Red Steel 2 - WM+ exclusive cel-shaded Samurai Gunmen - This Week

[Cao Cao]

http://cache-foo.kotaku.com/gawker/assets/images/9/2009/05/504x_custom_1243778432974_-1_02.jpg (http://kotaku.com/5273391/red-steel-2-box-a-work-of-art-in-progress)

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=359983
Some pictures of the next issue's cover and the table of contents show that Red Steel 2 will support WM+, and judging from the art, it looks like it will star a Western-style feller wielding a katana. On the TOC, the metal on the guy's coat makes it look a bit future-y, so I'm not sure whether this will take place in a dystopian future or the 19th century West.

The cover/TOC also shows that this issue will have reviews for Punch-Out!!, Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled, C.O.R.E., Jake Hunter Detective Story: Memories of the Past, and a few more.

Here's a link to the issue's entire Table of Contents, for confirmation's sake:
http://www.nintendopower.com/images/NP242_TOC.pdf

Some info from the article:
http://gonintendo.com/?p=80814
http://gonintendo.com/?p=81057
http://gonintendo.com/?p=81226

- Red Steel 2 is a series reboot
- runs at 60fps
- takes places in the fictional town of Caldera (think Tokyo meets Reno)
- when Ubisoft saw the MotionPlus, they decided to reboot and take things in a new direction
- cel-shaded style, much like XIII
- aiming for Teen rating “The gore just doesn’t fit for us and what we’re trying to do”
- no multiplayer
- Wii MotionPlus exclusive (can only play with Wii MotionPlus?)
- dual wielding Gun and sword might happen
- main character is called ‘The Swordsman’
- finishing attacks (ex: The Swordsman palms an enemy’s head, and then runs him through with his sword’
- no blood because the dev team didn’t want the players distracted by over-the-top graphic violence
- some aspect of leveling up your character
- gun and sword combos
- “RS2 is tightly focused on intensely physical first person sword fighting, with gunplay a secondary option”
- hold Z to lock onto enemy
- hold down C and swing to block, vertical and horizontal blocks
- switch lock-on at any time
- screen prompts you if you’re being attacked from behind. Press A to quick-turn in this situation
- many enemies wear bulletproof armor
- not open world
- not a linear game, multiple paths to take
- several hub-worlds
- side quests
- collectibles
- return to old areas with new powers and abilities
-”non-combat use of MotionPlus wont be limited to opening doors”
- boss fights
- production began last summer
- Ubisoft discussing the lack of multiplayer: “We would love to create a multiplayer engine, but not right now. It’s single player because we want to really focus on the core mechanic and as much as we all want to kill each other with swords, it’s not going to happen this time.
- Ubisoft on releasing a multiplayer mode through DLC: “That would be cool. The world has changed, and we can do that sort of thing. I certainly think that would be cool. I’d buy it. But we need to be careful bringing out something that people think should be in the main game.”

Official Website (http://redsteelgame.us.ubi.com/red-steel-2/index.php)

UPDATE: JonnyThePieKing of GameTrailers posted some scan snippets, which shows six in-game scanshots:
http://jonnythepieking.gametrailers.com/gamepad/index.php?action=blog

UPDATE 3: True-gaming put up a bunch of scans from the Official Nintendo Magazine UK article:
http://www.true-gaming.net/boards/showpost.php?p=514905&postcount=56

[Friend of Sonic]

Wii Motion plus could make Red Steel 2 really good. That and the fact that they've hopefully had time to reflect on the crappy controls of the original.

[Scrubking]

After all the delay I really hope this game turns out good. The futuristic outfit and gun the guy is wearing is troubling though.

[Squarehard]

Ill pick this up when they come out with a Red Steel 2/No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle some time in the near future ;P

But on the off chance it actually get decent reviews with the fixed controls, maybe before then.
[/URL][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_More_Heroes:_Desperate_Struggle"] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_More_Heroes:_Desperate_Struggle)

[Snake2715]

Why is the cover "future-y"?

It looks like a western coat to me... not too many guys running around with 6 shooters in the future I would imagine.


I guess unless your a katana weilding crazy.

