A great game. Flawed, but still great.
This game does what Zelda has made its name on, dungeon exploration/puzzle solving, and it does it well. The nine dungeons all vary wildly in design and appearance. When at their best the dungeons make full use of the huge variety of items presented to you in the game, while pacing the cerebral part with some hack and slash combat. Unfortunately, the dungeons all to often turn from logical use of items to tedious and annoying activities (don't even get me started on pushing around the ice blocks in Snowpeak Ruins. The only time I've had less fun in a videogame was attempting to "control" AiAi in Banana Blitz). While puzzle solving has always been integral to the Zelda franchise, it seems to almost overstep its boundaries at times, temporarily turning an otherwise pleasent game into a chore. Also, although the dungeons themselves are challenging, the bosses are too easy for a game of this epic scope, especially when the bosses look so intimidating.
However, if you run through this meaty (40-50 hours minimum) adventure with minimal exploration, and don't come back for more, you're missing a whole lot. I probably wouldn't have given this game even a 9.0 had there not been so many other things to accomplish in the enormous entirety of Hyrule. Poes, golden bugs, empty bottles, and (of course) heart pieces are scattered everywhere and the challenge of getting them (aided by pitch-perfect horseback riding controls and a handy warp feature) can be quite addicting. When you're bored of hunting items, why not relax with some lure fishing? Or play the STAR game? Or even fly through inexplicably floating pieces of fruit? Even beyond that, there are several secret mini-dungeons and caves to challenge, usually with a heart piece reward. With so many things to accomplish, it's hard to find yourself with nothing to do in this game.
For the console that the game was first intended for, the graphics are spectacular. For the Wii, not as much, but the immense land of Hyrule has still never looked better. On the sound side of things, the music is essentially as good as it gets. Some voice acting would have been nice, though.
All in all, Twilight Princess is an outstanding game. It isn't a revolution in gaming, and its formula is a little played, but it still makes for many, many hours of solid gameplay (I'm already over 60). I haven't even touched on wolf mode, (which is basically as functional as just another item in your inventory) which was the main draw for this new game. While there will be times when the tedium of Tear hunting or anything similar will want to make you put this one down--don't, or you'll miss out on the sandbox game side to this epic, not just the future dungeons. Unless you really hate any form of puzzle solving, you owe it to yourself to get this game.