The biggest surprise this weekend? Yup, Zelda on the Wii - the controls actually work. They really do. And I was really worried beforehand. Previous plays on the demo suggested that the controls were fiddly, imprecise and essentially rubbish. Zelda is so important to me that I'd even pre-ordered the Gamecube version - essentially the same game - just in case. But after only a couple of minutes with the Wii version it became obvious that the controls would work. In fact it's hard to imagine pressing buttons to do a spin attack now rather than lightly shaking your left hand.
The game itself? Well, I'm 7 hours in and things are only just starting. Those who felt shortchanged by Wind Waker are unlikely to be disappointed here. What may disappoint, at least initially, are the graphics. Not that they are bad - the lighting and style is reminiscent of Ico in places - but the lower resolution comes as a bit of shock after Hi Def gaming on the Xbox 360 and PC.
Of course, it doesn't help that Nintendo only bundle a godawful composite cable in the box, meaning image quality is the lowest of the low. I'll grab a component cable on Friday which should make a big difference but Nintendo should have least bundled a SCART connection - more on this in another blog. For now I'm just happy that Zelda on the Wii plays so well.
