Ubisoft dreaming of a Red Steel Christmas

Wii gamers can add katanas and hand cannons to their wish lists, given that Ubisoft announced today that Red Steel 2 is set to arrive on Nintendo's system this holiday season. As with the original, the sequel is being developed by Ubisoft Paris and will rely heavily on swordfighting and gunplay. Early shots of the game hinted at a possible Wild West theme, but the first official word says that it's "set in a desert-bound, high-tech metropolis."

Ubisoft is hoping to improve on the original's control options; the publisher confirmed that Red Steel 2 would be "built from the ground up" to take advantage of the upcoming MotionPlus precision-enhancing controller add-on. For example, Ubisoft claims that the game will take into account factors such as the strength of a user's sword swing.

Although Red Steel 2 may feature more-realistic replication of the act of swinging a sword, don't expect any bloody, M-rated results. In a conference call with investors today, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said that Red Steel 2 is a game "designed to be sold to the entire family," hinting at another bloodless T-for-Teen game.