[lilboo]

With the WM+, I am willing to give most Wii games a try. I was REALLY angry at Red Steel, but, this could potentially make it an awesome game.

[theflicker]

Yeah, I don't see any evidence of futuristic elements based on the cover art.

I'm not sure how dual wielding would work. Seems like you need the remote for both; the gun needing IR and the katana needing the WM+. Two remotes? I guess they could make movement gesture based and done by holding down a button or summat, but they're probably just gonna have analog control via the nunchuk.

So yeah, not sure about that.

[Halo05]

It sucks that Ubisoft is getting another chance at a Red Steel game. In a just world, shit like that would've sold so badly that the company who created it would immediately go under and all the employees that helped make said abomination would be exiled to the Sun.

[Cao Cao]

Yeah, I don't see any evidence of futuristic elements based on the cover art.

Not the cover art, the art on the Table of Contents PDF. Ah, and this background on the official website (http://redsteelgame.us.ubi.com/red-steel-2/index.php) appears to confirm that it will not take place in the Old West, it's probably set in the future or in a modern-day city, it's too far away to tell. Guesses: Time-travel? Post-apocalyptic wasteland (ala Mad Max)? Another planet?

Also, UbiSoft press release:
http://gonintendo.com/?p=80828
SAN FRANCISCO – April 29, 2009 – Today Ubisoft announced Red Steel 2, exclusively for the Wii(TM) system from Nintendo. Red Steel remains one of the most successful Wii titles and the only brand created specifically for the launch of the platform. Red Steel 2 is being developed by Ubisoft Paris and will be available for the 2009 holiday season.

Red Steel 2 returns with an artistic style and flair created just for Wii. Set in a desert-bound, high-tech metropolis, Red Steel 2 is a revolution in the action-fighting genre, taking full advantage of the capabilities of the Wii MotionPlus(TM) accessory. Your movements are faithfully replicated on-screen, putting the emphasis on swinging, shooting and fun! With the ability of the Wii MotionPlus to sense the strength of a swing, you will literally be able to make an impact on your adversaries through power and precision.

“Red Steel was a unique opportunity for Ubisoft to work in tandem with Nintendo to create a title exclusively for the launch of the Wii console,” said Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing US at Ubisoft. “Red Steel 2 is another milestone for the company as it is the first Ubisoft title with full Wii MotionPlus integration.”

Just as Red Steel broke ground as the only third-party brand created for the launch of the Wii, Red Steel 2 will be the must-have game of Holiday 2009 for those who wish to stretch their own capacities and fully experience a game that was built from the ground up to take advantage of the Wii MotionPlus.

More details on Red Steel 2 will be revealed in the June issue of Nintendo Power magazine. For more information on Red Steel 2, please visit www.redsteel2.com.

[rumblebear]

'aiming for Teen rating “The gore just doesn’t fit for us and what we’re trying to do”'

Then why are they still calling the game REDsteel?


Why not just make a new IP altogether? The redsteel brand has already been tarnished.

[Kaijufan]

I love the art style, it looks really great.

Hopefully this game is better then the first Red Steel, which I thought was okay but a little rushed and really could of used another 6 months or so of development time. Red Steel 2 should have that problem.

[Dakinggamer]

I love the art style, it looks really great.

Hopefully this game is better then the first Red Steel, which I thought was okay but a little rushed and really could of used another 6 months or so of development time. Red Steel 2 should have that problem.

I agree.. I hope for same8-)

[Cao Cao]

First scanshot from the article:
http://gonintendo.com/?p=80968

http://gonintendo.com/wp-content/photos/tease.jpg

[Cao Cao]

Now the scan floodgates are starting to open, as this GameTrailers blog user posted three small snippets of the article, with six scanshots in total:
http://jonnythepieking.gametrailers.com/gamepad/index.php?action=blog

[SoulReaver]

really? No multiplayer? wow thats really dissapointing

[The Crotch]

Why not just make a new IP altogether? The redsteel brand has already been tarnished.I have no idea. I'm glad that they're doing a reboot because seriously the story from the first game can go fuck itself, but it's not... it's not like a Batman reboot, here. They're not drawing on an ancient, storied franchise. They're just making a sequel to a mediocre franchise that started only a couple of years ago; a franchise that really could have died after the first game. If they make Red Steel 2 good, then hey, awesome, swords 'n guns ya-hey! But affiliating it with the big pile of what the fuck that was Red Steel is unnecessary at best.

