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Red Steel 2 Review for Nintendo Wii

Red Steel 2 Review for Nintendo Wii

In the realm of making video games, second chances can often be as hard to come by as great third-party software at a system’s launch. Proof positive of the latter part of this statement is the original Red Steel for the Wii. With dreams of realistic swordfights and gun battles fueled by precise motion controls dancing through their heads, many early adopters of the Wii also picked up a copy of this promising shooter.

Red Steel 2 screenshot

Unfortunately, whether constrained by the limitations of the hardware, meeting the system’s launch date, or by the motion controllers themselves, Red Steel was the first game for many Wii owners that made them doubt the viability of motion-controlled games of this nature. That being said, the game was very ambitious and did contain some good ideas, which thankfully work out much better in the series’ second effort.

Unlike most games with a ‘2’ in their title, Red Steel 2 feels much more like a complete reboot for the series rather than just a slightly more polished follow-up with a few new features. The setting for the sequel completely abandons the modern yakuza feel of the original in favor of a more East meets West type affair. The Eastern influences are there in terms of some of the architecture, enemies, and sword combat but how it is mixed with the Western components is what makes it feel so unique. Much of the game’s visuals are very reminiscent of a spaghetti western with safes containing gold bars, cowboy hats, wanted posters, and tumbleweeds constantly helping to remind you that this is a very different world than that of the last Red Steel.

This time around you’re also playing as a nameless character who apparently prefers to be a loner. Coming back from a lengthy exile, you find that the clan you belonged to has been completely wiped out except for you. As the last of the Kusagari it is up to you to discover who killed your friends and make them pay for it. While it’s not the most original or well done story you’ll ever experience, thankfully, it also isn’t bad enough to take away from what will actually propel you through Red Steel 2’s experience: the action-filled gameplay.

Red Steel 2 screenshot

To call this game a first-person shooter (FPS) would be a horrible misrepresentation of that label. Although you do most certainly have a gun, and can utilize it whenever you like, using it to dispatch enemies is clearly not the focus of this game’s combat. Gunshots are very rarely an effective way of killing enemies, usually working much better when used in conjunction with a healthy helping of your decidedly not red covered steel blade (thanks T rating). A well placed shot to the head or leg of a foe can cause them to get disoriented or drop to a knee, making them easy pickings for a sword combo or perhaps even a finishing maneuver. Switching between your gun and sword is also quite fast, which is definitely a blessing considering that if it took anything more than an instant, your guns would be almost completely worthless.

The swordplay absolutely takes center stage in Red Steel 2’s combat and is also fairly responsive and enjoyable thanks to the use of the Wii MotionPlus add-on for the Wii Remote. It was definitely a risk making this game work exclusively with the MotionPlus attachment, but it certainly seems like it was the right choice. The way you hold your controller is directly mimicked on-screen, as is the speed at which you swing your sword. Swinging it gently will result in a light attack, better suited for the weaker enemies in the game. However, taking larger and faster swipes will do significantly more damage and be necessary when facing foes who wear armor.

Red Steel 2 screenshot

Unfortunately, one-to-one swordplay still isn’t an option here. Instead, the game will only recognize a few gestures and translate them to their corresponding attacks. Players can swipe left to right, right to left, down to up, up to down, and thrust the controller forwards in a stabbing motion. That’s it; no diagonal slashes or Zorro Z’s to be had. The straight up and down and left and right positions are also used for blocking, which does help to simplify the defensive side of combat quite a bit when used in conjunction with the A button to dodge attacks.

While the lack of complete one-to-one sword slashing is a bit disappointing, the swordplay in Red Steel 2 is still rather satisfying and works immeasurably better than it did in the original. This is partially due to the game’s camera and the variety of attacks at your disposal. When faced with an enemy the camera will intelligently lock on to them, making it easy to maneuver about while still swinging your sword. Switching between foes is also incredibly simple, requiring only a single button press. This leaves you free to unleash the slew of attacks you’ll earn throughout the course of your adventure quickly and easily, without having to worry about nausea.

Red Steel 2 screenshot

To begin with, your nameless hero is pretty mundane, with only the most basic of attacks open to him. As you progress through the game’s mandatory missions and collect cash by completing optional side quests, you’ll unlock a variety of new combos and abilities to use to your advantage. Some will be learned at specific points along the way, while others will need to be purchased from in-game stores with the loot you’ve accumulated. Either way, once unlocked you’ll be trained in all of their uses, which is actually quite helpful considering most require a combination of several techniques and good timing. The rate at which you unlock these moves, and the sheer number of them, certainly helps to keep the combat from getting stale throughout the course of this eight to ten hour experience.

As I stated, you’ll be able to take on a variety of missions, each in the form of wanted posters at your hideout. Some are essential to progressing through the game while others are entirely optional, although, it never hurts having the extra money you’ll earn by completing them. The missions play out fairly linearly, having you move between what are essentially a series of small arenas disguised as sections of towns. Getting a mission from your hideout, walking through a few arenas and busting heads, activating something or killing someone, and then returning back to the hideout for more missions can also tend to get a little tedious. Thankfully, the enjoyable combat and little distractions such as a nifty safecracking mini-game that has you tilting the Wii Remote and listening for an odd click in its speaker help to somewhat alleviate this monotony. But once you’ve run through the game once, there is very little left for a player to do. There’s no multiplayer, just a challenge mode that will run you back through the levels you’ve already played in order to unlock medals based on the amount of money you earn during them.

While Red Steel 2 is vastly superior to the original in just about every way, it still has its share of problems. Swordplay is very enjoyable and has enough variety to keep you entertained, yet one-to-one sword fighting is still not an option. The new East meets West aesthetic provides a fairly unique backdrop for the game, but the environments are incredibly linear and segmented. Getting new abilities is fun and opens up new options to keep the combat feeling fresh, but to get all the cash you’ll need to unlock them, you’ll have to continue to perform the same few tedious side mission types. Red Steel 2 has definitely taken some great strides forward for the series, but there is still plenty of room left for improvement if there’s going to be a Red Steel 3.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.2 Graphics
The cel-shaded look of this game works rather well. 4.0 Control
A vast improvement over the previous outing; however, one-to-one sword battles still aren’t an option here. 3.6 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
For the most part the sound is okay, but much of the voice work is pretty bad. 3.6

Play Value
You will almost certainly derive some entertainment from a single run through of the game, but once you have there’s nothing left to do except to go through it all again trying to earn cash-fueled medals.

3.8 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Upgrade your arsenal of katana swords, guns, and abilities as you rack up victories against the Jackal clan.
  • Embody a lone fighter, a man of few words with a shaded past full of mystery. Face various, and increasingly stronger, enemies and defeat challenging bosses in epic and intense fights.
  • Visit various locations through a remote mixed metropolis in the middle of the American desert, where Eastern culture and Western culture have been smashed together into a hodgepodge jumble.
  • The Wii MotionPlus provides 1:1 recognition where the sword and gun movements are precisely replicated within the game. Slash the villains the way you want. The harder you swing the Wii Remote, the harder the sword swings in the game.
  • Become master swordsman and gunslinger fighting up to six enemies simultaneously; using your sword or your gun at any time; mastering combos galore; and, even deflecting bullets with the blade.

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