolf and is captured. A mysterious figure helps him break free, and with the aid of her magic, they set off to free the land from the shadows.

Link must explore the vast land of Hyrule and As he does, he’ll have to enlist the aid of friendly folk, solve puzzles and battle his way through dangerous dungeons.

In the Twilight Realm, he’ll have to use his wolf abilities and Midna’s magic to bring light to the land. Revisit classic and new characters – Link, Zelda, Midna and many others

Product Features

• When Link travels to the darkened land of Hyrule, he transforms into a wolf and must scour the land with the help of a mysterious being named Midna.
• Ride into battle against troops of foul creatures, using an incredible horseback combat system, then take on massive bosses that must be seen to be believed.
• Many puzzles stand between Link and the fulfillment of his quest, so players must sharpen their wits as they hunt for weapons and items.
• Characters include Link, Zelda, Midna and many others, both new and old.

Product Description

Despite all the hoopla surrounding the next generation consoles, the most anticipated gaming event of this year is undoubtedly the latest The Legend of Zelda game. Subtitled Twilight Princess, the game looks radically different from The Wind Waker with less stylized, more realistic looking graphics.

As ever with a Nintendo title, much of the game is still surrounded in secrecy, but previews have already shown the game’s enormous scale with huge areas of rolling countryside for you to ride your horse and battle various evil enemies. Indeed, the game seems more action-focused than previous adventures, both on horseback and on foot.

One major new feature revealed in the game is that Link is now able to transform into a wolf. This gives him a whole suite of new features including the ability to “see” smells and access areas impossible as a human (or elf).

Despite the greater emphasis on action, the puzzles in the game are even more elaborate than before. A forest dungeon reveals your ability to communicate with animals. You order around a troupe of baboons to solve puzzles and to help battle the level boss.

The GameCube could hardly have asked for any better swansong than this, with utterly amazing graphics and an apparently endless range of features and settings. Even with so little still known about it, this is still on course to be the best game of the year. — Harrison Dent, Amazon.co.uk

This preview is based on an incomplete version of the game; features or problems mentioned above may not appear in the finished game.

Review from Gamers

UNDISPUTED GAME OF THE YEAR!, December 12, 2006

Wow, this game is amazing! I bought this game for only $40 at Curcuit City. I’m very happy I found it because I looked everywhere, and it was sold out. When I went to Curcuit City, I was amazed to see one sitting there for only $40.

Now, to the game itself. There have been a lot of great games that have come out this year. I own Gears of War for my XBox 360, and I didn’t think a game could top it for years to come. Well, a couple months later, Twighlight Princess was released. The GameCube version, which is the one that I have, has just as good if not better graphics than the Wii version. I played the Wii version a little bit at the store, and I was surprised to see that the GameCube Zelda was just as pretty looking. This game is as good as any graphic wise on the current gen consoles.

There has been so much focus on the 360, PS3, and Wii that this game might not get the praise that it deserves. This is the perfect game to end the current gen consoles. It’s simply amazing.

Anyone who still owns a GameCube should definitly get this game. It might not just be the game of the year, but maybe the game of the century! It was well worth the wait. And if you don’t believe this game can live up to Ocarina of Time, you better try this game. Then you can be the judge of that.

Get this game ASAP!

Nintendo Wii Version Versus GameCube Review

This is a review written by someone who has played both versions. 

In this review, I’ll not only touch on the aspects of Twilight Princess but also tell you a few differences between the Wii and Gamecube versions because some will most definitely be curious.

Absorbed in Twilight (Review includes differences between the Wii and Gamecube Versions), December 15, 2006

The Legend of Zelda is one of the most popular games of all time. When a new Zelda game marches forth, the fans are always there. Now, after spending years in development, with delay after delay and ultimately being pushed onto the Nintendo Wii, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is finally here. It’s pretty generous of Nintendo to keep the game on the Gamecube as well as pushing it to the Wii. It’s great that even those without the Wii can experience this amazing game.

Twilight Princess is by far one of the most instantly absorbing in the series. The game begins with you as Link in the village of Ordan. Things are going well for Link and his friends until a band of monsters riding a boar come and kidnap two of his friends. 

