Everyone was hoping for an announcement about the new Zelda game at Nintendo's E3 this year, but no-one was really prepared for them to open the show with it.
Previously the only thing we'd seen of the new Zelda was a piece of concept art that replicated Twilight Princess's (the previous Wii Zelda game) style. But the trailer shown at E3 displaced any fears of them creating an identical game and just adding the new Motion+ controls (the motion+ add on for the Wiimote allows for much more accurate motion control, enabling the Wii to recognise where and how you're holding the controller).
Whichever way you swing your Wiimote will be represented on screen.
With it's cartoon-y cel-shaded visuals, the game's motion+ controls were then demonstrated by Shiguero Miyamoto, the creator of the Zelda franchise. Instead of simply shaking the Wiimote to swing your sword in whatever direction the game chooses, like in Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword utilises the Wii's Motion+ accessory, allowing the game to offer almost 1:1 motion tracking. This means that when you move and angle the Wiimote in your hand, your character on screen will accuratly mirror your own movements. This was shown in the demo to have been integrated into the gameplay, with enemy plants that you can only defeat by slicing them in a certain direction, and confusing an eye on a door by swinging your sword/wiimote in circles in front of you, making the eye dizzy, which unlocked the door.
Slice the plants in the direction that their mouths open to defeat them.
The item selection has also received an overhaul, meaning that you won't have to trawl through various menus in order to equip the item you need. Instead, you just hold the B button, point the controller at what you need and you'll automatically equip it. Coupled with the motion+ controls, this could potentially make Skyward Sword the simplest Zelda ever, which isn't a bad thing.
Twilight Princess would've been improved tenfold with the addition of proper motion controls, and now with Skyward Sword being made with Motion+ in mind, it's got the makings of an epic Zelda game. Unfortunately it's been dated for 2011, so we've got quite a wait. We'll have a full review closer to the date.
