Other deals I saw included the DS lite starter kits with some kind of system cover and your choice of games (Elite Beat Agents, Polarium, or True Swing Golf) discounted to $9, and the Nintendo Zapper with Link's Crossbow Training at an extremely respectable $12.

Color me puzzled. Why would anyone, and I mean anyone, want to port a horrid, mostly unseen coin-op rail shooter from 2004 to the Wii?

Maybe Konami thinks the kitsch factor will outweigh what will soon officially be the worst graphics on the Wii console. That's right this makes Cruisi'n look like a Playstation 2 game. I'd blame the horrid graphics on the Wii, but I've seen the arcade game and they were just as bad on the 2004 coin-op, maybe worse.

A take-off of the original, digitized-photo meets sub-par graphics rail shooter Area 51, Target: Terror will be compatible with the Wii Zapper and has players take on the role of an elite counter-terrorist agent taking down a wave of terrorists, all of whom happen to wear sunglasses or bandannas. The original game actually featured a level at the Denver Airport, but it was so horribly generic I couldn't convince my editors at the Rocky to do a story about it.

Target: Terror will also include mini-games and is due out in the first quarter of 08. Two more screens after the jump.

And just for comparison sake... the dreaded Car Vault.

Here is my lego zapper! [via gonintendo]

Wii Cyber Gun [brando]

Unlike some of my esteemed colleagues, I'm quite looking forward to RE: Umbrella Chronicles. I've been a fan of rail shooters since House of the Dead and my very favorite, Carn-Evil. I've played RE:UC a few times now at various events with and without the Wii Zapper and while I enjoyed it, I will admit that I liked it better in co-op mode. Something about standing side by side with a friend, taking out zombies right and left with a well placed head shot that just makes my heart light up.

Europe to Get Zapping Before Christmas [Next Gen]

Game Developer Magazine editor Brandon Sheffield was kind enough to be my goth sidekick, braving a long walk through sunlight to act as the Rebecca to my Carlos. We worked our way through the majority of the zombie infested train level from Resident Evil 0, ultimately losing to the end-of-level boss, a giant scorpion with a sensitive stinger.

Along the way, we unceremoniously shot stuff, often confusing one another's reticles for the other's, resulting in loads of wasted effort. The same was true for the last minute evade moves, ones that require rapid button presses or really frantic Wii-mote waving. Eventually, we realized we were standing on the wrong side of the screen in relation to our players and switched spots. It kind of helped.

There's something about Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles that just makes it difficult to get excited about. I think the most glaring problem is this: it's not fun. There's little sense of danger or feedback from the game that you're unloading hundreds of rounds on hordes of the undead. It's very sterile.

When we sat down with the game's producer, Masachika Kawata, Luke and I were pressing him for something that could get us excited to play it of our own accord. Would there be puzzles? No. Series of quick time events? Nope. There will be cut scenes, however! Ten hours of pointing and trigger pulling may be your thing, though.

I suppose the game will really appeal to those who absolutely love Resident Evil unconditionally. It's going to flesh out the storyline for those who care about the fall of the Umbrella Corporation. But it looks like it will also provide a fresh look at the series for those who are looking for arcade-style shooting using their Wii controllers. And those are both goals of Masachika Kawata, who really wants to bring in new fans.

Unfortunately, I don't really fall into either of those camps, so Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles feels like a "pass" to me.

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.

I've gotten official confirmation from Nintendo that the Wii Zapper interface will indeed come with Link's Crossbow Training packed in and that the remote-housing Wii Zapper will sell for $20 starting Nov. 19.

Link's Crossbow Training drops players into a world in the style of The Legend of Zelda®: Twilight Princess. Players assume the identity of hero Link, who progresses through a series of tests to perfect his crossbow marksmanship. Start with stationary bull's-eyes and graduate to moving targets before defending Link against all kinds of enemies.

Nintendo also confirms a pretty interesting line-up of third-party Wii Zapper support including Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, Ghost Squad and Medal of Honor Heroes 2 which will include single player, arcade mode and support for up to 32 players in multiplayer.

NINTENDO'S NEW Wii ZAPPER TARGETS FUN
First Wii Game-Play Accessory Comes Packaged with Zelda Software

REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 10, 2007 - Nintendo announced today that the Wii Zapper™ interface for the hit Wii™ home video game system will come packed with Link's Crossbow Training™. The software is based on the hugely popular Legend of Zelda® series and provides a perfect demonstration of the way the Wii Zapper could be used in other games. The Wii Zapper casing houses both the motion-sensitive Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ controllers in a single unit for precision targeting. It goes on sale Nov. 19 at an MSRP of just $19.99.
"The Wii Zapper combines our remarkable controllers into one housing with a classic style reminiscent of arcade-style games," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "Both veteran and first-time players will find it brings a whole new dimension to games where targeting is key and provides even more exciting game-play experiences."
Link's Crossbow Training drops players into a world in the style of The Legend of Zelda®: Twilight Princess. Players assume the identity of hero Link, who progresses through a series of tests to perfect his crossbow marksmanship. Start with stationary bull's-eyes and graduate to moving targets before defending Link against all kinds of enemies.
Third-party publishers have lined up to support the Wii Zapper. EA's Medal of Honor Heroes™ 2 lets players take World War II into their hands with the Wii Zapper. The game features an all-new Wii-exclusive Arcade Mode that offers accessibility to gamers of all skill levels, a full single-player campaign and support for up to 32 players in multiplayer. Capcom's Resident Evil®: The Umbrella Chronicles reveals the back story behind the fall of the Umbrella Corporation by exploring locations from Resident Evil 0, 1, 2 and 3, as well as new never-before-seen locations like Umbrella's stronghold. One or two players use the Wii Zapper to take aim against a horde of zombies in first-person perspective. SEGA's Ghost Squad™ lets players replicate the arcade light-gun experience at home with the Wii Zapper.
Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com.
The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™, Nintendo DS™, Game Boy® Advance and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.4 billion video games and more than 420 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario™, Donkey Kong®, Metroid®, Zelda™ and Pokémon®. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site at www.nintendo.com.
EA and Medal of Honor Heroes 2 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

We got all verklempt when we spotted the Zapper in the display case alongside all the other previously seen Wii peripherals, because we loved Duck Hunt back in the day and rumors were that a Wii version would be announced at E3. No Duck Hunt, alas—there weren't any games utilizing the Zapper on the floor, it's still a design in progress. We'll have more photos from inside Nintendo's Wii area, including our hands on impressions of Twilight Princess and Super Mario Galaxy, up in a few minutes.