While some people might think Wii and DS owners will experience a drought this year, they would be pleased to know that the Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass will probably be released sometime this year. Making an appearance at GDC ‘07 in San Francisco, the Wind Waker sequel was made available to all and sundry, but only the multiplayer part. That generosity, however, is more than enough to win people over as Link undertakes his latest adventure on a portable handheld in full cel-shaded glory, making it look as if you were playing a cartoon instead of being in a game.

The multiplayer aspect requires Link to pick up pieces of the Triforce and bringing it back to your base, somewhat akin to Capture the Flag in other games. The only caveat is these Triforce pieces are just so darned heavy that the normally nimble Link is turned into a lumbering midget whenever he lugs around the Triforce. This slowdown enables your opponent (who is connected wirelessly on another DS of course) to quickly close down on you. A Nintendo rep claims that the entire Triforce transporting movement can be simplified by throwing the pieces afar, making the task much simpler to accomplish.

As the villain, you get to control a trio of henchmen who wield some bad ass axes. Using the stylus, you draw out a path towards Link’s direction for each individual, and is more of a puzzle game as you try to corner Link into an inevitable death. This will definitely require some crazy use of the stylus as you attempt to outwit your opponent. I suppose to control three characters on screen makes the stylus necessary, but to control Link himself with the D-Pad ought to be sufficient. What’s your take on this?

Source: DS Fanboy

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