Red Steel Critic Reviews

Clearly designed with the hardcore gamer in mind. It's slick, addictive and as close to "cool" as a game can get.

It's liquid movement... A massive improvement on previous console FPS control... Not only making excellent use of the Wii's controllers, this is huge fun in its own right. For a launch title to get so much right is an indicator of great things to come.

What makes Red Steel shine is a mixture of slick graphic novel-style cut-scenes, deft use of the hardware(reflection maps abound)and its wonderfully orchestrated gun and sword play.

It's a superb shooter with a great plot, innovative gameplay and some really brilliant moments that will surprise even the most seasoned of gamer. It's a decent length too, with a good 15 hours of play in the main mode. But some control issues and patchy inconsistencies (mainly in the physics and level design) pull it short of earning that juicy score.

Not only is there a lot of game to enjoy in Red Steel; it's a great jumping-off point for Wii development.

Red Steel is an achievement both in its own extremely playable right, but also as a benchmark that other developers must meet - and hopefully exceed.

It is a fun and skilled gamer experience that requires some learning and patience. You will enjoy Red Steel the first time around, but I don’t see any space for replayability value.

Some clever ideas and enjoyable moments, inside an average (but solid enough) shooter.

Those who do not wish to hold up their controllers and have the patience to learn a new control style will not be enthused. Give the game the time it deserves, however, and you’ll find that, in spite of its repetition, this is one very cool and exciting shooter.

There are still some minor control issues, and the game is still incredibly inconsistent in terms of visual acuity, but in spite of this Red Steel is still an unquestionably fun game to play.

It’s a game like no other, but it takes a great deal of patience before you’re able to truly enjoy it.

You won't confuse a Red Steel with "Gears of War" or "Resistance: Fall of Man," but it’s clear that the Wii has some power in its corner.

Most of Red Steel’s faults lie with the game’s presentation. Enemies shout annoying obscenities in your direction during every firefight, the cheesy score is bad enough to incite chuckles, and the jaggy graphics look worse than many Xbox and PlayStation 2 games.

Red Steel simply screams that it's a rushed launch game, which is a shame. The game has a stylish presentation and a unique premise that, with another months of development time and polish, could of worked well.

I'm rather disgusted with all those other media establishments and their unfair razing of what's a truly decent game. Again, it's not perfect, and will likely frustrate the hell out of you at some points. But try to work through that and give Red Steel a chance, you may find a hidden layer of entertainment that those guys apparently didn't.

The level design is a little boring and the sword fighting should have been much more intuitive. The game seems to have been rushed for the Wii launch.

Red Steel is a good first try for Ubisoft in the arena of Wii shooting games, and the new, unique experience of actually being physically involved with the in-game action may be all that is needed to overcome some of the weaker aspects of the title for some gamers.

The final big problem for Red Steel is its learning curve. You have to use the Wiimote + Nunchuk together in motion and in button pressing. This can lead most seasoned gamers to be thrown off for a good hour before picking things up. And with a short length of only 9ish hours, it’s a learning curve I’m not sure many will be willing to go for.

If you demand your A.I. to be spot-on and choose cover that isn't made up of boxes of grenades, or if you get annoyed easily by not quite having the timing right to trigger pre-recorded sword combos, then maybe you should sit out this rather imperfect – but fun – FPS for the Wii after all.

It's not the best use of the motion controls, as it's really just an extension of the previously standard dual-analog controller. It's among the prettiest games on the Wii, and has a fun, if tacked on, multiplayer component.