When Link awakens, he’s suddenly thrust into a twilight realm where he meets a creature named Midna, who decides to aid Link on his quest. 

From the get go, The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess is instantly absorbing. The storyline is by far one of the best in the series and is very engrossing and absorbing.

The first major difference between the Gamecube and Wii versions are the controls. On the Wii you swing the remote and Link swings his sword. Here, it’s just the press of a button. For anyone who played the Wii version, it’s surprising how much time it takes to get used to the control scheme. 

When using the slingshot or hero’s bow, aiming also feels strange. It’s far easier on the Wii. The controls for the Gamecube version are good, though. It’s just that if you played the Wii version you have to adjust to it. 

However, it actually is an entirely different experienece all together. This doesn’t mean if you have the Wii version you should go out and buy the Gamecube version. They are, after all, the same game.

The heart of the challenge from the game mainly comes from the puzzles rather than the actual dungeon crawl itself. Most enemies are easily taken down by a couple of sword swings. Some of the puzzles, however, can really throw you for a loop. This also brings about another key difference between the Wii and Gamecube versions. The environments are completely mirrored. In other words, Link holds his sword in his left hand instead of his right. A path that was on the left in the Wii version will be on the right in the Gamecube version. Anyone who played the Wii version first will no doubt find this to be rather confusing. However, most of you are probably getting the Gamecube version because you don’t have a Wii. So this is really no problem at all.

A unique twist to the gameplay of Zelda is that Link not only goes around in his normal form, but can become a wolf as well. As a wolf the controls are virtually the same with the exception of Link being able to use senses and dig. 

You’ll also be forced to solve puzzles in wolf form as well, and it does indeed add some variety to the game. As you progress in wolf form, Midna sits on your back and is there to offer advice for you. Gameplay wise, Twilight Princess knows how to keep you immersed in the game.

Visually a Gamecube game has never looked better than this. It’s fairly lifelike. It also looks very identical to the Wii version. However, the Gamecube version doesn’t play out in widescreen so there’s letterboxes whenever you view one of the cutscenes. The game sports some amazing detail, though. Link has never looked better. The land of Hyrule has never looked better. Your enemies and some of the cinematics also sport some awesome detail.

The music still sounds pretty good. A lot of tunes you’ll recognize from previous Zelda adventures, but the new stuff sounds pretty good too. There’s no voice acting, though, and that still bothers me about Zelda to this day. The Windwaker could’ve used voice acting and so could Twilight Princess. 

The story is so absorbing, and it probably would’ve been better had they added voices to it. Link grunts and such and from time to time one of the NPC characters might yell something, but there’s really no spoken dialogue throughout the game. 

It would’ve been really exciting to see some of the cinematics brought to life through fantastic voice acting. In the long run this probably won’t bother anyone, and its a small price to pay for a game that’s as fantastic as this.

For what its worth, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is very good. Its by far the most absorbing story in the entire series, and its gameplay is unmatched. 

Fans who have followed Zelda since its days on the NES will be pleased at just how far the series has come with Twilight Princess. Its one of the best in the series.

On a final note, the Wii version is superior to the Gamecube version. While they are virtually the same game, the controls of the Wii version are better, and some of the environments look smoother. The control scheme and mirroring of the environments alone makes playing both versions a different experience. However, if you own the Wii version, this different experience isn’t so different as to warrant the Gamecube version a buy. The reverse is also true. If you invest in the Gamecube version, it’s hard to say, “Get the Wii version too.”

Whichever version you get, however, you’ll be satisfied either way.

The Good

+Absorbing story
+Fantastic Gameplay
+There’s a lot of great detail given to the game
+The puzzles are quite challenging
+The game still sounds good

The Bad

-All this time and the series still lacks voice acting

“Supple” is the new simulation game everyone is talking about. It’s being compared to The Sims, but you’ll quickly see how it’s different and why so many say it’s even better. In Supple, the characters really speak and you control what they say. It’s funny, sexy (although if you’re looking for something sexier, check out our article on Sims 4 sex mods or even sex games), challenging, and much more. Read on to learn more or just click: “FREE Game Download!” and start playing right now.

