Ubisoft's Red Steel revealed

DEVELOPMENT INFO
- Game development started shortly after E3 2005. Ubisoft saw and demoed the controller before E3 2005.

- Ubisoft Paris took their idea directly to Iwata and Miyamoto, and were given the go ahead. After that meeting they were given prototype controllers. The article states that Ubisoft worked "closely" with Nintendo's engineers in Japan on the title.

- Game Informer mentions that while conducting the interviews with Ubisoft, they were handed the "latest version" of the controller.

GAME INFO
- During the beginning of the game, you are encouraged to use your weapons ruthlessly, but as the game progresses you become more proficient and strategic. This gameplay idea led Ubisoft to decide to give the game a martial arts setting. "Enter the Yakuza".

- The first third of the game will be all about being "brutal by necessity".

- As you start out you will be less precise and probably favor more devastating weapons (machine guns). As you progress and become more precise, smaller guns will be more preferred. "The overall goal...is to use five bullets to kill five enemies".

- "When fighting with this level of skill, the music and sound effects will reflect it, remaining calm and peaceful".

- "When you fight brutally, the sounds around you grow increasingly more intense".

- Freeze shot: by fighting efficiently you fill the Freeze Shot gauge...fighting chaotically causes to decreases. When the gauge is filled you can hit a button to momentarily stop time, and then target specific locations on enemy bodies.

- Headshots thus are tempting, but non lethal shots, such as shooting guns out of enemy hand, can be more beneficial.

- By defeating high ranking leaders who command others and sparing their lives, you will be rewarded. He will offer you respect and help (guns, help, new weapons, alternate paths, etc).

- Respect plays a MAJOR part in the game.

- Flailing your sword isn't a smart idea.

- Specific motions with the controller will trigger combos (in the final game). Tracing an X in the air, for instance, will unleash a devastating attack.

- You can stop these combos at any time by simply pausing your own movement. So if you do something that leaves you open to attack, you won't be screwed.

- New moves will be taught to you by two mentors in the game. One will teach you gun tactics, and another will teach sword tactics. If you don't show the proper respect to them, they won't help you.

- Training sessions are offered by the two masters so you can hone your skills.

- Friendly/respectful interaction is tied to the controller. You signal "yes/no" answers by nodding the controller up or down or shaking it from side to side. You show extra respect by bowing to the masters.

- Ubisoft is still coming up with other interactions.

- "You can act disrespectively as well: there are no cut scenes in the game - all conversations take place in game, as in Half Life 2. However unlike that game, characters wont keep prattling on if you walk away from them. They will react angrily to your imputent behavior".

- Staying in the master's good graces is key: they give you missions that can be tackled in any order.

- You track down the gang leaders and try to turn them to your side. If you don't, they will join Tokai's (the main villian) gang.

- You have to prove you are worthy to them by battling them and sparing their lives. You will need as many of them with you as possible to face Tokai. Without their help, you'll have a rough time when you finally face him.

- You turn gang leaders to your side by besting them in battle and stopping a deadly blow miliseconds before it strikes.

GI hands-on impressions

- The two triggers on the front of the analog unit activate ducking and jumping. The analog stick controls movement, and the revmote controls aiming. No rails.

- Level consisted of shooting ranges that popped out from behind cover.

- "Aiming with the controller is as simple as using a laser pointer. You point your hand at a target and hit the trigger on the underside of the controller to fire.

- "Unlike other FPS games, which tie the camera and aiming together, Red Steel's camera follows your aim with a slight delay. If, for example, you point to the edge of the screen, the camera will turn to re-center on your view after a second. With the sensitivity of the controller, a standard FPS control would move too much, potentially making the player feel ill.

- "Thanks to the improved reaction that the controller offers, the team can create gunfight scenerios that would be extraordinarily diffilcult with a standard controller".

- Most console FPS games limit their enemies to horizontal planes to prevent player frustration, but targets on a verticle plane are just as easy to hit with the Revolution controller.

- You can aim at a target as quickly as you can move your hand.

- In the demo targets popped up on rooftops and in second story windows, as well as behind cover points on the ground, and all were equally easy to hit.

- While you can quickly shoot enemies anywhere on screen, Red Steel never feels in a light-gun game - this is a true FPS, one that feels like it has drawn from the best of both the PC and console shooter worlds.

- According to lead game designer Oriola, it takes roughly three seconds to turn completely around around in most console shooters, while it takes about one-quarter second in a PC game. In Red Stel, it takes one second.

- AI characters will care for themselves. They will go for cover, attack you while you're reloading. They focus on risk management.

- "They won't walk around a table to get to you. They will simply jump over the table".

- "The benchmark for their intelligence and aggressiveness, says Oriola, is the PC title F.E.A.R., which has widely been praised for it's AI".

MULTIPLAYER:

- Split screen multiplayer with traditional deathmatches.

- Totally original multiplayer modes Ubisoft is not revealing yet. Wait until E3.

- They didn't talk about Nintendo Wi Fi (NDAs). Full details haven't been revealed yet.

- Revolution works by placing a small sensor bar either above or below any TV.

- You can stand at any angle and not lose any accuracy. You can even take your controller to a friend's house and instantly start playing without syncing up the controller.

- "Perhaps most impressive is the fact that although splitscreen reduces the amount of onscreen space you are playing in, you don't have to make smaller movements - you can gesture as wildly as you want, and it won't interfere with the other player's onscreen quadrants

apparently a quote by George Harrison

"Red Steel is a Revolution launch title, and will broaden appeal like GoldenEye 64 did" - George Harrison

um macca and k1dcharm, thats the whole point of the Revolutions controller!

www.redsteelgame.com