Zack & Wiki is the sort of game that, if you know all the solutions, you could probably blow through in a long afternoon. Odds are it will take you quite a bit longer than that on your first play-through, since you'll undoubtedly have to spend some time staring at all the various pieces of the puzzles before things will start to make sense. Fortunately, the game does have some replay value. Apart from hidden treasure and items you can discover, some of the puzzles themselves can even be solved multiple ways. Additionally, there's a sort of multiplayer component to the game, albeit a mostly observatory one. Essentially, up to three other players can point their Wii Remotes at the screen and tap on or highlight any items or set pieces that might be relevant to solving a puzzle. Only one player controls Zack, so in effect the other players are just helpers. Still, it's kind of a cool idea, and an inventive way to get the rest of the family involved in the game, if you're into that sort of thing.
If Zack & Wiki has any particular failings, it's that the title characters are basically irrelevant. Zack & Wiki are certainly cute characters, but they're not used to particularly good effect within the scope of the story. In fact, there really isn't much of a story at all. The game quickly introduces all the key players in relatively haphazard fashion, then just hops right into the action. The writing is decent enough in the few bits of dialogue you encounter, though there isn't much voice acting beyond a few one-liners in Japanese that each character uses to emote feelings. And usually what they're feeling is something rather shrill and overwrought. It's not awful stuff, but it is a bit grating to hear Wiki's high-pitched exclamations throughout longer play sessions. Zack's personality is to do a lot of victory poses, make comical faces when something bad happens, and chew on chocolate bars. Ultimately it doesn't matter that much, since the level designs and puzzles are the real star of the show. It's just a shame that the story itself is so half-baked and that the characters aren't really given more endearing personalities. This is potentially the start of a cool new franchise, and the characters at the forefront of it just aren't that memorable.
One area where the game does not disappoint is visuals. Zack & Wiki might just be one of the nicest-looking games on the Wii, thanks in no small part to the game's sharp artwork. The game is done up like a cartoon, but not with the sort of lazy cel-shading most games use. All the characters and environments are bright, colorful, and incredibly crisp looking. Animation is largely seamless and very well done. While the character designs themselves could have been ripped from any Saturday-morning anime, everything else is so good that you can forgive that one generic aspect. On top of that, the game even performs well. Loading times are minimal, and everything in-game runs smoothly, save for a few minor frame-rate drops here and there.
All told, Zack & Wiki is a winner. It might not win you over with its characters or story, but it will with its wonderfully crafted puzzles and sharp control mechanics. It's just the sort of game Wii owners have been pining for, the sort of game that blends accessibility and challenge into one seamless whole, and does it without devolving into yet another minigame collection. And best of all? This game is retailing for only $40. If you own a Wii, Zack & Wiki belongs in your collection.
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