The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess [Wii]

Once we hit the first dungeon, we were back to regular old Link. The overlying theme here was monkeys. We kept being tasked to save more and more of these squeaky simians, while battling hostile insects and plants. Dungeon structure was similar to previous Zelda games and you even have the map, compass, and boss key to collect.

Puzzles were all over, and usually dealt with bomb plants. Upon smacking them with your sword or slingshot, their heads became time bombs. Often, these have to be used to clear debris in order to progress. Finding the boomerang makes this a lot easier, as it can bring the bombs directly to your hands, or even deliver them to a predetermined location. For example, pre-load your targeting to hit the bomb plant, then a massive boulder, let fly, and it'll do the work for you. How cool is that?

After this first dungeon was completed, we had already amassed a gameplay total of around six hours. The surface was barely scratched, yet some current- and next-gen games would've already been near over by now. We were now able to explore more of the world, which again brought back memories of Ocarina of Time.

The next city we came to was in a bad way, and we were the only available heroes around. A theme seems to be wolf-Link having to track down lightning bugs to regenerate a light being and thus cleanse the area. The city was teeming with them, both indoors and out. They're crafty little things that can only be seen in spirit vision.

Without spoiling too much, Link had to master the art of sumo -- along with the art of cheating by donning iron boots. We learned one of seven secret sword techniques: how to finish off a downed opponent by running them through. We also experienced combat on horseback, in both multiple-adversary battles in the field, and a one-on-one sort of joust competition. This was extremely sweet, to say the least.

The second dungeon was reached at around the nine-and-a-half-hour mark. It was flowing with molten lava -- which meant a hot time for Link and a few burnt-up wooden shields. The iron boots came in handy for walking along walls and ceilings, which also meant this was a multiple-floor dungeon. One enemy of note was a fire lizard, whose only weak spot was his tail. Thus, Link had to shimmy around the creature and target the vulnerable area while avoiding its fire breath.

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is an epic masterpiece that no gamer will want to pass up. From these early impressions, it's easy to see the validity of the Wii's new control scheme, and it's apparent the designers listened to player feedback from the last few Zelda titles. You'd better set aside a whole month of free time for this bad boy. Meanwhile, we'll get a full review out to you as soon as possible.