Red Steel 2 is an awesome game and does well in everything it tries, and it should be part of your Wii collection.
- Looks awesome
- Great controls lets you swing around the Wii Remote at will
- Catchy wild west soundtrack
- Cinematics and cutscenes are awesome with a capital "A"
Negative
- Mission-based storyline doesn't exactly make the story any better
- Repetitive enemy variety
Red Steel 2 is a first-person sword-slinger and shooter, which does a lot of things right, but there are some flaws. The control scheme is great, allowing you to swing your sword as you like, and shoots as great, but even if this tires you out it is still awesome. The graphics look so great that some may mistake this for a 360 or PS3 game, and the cinematics and cutscenes are breathtaking. For Wii technology, Red Steel 2 nails everything needed, even if the story and characters don't hold up as much.
The story isn't half bad, but it feels it could have done much more. For starters, Red Steel 2 is not a direct sequel 2006's original Red Steel which was set in the modern era. Red Steel 2 is set in the Wild West. The game follows an unnamed hero, the last of the Kusagari clan. After being banished by his clan, he's back to avenge his fallen clan from a group of biker gangs. The game combines samurai sword with guns, and the theme is very appealing. The game is driven by missions; you take missions, blow the enemy in your way, maybe fight a boss and complete the stage and get some cash. Some extra missions can be taken while doing story missions. You will be rewarded with cash upon completing the mission. There isn't much to speak of about the story, the characters aren't very interesting and not everyone will grow to like them. I didn't play the original Red Steel but I've seen how it is, and I can tell that Ubisoft made a smart decision with the new setting. Missions are interesting, but lack a bit of variety, mostly consisting of killing enemies or pressing switches.
Gameplay is really fun to play with, especially if you are newcomer to Wii swinging and such. The game starts for a short while with a gun in your hand which you have to aim at the screen and shoot, but after a while you get a good old sword. The sword is more effective than guns are, since some enemies can't be damaged with guns alone. To add more, guns have limited bullets which you may find when destroying objects or from enemies. Therefore a good old sword will do the job in this game. Swinging your sword has more strategy than you may think. First of all, the controls are great, simple and easy learn. They may be a little sensitive, but that aside, depending on how powerful and how you swing, your character will attack. If you don't do a powerful swing, the in-game character will perform a little attack. Even whether you swing diagonally, vertical or horizontally. So that you know the game uses the Wii MotionPlus, so make sure you have it so more accurate censoring. Throughout the game, you will learn new skills in the dojo, making the combat less repetitive and more fun.
For the first few stages, enemies will rarely do much damage. But later on, enemies will big hammers, or armored enemies will appear, and you won't be able to get rid of them in a few blows. You may have to block, by holding the A button and move the Wii Remote vertically or horizontally, depends on how you are going to be attacked. Beware wrong defensive stance will still harm you. Some enemies will try to gun you down from afar, but they rarely hide. The AI isn't perfect, but they at least try to kill. Some of the big guys don't attack you if you are very close to them and you are attacking them, but they take some time to kill. There are some bosses to be aware of. They are stronger than normal enemies and much less frequent, and they are fun to play against, unless there are other enemies around.
Since the gameplay has some strategy and touches to it, you will be trained and pitted against a dummy. This tutorial is effective. You will get money by destroying objects you find in areas or easier way by killing your enemies. You can do some stopping, by buying guns and other useful things. Thankfully enemies don't come non-stop. The enemies in one area are limited, and once you clean up the area, your health will go full again, so this game isn't an exercise in frustration, plus the game autosaves frequently. There are some puzzles as well. The areas aren't really big, so it generally easy to find your way. Multiple difficulties can be chosen in the beginning of the game. The gameplay tends to get repetitive and obviously will tire you out, especially if you meet big hammer guy and swing like crazy.
Not many may want to play a first-person game on the Wii unless owning a Wii Zapper. But Red Steel 2 does this part right. Although the controls are a bit over-sensitive if closing in to the motion sensor so try to keep your distance. You will be aiming at your TV screen, move with the Nunchuk. MotionPlus makes things easier and more responsive. You will have to move your aim to the side of the screen to look left or right. Although the controls may seem oversensitive at times.
While visually may not look as great as recently released Red Dead Redemption, Red Steel 2 looks outstanding. The visuals have cel-shaded graphics but the depth and attention to detail is very impressive. You rarely meet anyone other than enemies, but the environments are great as well as the enemy design. Enemy variety is a bit low. There is some exploration, which is optional but you need to do it to complete extra missions. The cutscenes can be skipped with the simple press of the "-"button. Cutscenes are almost all in first-person mode, you just listen to the person talking. The cinematics are Awesome! There are some which are also in first-person mode, but there are others which are normal where you see everything around you, not from your character's eye.
Since Red Steel 2 is set in the Wild West, you would expect nothing more than classic Wild West tunes, but do not worry, the Wild West soundtracks are great. Sound effects are great as well, but the lowest part of the sound is the voice acting. While it is not as bad as you might think, the voice acting is a bit cheesy.
Today you can only do some swinging and waggling on the Wii, and Red Steel 2 offers that and more. This highly engaging and impressive first-person sword swinging shows some awesome graphics and appealing soundtrack, great and varied gameplay and more. While the story could have been spicier, there is no denying that Red Steel 2 is on top of the 11 Wii games I've played so far. Even those who don't like first-person games, or don't want to risk after playing the original, fear not Red Steel 2 is just awesome.
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Graphics = 9.4
Some of the best looking games around, with cel-shaded, and can even be mistaken for a 360 or PS3 game. Everything looks good.
Sound = 8.7
Wild West music is catchy and serves up well throughout the whole game. The voice acting is a bit cheesy, but you'll get used to it, it's not horrible.
Presentation = 8.5
Changing from the modern setting to the Wild West setting was the smartest thing to do. The cinematics and cutscenes are simply outstanding for what the Wii can do. Some long loading times, when opening doors sometimes.
Gameplay = 8.8
I had a lot of fun swinging the Wii Remote in this game. A lot of stances and skills you get throughout the game. The controls are not perfect, but it is really cool to swing the Wii Remote. The enemies may repeat themselves, and you will get tired, but this is a seriously awesome game.
Story = 7.7
Mission-based storyline does the job right, but not appealing to everyone. Little is shown about the protagonist and the other characters; you may not grow to like them. Story length is standard for the genre, with some extra missions to do.
OVERALL – 86 / 100
Red Steel 2 is an awesome game and does well in everything it tries, and it should be part of your Wii collection.