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Posted on April 28th, 2006 - 16126 Reads

The First Wii Game - Red Steel Nintendo Wii Preview

-- Written by Justin Joseph

Red Steel is the first title to be officially announced for Nintendo's next console. Being developed by Ubisoft's Paris division, it was also the first to have screenshots released for it. Game Informer magazine was the lucky first to host this monumental unveiling. They recently provided an insightful article along with a satisfying collection of pictures from the game. Those that have been skeptical of the Wii being able to handle great graphics have been hushed somewhat. It is scheduled to be mostly revealed at E3, but here's some information that we all know right now.

Players will take on the role of a nameless American man. He happens to be engaged to a young Japanese-American by the name Miyu. The plot thickens immediately as she is kidnapped at a posh restaurant where you are planning to meet her father. Players later learn Miyu's father is actually a Yakuza boss by the name of Sato. Sato owns a very prestigious katana. A younger Yakuza member named Tokai is very envious of this weapon, and critically wounds Sato trying to get it.

This attempt fails, and Tokai orders the kidnapping of Miyu because of it. His plan is to merely hold Miyu as ransom so he can trade her for Sato's blade. Instead, Sato actually hands his weapon over to you in hopes that his daughter will be rescued. While still speculation, many believe the story will revolve around the main character's ability to gain a positive reputation amongst gang leaders. This is in attempt to help him find and defeat his fiancée's captor. Red Steel in the beginning has you fighting in a more reckless fashion, but you eventually should become more proficient and precise with your actions.

Obviously this is the first official title announced for the Wii, so how does it use the brand new controller? It will use not only the standard Revmote, but also the 'nunchaku' attachment. Confirmed features are the use of guns and a katana. We also know the experience will be fully immersive. Players can tilt the controller to make the gun do the same on screen. We'll also be able to push objects forward by moving the Revmote in that fashion for cover purposes. Pulling the controller backwards will reload your gun. Grenades will also be utilized a bit during play. You actually use the Revmote to toss one either underhand or overhand, allowing for more freedom than in current generation FPSes.

The AI of Red Steel is also supposed to be of the most impressive that we've ever seen. It's claimed that NPCs will be able to take care of themselves and utilize their environment just like you. Your enemies will be aggressive, and be as careful as possible when attacking you. Instead of running around a table, they may try to surprise you by simply jumping on top of it. Ubisoft claims to have AI along the same intelligence as that seen in F.E.A.R.

How you actually engage with enemies will be very unique as well. You are given the option to force enemy mobsters to surrender to you, rather than just taking their life. This is done by disarming them and swinging your katana, but stopping it soon enough to avoid a death blow. This is the most encouraged, as rewards are beneficial. Sparing your enemies' lives may convince them to join your side or possibly hand over anything useful. There's also the option of flat out violence, but it won't be as helpful. This may convince your enemies to join Tokai. More supporters for Tokai means a harder final battle.

Finally, it's also confirmed that Red Steel will support split-screen multiplayer. This will encompass your standard death matches. Most interesting about it, is that you can act as wildly as you want with your particular controller without affecting anything on your opponents' part of the screen. It hasn't been revealed yet if the game will support the NWC service due to current NDAs. But we should be able to hope for some kind of revelation at E3.

Red Steel is going to be a huge hit at E3, there's no doubting that. Being the first heavily unveiled Wii game, it has a lot to show and prove. The Wii seems to be the platform for innovative FPS games next generation, so let's hope that Red Steel begins the genre push well.

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