Though I liked being able to turn my gun sideways. Keep that in, Ubisoft.

[Cao Cao]

Arabic game site True-gaming.net put up the scans from the ONM UK article, has some art and shots that the Nintendo Power article didn't have:
http://www.true-gaming.net/boards/showpost.php?p=514905&postcount=56

[Strell]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGhnEafXKfc

http://images1.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Syndrome-The-Incredibles-disney-villains-1038362_203_152.jpg

Oh, come on! You gotta admit this is cool! Just like a movie!

[Cao Cao]

Even though I know that all that footage was most likely just pre-rendered FMVs, that trailer (Much like the trailer for the first game) still succeeded at one thing: Making the concept look really cool. Let's just hope they actually come close to living up to the hype they're setting this time. With a Holiday 2009 release range, perhaps we'll see a playable demo at e3.

Also, with the info of it being a somewhat "non-linear" structure with replayable missions connected by "hub worlds," it sounds like they're taking it in a more Metroid-esque direction (Get new powers and moves as you progress, take them back to old missions if you wish).

[Strell]

I guess I hadn't thought the trailer might be bullshot in the form of a pre-rendered FMV. Granted, I never really trust any movies I watch on the 'net since there tends to be some level of compression, which can either gloss over graphical defects/hard edges or make something look much better than it really is.

I guess we'll know once we actually see something. There are some screengrabs of the trailer that suggest it is being rendered in real time, and it does match up with the released screen from a few days ago, but eh. You're probably right. This is Ubisoft we're talking about here.

[CoffeeEdge]

Pre-rendered, pre-scripted, and pre-animated movement. There is simply no way to have animations like that for other characters, to react to every possible physical interaction you could have with them. MotionPlus or not, it's simply not feasible.

This is just like that bullshit trailer for Red Steel 1.

I wish I could get excited for this, because I like the style a lot, but sorry Ubisoft, I won't get fooled again!

[DarkNessBear]

Trailer looks cool. Sad thing is, that is exactly how they advertised Red Steel 1 in the first trailer. Friggen bs...

Pre-rendered, pre-scripted, and pre-animated movement. There is simply no way to have animations like that for other characters, to react to every possible physical interaction you could have with them. MotionPlus or not, it's simply not feasible.

This is just like that bullshit trailer for Red Steel 1.

I wish I could get excited for this, because I like the style a lot, but sorry Ubisoft, I won't get fooled again!

What the hell, I'm actually agreeing with CoffeeEdge... Damnit.

[CoffeeEdge]

God, Ubisoft. I bet that they'll pull the exact same shit again for the debut trailer of Red Steel 3: In Outer Space, which will probably be a Wii 2 launch title in 2012 or some shit.

What the hell, I'm actually agreeing with CoffeeEdge... Damnit.

It's cool, dude. I'm usually right about most things, so, it's to be expected. ;)

[ArthurDigbySellers]

Pre-rendered and scripted or not, I love the art style and the way everything looks in motion. This game is still a long way off so we'll get plenty of impressions before it comes out to know whether or not it is just RS1 with prettier graphics.

I'm still really pessimistic, but the art style makes me want to believe.

[Kaoz]

I'm interested in seeing more details on this game, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

The first game sounded good on paper, so all they need to do is nail the controls. Hope they do it.

Diggin' the art style too, wonder how much of a hit the graphics will take in actual gameplay.

[Cao Cao]

I guess I hadn't thought the trailer might be bullshot in the form of a pre-rendered FMV. Granted, I never really trust any movies I watch on the 'net since there tends to be some level of compression, which can either gloss over graphical defects/hard edges or make something look much better than it really is.

I guess we'll know once we actually see something. There are some screengrabs of the trailer that suggest it is being rendered in real time, and it does match up with the released screen from a few days ago, but eh. You're probably right. This is Ubisoft we're talking about here.

I'm sure that the screenshots from the Nintendo Power/ONM UK articles are from the actual game, since some shots showed the weapon effects (Slashes, bursts) on the enemies.

