Nintendo owners have been following the trail of Zelda since the days when the title was first announced for the now-defunct 64DD. The wait is over (for us), as a special gold cart version of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time showed up on the doorsteps of videogames.com this morning.

　　After playing it for a good hour (I'd have liked to play all day, but Gerstmann would have beat me down for the cart sooner or later), we've decided to give you a quick idea of what you can expect from Zelda 64.

　　The first thing you notice about the game is that it is built on top of the same engine that Mario was built on. Yet, the textures take on a much more realistic look in place of the cartoonish look of Mario. You can tell just from the credit screens and the complex subscreen system that this is amuch more serious game - while it still has that same addictive quality as the first Zelda on the NES.

　　Water textures and animations look as good as those in other Mario engine-based titles, but the levels have neat little additions that you'd miss if you weren't looking. Small plants sometimes hold health, money, and other goodies.

　　Link begins his journey through the land of Hyrule in the Kokiri Forest as he learns how to navigate, how to wield a weapon, how to use his sidekick (a fairy named Navi), and how to use and access a series of subscreens (where you equip your character and find your spot on a map).

　　If you're used to Mario, controlling Link is just about the same with some button changes. Changes cover a wider range of motions like rolling out of falls, and the targeting system allows you to pinpoint which target you want to strike without having to worry about where the camera view is going to go.

　　Some pluses are that the camera is much easier to control, and three of the C buttons are customizable as you swap in weapons like a slingshot, sticks, or exploding nuts that stun your enemy for a short time. While we only played the first few levels for a short time, the title appears solid with an intriguing storyline that should give hours of enjoyment to gamers.

　　To give added incentive to those wanting more Zelda info, the videogames.com crew will be posting some updates and insider views of the title in the next few days. So stay tuned.