Ubisoft has developed a game that supposedly takes full advantage of the controller for the Wii system. My first impression of the game, via the menu system, was, “What were they thinking?” Just point the remote at the option you want and press the button, right? No, the player must click and drag the selection he makes to the center of the screen. The uniqueness of the controls makes for a steep learning curve. The player points the Wii remote at the screen to aim and to turn the player must move the aiming reticule to the side of the screen. But be careful, if you move it too far, the controller doesn’t realize what has happened and you will be stuck turning in the direction you started until the controller positions itself again. This can cause a big headache. The nunchuk attachment is used to move, reload, sword blocking, picking up new guns and basically interacting with the environment around the player. Interacting with your surroundings is pivotal and this is mainly used in moving objects to avoid incoming fire.

Red Steel is a game that mixes sword fights with gunplay, all while using the Wii controller in various ways. Gunfights are fast and furious, and they tend to be fun. There are a multitude of real world weapons from an Uzi to a 9mm handgun and my personal favorite, the shotgun. You just have to be mindful of the range of the Wii Remote. There were many times where I got excited in a close gunfight, and accidentally turned the remote too far and was killed. This gets frustrating fast. A large complaint to the gunfights is that a single shotgun blast or even a sword swipe is enough to detonate a car or most anything that can explode. I crept up on a bad guy under a car and attempted to kill him with my sword. When my sword came up to hit him the car he was working on exploded killing him and myself.

Early on in the game, you are also introduced to sword fighting. This is one spot where the game really falls short. Most of you have seen the Red Steel commercials with someone sword fighting and swinging the controller wildly. Unfortunately this is not the case. When it comes to sword fighting the game plays more like an Elderscrolls game. Move the controller left or right to slash across the middle in the direction of the controller. Up or down is the same thing, and if the player slashes too soon after a previous attack, it won’t register and many times this ends with you getting hit. The nunchuk is used to block incoming attacks by shaking it to bring up a broken sword for a split second and it can also be used to break the sword of the opponent. After the fight is done, the player has to choose to kill him or to let him live. If you decide to spare his life, the person you just defeated bows down to you and stops fighting. You then gain respect points. This gets extremely funny when you see a big bouncer from South Central Los Angeles try and attack you with a baseball bat. When you defeat him, I’m sure in the real world he wouldn’t bow down to you.

Sound wise, the game is well done. The music fits the game pretty well, as do the sound effects of the guns and the sword fights. What isn’t done well is the voice acting, especially of the regular bad guys the game sends at you with the occasional Michael Jackson sounding “Die you bastard!”. Graphically the game reminds me of a slightly upgraded Goldeneye from the Nintendo 64. The colors are somewhat washed out and the textures are not done very well either. The big thing I can say that I really liked is that the weapons which are dropped that can be picked up or used to add ammo to your inventory are outlined in yellow. This makes it very easy in gunfights to find ammunition when you need it in a pinch.

Multiplayer in Red Steel is extremely fun with up to 4 players being able to choose from a variety of character models and play via split screen. All of the guns are also available, as are grenades. Grenades are the most fun in multiplayer, as when you start getting some good throws in it can become extremely amusing. Possibly the biggest complaint I have about the game is that there is no music during multiplayer. I debated pulling out an iPod filled with remixed Goldeneye music just for some background noise.

When everything is all said and done, Red Steel is a pretty average game. If Ubisoft would have delayed the game and worked a little more on the controls and making sure stuff doesn’t explode because of a sword slash, the game would have been a lot better. That being said, the game shouldn’t be passed over without a rental at first, simply because it is one of the first FPS-style games on the system.