When WiiWare was first announced, small developers jumped for joy at the thought of being able to develop a low-cost game for such a popular console. Indeed, now that WiiWare has launched worldwide, it's made quite an impact. Games such as Dr. Mario & Germ Buster have been the subject of much praise, whereas over in the States, games such as Critter Round-Up and Family Table Tennis have been branded either poor or utterly pointless. However, there is one WiiWare game that has managed to split the entire fanbase right down the middle: LostWinds.

The story of LostWinds is set in a world called Mistralis, a world which was created by legendary Guardian Spirits. One of the spirits, Balasar, wanted more than to create Mistralis: he wanted to rule it. In light of this, the rest of the Guardian Spirits tried to imprison Balasar forever inside a Spirit Stone, created purely for his imprisonment. As Balasar resisted, one spirit, Enril the Wind Spirit, used the last of her power to force Balasar into the Spirit Stone, but she too was imprisoned inside. After many years, Balasar managed to break the Spirit Stone, causing fragments of it and himself to spread around the land. Enril, however, remained trapped inside, which is where the story of LostWinds begins.

As soon as you start the game, you begin to understand just how important the power of the wind is going to be. Toku, the game's protagonist, is lying asleep under a tree, and your first act is to wake him up. This is simple: use the Wii Remote to point at the screen and quickly brush it over Toku several times to wake him up. Once Toku is awake and has stumbled across the shard in which Enril is trapped, and you're able to use the wind much more effectively, the game really starts to progress: you're able to move enemies around, move Toku to higher places, use fire and water to your advantage, throw rocks about, and even have some fun with waterwheels in the village.

There are also a few "upgrades" for you to find which will allow Enril to aid you further. One of these is the Vortex ability, which allows you to, after throwing something into the air, drawing a circle around it and temporarily suspending it in mid-air. You can use this to bring enemies back to earth with a bang or to suspend rocks in mid-air before throwing them at gates to break them. You can also use the Slipstream feature to be able to control fire and water with more freedom, and also other items that you'll find later in the game. The way the wind has been utilised is unique and well thought-out all the way through the game, which makes this game as good as it is - had the wind elements been poor, they'd have let the game down massively.

With all these great features, what could have split the players' opinions? The same thing that split everyone with Luigi's Mansion: the longevity. On the first run through, LostWinds takes little more than three hours to complete, and even if you want to hundred-percent the game (there are 24 statues scattered around Mistralis to collect), you could easily complete it in two hours if you know exactly what you're doing. Some say it's a good reflection of value-for-money, others say it leaves too much to be desired. Casual gamers won't be concerned about the longevity, however; the shortness is actually quite nice if you're a casual gamer, as you'll be able to complete it in a few sessions without having to worry about it being one of those games that'll take twenty hours to complete. As for core gamers, it really depends on whether you think £7, $10, €10 or AU$15 is good value for a three-hour game. It's not as if you'll only play it once - it really is the type of game you'll want to go back to.

LostWinds also makes great use of sound effects and music, by using as little of it as necessary. It's very quiet and calm and the lack of music in places is a brilliant reflection of the areas. Especially when you're outside in places like the village, the music is refreshing and composing, leaving the impression that minimalist use of music was a great idea.

LostWinds seems designed to be an unsung hero. Especially when it was released alongside Dr. Mario and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, it didn't seem as though it would get much attention. Thankfully, though, this little masterpiece got the attention it deserved. If you don't mind paying £7 for a three-hour experience that you can play over and over again, this is definitely for you. If you prefer games with more longevity, it probably isn't. One thing absolutely has to be said about LostWinds, though; it's a damn sight better than most full-price Wii games available. LostWinds 2 can't come soon enough.