This game would have been awesome, had the controls not been crap.
Indeed, some parts of the game are really good... and those parts are the shooting sequences. Running through office buildings and the like shooting Yakuza is very satisfying. Aiming with the Wii-mote is cool and adds a lot to the experience, I think. There's a fair amount of destructable environments too. The story is cheesy and forced... but what FPS story isn't? I enjoyed the presentation... generic bad guys in action games don't bother me one bit.
The music and the presentation is great too. It swells and thumps at just thr right times... making it really seem like you're in an Asian crappy action flick. Awesome! The graphics? Well, there not awful... but they're pretty average for LAST gen. Honestly I expected slightly better, but these are certainly adequate.
Too bad this game has too many problems to make it really good. The biggest offender is the control scheme. It's downright useless. You use your wii-mote's pointer for turning, which is not nearly as cool as it sounds. Trying to shoot someone at the edge of your screen? Navigating through a hallway and not paying attention to your cursor? Well then, be prepared to bump into stuff, stagger around corners, wave your head wildly through the air and spin around staring at your ankles. It's a constant chore to keep yourself moving smoothly. Thank goodness the AI is stupid... if the enemies were genuinely challenging and required you to effectively dodge and take cover, you'd be screwed. The motion-sensing gun hand is neat... too bad I'm left handed, so when I shoot with pistols I fire with my palms facing up. o_O
Swordfighting boils down to a reaction-time minigame that is neither exciting nor fun. There's no blood, the controls are way too simple and every motion delays about a half-second. Some fights can be won by simply swinging wildly... others by the simple old dodge-counter and block-counter patterns. Yawn.
The game is also a little glitchy. You'll notice it most on the corpses, who twitch and "scrumbly-bumble" all caddywampus on the floor because their dying animations are buggy. I also hear tales of people being shot through walls (via the old ethereal gun trick) but that has yet to happen to me.
Multiplayer is ok... but it really only succeeds on a large TV. Besides, it won't be long before someone gets frustrated with the controls and quits anyway. It really feels like it was added as an afterthought, and it doesn't add much to the game.
The Verdict:
I'm glad I only rented Red Steel... had I payed $50 for it I would have not got my money's worth out of it.
This game has some redeeming qualities, but despite how much I like it I cannot get past the clumsy control scheme. Accurate and intuitive control is paramount to me, in case you're wondering why I scored this game so poorly.
For those hungry for FPS Wii action, you can go ahead and try this. You might like it. I STRONGLY recommend you only rent it though. I got tired of it long before my 5-day period expired.
Hopefully this is not a sign of what the Wii can-and-can't-do... and we'll see a good action title on the Wii someday. Red Steel is not that game. If only they'd make RS2 with a fixed control scheme, improved graphics and the swordfighting removed. Then I'd be in...
If only...
+Cool presentation and music
+Shooting the poop out of a bunch of Yakuza in an office building blaring with lousy J-Pop
+Aiming with the Wii-mote is cool
-Sluggish, terrible, stupid movement controls
-Left-hander playable, but not left-hander friendly
-AI is dumb
-Game is buggy
-Multiplayer mode is bare bones
-Definently not worth $50