A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed Neopets Puzzle Adventure on the DS. Well, Neopets Puzzle Adventure on the Wii is basically the same game, with a few additions.

Graphically, it looks very much like the DS version, just on a larger scale. The one thing that they forgot to make larger was the text, however. It is very hard to read the text on my 55" TV. I can't imagine trying to make out what it says on a smaller TV. It would really have been nice to have a text size option available, especially since the characters don't speak out loud. Other than that, the graphics are very pretty. The Neopets look exactly like they do in the web game. The worlds are quite a bit larger than the DS version so get ready for much bigger maps.

There isn't much in the way of sounds. The background music is just that. It's not annoying, but it isn't necessary to play the game. The pets do make cute little sounds when you move them from place to place. You also get different noises when you make various moves in the game, but they're not crucial to playing it.

Neopets Puzzle Adventure on the Wii plays just a little differently than the DS version did. Instead of choosing Story Mode or Instant Action, you choose either Single Player or Multiplayer. After you make the selection, then you have the option of Story Mode inside Single Player. The Story Mode plays very much like the DS version, only it is a lot longer. You start off by choosing your Neopet. You can have multiple pets and they will each have their own adventure.

When you choose New Game, you'll start out being asked to help someone. Each time you complete whatever quest you were sent on, you'll be given a new task. There are two main differences from the DS version here. First, you can go back to any of the previous locations and play them over again. You have quite a bit more free-roaming and you're going to need it because the second major difference is that you do not automatically acquire petpets in the Wii version. You will have to battle the petpet and use your webclaw to capture them. This means that you will need to roam around the board to find the various petpets that you might want or need to use. Finding petpets is just one of the many sidequests that are now available to you.

As you're going through the game, you can find "unlockables." Each time that you unlock one of these, you'll be given a virtual prize code that you can enter on the Neopets Puzzle Adventure Website. These prizes are usually worth it if you're looking for rare items on Neopets, so make sure to try and complete as many of them as you can. Eventually you will beat the game if you continue completing all the quests. There is a definite end to the game, but given that it is a puzzle game, there is infinite playability.

Neopets Puzzle Adventure is a puzzle game, so if you're not great at the puzzles, you might, like me, find it more difficult that some. It is the same puzzle as in the DS game. "Othello" or "Reversi" are the most common names. Personally, I'm not really good at it. After playing the DS version, though, I did get better. The great thing about this game is that it starts out easy enough for you to get the hang of it and learn the game quickly. Not only do you learn the game, though, you learn tricks for winning it. Also, petpets make a huge difference! If you're having trouble beating opponents, I recommend that you go capture some petpets and learn how to use them.

Another thing that can help you if you're having trouble is equipment. In this game, you can buy equipment at the store. There are all sorts of items that can make your attack or defense higher. It's not who has the most tokens at the end, but who has the higher score. You will need to equip different items and different petpets at various times in the game.

Neopets Puzzle Adventure is quite easy to play. You only need the Wii-mote, no Nunchuk necessary. To scroll around the map, simply hold the Wii-mote in the direction you want to go. When you want to click on a building to go there, just press (A). Be aware, though, that if a wild petpet is in your path, you will stop to do battle with them. After the battle, you'll need to click on the building you wanted to go to again. Many of the buildings have different things that you can do there. There are shops, crafters, cooking stations, stables to train petpets at, and ruins to explore. When you click on a location, you will then see all of the possible options at that location. To choose one, hover the arrow above it and press (A) again.

By this point, you're probably wondering how to play the puzzle. The concept is very easy, but mastering it could take you a while. You will be represented by a blue token while your opponent will have red. You'll each start out with 2 of your color on the board. You are trying to flip all of your opponent's tokens to your color, while they are trying to do the same to you. To flip a token, simply place your token so that your opponent's is trapped between the one you just placed and an existing one. The game will do a very good job of explaining it to you when you first start out, so don't worry if my instructions are a little confusing. The game is over when the board is full, the board is all one color, or both opponents are deadlocked (have no moves left). At that point, whoever has the highest number of points wins.

Neopets Puzzle Adventure is a fun game to play. There are disadvantages to the Wii version, most notably being the small text size. But there are also some really good advantages as well; the story is a lot longer and there are more in-depth characters. I recommend that you get them both. Besides, it gives you more virtual prizes that way!