Today, UbiSoft confirmed that it was leaked:
http://gonintendo.com/?p=81444

I think EatChildren's comments in that article explained the situation rather well, here's an excerpt:
It’s a target render. Developers often make them as a way of showing the publisher what they are aiming for. Not just graphically, but in terms of gameplay. So yeah, it’s a pre-production video in the sense that it was them saying to the bigwigs “Hey, this is what we think we can do, care to continue funding?”

That's why even though it's pre-rendered, it's rather tough to be angry with (or lay the entire blame on) UbiSoft this time. This video was clearly not intended for the general consumer audience, it was made to show the higher-ups at Ubi that this is what the development team was aiming for, or in other words, visualizing the target concept. I'd imagine that most videos like this are shown to the decision-makers, then either:
a) Locked away in a vault, never to be viewed again.
b) Some footage in the video would be spliced into future trailers.

Of course, with the leak of this video, option b seems unlikely, since people would probably notice the old footage.

[CoffeeEdge]

The first game sounded good on paper, so all they need to do is nail the controls.
Oh, is that all? :roll:

That's why even though it's pre-rendered, it's rather tough to be angry with (or lay the entire blame on) UbiSoft this time. This video was clearly not intended for the general consumer audience, it was made to show the higher-ups at Ubi that this is what the development team was aiming for, or in other words, visualizing the target concept. I'd imagine that most videos like this are shown to the decision-makers, then either:
a) Locked away in a vault, never to be viewed again.
b) Some footage in the video would be spliced into future trailers.

Of course, with the leak of this video, option b seems unlikely, since people would probably notice the old footage.
It's not a strictly-internal target render. It was shown at a press event. Look at the title card at the start of the leaked video.

Besides that, they don't usually put marketing blurbs, release dates, and fancy live-action marketing footage of people "playing" the game, in internal-only pre-production target renders.

I don't see why you're so sure that Ubi would not release something like this (pre-rendered, scripted animation) as a trailer for the game, considering that they (utterly shamelessly) did the exact same thing with Red Steel 1.

[gunm]

You forgot to rag on them for requiring a $20 add-on to make the game "work as intended".

[Kaoz]

Oh, is that all? :roll:


Well the first game didn't have WM+ so it should be easier to make work. Add in the fact that it isn't a launch title so it shouldnt get rushed out of the door as quickly. I see no reason to believe they won't have good controls. They know as well as we do that is the controls suck, the game will fail.

[Wolfkin]

I like what they did with the trailer if they can pull thru in the end I think I can enjoy it and I'm easy to please.

[Cepasa221]

cool trailer...

[Mad D]

http://wii.ign.com/dor/objects/867131/red-steel-project-untitled-sequel/videos/rsteeldirect_trl_walkthrough_060109.html

I was not interested in this game until I watched this. First person brawler is a good way to describe it.

edit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEca5_hvVGs

[EXStrike]

Gonna be bundled with Wii MotionPlus

[Kaoz]

Gonna be bundled with Wii MotionPlus

Is that a question or a statement? I missed half of the announcement for red steel so if they said it I missed that part. Would be awesome news as I thought the game looked pretty good from what I saw tonight.

[Wolfkin]

that's waht they announced. which is cool. I want M+ and have no desire for Wii Sports.. so I figure RS2 and Tiger should be fine

[Cao Cao]

Yes, Ubisoft confirmed at their conference that there will be a WM+ bundle. I saw the gameplay footage in the presser video, but I didn't realize IGN already got their own footage up. Checking it out now.

[Kaoz]

That is great news. I wasnt sure if this game would turn out good or not when they first announced it. But the footage looked really good to me.

I also have no desire to get wii sports resorts, so that works great.

[Shrapnellistic]

E3'09: Nintedno Channel Interview (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-red-steel-2/52267)

First post in the Wii section. Must say this is the one Wii game I would love to see how it handles. Also, nice compromise on the art style with the limited architecture of the console.

