Is Nintendo (by way of Hudson Entertainment) working on a new Duck Hunt for the Wii, to be titled New Duck Hunt? Possibly. But if you're looking to the above video sent to us by a number of readers as proof of such a product, you'll get nothing. How do we know this clip of a game some random kid on the internet found on his dad's desk is bogus? Because the gameplay in New Duck Hunt, well, it sucks, that's how. Nintendo's own legit Duck Hunt demo at E3 2006, which also featured bull's eye, skeet and UFO shooting, was actually amazingly fun and later became part of Wii Play. Link's Crossbow Training is similarly light years beyond this fake half-assed effort.

Look, if you want to pile up virtual duck carcasses, there's always Ultimate Duck Hunting.

For those not celebrating our lovely American holiday, feel free to let us know what's on your plate whenever you have a spare moment.

Link's Crossbow Training Custom Cover [The CD Project - Thanks Chris!]

The premise is fairly simple. Apparently, Link is in need of some crossbow skill honing, with scores of enemies ready to be dispatched by bolt and helpful Goron willing to wear wooden targets on their crotches for the elf-boy to shoot at. Link has limited time to shoot as many targets as possible, with accuracy and tactical score planning rewarding the player.

A total of 27 stages are offered, broken up into 9 levels with 3 stages each. Three types of modes are available, including Score Attack, Multiplayer and Practice. Fairly self-explanatory, yes, but the stages in Score Attack are played in a groups of three at a time. In order to achieve the highest score and acquire the medal of the highest value (platinum, natch), you'll have to perform well in all three events. This is where Link's Crossbow Training can turn from interesting diversion to high scoring obsession.

Securing a bronze medal by scoring 20,000 points in each Score Attack level is fairly simple. It's also necessary, in order to unlock levels beyond the first three initially available. Getting your hands on each level's platinum medals—requiring a rather challenging 80,000 point score—will be where one spends most of his or her time. Link's Crossbow Training may only take an hour or so to beat, but it's in the perfecting of one's score where the extra hours lie.

The key to high scores is in maintaining a long-running score multiplier. If you don't miss a single shot, you can end a stage with a 32X multiplier, sometimes higher. Shoot every target and you'll be rewarded with a bonus triforce piece to the tune of 5,000.

Also key to high scores are bulls-eye accurate shots and speedy shots at non-critical stage items. Things like clay pots, barrels, scarecrows and signposts not only add a point or five here and there, they sometimes contain bonus items. Golden nuggets, for example, that pop out of cow skulls and clay pots are worth up to a thousand points. Some levels contain secrets that are more well-hidden, including the first stage of the game; shoot enough arrows and the front door of a village house and balloons will fly out. Duck Hunt-level depth this is not.

Link has access to three types of crossbow bolts. The standard bolt will be used far more than anything else. An exploding bolt can be fired by holding the B button until the cursor turns orange. It will do splash damage, including hurting Link if fired too closely, and can take out multiple enemies. Players probably won't use it too often, save for the game's boss battles, as it rarely helps in boosting your score. Finally, Link will sometimes have access to an automatic crossbow, which launches rapid fire bolts and is only available from enemies who glow green.

There's much more to the scoring and much of the game's inherent fun is giving it a go just one more time, looking for a way to boost yourself into the platinum range (or beyond).

The game's multiplayer may not be as imminently accessible (or fun) as party staples Wii Sports, ,em>Mario Party 8 or Wario Ware Smooth Moves, but it's serviceable. Only one Zapper is required as players will take turns with the shell in succession.

The only negative aspects of Link's Crossbow Training are in it's very short completion time and the often frustratingly slow menu system. When hunting for a higher score, the long pauses between selecting menu options and getting back into the game can be tiresome. Some stages are simply less fun than others, if only because of their initially confusing goals and varying difficulty. Yes, these are very minor complaints.

For the low buy in, it's hard not to recommend Link's Crossbow Training, as it's worth far more than the molded plastic holder with which it's bundled. With a solid line-up of Zapper-ready games coming over the next few months, it's definitely worth the budget price.

Mass Effect (X360)
Space, ho!

Rock Band (PS3, X360)
Rock out with more than just a guitar.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3)
Relive every great 80's adventure movie you ever saw.

Unreal Tournament 3 (PC)
Get real with Unreal..3!

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (PC)
It's like a buddy movie with killing.

Ghost Squad (WII)
Fight the war on terror at home on your Wii

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (DS)
More Final Fantasy... more!!

College Hoops 2K8 (X360, PS3, PS2)
Next-gen college basketball.

Soul Calibur Legends (WII)
The Soul Calibur franchise tries a new style.

Time Crisis 4 (PS3)
Shoot those bad guys up. Now with scrolling.

