Red Steel preview

If Gamestyle were to debate the merits of Ubisoft, we would no doubt comment that they are never afraid to reinvent tired formulas, or at least bravely fail in the attempt. What the publisher managed with King Kong or Beyond Good & Evil was nothing short of remarkable, and they are attempting to do the same with Red Steel.First person shooters and combat games are everywhere, and mainly trying to be almost everything a gamer could wish for. With Red Steel, the unique control aspects offered by the Wii have been utilised to bring some much needed life to the constant ducking and firing we've all endured since the 32bit era - and you'll only experience it on the Wii."We're honoured to announce this exciting new franchise and we're confident that Red Steel will be the must-have title for the Revolution when it launches," said Serge Hascoet, chief creative officer at Ubisoft. "We have been working closely with Nintendo to take full advantage of the innovative controller to create a thrilling experience that can only exist on the Wii."The storyline (from what we know of it) will not challenge Half-Life in any respect, as it is set around the in vogue environment of Japanese gangsters, otherwise known as the Yakuza. Your fiance has been kidnapped, but this is no mere oriental babe. Instead her family heritage is deeply entwined with that of the Japanese criminal world. The added incentive is that her father (a mafia kingpin) was murdered during the successful kidnap heist. Sometimes this would be a reason to pity the kidnappers, but the bond between your character and the future father-in-law seems to be workable (at least), so it's revenge all the way, although it seems you can spare wounded opponents if it pleases you.Taking its cue from the memorable Black Rain, your character travels from Los Angeles to Tokyo - the home turf of the Japanese mafia - to do battle and rescue your fiance. Throw in a dash of Kill Bill by learning the ancient art of Japanese katana fighting, and it is clear Red Steel will involve duelling with not only guns but also swords. The high-octane emphasis on action has been captured extremely efficiently with a bullet time function.Initial reports highlighted issues with the novel combat system and sensitivity of the controls, but Ubisoft has addressed concerns with more recent builds of the game. Having never played a first person release in quite such a manner as this before, it will take sometime to familiarise yourself with the controls and actions available. Atmospheric and memorable levels are already in place for the single and multiplayer modes, with Ubisoft slowly revealing more as development reaches its final stages. The style and setting of Red Steel should go down well with those who enjoyed Killer7 and imaginative boss encounters.Red Steel certainly adds up to being the third party release to watch out for come Wii launch day.