Link's Crossbow Training

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Nintendo's Wii Zapper blasts its way to stores November 19, and to sweeten the deal, the company threw in Link's Crossbow Training, a collection of 27 mini games inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. As Link, you'll use his powerful crossbow to hit targets and monsters in an effort to achieve the highest score, all the while enjoying attractive graphics and music inspired by the epic franchise.

Games fall into one of two categories. The first involves simple target shooting, with you hitting bulls-eyes within a time limit. Some involve visiting a village, where you wait for the targets to pop up, while others throw you a curve in which you shoot targets traveling down a waterfall or quickly moving through a dungeon. You'll even blast flying skulls and fruit balloons, the latter of which explode in beautiful fireworks.

Locked & Loaded

Take aim and get a closer look at the Wii Zapper peripheral.

Crossbow Training's second, and most enjoyable, mini-games force you to defend Link from enemies. One game drops you into a forest and challenges you to kill 18 skulltula spiders before time expires, and another tasks you with stopping deadly wolfos. Most times Link will stand in place, but a few games let you maneuver him with the nunchuk's analog stick, or place him on the back of a moving horse that you can't directly control. As for enemies, some slowly plod towards Link, allowing you to dispose of them easily, while others leap into the air, take flight and zigzag all over the place. Hitting them proves frustrating, though you can zoom by pressing the nunchuk's Z button.