#08 - N-Europe: Let's Talk Games (Red Steel)

[Fused King]

Due to popular demand (by which I mean a single PM approach) let's think back to those days when there was hype surrounding the first Wii-Mote FPS.

 

 

Well how about that.

It has a Killer 7 like box art going for it.

 

I've never played it, but I wonder how bad people got burnt by this.

[Zell]

I admittedly never bought this, so I was never "burned", but I did borrow the game from a friend at the time.

 

I've always thought that Red Steel was rubbish, and I still think it's rubbish, but I'm going to defend it a bit here.

 

Let's go back in time to 2006.

 

You have to remember that the Wii Remote and Motion Controls were completely new at this point. The idea of aiming a gun by pointing at the screen with the controller was such an amazing novelty. I remember playing the multiplayer with friends and despite how rubbish the actual game was, everyone was having a whale of a time simply because it was something none of us had experienced before. Yes, light gun games had been around for ages, but in Red Steel you were moving and turning your characters. Even throwing grenades by flicking the nunchuk seemed really cool at the time.

 

After the first few hours when the novelty starts to wear thin, you realise that Red Steel was of course a very poor game. The majority of other FPSs on the Wii have far superior motion controls as well as being better games in general. But Red Steel deserves credit for being the first to the party, even if the execution was poor.

[Goron_3]

The trailer for this game was mindblowing and I remember watching it at least 100 times in the run up to the Wii's launch.

 

The actual game itself was absolute dog sh*t, from the terrible graphics to the piss poor controls. The sword fights in particular were just terrible and probably the biggest let down, as it dawned on me (and most people) how limited the Wiimote was.

 

Funnily enough, the sequel was fantastic but alas, the originals reputation send it to an early grave.

[Cube]

I played it and I enjoyed it. Sure, it wasn't brilliant, but it was far from a bad game.

[nekunando]

Due to popular demand..

 

I suppose it is only right for me to contribute to this thread considering the fact that it was my PM that brought Red Steel to your attention The reason I put this game forward was because I decided to play it a little recently having not really touched it since I completed it in 2007!

 

Red Steel, the first game shown for Nintendo's new console, was the first time I ever heard the term 'Bullshot', something that can be related to the following image..

 

 

Anyone who has played the game throughout the lifespan of the Wii will know that Red Steel never looked quite as 'impressive' as this. Considering the Wii was never going to be a power house, the gameplay was going to have to be the main attraction, as well it should be.

 

In fairness to Red Steel, having obviously never used a controller such as the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to play a First-Person Shooter before, I had plenty of ideas in my head of how the genre would feel. After reading complaints from others who had played the game before I received it for Christmas 2006, I found myself in disagreement about their frustrations with the controls as I picked it up instantly and felt that it was almost exactly as I imagined

 

Going back to it now, though, and the harsh reality of it all has set in. Time has not been kind to Red Steel

 

Games such as Metroid Prime 3: Corruption came along and showed us how good the Wii Remote and Nunchuk could be for the FPS genre on Wii but this game simply can't hold up to the improvements that were made elsewhere. It feels pretty awful, particularly the restrictive and unresponsive swordplay

 

It's a shame, really, as I genuinely had fun with the game back when I first played it, even if the multiplayer was always poor, but now I can't really see myself having the heart to butcher the thoughts of my previous enjoyment of Red Steel by playing through it all again and seeing it for what it really is..

 

Rest in Peace, Red Steel : peace:

[S.C.G]

Red Steel was a game that showed much promise on paper - particularly from the much publicised 'bullshots' - but then failed to perform in practice. It was at the launch of a brand new console where motion control was an original concept, who wouldn't want to wield both a gun AND a sword in an oriental themed, Yakuza inspired first person shooter/slice-em-up?

 

Naturally I bought this at launch, played it for all of an hour... that was enough for me to tell that this title just wasn't of any real worth, it's not that it wasn't enjoyable but more that it should have been much better. The sequel may have delivered the original promise that the first game made with the advent of Wii Motion Plus but by that time it was too late, I actually ended up buying the sequel at a car boot for the princely sum of £2 a year ago but I have yet to bother playing it.

 

A title by Ubisoft available at the launch of a new Nintendo console that failed to live up to the original hype? Who would have guessed that this would become a reoccurring theme.

 

Verdict: Red only with embarrassment of being inferior, Steel yourself if you wish to play this title today because it surely won't have aged well.

[Josh64]

I still haven't played this game, despite being so hyped for it back in 2006, I guess that shows just how much I can push things back :p

 

I haven't got much to say other than, if anything, this game provided us with one of the most prominent in-game shots of the Wii, ever and / nando / beat me to it!

 

That photo is like the wild yeti or Loch Ness Monster shot, it will forever be burnt in my mind. Heck, back then I was so excited for the Wii I could have probably whacked off to that photo. Dat bloom.

[tapedeck]

Wasn't my fav game but picked it up at launch. Just holding your gun sideways, gangsta style was awesome.

I loved the skyscraper level. Felt like Die Hard1 and the mechanics garage level was also fun. Other than that it was forgettable with some awful levels with too much vertical shooting.

 

The OST deserves a special mention though. Very unique and memorable.

 

[Oxigen_Waste]

I really liked Red Steel 2. That's the best compliment I can muster regarding Red Steel. Sorry.

[Fused King]

I guess this one was just a wee bit too niche.

 

Sorry I'm late, the next one will be up soon.