With my PS3 still in the shop and no time to pick up “Bulletstorm,” I decided to try out my newly purchased Wii console. “Kirby’s Epic Yarn” is a platform game that uses the standard Wiimote in a few different ways. Its sweet demeanor and cheer might put off some, but that does not take away from the game’s strengths.
The game starts off a bit slow with a pretty long cut-scene explaining some of the major plot points of the story. Kirby, who in the past ate his enemies to gain their power, has been turned into yarn by an evil wizard, and it’s up to Kirby to save both his home world and the “patch world” from the evil magic. The game is pleasing to the eye, and some of the visual styles are interesting, such as levels folding and Kirby being able to slide behind the fabric of the scenery to get to different areas.
This is an easy game; you cannot die. The only negative effect to falling off a level or getting flattened by a boulder is losing “beads,” the game’s version of currency. The beads can be used to buy items for the in-game house, and to invest in the hotel of one of the in-game characters. There’s nothing wrong with the game, but it seems that the title is geared for a younger audience. This would be a perfect game to teach a younger generation about video games. After each level, you are awarded a medal depending on your performance, and only on one occasion did I fail to get a gold medal.
The most interesting part of the game is the many different transformations Kirby can go through by collecting certain power-ups. There is a tank that shoots missiles, a penguin on a surfboard and a fire engine used to put out fires and wash beads down to a reachable area. My favorite transformations were the dolphin, which allowed you to swim really fast and jump out of the water to do tricks, and the flying saucer that could suck in enemies and objects. The hilarious part about the flying saucer is it causes enemies to run for cover as you approach.
“Kirby’s Epic Yarn” is a solid platform with some interesting twists. Though on one hand, players could say it doesn’t live up to the true nature of Kirby and his enemy-eating habits, it is still a fun game that appeals to a wide variety of people.