Update: Here are a couple of videos showing off the gameplay in Dragon Blade.

At this year’s E3, D3 Publisher showed off Dragon Blade: Wrath Of Fire, a new hack and slash action game coming exclusively to Nintendo’s Wii. The game is being made by developer Land Ho, whose staff includes several veterans of the Panzer Dragoon series. Promising a mix of action-heavy gameplay and a story spun out of fantasy author Richard A. Knaak’s DragonLance series, Dragon Blade is aiming to stand out among other family friendly Wii games by offering an experience aimed directly at hardcore gamers.

Dragon Blade is the story of a young hero on a quest to find and reassemble the six scattered pieces of the titular blade in order to bring to life one of the world’s most fearsome weapons. Each piece of the blade is protected by a dragon whose specific attack abilities are infused into the piece that they protect. As the hero gains possession of each subsequent blade piece he unlocks new attack abilities that drive the progression through the game. Dragon Blade spans 21 levels across 6 varying environments, each with their own style and atmosphere.

The game’s controls rely heavily on motion input, using movements to the left, right, up, or down that correspond to sword strokes. A quick shove forward of the Wii remote will, similarly, unleash a jab of your sword. Players will also gain access to special attacks as they regain new pieces of the Dragon Blade, which can be enacted by a quick press of the D-pad and matching gesture. On display in the demo were a pair of fire claws that could be used to attack by swinging the Wii remote and nunchuk forward in unison. Moving the remote and nunchuk up and then back down will slam the fire hands on the ground for an even more damaging attack.

Other special moves will feature a dragon’s tail that can be swung like a whip and a giant dragon’s head that floats above your character and breathes fire on nearby enemies. The game will also feature a sort of motion-based quicktime event called Corebreaker that will be used during pivotal moments in boss fights.

D3 is targeting a Fall 2007 release for Dragon Blade: Wrath Of Fire.