You’re the star of the show in Supple. You play Arin Costello, a young associate editor at Supple – the magazine for Single Urban Professional women. Get ahead at work, have a fling, shop for the latest fashions, it’s all up to you. And in this first episode, it’s up to you to help Arin get the coveted Style Editor position. Can you beat out her co-worker, Hugh, and still have him ‘like’ you? Go for it!

Arin Costellos Blog

Read Arin’s deepest, darkest (and funniest) thoughts about life, love, Supple Magazine… and her unhealthy obsession with protein bars.
read more>>

The Offices of Supple Magazine

In this episode, much of the action takes place in the offices of Supple Magazine. Here, you can work to earn money, drink coffee, have a snack, chat and flirt with Hugh, your co-worker, and do a lot more. But be prepared to deal with Margot, your boss, or you’ll never get ahead. She can be difficult at times, to say the least!

Buddha Bob’s Bar

Here’s where you can go for some down time.Invite Hugh if you feel like it. Relax a little but watch out, too many drinks before going back to work could lead to trouble. Too many drinks with Hugh and who knows what will happen.

Chez Vous

The latest fashions are here. Examine them, try them on and buy them. New outfits are very powerful in the game, especially when Hugh and Margot see what you’re wearing. But if you wear the same outfit too long, it could affect your chance for that promotion. At Chez Vous, you can also buy gifts for Hugh and Margot . The right gift at the right time can be very effective.

The Boom Boom Room:

The only way to get into this secret bedroom (not just see it, but take advantage of the comfortable mattress and relaxing lighting) is, well, you’ll see.

Halo 3 was, in a way, doomed before it was released. No matter how well it did, people are going to judge its “wow factor” against how amazing the original Halo felt to play back when it first came out. 

Now that we are used to the weapons, races, environments and plotline, nothing is as cool as it was that first time. It’s the same issue that plagues any series, be it Dune, the Matrix, Star Wars, etc.

Halo 3 does get a boost in that it is released for the 360, so you get an automatic upgrade in abilities there. We’re playing on a high end HD TV, and yes, it looks really nice. 

The backgrounds look like a painting in motion, with swirling clouds and dancing dust storms. From the light glinting off the metal surfaces to the detailed shadows in the rocks, it can be really gorgeous. 

Is every detail as beautiful as every detail in, say Gears of War? Maybe not. Different developers focus on different items. There are always trade-offs for speed and visual appeal reasons. For a Halo world, I think they did a good job.

The sound and dialogue are really great. I like the background music, and I find much of the dialogue hilarious. There are some conversations that have me laughing out loud. This is a good game to play with your surround sound stereo system hooked up, and of course the subwoofers.

I hated the ending of Halo 2. I dislike it when a story finishes with a “and now wait a few years to find out what happened.” 

They can at least have you feel like you achieved something, and ended a chapter. For that reason alone it’s good to have Halo 3 here to wrap everything up.

Unfortunately, with all the time they spent in development, this third outing is a bit predictable. I really enjoyed the multi character play in Halo 2. I thought that was a great touch. They completely removed it for Halo 3, setting you back into a Master Chief only mode. To be honest, I really thought we’d get THREE races this time around, and get to play as the Flood too. Why reduce ourselves to just one?

Also, while there are a lot of “missions”, some of them are maybe 5 minutes long. That’s a bit on the short side. I realize you can go back and replay on harder and harder levels to challenge yourself – but they could have put more depth into the basic story line.

Now, all of those things being said, the key to any game in modern times is its multiplayer ability. No matter what single player game you play, it’s pretty much a limited time game. Multiplayer is completely unlimited – and you’re not stuck with the formulas built into the AI brains. Halo 3 is definitely the best multiplayer experience of the three games – the most balanced, the most fun, the best graphics. You could literally play this for years and not get bored of it.

