How did Red Steel, or an 'exclusive sword-fighting game, courtesy of an un-named third party' become the most hyped game for the Revolution?

Right before April fools day, a news bit was spread around the internet about a new exclusive title coming to the Revolution. The game, codenamed Katana, promised sword-fighting gameplay, adult themed violence and oh joy, blood. Being that time of the year again nobody really got too hyped about this game as there was almost no information about it, but the excitment of the sword-fighting prospect couldn't be denied from the dreams of Revolution followers. The controller is simply made for it.

One week later. Red Steel is apparently the final name for the game, Ubisoft confirmed as the developer and the game is by far the hottest thing in the Revolution community! The first screens of a Revolution title are published in the magazine called Game Informer and guess what? The exclusive on this sword-fighting game is a real scoop! Iwata promised us a 'wow' experience when we saw in-game material of Revolution games and many forum members do have to admit, wow, wow and triple wow. Even with the really bad quality scans of the magazine, the screenshots are in and we can see that the Revolution has quite the potential to push out some good looking graphics. Some nice light effects seem effectively included, although we still have to judge the screens from these scans… for now. It looks promising for when we get to see the screens first hand however, which is great news.

So the graphical level seems more than acceptable… what about the driving force that is what Revolution is all about… the gameplay. Let's take a look at some of what is known of Red Steel...

Red Steel is a first person shooter that appears to be one of the Revolution's launch titles. Ubisoft France has been in close contact with Nintendo throughout developing Red Steel. The game focuses on an American boy (you) whose fiancée is kidnapped. Her father is in possession of a worthy Katana and a Japanese gang is risking everything to get their hands on this artefact. Her father gives the Katana to you to get your girlfriend back. You travel to Japan and the chopping and slashing commences.

Imagine you're holding the Revolution controller (the remote, best know as the FHC; Free Hand Controller) in your hand, the character onscreen mimics the position you're holding the FHC in your hand with the gun. Move your hand down and the gun moves down. Pulling your gun back makes you reload. The analogue stick of the controller nunchuck attachment let's you walk around while the FHC controls your view.

Hey, but wasn't this a sword-fighting game? You're right there friend. Yes, there're moments in the game that you have to slash your way around using your sharp shiny Katana, making the same moves as the character onscreen. For now it seems that this is the underlying aspect in the game with a number of varied attacks to perform. Furthermore, there're special moves you can do to lob grenades at foes, or roll them sneakily across the floor to blow up their legs from beneath them. In addition, specific motions with the controller can result in special attacks in-game. Cool, no?

The idea for Red Steel is to let players slowly become more experienced in the game. At first, shooting around wildly like a madman on the loose is encouraged to rid of the baddies, later on however, precise shots are more effective and asked from players to succeed. Five shots to five enemies type thing. Another aspect that's worth mentioning is how the sound of the game adjusts to the type of play. Are you one of those guys shooting your way around everything, a sick grin emulating from your mouth? Heavy music it is for you then. Are you more of the silent person, cautiously saving people lives? It's nice silent atmospheric music for you, my man! Of course, sparing a life is more rewarding than taking one. It's these skills that become more and more important when you advance in Red Steel, so despite your preference, I'm afraid you'll have to compromise at some point!

There's just so much to tell about this game. I haven't even mentioned the split-screen multiplayer mode for example, or all the objects you are able to move (and destroy). It all sounds like the Revolution controller is the ultimate way to play a FPS. Chances are big that Red Steel will be a playable title come E3, given its high chances of being a launch title and all. If so, odds are on you'll be reading a hands-on experience of Red Steel on these pages soon. Definitely stay tuned! We'll have more as it comes.

