Lost Winds

On Nintendo Wii Ware.
A breath of fresh air.
Now here's a revelation – after what seems like a year long barrage of minigame-centric shovelware on the Wii, the majority of launch games for Nintendo's Wii Ware are surprisingly original. 
For those Wii owners not WiFi'd up to the internet, Wii Ware is the recently launched addition to the shopping channel that delivers brand new games made for the Wii, downloadable like all those retro wonders on the Virtual Console in exchange for virtual cash.
Of all the launch titles, Lost Winds is the one for the cautious to sink their Wii Points into, languishing in the splendour of not only being a beautiful game to look at and play but also deserved of the 'innovative' buzz word so easily associated with the Wii's waggle controls.
At first glance it's a simplistic 2.5D side scrolling platformer but within a few minutes of play its sweet charm and unique wind controls will have you hooked to a game with a depth that belies its cuteness.
Using the Nunchuk's analogue stick you control the small boy Toku, with basic left and right movements and automatic climbing and jumping when required. With the Wiimote wielded in the other hand you control Enril the wind spirit – where you point, he blows. And blow he does.
Assisting Toku with his exploration and puzzle solving to rid the land of evil, Enril can throw him into the air with gusts, cushion his fall from great heights, channel fire and water or just swat globs of evil around like ping pong balls.
Within minutes the dual controls become second nature, moving and flicking Toku with ease through the gorgeous world that sparkles with magic and animates with every slight breeze from Enril. It may only be four hours of adventure but every second is a delight and for the paltry price it costs (1000 Wi Points), worth its virtual weight in gold.
Lost Winds could easily be mistaken for a Nintendo game but instead Frontier have set the benchmark for Wii Ware, making Nintendo's promise of fresh and innovative titles via Wii Ware look like it might actually come true. Which is no bad thing considering the usual prospect of reviewing Pippy Dumpel's Horse Toilet Trainer: Adventures in Looland…
9/10