E3 2006: New Red Steel details

Wii News | Plus a batch of screenshots from this Wii launch game.

Nintendo fans everywhere went nuts when Ubisoft took the wraps off Red Steel last month, showing a first-person shooter/first-person slasher taking full use of Nintendo's new controller. During the past few days at E3, they've let us have a little more information as to what the game is actually about.

The storyline won't win any awards for creativity. Players assume the role of a Japanese mafiaso type, who one day discovers that his fiancée is kidnapped by a dastardly rival mafia kingpin. And if that wasn't enough, some OTHER gang has murdered her father. Someone pissed off the wrong people, no? Of course, the player just grab some guns and his trusty katana in order to save her.

However, it will win many creativity points for using the Wii controller rather well. The Wii-mote will control where you shoot, hopefully making those pesky headshots a bit easier than we've been used to in the past. Oh, and best of all, the Wii-mote will be used to - of course - control the sword of the player. Slash the controller in an appropriate direction, and the on-screen sword will obey. Then there's the array of combinations that can be linked together. Brilliant - especially if it turns out to work as well as it looks in the E3 trailers so far. We'll have our hands-on preview on the game soon to see if it's close to its potential.

There's more to the game than the innovative control system, though. Red Steel implements a 'focus system' of sorts. Basically, it allows the player to freeze time, then automatically target a certain amount of enemys. Once time is un-frozen, your character will automatically dispatch them. Neat, eh? There also seems to be some consequences depending on your actions - for example, sparing enemies rather than finishing them off will gain you respect. There are also going to be some multiplayer modes available, with all signs pointing towards some one on one sword fights...

Red Steel is confirmed to be a Wii launch title, looking to be out towards the end of the year. If it lives up to its potential, this could be a real winner. The first official batch of screenshots are up for grabs in the media panel.

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Related Red Steel Content

Red Steel Review
24 Dec, 2006 PALGN gets a taste of steel with the Wii's first official shooter.

Red Steel Preview
23 Nov, 2006 We go swinging and slashing mad in our extensive hands-on.

Red Steel multiplayer information revealed
12 Oct, 2006 Wii speaker to be used a fair bit.

8 Comments

Nev

6 years ago

"The Wii-mote will control where you shoot, hopefully making those pesky headshots a bit easier than we've been used to in the past."

Not yet, apparently. Since you have to aim the remote at the sensor bar, rather than the screen. And as the guy who demoed the game was missing a lot of his shots (even in slow motion), it looks as though they have a lot of work to do in the accuracy department.

"Oh, and best of all, the Wii-mote will be used to - of course - control the sword of the player. Slash the controller in an appropriate direction, and the on-screen sword will obey."

Not so much. The attacks are predetermined, like any other game, expect instead of pressing the appropriate button to do an attack, you do a sweeping gesture with the remote.

And if you try to do an uppercut move, the character will perform a DOWNWARDS attack.

LeonJ

6 years ago

Yeah I've read similar reports from E3 users. Doesn't sound to flash. Hopefully they sort out these issues.

Maybe Nintendo bit off more then they can chew???

Infested Jibbs

6 years ago

Wow nev you certainly know how to put a negative slant on everything nintendo.

What did you expect?Did you expect this game to make itself?To be perfect when it's over 6 months away from launch?We are talking new technology here guys that hasn't been implemented in anywhere near the scope that nintendo is gunning for.

Bash the game when you buy it and play or play it at some demo booth at EB, not some beta version of the game which is nowhere enar a gold release.

macca

6 years ago

I think a lot of PS3 fanboys are having a hard time dealing with the fact that the Rev is having the best show at E3?

slasherD

6 years ago

leonmc wrote

Maybe Nintendo bit off more then they can chew???

Ubisoft have probably jumped in the deep end with the combined sword/gun FPS thing, but that doesn't mean they are going to sink. There have been more upbeat reports coming in for the controls in other Wii games, so the potential for a tightly controlled and intuitive Red Steel is definitely there.

Not letting you point where you are shooting does seem a bit confusing given the focus on intuitive and immersive controls, but we have no idea if this is the way that the final game is going to play.

Nev

6 years ago

Jibbs: I'm not putting a negative slant on anything, just stating things as they are. Everyone I've spoken to who was really looking forward to this game are disappointed that it doesn't have true motion-controlled swordplay, because there's no reason that they COULDN'T do it. That's what everyone was expecting, and that's not what we got. But it's hardly Nintendo's fault. They didn't make the game, they just developed the hardware. And this isn't the fault of the hardware, it's the fault of the developer.

Maybe Ubisoft will work on it before the game is released and it WILL feature true motion-controlled gameplay and accurate aiming. But if I was excited about this game because of these features and no one told me, I'd be extremely disappointed when I bought it. I'd prefer to know beforehand so I don't get all worked up about it.

If that's your definition of being "negative," then go ahead and expect the best - Wii will revolutionize gaming, the PS3 will have Advent Children-quality graphics, and the 360 will cook your breakfast for you.

Personally I found ALL the conferences disappointing, because each company has one or two games that interest me. I'm not leaning towards any of them in particular, and I'll have to wait for a good year or two before any of them starts to stand out as being a more worthwhile purchase.

macca

6 years ago

They will need to develope code to handle the offset in 3d space from where the sensor bar is positioned to the angle of the user. This could be really tough or really easy depending on exactly what technology is used by the Revmote. I'm guessing it's the former, since if it was easy the programmers would have already done it.

NismoR34

6 years ago

The Article wrote

with all signs pointing towards some one on one sword fights...

Oh please let this be true. That would be absolutely awesome. So, when is a Pirate game going to be announced for the Wii? Hopefully the two new Pirates of the Caribbean movies inspire more Pirate games because I'd be in heaven if one was made for the Wii.

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