Nintendo unveils new Zelda Wii

Nintendo has unveiled The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword at its E3 press conference in Los Angeles and said it will be out "next year".

Shigeru Miyamoto appeared on-stage and talked about the game's Wii MotionPlus-based control scheme, which allows players to control Link with a mixture of the nunchuk for movement and shield usage and the WMP for sword swings.

"With a sword this light, you can move it around as you like," he explained. "Just imagine you are holding a sword and a shield yourself," he said while playing the game, swishing his sword around on-screen to slash grass and enemies.

As well as Z lock-on, 1:1 sword-swinging and shield-bashing, Miyamoto demonstrated how you can select items with the MotionPlus to reach into your pockets and dig out things like bombs, the bow and arrow and the slingshot.

The slingshot doesn't involve pointing at the screen - you just move the remote in front of you as if you're aiming a real slingshot. We weren't able to see the bow and arrow due to technical difficulties.

It's also possible to flick bombs with the WMP and even bowl them along the ground like bowling balls.

We also got to see the beetle, which can be sent off to gather distant items like a remote-control UFO catcher, and the whip, which made a satisfying noise as Miyamoto swished it around with intuitive WMP motions.

The whip couldn't kill larger enemies but it did piss them off a lot, and it could be used to take out flying bat enemies.

Visually the game looked closer to the GameCube Wind Waker and DS Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass titles than Twilight Princess, the first Wii release, but it was still a mature Link so hopefully nobody will self-harm about it using colours.

Shigeru Miyamoto said he thinks Skyward Sword "will be remembered as a key turning point in Zelda's history".

He did, however, say that development "looks like it's going to take through the end of this year", meaning we won't get to play it until "next year".