G4TV

As one of the first games shown for Nintendo’s Wii, Red Steel has been watched more closely than any Wii title without “Zelda” in the title. The first FPS built exclusively for Nintendo’s new system, packs a lot of innovation into its control scheme, but doesn’t really push the envelope when it comes to the base gameplay.

Daisuki L.A.

You play Scott, an accomplished bodyguard who is dating one of his clients. Said client happens to be the daughter of a powerful yakuza boss, and as the game begins, you’re about to meet the man himself during his visit to Los Angeles. Your dinner with dad-to-be never comes to fruition, as assassins attempt to hasten the process of underworld succession.

The rival yakuza make off with your girlfriend, and Scott, like any self-respecting videogame character, proceeds to travel the globe and kill lots of people to find her. The story’s nothing special, but it’s probably worth noting that this is undoubtedly the first game about the Japanese yakuza set in Los Angeles and made by Parisians.

Darkly neon

Red Steel certainly isn’t the most visually interesting FPS on the market. Environments are fairly dull, despite a good amount of destructible objects scattered about. Mostly it’s the same familiar parade of corridors, large rooms, and underground passageways that comprise nearly every entry in the genre.

A few cool explosive tricks here and there liven things up, but for the most part it looks like a high-level Gamecube game. Perhaps more disappointing is the by-the-numbers level design that certainly does the job, but not much more.

En garde

Occasionally the ranged combat is broken up by a sword duel. One wonders why Scott doesn’t just go Indiana Jones on his melee-obsessed adversaries, but since the sword combat is one of the highlights of Red Steel it’s probably for the best that he takes the honorable “fight fire with fire” route. A swing of the remote attacks, while a twist of the Nunchuk will parry an incoming strike. It’s easy to learn, but tough to master. With practice and timing, even very tough opponents can be subdued with little trouble. Getting to that point is easier said than done, though.

Point the way

The rest of the time, control works similarly to a PC FPS. Instead of a mouse, you use the Wii remote to look around and aim your guns. This is functional most of the time, although during heavy fighting it’s easy to find yourself struggling to balance your view movement with precise aiming. A lock-on feature helps a bit, but overshooting your target with the reticule is all too common. The controls work fine more often than not, and help prevent Red Steel from being simply another FPS in the crowd.

There are a number of cool ideas in Red Steel’s control scheme. To toss a grenade, you actually “toss” with the Nunchuk to simulate an overhand or underhand throw. The Nunchuk is also used to flip over tables, open doors, and reload your weapon. Less successful is the zoom feature, which requires you to push the remote towards the screen to target distant foes. While a good concept, the zoom is horribly imprecise, and the sniper rifle in particular can be a frustrating weapon to use effectively.

Over here, stupid

The enemies almost seem to know you’re at a disadvantage, control-wise. They’re far from the brightest opponents, often standing around seemingly bored when they have clear shots at you. This does keep things from becoming frustrating, but in this era of challenging AI in games like FarCry and Gears of War, Red Steel can sometimes feel like a throwback.

In the end, this is a collection of average FPS elements merged with highly innovative controls that don’t really mesh too well. It’s frustrating almost as often as it’s fun, and the gameplay never quite becomes second nature. Red Steel’s controls save it from being a sub-par game, but also keep it from being great.

Article by: Matt Keil
Video Produced by: Matt Keil