Introduction:

Red Steel was one of the most highly anticipated Wii games of 2006, and was the number 2 best selling game at launch. Unfortunately, it left many people disappointed and didn't live up to the hype. I think that this was an overlooked game, as it was a fun, ambitious title that Ubisoft built from the ground up. And come on people, this was one of the first three FPS games for the Wii, it's not like it's going to be a masterful game. Red Steel has more strengths then weaknesses, and is a game that everyone should give a shot. Onto my review.

Story:

You are Scott-san. You are about to ask your Japanese-American girlfriend, Miyu, to marry you while you sit down to dinner with her father and herself. Her father is Sato-san, a respected Yakuza lord and a man of great honor. The restaurant you are in is under attack, you are knocked unconscious as Sato and Miyu flee. You must find and save Sato and leave the hotel. Miyu has been kidnapped by a traitor, and you must rescue. The man has fled to Tokyo, and dying Sato entrusts with the ancient blade, the Katana-Giri, to save his daughter. In Tokyo, you must fight Yakuza and gang members to save you fiancée, and get the respect you deserve.

Gameplay:

Red Steel was built from the ground up for the Wii, meaning it was made exclusively for the system with certain controls and features that apply to the systems capabilities. This was a very ambitious effort for the Wii's first FPS, and it shows through the duration of the game. You control Scott with the analog stick on the nunchuk, and aim with the pointer to shoot down you enemies. Thanks to the pin-point accuracy of the Wii-Remote, it's easy to just stand where you are and pick off enemies one at a time with ease. When you kill 4 enemies in a row while making every bullet count, it feels good. At some point in the game, you'll also gain the ability to slow down time to take out enemies with ease. You hold  down the A button, zoom in, click on your enemies, and watch as they fall to the ground one by one. This also gives you the ability to disarm, causing them to surrender.

 If there's anything wrong with the gameplay in this game, it's turning. If an enemy is behind you and you want to turn around to kill him, you move the cursor to the left or right of the screen to get him in your sights. Sounds simple right? Wrong! Instead of the screen turning while you turn, you must bring the cursor to the side of the screen and drag it. This feels clunky to me and it's something that definitely needed to be fixed, but it didn't detract from my overall experience.

And now we come down to the final aspect of the gameplay in this game, this is the reason it was so hyped about, the sword fighting. I have no real complaints here, other then the controls don't always respond. When you're in the middle of a sword duel, you have to make sure you're standing directly in front of your TV to make sure it responds. Anyway, you control the action by swinging the Wii-Remote any which way as your primary blade, and swing your nunchuk which serves as your defensive dagger. With the primary blade, if you slice up, Scott slices up, if you slice down, Scott slices down, if you slice left, Scott slices left and vice-versa for right. This gives you a feeling that you're in control of the action, and it can feel pretty good. You can also use a hammer move. This works by holding down on the Z button and thrusting the controllers down to your waist to attack your opponent. This comes in handy for disarming him/her and severely damaging him/her.

 That's all I have to say about the gameplay in this game. Now onto the visuals.

I give the gameplay: 8.5/10

Graphics:

Ubisoft did there best to make this one of the more visually appealing games for Nintendo's new console. There's plenty enough detail on the guns and character models, but the games tendency to glitch hurts the graphic appeal. For instance, lets say a shoot down an enemy with my M4 Shotgun, his back is forced against the wall, and he...twitches as he slides down. Then before I know it, his hand is sticking through his stomach and his arm is nowhere to be seen. Although most of the characters in this game look good, some of their faces looked like they were cut and pasted on 3D bodies, and it looks very weird. As for the environments, some of the buildings look N64ish, and not a lot of detail was put into the objects. Occasionally you can say, "Wow, that car looks pretty sleek", but other than that, there's not much to impress you. The cut scenes have a cardboard cutout look to them, they are all 2D and look like Japanese drawings on cardboard. Overall, the graphics are pretty good, but there isn't much to see.

I give the graphics: 7/10

Sound:

There's a great soundtrack in this game. You'd swear this music came straight from Japan{it was composed by an American}. Each track suits the level perfectly and fits in with the mood of the game. If you have 10 enemies on you, the music is booming and exhilarating. If you're exploring and minding your own business, the music is calm and smooth. The sound effects work to the games advantage. You can hear the roaring of a machine gun as it fires bullets, or the scream of a baddie as you shoot him down, and when you blow something up, there's a KABOOM noise. The only complaint I have is the voice acting. Honestly, this didn't only need a better script, it needed better voice actors. Most of the Japanese guys don't sound very Japanese. And most of the thugs have the same voices. Soundtrack, great. Sound effects, good. Voice Acting...bad.

I give the sound: 8.5/10

Replayability:

I beat Red Steel almost four months ago yet I still find myself coming back to it and replaying my favourite levels. If you like this game enough, it's easy to pick up and play through one of your favourite levels, an then quit.

I give the replayability: 9/10

Challenge:

Not that hard a game. There's the occasional heart pounding sword duel or a point where your enemy shoots down with the AI not giving you too good a chance. I've gotten shot down countless times in this game, but there's so many checkpoints it just makes it easier.

I give the challenge: 6/10

Frustration:

You'll get shot down, but then you'll start off at a checkpoint, and you'll get back to where you were in under five minutes. No frustration, except for when you're getting owned in a sword duel.

I give the challenge: 3/10

Value:

Red Steel has dropped significantly in price, and I think it's worth the $50 it is. I suggest renting this one first, just to make sure you like it.

I give the value: 8/10

Overall:

Pretty dang fine game. Or at least I thought so. Not very many people liked it, and not very many of you that haven't already played it will. Rent this one first, as it is a game you're going to like or hate. Great FPS, Ubisoft did a commendable job, I enjoyed blasting my way through Tokyo. Here's hoping for a Red Steel 2.

I give Red Steel: 8.2/10

Conclusion:

You're either going to like this game, or hate it. I though this was an impressive, ambitious FPS title, and I only hope that Ubisoft keeps doing better. Red Steel is a really fun game and I hope you check it out if you haven't already. Thanks for taking the time to read this long review. Ciao.

Written By: Michael
Date Submitted: April 26th, 2007

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