It's no secret that I really like shooting games - I don't mean first-person shooters - I mean actual, old-school, gun-in-your-hand shooting games, ranging from Duck Hunt to the godly Gunblade N.Y.. So when I purchased the Wii Zapper, I was pretty stoked. After all, I hadn't held a gun for a video game system since the original NES Zapper. I should mention that this "peripheral" runs about $20-$25, depending on where you go, as it's simply a pvc chassis for your Wii-remote and nunchuk. It has a compartment for you to wind up the cables, so when it's assembled, it looks and feels solid. But forget all that.

I'm going to say it right now. Link's Crossbow Training is the quintessential pack-in game. In fact, I enjoyed it more than I did The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess. Models, creatures, animations, pretty much all the assets from TP are used in this game; now you're just shooting at them. That's it. You shoot stuff. Targets, skeletal warriors, bats, ice demons, whatever, if it's not you, blast it. If you like shooting, you'll love this game. This is the kind of experience that will make even a six-year old grit his teeth like a grunt from Heartbreak Ridge platoon, wincing in a freedom-ain't-free sneer as he wipes the sweat from his forehead, preparing to take out an oncoming swarm of bokoblins. The shooting is intense - just because it's set in the kingdom of Hyrule does not make this game airy-fairy typical Nintendo kiddie fare.

Up pops a target. Aim. Reflex dictates where and when you pull the trigger. Pah-clak!! and the bullseye explodes in a satisfying mist of splinters and oak. Three more have appeared and the clock's ticking. Chak , Chak , Pah-clak!! Only one perfect shot that time, but the combo is still going, and the score is multiplying exponentially. There's a vase. It might have an orange gem in it worth a 1,000 points or a fairy. Aim. Reflex. Reflex dictates where and when you pull the trigger. You miss. A wave of frustration slaps your forehead like a bucket of ice water cast on you.

Pause.
Restart.
Go.
Face it. You're going to be playing this for the next three hours.

This is an example of what a game should be - this is a prime example of video game literacy. James Paul Gee would be proud. Those who can't aim, or are afraid to aim, will be enticed to learn. Those who learn will put in substantial effort. Those who put in substantial effort will reap equally substantial rewards, and continue to do so, even after earning the platinum medal for each stage.

And that's precisely why Link's Crossbow Training is so great. It's a barebones pack-in game you get with your Wii Zapper. It uses recycled graphics and music. By all accounts, it should be written off as cheap, or lame. But it's the experience, the fulfillment it provides, the incentive it gives the player to improve, and what it does, it does right. This is what gaming is meant to be.

****/***** Stars