Red Steel 2 (Wii) Review

Players take control of a nameless Kusagari, a legendary clan of sword slingers, who has returned to his home town of Caldera to find it overrun by a group of Jackals. The scavengers are looting the town for everything it is worth, though it becomes clear there is a darker motive and someone else calling the shots. Initially, Red Steel 2 starts off like a regular first person shooter, running around and taking out bad guys with a revolver, but the action steps up a notch when you get to take full advantage of your heritage after discovering a sword and an old Kusagari trainer named Jian.

This is where Ubisoft's work really shines. Taking full advantage of Nintendo's Wii Motion Plus accessory, the player is taught how to hack, slash and defend through a series of tutorials. Motions are mapped accurately to on-screen action, so just flicking your wrist isn't enough anymore; players must use their whole arm to dish out devastation on screen. Controls are easy to get to grips with but offer surprising amounts of depth. There is a whole list of combos taught throughout the game, and once mastered make the player feel like the ultimate bad-ass; you might knock enemies skyward only to finish them off in mid-air, or let them plummet to their doom, it's all up to you. The ability to use both sword and gun interchangeably is integrated perfectly, allowing a unique play style. Each of the four available guns and your sword can be upgraded, too, giving them different attributes such as increased damage or the ability to pierce through armour.

All of this is worked seamlessly into the overall gameplay. The action is fast and fluid, with all manner of tough enemies rushing to get of a piece of the sword slinger - from simple Jackals, to tougher rival gangs such as the Katakara. The levels are well designed, and players are free to explore each area by climbing and jumping inexplicable distances (though the gameplay is still fairly linear). Each area contains several safe houses that allow for extra training, purchasing of weapon and armour upgrades, as well as taking on missions via noticeboards to progress through the story and side quests. That is, if you want to progress through the story at all; you may just want to stop and look at the amount of graphical 'oomph' that Ubisoft has managed to squeeze out of the tiny white box of tricks. Everything looks absolutely stunning, from pulling out your sword and staring at it from every possible angle, to stumbling on the draw dropping scenery that fills the world. Players may be mistaken for playing on an Xbox 360 thanks to its art style - it just looks so darn pretty from start to finish. Ubisoft have done wonders with the rather mad art style of mixing western and Asian cultures together, with a healthy dose of technology in there for good measure. It works completely and, coupled with an impressive musical score, it does a brilliant job in immersing the player into the world of Caldera.

That's not to say that Red Steel 2 is without its flaws, however, as occasionally the game doesn't pick up motions that the player has made or the odd glitch rears its ugly head. Thankfully, these things don't get in the way of the gameplay too much. Ubisoft have also tried to eradicate as many loading screens as possible, only loading inbetween major sectors of the game. However, this leaves the game with the familiar 'Metroid Prime door syndrome', with entranceways staying firmly shut until the area on the other side has loaded. This can lead to three to eight seconds of delay depending on the circumstances, though it can be forgiven due to the overall impressive look of the game. There are also quite a few tutorials and repetitive side missions which break the flow of play slightly. Though the tutorials are necessary, you are in the dojo learning new moves which have been opened up to you quite a bit.

Just as the first iteration in the series showed off the potential of Wii's capabilities - though didn't quite fulfil that potential - Red Steel 2 shows the true beauty of fully fluid control made possible by Wii Motion Plus. Ubisoft have made a stunner of a game from start to finish; the action is fast and hectic, with players switching between sword and gun at will to take down the bad guys that come rushing towards the ominous hero, all the while giving their arm a good work out as they reel off some ridiculously cool combos. All of it is bound together by the graphically impressive world, flowing movement and awesome sound track that sets the mood and pace of the game perfectly. Ubisoft have taken their slightly mediocre Wii launch title and shaken it until it resembles the bare minimum of what made the first Red Steel and turned it into a title that is easily accessible, yet delightfully tricky to master; the whole experience just feels 'cool'.