Ubisoft had a big challenge ahead of them when crafting Red Steel 2. Make this one not suck. The first one, a launch title for the Wii, was, how shall we say, not good. Luckily, this game has whatever the opposite of sequel-itis is. It’s brilliant.
Much of the brilliance derives from the fact that, really, this one is nothing like the original, with the exception of having a gun and a sword. It’s not a sequel. Technically it’s not even related to the first game. You play a “protector” for the Kusagari clan who apparently leaves for years, then comes back to a really interesting place. It’s a blend of Wild West design, eastern architecture (Asian, really), and a bit of steampunk modernized flavor thrown in. The blend of all of these elements makes for a very very cool aesthetic. One of the most interesting I’ve seen in some time.
It wasn’t difficult at all to improve upon Red Steel’s awful, puke-inducing controls. Generally they’re spot-on, especially with the inclusion of MotionPlus support. However, there are those horrible screw-ups that make it far from perfect. Often, and this is a widely reported issue, my character would get stuck in the “running backwards” movement, so in order to stand still, I would have to actually move the joystick forward. Movement glitches like that occured fairly often in one part of the game, and then stopped. Mind you, I was using a brand new nunchuk and wiimote controller to play this game, so we can’t blame the tech I was using. Still, though, aiming your gun is smooth and accurate, and the swordplay is fluid and tense.
As mentioned previously, the visual style is ingenious. It looks quite good for a Wii game, and both the audial and graphical aesthetics are really interesting. The music is a great fusion between using typically heard Asian instruments and musical choices and something you’d hear in a western. It all comes together stylishly.
Red Steel 2 is not only a “slight improvement” on a terrible game, it’s actually one of the best games the Nintendo Wii has to offer. I am in love with this one, and am sad to see that it’s not selling that well. I give it a 9 out of 10 with ease. If you have a Wii, do yourself a favor. Go out, purchase the Red Steel 2/MotionPlus bundle (seeing as you actually need MP to play the game), and start swinging!