Link's Crossbow Training (WII)
Test out the Wii Zapper Zelda style!

I've already offered up my thoughts on both Link's Crossbow Training and Medal of Honor Heroes 2, but I'll do my best to answer questions and provide a full review in the coming days.

As a footnote, for those who intend to pick up the Wii Zapper, it seems that some retailers are either ignoring the original MSRP of $19.99 or Nintendo has bumped it up based on positive reception of the product. Both Gamestop and Amazon now list the Zapper peripheral at $24.99.

Some unboxing pics in the gallery below.

So, what's up? What are you playing this weekend?

Europe to Get Zapping Before Christmas [Next Gen]

Want to see what all the fuss on Wii Zapper pack-in Link's Crossbow Training is all about? This video might give you an inclination, if you weren't focusing on a way to turn the brain-thumping music off. The levels shown represent the entirety of what we played at Nintendo's media event last week and should give you a better indication of how this budget title looks and feels.

Link's Crossbow Training is broken up into 9 levels, each with three stages. These stages are one of three types: Target Shooting, Defender or Ranger.

Target Shooting levels consists of a series of bull's-eyes that pop up on screen, including proper wooden bull's-eyes on posts or held by Goron, or in the style of skeet shooting, with a series of cow skulls catapulted into the air.

Defender sees an on screen Link in an over-the-shoulder camera style, remaining stationary. Players can pan the camera left or right with the direction of the Wii remote to look around. In one stage, a horde of Stalfos bears down on him, while in another Link floats down a river, facing Tektikes and other water creatures.

Ranger gameplay uses the analog stick to move Link around a level, with the Wii remote again used to look around. In one stage, Link must eliminate 25 Moblins with the crossbow with a strict time limit. Far more awkward than the other two game types and decidedly less enjoyable in its control complexity.

The challenge in Link's Crossbow Training comes from its combo system. Simply put, the more shots you string together, the better your score multiplier. There is some strategy involved here, as you'll want to save targets that net more points for later on in your combo sequence. Add a host of interactive objects in each level—barrels, scarecrows, clay pots, all of which can be shot for more points and a higher multiplier—and you'll be going in for just one more attempt at your high score and a better end of level medal.

Link's Crossbow Training was the biggest surprise for me at Nintendo's recent media event. While I'll regularly scoff at the Wii Zapper and the majority of the software that supports it, I'll gladly play plenty of Link's Crossbow Training. For a budget title, it has made its Zapper peers look like a bunch of amateurs.

Link returns from The Legend of Zelda®: Twilight Princess to pick up the Wii Zapper and take aim at a host of targets in this shooting-gallery-style game.

* Anyone can pick up the Wii Zapper and become a master marksman in the quick-play shooting galleries of Link's Crossbow Training. Dozens of fast-paced stages offer a wide variety of game play, from shooting stationary targets to defending a supply wagon from onrushing hordes of enemies. Multiplayer modes let players and their friends share a Wii Zapper to shoot for the high score.
* Link's Crossbow Training comes bundled with the Wii Zapper. After a few rounds of Link's Crossbow Training, players will be more than ready to pick up any of the future Wii Zapper titles, like Medal of Honor Heroes™ 2, Ghost Squad™ and Resident Evil®: The Umbrella Chronicles.

Using the Wii Zapper: The Wii Zapper requires the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, housing both in a comfortable and intuitive frame. The control stick on the Nunchuk controls player movement (on stages that allow player movement), while simply aiming the Wii Zapper moves the targeting reticule on the screen. Pulling the trigger fires Link's crossbow. By aiming off screen, players can turn Link to face in a new direction (again, on stages that allow this).

Link's Crossbow Training contains three basic game styles: target shooting, defender and ranger. There are 27 stages in total, and these categories represent only generally how each individual stage operates. Each stage's goal is to earn the highest score possible within the time limit. All rounds can be played with multiple players: Players pass the Wii Zapper around and then play one at a time and compete for the high score.

Target Shooting: In target-shooting rounds, players shoot bull's-eyes as they pop up on the screen. In early stages, targets are stationary. As the game difficulty increases in later levels, the targets move. Hitting the center of the bull's-eye nets more points, and hitting targets in succession without missing earns combo multipliers. Link can aim anywhere on the screen.

Defender: In defender rounds, players remain stationary but can look and aim in all directions - sometimes even in a full 360 degrees - by aiming off screen. Hordes of enemies assault Link, and he must fight them off. These battles have a great deal of variety, from fighting off skeletons in a desert to defending a wagon from boar-riding Bokoblins.

Ranger: In ranger rounds, players can move throughout the level using the control stick and aim anywhere they want by aiming the Wii Zapper wherever they want to look. In these missions, Link storms enemy encampments, fights his way through a forest and seeks out his foes while exploring the environments.