At GDC today, Nintendo gave gamers yet another glimpse at The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword in action via a new trailer. Contained within the footage are looks at the various gameplay mechanics the player will be tasked with executing and some of the foes with which those mechanics will need to be utilized to defeat.

While the first section of the Skyward Sword trailer is focused on the very Wii-centric actions of the game — slicing in vertical, horizontal or diagonal paths — the second half is classic Zelda, only with some Wii functionality thrown in. Everything from the signature puzzles to the way in which enemies protect themselves requires a different Wii-mote application, something that was largely absent from Twilight Princess.

Unfortunately, this focus on the Wii-mote has made a large number of fans very wary of Skyward Sword, especially in the controls department. After a less than optimal outing during last year’s E3, many called into question how precise and how fine-tuned the controls of Skyward Sword will be.

See for yourself in the trailer below:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poRfAM-vIk4

GDC was a perfect opportunity to prove that indeed the controls do work, but not wanting to repeat the “Wi-Fi Gate” of 2010, Nintendo instead chose to go with pre-recorded footage, a much safer option.

Still, despite not being able to evaluate how the game plays live (based on this trailer), there are still a lot of positives contained within it, most notably how inventive the character designs are. It certainly was one thing to show off some enemies holding their sword in a particular orientation, but some of the enemies seen in this trailer take that idea to an entirely new level. The footage also offered a brief look at a new character who may be a main baddie, perhaps the Skyward Sword figure?

Still holding on to their spring release date, Nintendo is not being very forthcoming with a timeline for the game. Keeping mum about an official release date might be a bit frustrating to some, but when it is a game this anticipated and one that has a lot of gamers wary, it might be better to give it all the development time it needs.

What do you think of the gameplay in general? What do you think of the new enemies and the way in which they will require the player to slice in various orientations? Who do you think that mysterious character is?

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is believed to be a spring release on the Nintendo Wii.