[jkanownik]

I played this at E3 and after about 5 minutes I had had enough. Fighting the first enemy was pretty cool, but it got old by the fourth or fifth one and that was only one small section of one level. They went a little too far with the motion plus. The game forced you to actually swing the remote as widely as you would actually swing a sword and you needed to put some force behind it. Maybe there will be sensitivity settings you can adjust in the final version that will fix it, but I didn't care enough about the game to ask.

[Sir_Fragalot]

I just watched some gameplay on x-play today. I lost all interest in this game. The problem I have is it went from this great city world to this western world, and I am not a fan of western themed games. It seemed like a bland western themed game with sword fighting.

I was one of the few people who really enjoyed red steel even though the controls were not too good, and it was the first Wii game I finished.

[Cao Cao]

http://kotaku.com/5331431/what-wii-motionplus-really-does-for-red-steel-2
Stephen Totilo wrote an article about his meeting with director Jason VandenBerghe. The topic specifically discussed between the two was Red Steel 2's WM+ use. A particularly interesting point, and one that I believe has yet to be thoroughly discussed until now, was its effect on the shooting aspect of the game:
"Without MotionPlus, I couldn't do this," he said with the Remote now in his hand and me stepped off to the side to observe. He pointed the Remote at the screen as if to shoot. Then he moved his arm, pointing the Remote toward the left side of the screen... then he turned it more until it wasn't pointing at the TV any more.

Wii first-person-shooter owners know what VandenBerghe's gesture would normally cause. The Wii sensor bar would lose track of the Wii Remote's pointer, causing the game's first-person camera to either keep turning uncontrollably, or the camera would stop. This would be a frustration for players who were just trying to turn and had turned a tad too much. Either way, the gamer would then have to point back at the screen to get the Remote noticed again.

When VandenBerghe moved his Remote away from the TV something different happened. The camera in the game did keep turning. But as VandenBerghe turned his hand and the Remote back to the TV, the camera swiveled back with him. MotionPlus had taken over for the Remote's pointer. The Wii never lost track of its player.

MotionPlus had made these controls smarter. The swings to the side could even allow the developers to map a quick-turn.

This wasn't marketing. Technically, that's what MotionPlus added to the shooting of Red Steel 2. Otherwise, VandenBerghe said, no, MotionPlus was not essential for Red Steel's shooting gameplay.

[Cao Cao]

Payne boss battle footage:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/56441.html

[evanft]

That actually looks fucking cool.

[darth007]

Bumping this aging thread for the release this week. Anyone know of any reviews yet?

[databuild]

No reviews that I know of yet, but I am hope the game is decent considering the shoddy original, which I skipped due to the poor gameplay (controls).

If it is anything close to NMH1, I am in for one!

[Snake2715]

yeah needs some more info here.. Lets hope it pulls through.

[databuild]

IGN rates 8.6/10
http://wii.ign.com/articles/107/1079106p1.html

[RCS0926]

This is one of the few Wii games I'm seriously thinking about getting.

[crunchewy]

That review is pretty dang positive on it, which is a bit of a surprise for IGN. I would like to pick this up at some point. Only problem is I can't play games like this with my kids around, so it limits my opportunities to play it. For that reason I usually stick to E and E10+ fare.

[Snake2715]

Yeah a solid 80 on metacritic right now with an 8.8 user score on 46 votes..

This is going to fly under the radar and support the notion that no one cares on the wii anymore..

what a shame.

[The Crotch]

This is going to fly under the radar and support the notion that no one cares on the wii anymore..

what a shame.
Suggestion to fix that: don't name it Red Fucking Steel.

[Strell]

Or Ubisoft could spend some money advertising it. I don't know if they are even bothering. You already sent out NMH2 to die, so why do it here?

[The Crotch]

But confusion and obscurity worked so well for the Sega Saturn!

[rothgar24]

Kotaku review was really positive as well.

[SuperPhillip]

Third party support on Wii is dead. That boat sailed a year or two ago. Consumers have given up on decent third party games. It took them three years to start generating good content, but now it's too little, too late. People have moved on.

[evanft]

Or Ubisoft could spend some money advertising it. I don't know if they are even bothering. You already sent out NMH2 to die, so why do it here?

I've seen ads for RS2 about 10 times in the last week. This is not one of those games whose poor sales the Wii die-hards are going to be able to blame on lack of advertising.

