Game Day: Make tracks, beat demon
"The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks" improves on the previous version to provide players with a fun adventure.
Link trades his boat in for a train in "The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks." The game follows a similar structure and has the same cartoonish visual style as the series' previous DS adventure, "Phantom Hourglass." Like that game, "Spirit Tracks" is played mostly with the stylus.
Unlike "Phantom Hourglass," it is not a direct sequel to the GameCube's "Wind Waker." Instead, it takes place a century or so later, with a new Link and a new Zelda, in a kingdom of Hyrule that is no longer covered in water.
Instead, this Hyrule is crisscrossed by Spirit Tracks, mystical train tracks that connect to a great tower in the center of the kingdom. When the track suddenly vanishes, strange monsters begin to appear, and with their chief mode of transportation gone, the kingdom's citizens are thrown into disarray.
The disappearance of the tracks and the appearance of monsters is no coincidence – the Tower of Spirits at the center of Hyrule is a lock for the cage of the evil Demon King Malladus, and the Spirit Tracks supply it with energy from several temples. Link must journey with his train to each of these temples and restore the Spirit Tracks to stop the demon's revival.
He'll have help from a disembodied Princess Zelda, whose body is stolen by her own traitorous chancellor as part of the plot to release the Demon King.
The Tower of Spirits holds maps that can restore segments of Spirit Tracks, allowing Link to reach new areas of the kingdom. But these maps are guarded by various obstacles, including the hulking, armored Phantoms of "Phantom Hourglass." Link and Zelda soon find the ghostly princess can possess and control these Phantoms.
The puzzles in the Tower of Spirits are clever, but Link won't have Zelda's help in the temples, which contain special items – such as the perennial boomerang – and a challenging boss enemy that has bottled up some of the Spirit Tracks' power.
One of Link's most important new items, the Spirit Flute, allows him to cause various effects by playing it, but it's also a bit gimmicky. Players move the flute back and forth while blowing into the DS microphone to play it, which is clever but awkward.
More awkward is the Whirlwind, a new item that also requires blowing into the microphone, which is kind of tricky when trying to fight an enemy or two. That's a pretty minor gripe, though. "Spirit Tracks" is entertaining adventure.
The game also features a multiplayer mode in which up to four players compete to grab the most gems as possible within a time limit.
PICKS AND PANS
The Princess and the Frog
3 stars
Chiefly a collection of mini-games based on the recently released Disney film, "The Princess and the Frog" doesn't have much to it, but it carries an appeal similar to the "Mario Party" or "Rabbids" series.
Up to four players can take part in a variety of games, such as highlighting heart-shaped leaves, shaking spices into a pot of gumbo or playing music to annoy a character or two from the movie. The controls are simple and easy to grasp, so even young gamers should be able to play.
Playing the main campaign mode unlocks new outfits and other items for the heroine, Tiana, and her friends, and opens up upgrades for the restaurant she's renovating. There are also other activities, such as cooking in Tiana's kitchen.
Nintendo Wii, PC; $49.99 ($19.99 for PC)
Age rating: Everyone
Borderlands: The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned
3 stars
"The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned" turns out to be just what the doctor ordered for "Borderlands." The game play remains unchanged, but the new quests, enemies and locations are a welcome addition.
Ditching the dry and dusty environs of the main "Borderlands" quests, "Zombie Island's" Jakob's Cove location is a greener and moister place, but no less dangerous. The area is, as the expansion's name suggests, overrun with monstrous zombies and abominations, vicious bats and other nasties, and it's up to the player (or players) to wipe them out and discover what created them in the first place.
The new enemies aren't too smart, but they keep players on their toes by, for example, spewing caustic slime to slow them down and leave them vulnerable to being mobbed by the zombie hordes.
Microsoft Xbox 360, also for Sony PlayStation 3, PC; $10 (800 Microsoft Points), $9.99 for PS3 and PC
Age rating: Mature
– Justin Hoeger