[pagebreak]

Update From E3:

By Javid Sangra

So we've already established some of the features of Red Steel, the first Wii game that we got to set eyes upon. If that wasn't exciting enough, we have now just witnessed the game in motion at the E3 conference in Los Angeles a few moments ago. Here the developers, Ubisoft France, played through a level of the game which showcased some of the things we'll be able to do in the game, and its pretty slick stuff let me tell you…

First up, they mentioned a brief noting of where the game is set; it will take place in the USA and in Japan. We mentioned this earlier in this preview so check back there if you missed it. It's a story that seems filled with passion with you going to retrieve your kidnapped girlfriend. I have a feeling the immersion of the WiiMote to your experience of the game may make this an even more emotional affair. Here's hoping they can pull off some great character development and make us feel for our hero. And let's also hope we don't get carried away and break things in our houses in the name of love…

The Ubisoft guys said it best, “you are in the game”. By using the WiiMote and Nunchuck attachment, both your left and right arms are influencing your actions. The Nunchuck is used to move and the WiiMote is used to aim and shoot. This is of course when in possession of a firearm. What's even more impressive is the ability to actually change the position of which you are holding the gun... best described by getting you excited at the prospect of killing your foes point blank, up close, gun tilted… gangster style. With this feature, you actually feel in control of the gun you are holding, and you're free to have such sick sadistic fun as this, if you so desire.

Only a few weapons were shown in the game from the simple handgun to the penetrating shotgun, be assured though, there will be an array of weaponry to take control of including that much anticipated Katana Sword. Here, the Nunchuck acts for blocking your enemy's sword swings and your right hand holding the WiiMote will be responsible for your slashes back at them. Although simplistic in theory, it is said to be hard to master. Certain types of slashes will affect your swings, and in using both your hands (as said, blocking with your left at the same time) it will be quite the action to master indeed. By the actions showed in the demonstration, it seems blocking and applying the correct slashes is very important seeing as your sword wielding foes are very agile. They will duck and sway to avoid your slashes.

On that note, the developers also made it known that the AI of the bad guys is sufficiently impressive. They will hide, dodge and take cover and also scheme to be in a position to attack you from behind. Very sly… but hey, we do it, so why can't they do it too? It's sure to add tension in feeling that you're never safe and someone may be lurking behind you. Your enemies will attempt to 'control the situation', coupled with this sneaking, it seems they will use the environment as much to their advantage as you will to yours. This is sure to make the game a challenge and encourage innovation in your attack styles.

So now let's get down to the visuals. It's one of the reasons why we were so excited to glance upon screens of Red Steel as the first available for the Wii and sigh in relief that it looked good in the first place. Let's scrap that, it doesn't look good; it looks great. Seeing Red Steel in motion has really shown that the Wii is a formidable machine in producing great graphical polygons, let alone effects. The game boasts real time physics and the explosions and elemental effects such as fire and smoke were incredibly realistic. We noted some water dripping from a pipe that looked particularly exemplary of the effects they were talking about. On top of that, the game is taking full advantage of these effects with its destructible environments. Slot machines can be toppled over in bars, mirrors smashed and windows shattered; all offering blissful visual candy to boot.

Lastly, an exciting feature they showcased just now at E3 was a feature they called 'freeze shots'. What it entails is that, by holding a button (not sure which), we will be able to freeze time. During this time when the poor suckers awaiting your wrath are seemingly floating, you can choose an action to perform by aiming at one of them. Your choice is either to kill them, obviously, and be free to aim on them wherever you please; their head or to shoot their gun away for example. Or you can have them 'submit'. The example shown was to force the poor guys to sit down and it was performed by flicking downwards with the WiiMote to indicate that's what you want them to do. Talk about taking hostages! The catch is, you have to build up a gauge to be able to perform this action, and doing so requires you to fight efficiently… any chaotic bursts of frantic behaviour will cause your gauge to decrease.

All this doesn't even mention the prospect of multiplayer ability where amazingly the smaller screen portions won't effect any of your slashing/shooting accuracy by forcing you to make smaller movements... you can be as expressive and free flowing as if you were playing alone.

All in all, Red Steel is turning out to be a number one must have the more we learn about it. Expect impressions as people get to play hands on with the game over the show the next few days. For now, know this; Red Steel is looking absolutely awesome. It exemplifies immersing a player within a game and is sure to have us all blasting and slashing come the release of the Wii.