Fun game, with great visuals & art style. Some glitches, but not game-breaking.
I never played Red Steel one, but I know it was universally panned by critics. If you're worried this game is more of the same, no need. This game is overall competent and fun, and for $30 new (or $40 with the wii motion plus add-on) it's almost a budget-priced title.
Part of the reason I imagine it's priced lower, is that there's no multi-player. This is a missed opportunity on the developer's part, because there are very few 1st person shooter games on the Wii that have competent online play, and if this game had included online play, I bet it would have doubled it's sales numbers.
Having said that, the single player experience with the game is really a lot of fun. I'm not much of a fan of 1st person shooters, but this game is unique in that it really focuses more on swordplay than on shooting. Don't get me wrong, the shooting is fun too, but if you're expecting to jump in to this game and take enemies down like you would in a Call Of Duty game, you'll be disappointed. Most enemies can be more quickly dispatched with the sword, and that's where this game is unique, and sets itself apart from other shooters. The wii motion plus really does a good job of sensing your movements, and you'll find that the game actually senses how hard you're swinging. The controls definitely take some getting used to, and it's a much more physical experience playing this game, so be prepared to work up a bit of a sweat when you're playing. To be honest, I became a little frustrated with the controls at times, but it wasn't because they don't work, it was simply that I was coming to terms with them. And as someone who doesn't usually play FPS games, I really liked the intuitive nature of shooting with the wiimote.
My favorite thing about the game is it's style. The cell-shade visuals are beautiful. The music is appropriately old-western-movie-esque. The mixture of asia meets old west adds interest to the overall world and the story.
My biggest gripe with the game is that there are bugs. The only one I ran into was that I wasn't able to exit a level because a door wouldn't open. I had to re-start the level in order to advance in the game, which wasn't a huge deal, but annoying to be sure. And I've read similar complaints from others online. This wouldn't be a big deal if you could just download a patch, but unfortunately, I don't think Nintendo allows for that type of thing. Hopefully they wake up and change that at some point.
A smaller gripe is that I wasn't satisfied with the game's ending. Your hero has a small team of people helping him, and I was expecting some type of reunion with them at the end of the game, but it never happens.
In spite of a few gripes, I would recommend giving this game a shot. Especially if you own a Wii and you're looking for a unique, stylish take on 1st person shooters, and don't mind playing by yourself offline.