The first Zelda game to grace the Wii, Twilight Princess, wasn’t really a Wii game. Originally designed for the Gamecube, Nintendo’s previous console, it shuffled onto the Wii at the last minute and didn’t really take full advantage of the exciting new motion controls.

Skyward Sword, the long-awaited new Zelda game, promises to make up for that. With the Wii’s powers boosted by the Motion Plus add-on, we’ll finally be able to jump into Link’s slightly sweaty brown boots and waggle your way to victory in an epic quest to save the world from yet another fiendish evil force.

Your Wii remote doubles on-screen as Link’s sword, while the nunchuk controller becomes his shield. Both react to every movement you make in the real world, so you can sweep and slash your sword in real time, or hold up your shield and then thrust it forwards to send enemy projectiles back to their sender!

The new controls go deeper than that, however. You’ll be able to sneakily roll bombs into small spaces or behind enemies with a cheeky little underarm bowling action. You’re able to draw Link’s bow and let fly with arrow attacks, shoot a catapult and crack a whip. You can even guide Link’s insect companion around the scenery, collecting items that are out of your reach.

The game also incorporates this freedom of movement into puzzles. In one early scene, demonstrated by legendary games designer Shigeru Miyamoto earlier this year, Link was faced with a locked door, with a single spooky eye staring at him from the wood. Holding his sword in the air and then sweeping it round and round in a giant circle, Link made the door dizzy and was able to get past!

With a fantastic graphical style that swipes bits from Zelda’s long history, and gameplay that has been carefully designed to make the most of the Wii’s unique abilities, we’re sure that Skyward Sword will be the must-have game of 2011.