Yup, I said it, and it’s no big secret (cause I’m not about to reveal any of those) if you look at the cover of the game you’ll see Link and his alter ego. Both of whom bear a striking resemblence and share those icy-blue eyes.
You see when the strange nightfall envelops the land, Link is transformed into a massive black wolf. This wolf has the intelligence of Link, but does not have opposable thumbs so he cannot wield any weapons or items. Instead this Link/wolf uses it’s natural aggressiveness and really big teeth to dole out punishment to any hell hound or shadow creature that crosses his path.
It’s a new and needed addition in the Zelda franchise that benefits from the challenges doing battle as a wolf presents. A few years ago I predicted (semi-accurately) that the werewolf was going to make a comeback in the fantasy medium. Sure enough we saw several big and small budget movies that featured werewolves as both protagonist and antagonist. Now you aren’t really quite a werewolf in this title but the game does kind of flow in that vein with you kicking ass in all your animalistic glory.
This also provides some interesting control schemes as fighting as a wolf would bring while swinging around the Wii remote. It pretty much requires you doing the the same movements but the end action being different. Still, an interesting dynamic nonetheless.
You should also know that the game has you working with not only your faithful horse, but a hawk that I believe I mentioned earlier. Finding the right kind of plant, will enable you to turn it into a whistle which calls these animals to you. There are limitations on what these creatures can do for you, but trust me, they will save your bacon plenty of times. Plus riding into combat on top of a massive horse is just plain cool.
