Before I go all western-samurai on you, I just want to say a few things. Besides two-thirds of its name, Red Steel 2 has absolutely no connection to the original game. Personally, I think Ubisoft would have been better off calling it Wii Stabby Mc Stab Stab or even Steel Red, but if the name Red Steel 2 is what they really want, then so be it. After all, I’m not the one (or game in this case) who’ll be attached to the dodgy Wii launch title, Red Steel, for the rest of time. Still, the positive side of all of this is that Red Steel 2 actually has very little connection with the original title. And for that reason alone, we should all be grateful to the team at Ubisoft Paris.
This completely fresh start is everything Red Steel 2 needed and everything that the few fans of the original Red Steel could have wanted. The game combines the eastern-samurai culture with the western-cowboy culture to create something that most will either consider as ‘plain wrong’ or ‘highly awesome’. However, the most notable change and probably the best thing about this game is that Ubisoft Paris has fixed up the majority of problems which were continuously encountered throughout the original game. You can’t exactly play out any epic battles like you see in all of those cool samurai flicks, but Red Steel 2 comes pretty close. The sword fighting system gives players the option of an automatic or manual lock on, a tough or easy swing requirement and a punishing or forgiving accuracy system. These options not only make the game more accessible to newcomers, but also give experienced players more of a challenge. Thanks to all of these options, the sword fights in Red Steel 2 are now actually fun. So if you hadn’t figured it out yet, sword fighting is the main ingredient of Red Steel 2. Basically, everything in the game revolves around a mysterious hero and his shiny katana. Actually, come to think of it, the hero’s katana is so important in this game that the majority of unlocks are new katana-related techniques, the fights force you to attack and defend with a katana (how predictable), and most of the environmental objects within the game usually require a good slashing from… you guessed it, your katana.
Winguardian Laviosa!
So you’re all probably dying to know just how much the combat system has improved since the original game. Well, considering you can now whip out your katana at any time, it is splendid. The Wii MotionPlus really helps things as well. Even though the sword fighting system is still on-the-rails, players’ movements are now more likely to be detected in the correct way. So the majority of the time even technical movements will be detected onscreen correctly. No more blaming the controls if you suck. So with all that said, the sword fighting system is pretty-much spot on, but how is the gun play? It’s just as spectacular. The Wii MotionPlus makes fire fights considerably easier. Players are able to effortlessly aim and shoot at enemies with a handful of different guns. And when I say handful I mean it literally, because sadly there aren’t very many guns in Red Steel 2 at all. However, the few that are in there have all been beautifully crafted and are great fun to play around with. There’s the standard magnum, the double barrel shotty and also the Tommy gun. Each of these guns feel great to use and all of them fit right into the wild west and eastern samurai theme. Yes, even the Tommy gun. To help round off all of the fabulous firepower in Red Steel 2, Ubisoft Paris has decided to include upgrades for the guns as well. So players can improve the accuracy, reload time and fire power of each of these weapons as you progress through the game – provided you have enough money. And really, that shouldn’t be much of an issue, because in this game money is everywhere. And I mean everywhere! Walk around a corner, you’ll see money, kill an enemy, they’ll drop money, slash some trash, you’ll find money. It’s everywhere. It makes destroying crates, barrels, vending machines and lockers totally worthwhile. And just scavenging around for money will no doubt become one of your major pastime activities in Red Steel 2.
And when I'm finished with you, I'm going to use this sword to heat up my burrito.
As wicked as the sword and gun play is, the story seems to have been left behind. Even the most enthusiastic Wii players won’t really give a hoot about why the main character is going around killing a tonne of western-samurai rebels. The reason is that this kind of story is so overused nowadays, and unless it is done really well, or slightly differently, nobody is likely to care. You take the role of the stereotypical lone wolf protagonist who’s been banished from his city, which then promptly becomes overrun by rebels in his absence, and now requires his particular ass kicking skills to put things right. Sure, there are a few interesting scenes in there, but the main support characters suck, and in general the voice acting is quite bad for today’s standards. The good thing about the story though is that it is supported by some stunning cutscenes. In general though, Red Steel 2 is sporting some of the best visuals ever seen on the Wii. The original featured some pretty stock-standard graphics, but this one has gone for a cel-shaded style, and boy does it look good. Not only does it suit the Wii’s style, but it also maxes out the Wii. And what’s even better (yes, there’s more) is that there is no slowdown, or drop in frame rate, during even the most intense fights. The sun’s rays shine off your katana, enemies’ armour shimmers in the distance, and the dusty western environment has been perfectly recreated – all in this beautiful cel-shaded style. What does suck, though, is the door loading scenes. Ubisoft Paris has attempted to hide the loading with these door scenes, but it just seems to have made them even more noticeable because it forces the player to stare at a door at close range for up to 10 seconds while it “opens” a new area. You can’t even watch tumbleweeds roll by. Speaking of tumbleweeds though, the sound effects in Red Steel 2 are pretty good. The tumble weed sound in particular is very accurate (or was that real life…). Overlooking character voices, the sound effects for sword fights, the guns and the west in general are great. The music is also very appropriate from start to finish, and provides a nice fusion of eastern and western tunes.
Besides the story though, the other rather big problem with Red Steel 2 is that the game’s objectives don’t really develop, they just seem to become harder, and also a bit mindless over time. Player’s will regularly receive missions from their friends (who never seem to do any work themselves, the bastards) to go and clean up a particular section of the city. Often all this ever involves is slashing a few guys then turning on a few mechanical devices. Sure, in between you can have fun shooting and stabbing guys in different ways, but if you aren’t feeling very creative then you can just simply swish your Wii Remote left and right at enemies until the cows come home, and continue to progress nonetheless. It not only makes many sections of the game repetitive, but also many upcoming events very predictable. That is, it invariably follows the general structure of finding new bad guys in some part of the city who need a good killing, pressing a few buttons to activate some machine and then returning home. Repeat 500 times over until all the side missions and main game is complete.
He had only one weakness - no eye holes.
Despite the very average storyline and dull mission objectives, Red Steel 2 is still one of the best third party titles on the Wii. With the assistance of Wii MotionPlus, Ubisoft Paris has managed create an engaging sword and gun play experience that is arguably taking interactivity within video games to a whole new level. Any Wii owners who have been hungry for a true ‘core’ experience need not wait any longer. Red Steel 2 is the game that will satisfy your grumbling tummies. However, before all of you Nintendo fanboys get on your high horses and start gloating about how this new age first-person game is exclusive to Wii, one more issue needs to be addressed. If you were to place Red Steel 2 in amongst other consoles’ first-person offerings, sadly, Red Steel 2 wouldn’t be a standout. It would most-likely just be considered as an ‘average’ first person game.
So in summary, Red Steel 2 will definitely impress any Wii fanboy, but I sincerely doubt those who play first-person games on other consoles or even PCs will consider it a stand out title within the first person genre. The true fact is that Red Steel 2 is a stand out title on the Wii because Wii owners are so deprived of first person games.
By Liam Doolan
Graphics: A
It’s official – Ubisoft Paris has released one of the best looking games on the Wii so far.
Sound: C+
The tumble weed and katana clashing sounds are great, but the voice acting is very irritating and quite amateur at times.
Gameplay: B
Solid, average and repetitive mainly.
Overall: B+
Red Steel 2 is a ‘good’ game overall. The storyline is bland, the missions are rather repetitive, but it is a standout title on the Wii because it has stunning graphics, true core game play, intelligent controls and is one of the few playable first person games on the Wii.
