THE LEGEND OF ZELDA (GCN)
© 2002 Nintendo

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Re-MASTER-ing the QUEST

Pre-orders have always been a way for a company to hype a game up and to get an advance look at the sales potential for a title. In the past, I remember pre-ordering games like MARIO 64 to get a free t-shirt, or maybe a bag with the game's logo on it. Regardless, these extra goodies were staples for many years.

Nintendo has found a way to up the ante in the pre-order campaign for its latest game: THE LEGEND OF ZELDA THE WIND WAKER. Instead of giving you a cheesy t-shirt or toy that will break they're handing out a brand new GameCube game! THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME is one of the most fondly remembered GameCube games of all times. But that's not all.

Back in the day of Nintendo's 64DD project (which was never released in the United States) there was an update to OCARINA planned. We've never seen this game. Finally Nintendo has brought it over as the second game on the bonus disc. So by just pre-ordering WIND WAKER, you get OCARINA OF TIME and MASTER QUEST on one disc for free.

MASTER QUEST is alone worth the effort of pre-ordering WIND WAKER. It replaces all of the dungeons in OCARINA with new, much more difficult ones. Gamers will find themselves in dungeons that seem familiar, yet eerily different. It's a wonderful way to replay the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' 1998 Game of the Year.

More companies should look at re-releasing their classic games with upcoming new titles. How cool would it be if Nintendo released a compilation of METROID, METROID II, and SUPER METROID as a pre-order bonus for METROID PRIME 2? Or maybe STAR FOX, the unreleased STAR FOX 2, and STAR FOX 64, with the new STAR FOX from Namco? Or the original NINJA GAIDEN with the new Xbox version? The possibilities are endless and the added value is enormous.

What's I'm saying is, this new phenomenon is definitely an added bonus to gamers, and allows some new to the arena to get their teeth wet on some of the classics. I've enjoyed playing the Nintendo 64's ZELDA again, just as I enjoyed playing the Super Nintendo's ZELDA on my Game Boy Advance. As the industry gets more competitive, bonuses like this only further the worth of the game and are great for gamers.

So game companies, get on the ball and shell out a little more money for us. Extra games and bonuses on a separate disc get us more excited about your games and make us want to jump onboard even more quickly.

TIDBITS

Capcom has

Command and Conquer Generals

© Electronic Arts

ON SHELVES

While there

METAL GEAR SOLID 2: SUBSTANCE

© 2002 Konami

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