So to summarize – if you don’t have XBox Live, you could rent this game for a week, get through it and have a lot of fun. You’ll be able to see how the story ends, get your Halo fix in and be happy. But if you do have XBox Live, you’ll want to own this. Between replaying the base game on harder levels to improve your skills, and playing multi-player in a variety of maps and set-ups, you’ll be happy for a long, long while.

There are many games we write a walkthrough for that we have to push ourselves to get through, but when we did our walkthrough for Halo 3, we really did have fun. So that’s always a good sign!

About Halo 3

Adding to Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, the epic saga continues with Halo 3, the amazingly anticipated sequel to the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo franchise. In this third chapter of the Halo trilogy, Master Chief returns to finish the fight, bringing the epic conflict between the Covenant, the Flood, and the entire human race to a dramatic, pulse-pounding climax.

Earth is conquered. The Covenant is everywhere. Halo 3 promises to be an epic journey.

Game developer Bungie announced that Halo 3 will be released for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 sometime in 2007. The game was revealed to the world at the Microsoft press conference held at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, CA in May 2006. 

To gamer’s delight, the announcement was a complete surprise. The rumors have been abound for the past year, as everyone wondered when the next installment would be ready. 

Bungie and Microsoft did a stellar job keeping their lips sealed, and fans benefited from their first glimpse of the hallowed third and final installment.

The short presentation was delivered in real-time on the Xbox 360 using the current version of the Halo 3 game engine. That’s right, no studio production video, Bungie and Microsoft delivered the real deal: what they showed at the announcement is what gamers will see when they play Halo 3 in 2007. 

The HDR lighting, self-shadowing, GPU-run particle system and many other effects are rumored to show up in full effect in the final game. Needless to say, the gaming community is salivating.

CJ Cowan, Bungie’s director of cinematics discussed one of the most startling moments of the presentation: the return of Cortana. “Given the variety of character and story arcs at the end of Halo 2, we wanted to boil down our announcement to a few key threads. 

Cortana and the Chief being a galaxy apart is a situation we haven’t seen before, and is something that is a powerful component to Halo 3.

We are using her transmissions in the demo to give the viewer a few subtle clues to her situation and state of mind, without revealing any specifics we want to save for the game itself.”

Graphically, the game closely follows in the tradition of Halo 2, although it has been upgraded to take advantage of the Xbox 360’s more prodigious visual abilities. As art direct Marcus Lehto explained, “[The presentation] was intended to be an understated announcement of Halo 3 — the tone is that of mystery and suspense — the calm before the storm. 

I wanted to make sure that we reintroduced the Chief, showed that Earth was thoroughly conquered, with Covenant everywhere, and that there is a glorious, ancient artifact buried under the Earth’s crust which will provide Halo 3 with the epic journey which we all want.”

Taking full advantage of the power of Xbox 360, Halo 3 expands on everything that has made the franchise great, adding a wealth of technical and gameplay advancements. 

The game design has evolved with next-generation, high-definition visuals, enhanced A.I., an advanced real-time lighting engine, and, of course, new weapons, characters, and challenges. Halo 3 promises an unparalleled first-person shooter experience and, in the end, the most compelling and engrossing story in the franchise’s history. 

Last, but certainly not least, Halo 3 builds upon the unique social multiplayer experience and innovative, evolving online gameplay of Halo 2. Rest assured, you’ll still be able to run with your clan and battle with (or against) your buddies from coast to coast.

Product Description

Halo 3 is the third game in the Halo Trilogy and the thrilling conclusion to the events begun in Halo: Combat Evolved. Master Chief returns to finish the fight, bringing the epic conflict between the Covenant, the Flood, and the entire human race to a dramatic, pulse-pounding climax. The Covenant occupation of Earth has uncovered a massive and ancient object beneath the African sands – an object who’s secrets have yet to be revealed. 

Earth’s forces are battered and beaten. The Master Chief’s AI companion Cortana is still trapped in the clutches of the Gravemind – a horrifying Flood intelligence and a civil war is raging in the heart of the Covenant. 

It’s all been building to this — a desperate, final war that leads to a soul-shattering climax of epic proportions. Take control of Master Chief