by Sirfalcon
After the first Red Steel leaving a bad after taste I wasn’t quite sure that I would return for a sequel. But this time Red Steel 2 offers a whole new experience that grabbed my attention. To start, the game is more of a Western rather than taking place in Japan. So say goodbye to Gaijin’s and say hello to Cowboys! The main notable difference is the use of the Wii Motion Plus which give the player full control over their sword allowing them to swing and slice however they please.
Graphics. Red Steel 2 uses cel-shading techniques to help display its action. You won’t find any blood here but you still will get caught up in the action forgetting about those devilish red streaks. The game runs smooth there is never any slowdown even though the game does get a little hectic from time to time. Many of the games cinematic cutscenes are so beautifully rendered that you may forget this is still a Wii title. When you take your first steps outside and that tumbleweed passes by and the sand blows with the wind you really do feel like it’s a Western adventure.
Control. Everything here is user friendly and easy accessible. Using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, B shoots, minus button reloads z locks on to targets and the d-pad switches weapons. The guns are fun to use but the main use of attack lies with your trusty Katana Blade. The way it works is just swing your Wii Remote however you feel depending on how much force is used formulates the if the attack is a strong one or weak one. Even before the game starts an instructional video is shown on how to swing you Katana for maximum effectiveness.
Sound. Nothing spectacular here just run of the mill sounds. Gunshots and sword swipes sound pretty accurate and do a decent job making you feel like you are the protagonist yourself. The music does a great job setting the theme to each area. Many areas do the soundtrack justice from the great outdoor westerns to old factory themed ambient noise effects. The main thing that bugged me was the voice acting for the henchman. They seem to only know 4 to 5 lines and seem to repeat them nonstop. It makes you want to forcibly annihilate them before they can mutter anything.
Gameplay. There is definitely noticeable improvement over its predecessor. I remember where it used to be mainly about the guns with an occasional on screen Katana Battle. Now here we are with a healthy combination of sword and gunplay. There is even a way to upgrade all of your attacks bullets and special powers that develop through story progression. In order upgrade your arsenal a steady cash income is needed. Money can be achieved by completing main quest missions or side missions. Another way of obtaining cash can be done by breaking every single object in your path. This can be tiring and sometimes down right boring but in the end it pays off.
Now there are 2 ways to play this game, either as a gun toting sword wielding maniac or a strategic approach could be taken. Sometimes it’s easier to take advantage of your enemies’ weak spots such as their legs or by knocking them to the floor, which results in the ability to perform quick command, kills. What’s really funny about it most of the advanced command kills make the protagonist so powerful that the whole talk about strategy goes right through the window. Using about 3 or 4 of these each in each and every fight will get you through the rest of the game with relative ease. You’ll start to wonder if the game turned into some anime fighting game. The bosses however require a bit more strategy that will take a couple tries to perfect.
Overall. Red Steel 2 does a great job at giving the series new life. It’s actually the first sword game were I actually felt total control over the blade. It’s a shame that multiplayer wasn’t included in this version. It would’ve been interesting to get into sword duals using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. But that’s something for Ubisoft to think about for a sequel.
