Wednesday 10 May 2006
We've braved the huge queues and distracted the crowds by dropping a few free t-shirts on the floor to grab a brief hands-on with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Before we mention just what the Wii-mote brings to the game we just have to express what a beautiful game this is. From the flowing animation to the subtle environmental lighting, this is simply sumptuous and undoubtedly one of the best looking games on Wii.

Now the Wii controller. The good news is that Link's sword slashing isn't controlled by flailing the controller about. Instead you must press the B button (the remote's trigger) to activate the sword attacks. The reason why this is good news is that your arm may well fall off if you have to swing the remote every time you take on an in-game enemy - there's a lot of hacking and slashing to be done.

Above: Twilight Princess in undoubtedly the best looking game on Wii

One weapon the remote is used for is the bow and arrow. To use this you just press a direction on the D-pad which makes Link raise the bow and arrow. Then you must aim the on-screen reticule with the remote and lock on to the target using the Z button on the nunchaku. Finally the arrow can be released by pushing the same direction on the D-pad as you did to select the weapon. It's simple and very instinctive, and allows you to make accurate shots without having to have unnaturally steady hands.

The other feature worth a mention is Link's magnetic boots. These can be slipped on whenever a metal platform can be seen floating in the sky. Once Link puts on the boots he gets sucked up to the platform and hangs upside down from the underside. Then, when the platform reaches where you want him to be, the boots can be taken off allowing Link to fall to the ground again. Sound daft? That's because it is, but in a totally ace way.

We'll have more on Zelda as soon as we can face the crowds again.