Wed Oct 5. 2022
Red Steel 2 is the sequel to a semi-popular title for the Nintendo Wii, set in a unique world that combines elements of western with fantasy and oriental culture. The game is, again, a first-person shooter, though its gameplay has changed from its predecessor somewhat, with the game now being a lot more refined and streamlined towards the action side of things.
Gameplay
You play “The Hero”, an unnamed character who's robbed of his precious Katana sword in the beginning of the game, and must fight his way through a multitude of enemies and solve various quests until he manages to ultimately obtain his sword back. As mentioned above, you play from a first-person perspective, with the fights featuring a fine balance between gunplay and swordfighting – a combination that we've certainly rarely seen in other games, the most notable probably being Devil May Cry and its successors.
The storyline has been very deeply developed in Red Steel 2, with all of the characters possessing unique personalities that help them stand out from their associates and enemies, and create a complete environment that just drags you in and gets you involved in the lives of the characters on a more personal level than most other games on the market ever manage to.
Graphics and System Requirements
The game is Wii-exclusive, which probably tells you a few things about the quality of its graphics – it's true that it's not exactly top of the line when it comes to serving you eye candy, and the Wii's hardware limitations are coming through more and more obviously with each game that comes out for it. Red Steel 2 has managed to overcome those problems by creating a very unique and captivating art style, which manages to give the game its own charm.
This is something that may probably bother fans of the previous game though – knowing what the previous title looked like, we can say that Red Steel 2 is a huge departure from that style. So, expect a completely different game with regards to its looks. Is it better or worse though? That's certainly a subjective thing to say, but from our personal point of view, the art style is much more professional-looking now, and everything ties in together more closely.
Other
Some of the side quests may start getting a bit repetitive at one point – that's a common concern that people have been addressing, and the general consensus is that you should concentrate on the primary plot line and only do side quests occasionally, for the bonus resources. This doesn't mean that you should absolutely preclude yourself from engaging in the game's additional quests though – just make sure you don't overdo it.
Conclusion
It's certainly not the Japanese-styled shooter the first one was – but if you love a quality action experience packed full of interesting characters and intricate plot lines, this should be on top of your list of games worth checking out.