The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword well worth the wait

Where will you be on November 20? Will you be sitting on your couch watching the morning news, or racing down to your nearest mall to grab a copy of the new, highly anticipated Zelda game? Well, either way, I certainly know where I'm going to be.

Ever since the Nintendo press conference at E3 last year, hundreds of thousands of Zelda fans experienced the revelation of the new Zelda game, Skyward Sword. The release date wasn't confirmed until early this year, and now the time has almost arrived.

Last week, I had the chance to preview Skyward Sword. Take it from me, if you pre-ordered it, you won't be sorry. It is well worth the wait.

The gameplay is a thing in itself; with intense swinging of the Wii remote and realistic movements with the nunchuck, you feel as though you are literally in the game. When the Wii remote is swung, Link will swing his sword. The Wii remote that comes with the game is pretty awesome too; it comes with Wii MotionPlus, which gives you more control, and a handle on the fighting during dungeon exploration and intense boss fights.

The game also comes with new features, such as dashing and wall-jumping. The overall game mechanics are really superb, and well done.

The game features new challenging puzzles, and places to explore. The graphics show these features off well, with a cartoony, realistic feel, along with cool painted-looking textures. The enemies and characters are new, and some even from past games such as Gorons. But also it brings a new villain, I wonder who?

Playing just five minutes of this game brings you great happiness. It is going to be good.

Some nerdy Zelda Skyward facts:

• Limited-edition bundles for the game will include a gold-colored Wii Remote Plus. (Note that the gold controller will simply be gold in colour and will not contain any actual precious metals.)

• Every copy of the initial run of Skyward Sword will include a CD featuring orchestral arrangements of music pulled from the series' 25-year history.

• Link will be able to soar through the sky on a bird to get from place to place.

• Skyward Sword’s pre-order numbers have topped 691,562 in just North America. In fact, the game ranks number three on North America’s pre-order charts.