IGN has reviewed the new Nintendo Wii Zapper and has awarded it a decent score of 6.5/10 but it is far from perfection. The layout results in problems accessing any of the Wiimotes face buttons which makes games like Red Steel and CoD troublesome to play. However, the actual product is made solidly, although IGN think that it won't be too long before people prefer to go free hand as usual when it comes to shooting games.

The other problem the tommy gun layout causes is the fact that it's pretty much impossible to access any of the face buttons on the Wiimote when it's in the Zapper bracket, at least with the speed that's require for gameplay. This makes the Zapper useless with games like Red Steel and CoD, which is disappointing.

To Nintendo's credit, the Zapper is by far the highest quality lightgun bracket available in terms of general build quality. The white plastic is lightly textured in grip areas and feels high quality overall. The Wiimote is secured quite well via a pair of grey plastic spring-loaded hooks that latch into it in the holes to either side of the Nunchuck connection point. The Nuncuck, too, is nicely secured in its place by plastic shivs that extend into the screw recesses. A protected wire run leads from the Nunchuck and into a space behind the forward grip where it can be coiled conveniently before jutting out the side to make the connection to the Wiimote.

Were the Zapper sold individually, we might suggest avoiding it in favor of a more adaptable third-party model. Such is not the case however, as the Zapper is bundled with Link's Crossbow Training, which is tons of fun. As such, we're pretty sure the Zapper will find its way into masses of homes. The telling issue will be how long owners will care to use it before abandoning the bracket altogether in favor of free hand shooting. We suspect not long.