The controls/combat and graphics are awesome. Everything else is exceptionally average, including the missions, enemy variety, and level design. 7.5/10

[Strell]

I've seen ads for RS2 about 10 times in the last week. This is not one of those games whose poor sales the Wii die-hards are going to be able to blame on lack of advertising.

And I've seen none. So my anecdotal evidence is up against your bashing. Guess we're even.

[Kaoz]

I have actually seen a commercial for Red Steel 2 5 or 6 times, on Comedy Central mostly.

I don't think I will be buying this game, I don't have the room to swing the Wii Remote around much. Looks good, but methinks the room my Wii is in now is just too small.

[darth007]

After reading the reviews on Metacritic, I can see why this is in low 80s:
-A common complaint is on aspects of the sword controls; it's inaccurate sometimes and requires really swinging the remote hard.
-Some also complained about technical issues like framerate slowdown and loadiing. Kotaku mentioned something about how pausing the game causes the Wiimote to disconnect.
-Generic environments hurt this game because there is no in game map, causing you to get lost.
-They also said the story sucks but most video game stories suck.
-Lastly, the gameplay can get repetitive, which I think is a weak criticism. All games are repetitive. A player needs to change their tactics and play style for a game to stay fresh. They probably did the same moves over and over to finish the game.

With that said, there's a lot of praise on the art style and depth of sword fighting. The sword fighting is the main attraction.

With the massive amount of games that just came out, I'll wait until this goes below $25. This game could've used a few extra months to polish up. Back to hiding you go, motionplus attachment.

[evanft]

And I've seen none. So my anecdotal evidence is up against your bashing. Guess we're even.

I literally just saw a RS2 ad during King of the Hill.

[SuperPhillip]

I've seen ads, too.
Aggressive marketing, right?
About as much marketing as the HD titles, right?

...idiot.

[Strell]

I literally just saw a RS2 ad during King of the Hill.

I champion the watching of KoTH. I missed it just now but will probably watch reruns in a few hours, so I'll look for it there.

SP hit on the same idea (with an uncalled for "idiot" in my opinion), but Wii titles don't get near the same amount of coverage. Instead, I see commercials for crap like Wanted: Weapons of Fate, which probably A) cost more to develop, B) is a shittier game, and C) probably didn't sell well.

This notion that third parties are doomed to fail against Nintendo is stupid. Nintendo polishes their games, they put out commercials and print advertisements and show up in magazines, and their games are fun. Meanwhile, Ubisoft sends games to die, and then bitches when they don't sell. If you can't figure out the formula by now, why is it someone else's fault? If the playing field were level, this kind of shit wouldn't exist. Instead we get to rely on old false stereotypes.

I'll look for the RS2 commercial later tonight.

[SuperPhillip]

I love punctuating my posts with an insult.

Floppy-eared punk. :X

[kurrptsenate]

This game definitely isn't great, and I think mid to high 8s is being generous. The sword motions are alright. I am glad they require the wii motion plus, but considering the combat in the game, it really isnt required. People bitching about the motions being too hard is a valid point, but considering you can change the options to allow the motions to be easier, it stopped my elbow from popping.

The auto-target + jump around has been done a bunch already in the Wii. It makes battles pretty uneventful. The camera isn't as fluid as metroid corruption and the AI is pretty terrible. I was hoping for more of a ninja gaiden vibe where I have to be mindful of all opponents before attacking one and blocking accordingly, but it's not required in this game.

You also auto regenerate your health instantly to max after these short battles which makes your mistakes meaningless. Not sure why I got the game tbh. I was definitely hoping for more out of this :/

[evanft]

-A common complaint is on aspects of the sword controls; it's inaccurate sometimes and requires really swinging the remote hard.

If you set the sword controls to "relaxed" they become much more enjoyable. They're set to "swing like a fucking samurai" by default.

-Some also complained about technical issues like framerate slowdown and loadiing. Kotaku mentioned something about how pausing the game causes the Wiimote to disconnect.

I've experienced multiple instances of my character moving uncontrollably in one direction and the only solution was removing the M+ and nunchuck.

-Generic environments hurt this game because there is no in game map, causing you to get lost.

