Red Steel

Red Steel is one of the flagship Wii games, and the console’s third most-popular title in the US right now. Depending on your expectations you’ll either find yourself immersed in this cinematic thriller with its novel approach to the action, or struggling to enjoy what you hoped would be an all out ‘kick-ass’ first-person-shooter.

You take on the role of Scott Monroe, an average guy engaged to a Japanese girl whose big business father, Isaac Sato, is involved with ‘the mob’. For reasons that become known later in the tale Japanese gangsters make an attempt on your father-in-law’s life. You’re thrown in at the deep end, learning the basics of using a gun to prevent the ‘Yakuza’ from succeeding – the prologue serves the dual purpose as gameplay tutorial. Following a breathless 20mins or so in pursuit of the gangsters you manage to rescue Mr Sato, but your fiancée Miyu is stolen as ransom. Oops.

We found Red Steel to be a very stylish, if not overly stylised, romp that makes clever use of both the Remote and Nunchuck. The Remote takes charge of whatever your right hand is holding, becoming a gun or samurai sword. The Nunchuck guides your movement, reloads guns, and doubles as a defensive option during sword fights.

Rather than just give you a basic premise and then leave you to shoot or slice through the rest of the proceedings, Red Steel keeps you locked in the drama the whole time. Players used to conventional FPS freedoms may dislike the many cut-scenes. However if you like to get involved with your character, and the Wii controls really do feel like an extension of your arms in the game, Red Steel is a solid step in a new direction.

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