My Opinion
This is one of those games that got so much hype it could never live up to it. Those who followed its progress were amazed at how many faults seemed to keep coming up and were not getting fixed. The final product definetly didn't meet expectations of some, but its a lot better than you might think. The controls are the touchiest aspect of the experience. Occasionally your targeting reticule will jump around, causing you to lose you aim and orientation. The team that created the game seem to have the thought in their head that everything need to be motion controlled. Half of the controls in the game are mapped to a downward swing with the Nunchuck. It is extremely frustrating when you attemp to melee attack and you character reloads his weapon. Either of these actions would have faired well mapped to a button. Aiming and shooting are much, much faster than dual analog. Running and shooting, turning, and vertical shooting work better than dual analog ever could. You will be pulling off head shots time after time, especially when you zoom in (move the Wii mote towards the TV to do this). You can also freeze time, shooting multiple enemies before they can react. This is where Red Steel differs from the uber violent shooters, you are encouraged to spare the life of you opponents. You can do this by shooting the guns out of there grips or choosing not to deal the final blow at the end of a sword dual. The game is gorgeous in outdoor areas, showing the Wii can pull of some good visuals, and this is just the first round of games. Interior areas could use a makeover. Usually you are confined to a hallway, decorated with a cardboard box or a shellf with bottles on it. Not every indoor area is like this, but most are visually bland at the very least. Sword fighting is one of the better aspects of the game, breaking up long shooting sequences. The controls for basic moves work fine, but once you start learning special attacks are the controls a bit touchy.
My Rating
6.5 out of 10
This game deserves a better score than this. Even with all the control issues, it is an immensly fun game. The shooting is great, as well as sword fighting, and it is one of the best looking Wii launch titles.