There's a mini map, but no in-game map, and the environments are indeed very generic.

-They also said the story sucks but most video game stories suck.

It's not that the story sucks, it's just that it's like they're not even trying. Very well below even average action game standards.

-Lastly, the gameplay can get repetitive, which I think is a weak criticism. All games are repetitive. A player needs to change their tactics and play style for a game to stay fresh. They probably did the same moves over and over to finish the game.

The problem is that the more complex moves are hard to do in the heat of battle, so you rely on "shoot in leg, strong vertical strike, repeat" in many encounters. The enemies are pretty generic and there's not a whole lot of variety. The missions aren't exciting, either.

[darth007]

It's good to know about the option to change the controls for sword fighting. You guys(kurrpt and evan) are, thankfully, more critical than these "professional" reviewers who didn't even know about changing the sword swinging controls. Their reviews have this positive tone to them that makes you think they're going to give the game a 9 or above.

[Nirron]

This game definitely isn't great, and I think mid to high 8s is being generous. The sword motions are alright. I am glad they require the wii motion plus, but considering the combat in the game, it really isnt required. People bitching about the motions being too hard is a valid point, but considering you can change the options to allow the motions to be easier, it stopped my elbow from popping.

The auto-target + jump around has been done a bunch already in the Wii. It makes battles pretty uneventful. The camera isn't as fluid as metroid corruption and the AI is pretty terrible. I was hoping for more of a ninja gaiden vibe where I have to be mindful of all opponents before attacking one and blocking accordingly, but it's not required in this game.

You also auto regenerate your health instantly to max after these short battles which makes your mistakes meaningless. Not sure why I got the game tbh. I was definitely hoping for more out of this :/

Just wanted to thank you for posting this. I only usually read 'professional' reviews if user stuff isn't available. I had actually forgotten this game came out today until I saw the pre-order pile when I went to pick up SMT: Strange Journey, and was wondering how they did. I bought the first one at the Wii launch (stupidly thinking there would actually be a decent amount of swordplay) so I was a bit apprehensive on this one, even after all the changes.

Guess this will be another title where I wait for it to drop to $20 or less. I just can't stand camera issues. So many of the games I play usually end up with me thinking "why isn't the camera better?" so that's a definite turn off.

[evanft]

Let me tell you something: the controls in the game are absolutely phenomenal and rank among the best on the Wii. The combat is actually fun as all fucking hell, especially when you are actually given a chance to use a larger variety of moves. There are no camera issues once you set the lock-on to manual and targeting to precise. But the actual game that surrounds these mechanics is average.

Also, a Red Steel 2 ad just played on Adult Swim.

[Strell]

So Ubisoft needs to sell the engine to Tim Schafer, and Tim Schafer needs to make a Wii game. Understood.

[evanft]

So Ubisoft needs to sell the engine to Tim Schafer, and Tim Schafer needs to make a Wii game. Understood.

Tim Schafer will find some way to fuck up the gameplay. He's gone 2/2 in the last 5 years on that one.

[Strell]

Mmm, I liked the gameplay in both. But I know why others didn't.

He should try putting a game on a Nintendo console. Just once. I just want to see it.

[icedrake523]

I'll probably wait until this drops to $20. Shouldn't take long since it's a UbiSoft game. Looks good enough to give it a chance.

[SuperPhillip]

I p-p-posted my review if anyone is interested.

http://superphillipcentral.blogspot.com/2010/03/red-steel-2-wii-review.html

[kurrptsenate]

I can't say I like this game half as much as you did. The combat was extremely cheesy. The way you deflect and parry with holding the A button is over-simplified. The lock on/jump around their back takes all the skill out of this game completely. The constant load screens are unbearable. The mechanics in the swords are alright I suppose, but it really doesn't make too much sense that the wii motion plus is a requirement for this game based on 3 sword attacks and a stabbing motion.

[SuperPhillip]

Without the MotionPlus, it'd make it where you'd have to do gesture motions instead of being able to freely swipe in any direction. The Wii remote by itself isn't advanced enough for that.

Thanks for the feedback!

[DarkSageRK]

What does it say about Wii owners if the only way they'll buy something is if they see an ad for it?