Zack and Wiki set off to save adventure in video games

Monkey Island was a merry union of pirate and adventure; two familiar elements of much classic fiction. It was a challenging, light-hearted quest centered on the endearingly useless Guybrush Threepwood that proved successful enough to warrant a series of sequels.

Now that series has slipped away from the spotlight, as has the genre itself.

Today, things can change. The Wii and DS, ideal formats for point-and-click play, are dominating, and audiences are really buying into cerebral challenges – evidenced by Brain Training’s huge success. It’s time for sorely-needed saviour.

And, like an aged hero, the pirate theme has returned, swinging in to help his partner adventure one more time. Now together again, can the pair rescue the genre? Can a much-missed part of videogame history be rescued with Zack and Wiki: The Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure?

It certainly achieves highly in the core test: the puzzles. Its variety of stifling problems, solved by scavenging the area for items and then applying your new inventory to the halting issue with an array of remote movements, are satisfying to work through.

Yes, some items are gained by shaking your friend (he doubles as a magic bell) to turn them into suitable objects. Please don’t question this.

There’s complexity behind the disarming graphics

Using the tools with remote movements works as you’d expect, although there’s a few occasions where the control doesn’t respond as it should, or is centered around a movement with seems abstract compared to how you would naturally act.

The collection of puzzles which comprise a “level” are located in a pleasingly tight space – to have employed larger environments would have lead to discouraging long-winded searches.

Zack and Wiki paints those areas in the most devious graphics seen on the Wii. “For kids,” they scream, reminiscent of Windwaker’s cel-shaded appearance, but are really the enticing mask of a challenge worthy of any adult, and beyond young children. Still, they are a bright, pleasing cartoon look that features some vivid animation of the game’s characters.

This cast isn’t the memorable feature of the game: you won’t gain any special attraction to Zack, Wiki, or anyone else as you progress along a quest for treasure.

The games focused environments make clue finding easy

The greatest flaw is easily its “die and retry” mechanic, though. On occasion, it is possible to perish and be warped back to the beginning of a section – something both unnecessary and infuriating. While many are wishing the game to be a return to former glories, nobody wants a return to the old nightmares such as this. It belongs on a “just say no” list for game designers that would also list “escort missions”, a modern frustration equivalent to adventure game deaths seen years ago.

But Zack and Wiki’s strengths easily overpower its flaws, and it deserves to pick up the genre’s strewn crown from the floor. A creative set of challenges accessed with the Wii’s remote (proven an adventure designer’s dream) make this the finest point-and-click experience seen in a long time.

What does this score mean? Check out our review scoring breakdown.