When Red Steel was originally released as a Wii launch title back in 2006, it was second only to The Legend of Zelda in terms of hype. The game has since seen more than its fair share of critics, as only a game of such hype can. Most, such as myself, can definitely see potential in the game/series, but lack of polish and complete ideas throughout the experience brings Red Steel to only an average game.

One of the most prominent features of Red Steel prior to its release was the use of the Unreal Engine "2.5", in which Ubisoft claimed a bridge in graphical fertility somewhere between the last and current generation of hardware. And such origins are somewhat obvious in the final (but unfinished) product. The game was, and still is, one of Wii's greatest looking games, but at the same time one of its worst. Certain areas such as some textures, effects, and gloss make the game stand out in the Wii library. Other things, such as poor character animation, models, art work (used in static cut-scenes), and textures look very poor indeed. Speaking of art work, the load screens and cut scenes look atrocious in 480p resolution (the Wii equivalent of HD). The image appears stretched and grainy. While the art images look better in low resolution, the game itself benefits from 480p greatly. Textures and detail (in both models and effects, such as explosions) look great.

In November of 2006, Red Steel had wonky and poor controls. In 2010, in the light of very smooth and responsive game like the Metroid Prime 3/Trilogy and The Conduit, the controls are downright awful. The reticule itself is jumpy and a good ways away from what feels natural (by pressing the "Home" menu at any time, one can see just how off the Red Steel cursor is by comparing it to the Wii Menu cursor). The bounding box (an invisible area that, once passed by the cursor, moves the screen) is very wide and makes turning difficult and subtle movement impossible. The gestures fair a bit better, but there are still occasions where the game may fail to read Nunchuk swipes. Despite having technical issues, the controls are imaginatively designed, and with a few more months of polish, they could have been great.

"Boy falls for girl. Boy meets girl's father, who ends up being a part of "X" mafia, whose rival gang kidnaps girl. Boy must save girl." As hard as i tried to dislike the clichd and predictable story, i found myself eagerly awaiting the next plot twist. The game accomplishes this level of emersion with mostly solid voice work and small twists and variations of the old clichd story line. Yet despite my better judgment, the ending makes me want more Red Steel.

Red Steel also has a multiplayer mode. This extra feels just as rushed as the rest of the game, providing few customization options, levels, or strategies. There are no bots or online play, making its unplayable for the single player.

The game is one of non-stop action, its a fun ride IF, and i stress IF, you can deal with its glaring problems. Painful controls, spotty graphics, and a lack of polish prevents this game from reaching true greatness. Red Steel provides an enjoyable, dumb action thriller that will be satisfying the same way the stupid summer blockbusters are. In the end, its a solid game, with moments of greatness and moments of frustration.
When Red Steel was originally released as a Wii launch title back in 2006, it was second only to The Legend of Zelda in terms of hype. The game has since seen more than its fair share of critics, as only a game of such hype can. Most, such as myself, can definitely see potential in the game/series, but lack of polish and complete ideas throughout the experience brings Red Steel to only an average game. One of the most prominent features of Red Steel prior to its release was the use of the Unreal Engine "2. 5", in which Ubisoft claimed a bridge in graphical fertility somewhere between the last and current generation of hardware. And such origins are somewhat obvious in the final (but unfinished) product. The game was, and still is, one of Wii's greatest looking games, but at the same time one of its worst. Certain areas such as some textures, effects, and gloss make the game stand out in the Wii library. Other things, such as poor character animation, models, art work (used in static cut-scenes), and textures look very poor indeed. Speaking of art work, the load screens and cut scenes look atrocious in 480p resolution (the Wii equivalent of HD). The image appears stretched and grainy. While the art images look better in low resolution, the game itself benefits from 480p greatly. Textures and detail (in both models and effects, such as explosions) look great. In November of 2006, Red Steel had wonky and poor controls. In 2010, in the light of very smooth and responsive game like the Metroid Prime 3/Trilogy and The Conduit, the controls are downright awful. The reticule itself is jumpy and a good ways away from what feels natural (by pressing the "Home" menu at any time, one can see just how off the Red Steel cursor is by comparing it to the Wii Menu cursor). The bounding box (an invisible area that, once passed by the cursor, moves the screen) is very wide and makes turning difficult and subtle movement impossible. The gestures fair a bit better, but there are still occasions where the game may fail to read Nunchuk swipes. Despite having technical issues, the controls are imaginatively designed, and with a few more months of polish, they could have been great. "Boy falls for girl. Boy meets girl's father, who ends up being a part of "X" mafia, whose rival gang kidnaps girl. Boy must save girl. " As hard as i tried to dislike the clichd and predictable story, i found myself eagerly awaiting the next plot twist. The game accomplishes this level of emersion with mostly solid voice work and small twists and variations of the old clichd story line. Yet despite my better judgment, the ending makes me want more Red Steel. Red Steel also has a multiplayer mode. This extra feels just as rushed as the rest of the game, providing few customization options, levels, or strategies. There are no bots or online play, making its unplayable for the single player. The game is one of non-stop action, its a fun ride IF, and i stress IF, you can deal with its glaring problems. Painful controls, spotty graphics, and a lack of polish prevents this game from reaching true greatness. Red Steel provides an enjoyable, dumb action thriller that will be satisfying the same way the stupid summer blockbusters are. In the end, its a solid game, with moments of greatness and moments of frustration.