The Wii has been out for just over a week in Britain, and I have to say it's probably the best console I've ever played.  Wii Sports, Channels, the message board, all of it is brilliant.  But there's one thing that stands out more so than anything else:  the latest Zelda installment.

Shame on you if you thought it was just a GameCube port, and if your opinion of it was lowered because of lardboy Jeff what's-his-name at GameSpot (8.8?  Seriously, was he drunk?).  Twilight Princess is the best damn game I've ever played, because whilst it uses the same golden Zelda formula, it's something new.

Starting the game up to hear that haunting melody and the cries of Link galloping with Epona across Hyrule Field is a memorable moment, and it gets better when you press A and B, only to be greeted by the unsheathing of Link's sword via the speaker.  Start a new game (I was very pleased to see Link and Epona already inputted for the hero name and horse name) and then talk to your friend Rusl the swordsman who tells you a little bit about twilight.  You have around three days to spend  in Ordon Village before you are sent by the mayor to Hyrule to deliver something.  Here begins the adventure.

And what better way to begin than with goat herding?  Hop on Epona and tap A to 'Whoop' and chase goats into a stable, and for every goat you chase into the stable a humorous message appears in the form of GOAT IN!  So then it's time to do a few sidequests and get some new items.  Summon a hawk then lob it at a monkey to recover a baby's cradle, chase a cat for a slingshot and then receive a sword with which you train mini transvestites how to fight.  Seriously, the small one is meant to be a boy and apparently ONE of them is female.  Which one?

After all that is done, you have your first adventuring mission, to save a little monkey and the large transvestite child from the clutches of Moblins.  Pretty easy, yes, and you also aquire a lantern from it.  I shan't spoil the game further so I'll talk a bit about gameplay etc.

Fighting and using items is quite intuitive in TP, as you have to swing and flick the remote to progress.  The storyline is fantastic, I would say as good as Ocarina and the Wind Waker.  Sound and graphics are gorgeous, with familiar melodies greeting your ears from time to time, brand new compositions getting stuck in your head and remote speaker effects satisfying you when you clash swords with a Moblin.  And why did people complain about graphics anyway?  Considering the Wii isn't MEANT to have superb graphics, shouldn't they be rated on how good they are for the CONSOLE they are displayed on?  I'd give the graphics a 10 simply for the genius art and the time that was put in to create those gorgeous and memorable landscapes.

Zelda Twilight Princess:  BEST.  GAME.  EVER.