A great rental, but a forgetful story and small problems give little replay value.
Red Steel 2 has you play as an unnamed hero, who is the last of a powerful swordsman clan called the Kusagari. A rivaling clan, the Katakara, is trying to kill you and take your rare katana. Of course, you're not gonna take their s**t.
The main gameplay is going around taking on gangs and finding money to upgrade your weapons, a sword and gun. While this sounds simple, the Wii remote and Wiimotion-Plus is able to give you very accurate sword slashes, with each swing making every hit feel solid. As for the gun, you start out with a revolver, which you can switch to with the press of a button. As the game advances, you can gain new finishing combos for your sword, up to three other guns, more powerful ammuniton (Ex. explosive buck shot, ricochet bullets)and powers such as a force push-like attack and a shockwave. All these aspects are fun, and offer lots of options for an upgrade path.
The new cel-shade graphics fit well with the story and environment. Unfortunatly, your surroundings begin to go from beautiful urban settings to bland canyons near the third act of the game. Another annoying problem is the map, which will show you if the edge of a boundary will lead to another area or a door for a shop. I constantly found multiple places to go, where I didn't know which route would take me to the ammo shop. A map color code would be something the game could do if there is a Red Steel 3.
While this game isn't really worth a full purchase, it makes an entertaining game for anyone who likes its great combat.