Far out this is an exceptionally fun game! Having not picked up Red Steel 2 for at least 2-3 years I'd forgot what it was about; all I remembered from it was the sword play and how fun it was. Having started playing it no more than 2 days ago I can already say I'm well and truly hooked again. I remember now the only problem with Red Steel 2 is that it was too short, granted it's about as long as any campaign these days but an extra couple of hours would have been good. That's not to say it's bad because of this, no, not at all, short and sweet! This game is WiiMote precision at it's finest, if someone was to ever ask me to show a maximised use in the Wii Motion Plus' capabilities it would definitely involve this game. Last time when talking about DMC I touched on the aspect of fluent gameplay mechanics, well nothing is more satisfying to the gamer when a game feels and plays smoothly. When a game is clunky and involves rigid movements or a wonky camera it really does bug me and ultimately makes me want to play something that won't give me a headache. Red Steel 2 capitalizes on the 'motion plus' aspect of the Wii by making this game an exceptionally fun and action packed adventure. I challenge you to find something else that makes you have this much fun on a Wii; sure Zelda: Skyward Sword was relatively accurate and there are other games about but this game really does make you feel like you're in control and after all isn't that what the Wii was all about in the first place!?
So what happened to Red Steel 1? Well I've never played it and I''ve heard it's fairly average as it was released as a Wii launch title and was a little clunky. one day I'll endeavour to pick it up but for now let's focus on its sequel. You are a Kusagari, a sort of Samurai-Cowboy who was banished from your clan long ago but after a series of unfortunate events you find yourself back in the mysterious city from which you were disowned Soon you discover that there's a lot more going on than simple street thugs and team up with a colourful bunch of NPC's to uncover the truth about what's really got everyone riled up. The story is simple, it's not going to win an Academy Award anytime soon, NPC's are a little shallow and serve only to provide missions (see Borderlands 1 for instance), but much like Borderlands it wasn't about the story it was about the gameplay. Now when playing with a WiiMote there's not too many things that it can directly reflect; a sword yes, any form of bat related sports game, golf, you see where I'm going with this. The Wii to me almost feels as if it was designed just for this game, well at least games like it. Swinging the sword in the direction you want works, the wider the swing the stronger the attack, it all blends well and makes sense. Pulling off combo's and special moves are as satisfying as that first beer you crack on a Friday night after work. Here is a game where the designers actually stopped to think about every single gameplay element before finalising it and I love them for that.
Stepping back into this game I couldn't quite remember how accurate the controls were, but within five minutes of sword swinging I could very much remember. I swing right hard, the game responds with a devastating katana blow, I launch an enemy into the air and riddle his body with bullets, it all works. Something that I didn't touch on earlier and probably should have is the whole ambiance of the game; it's not Steam-punk, it's kind of like if Firefly, Last Samurai and Wild Wild West had a baby. Yes it's a weird combo but if you play you'd know what I mean and besides who doesn't love Samurai-Cowboys? Running around in the Wild West with a katana fighting bandits and clans with your lightning revolver reflexes sounds fun right? Well it should! The game is of sound quality and i'm glad that there exists such a game that really showcases what the Wii was all about. If the story had been a little longer and the characters just that little bit more involved I'd have said this a Nintendo Hall of Fame classic. The gameplay makes up for this though and when you're having that much fun you kind of forget about all the negatives anyway so it balances out. I can only hope that if they ever make a Red Steel 3 that it's just as fun as this...
Genre: FPS&S (first person sword & shooter)
Platforms: Wii
Score: 9 / 10
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