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'{{Short description|2010 video game by Ubisoft Paris}} {{use dmy dates|date=June 2022}} {{Infobox video game |title=Red Steel 2 |image=Red Steel 2 Box Art.jpg | alt = Red Steel 2 |developer=[[Ubisoft Paris]] |publisher=[[Ubisoft]] |director=[[Jason Vandenberghe]] |producer=Bruno Galet |designer=Roman Campos-Oriola |programmer=Stéphane Lavergne |artist= |engine=[[LyN]] |writer=David Neiss<br>Jason VandenBerghe |composer=[[Tom Salta]] |released={{Video game release|NA|March 23, 2010|AU|March 25, 2010|EU|March 26, 2010<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/14834/red-steel-2-release-date-revealed/?attr=CVG-General-RSS |title=Red Steel 2 release date revealed |first=Tom |last=East |date=2010-01-26 |work=[[Official Nintendo Magazine]] |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415183803/http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/14834/red-steel-2-release-date-revealed/?attr=CVG-General-RSS |archivedate=2014-04-15 |url-status=dead |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref>}} |genre=[[Shooter game|Shooter]]/[[hack and slash]] |modes=[[Single-player video game|Single-player]] |platforms=[[Wii]] }} '''''Red Steel 2''''' is a [[First-person (video games)|first-person]] [[Shooter game|shooter]]/[[hack and slash]] [[video game]] developed by [[Ubisoft Paris]] for the [[Wii]] [[video game console]]. It is a [[stand-alone sequel]] to ''[[Red Steel]]''. The game was released worldwide in March 2010. The trailer was premiered at the Los Angeles video game E3 2009 starring the actor [[Karl E. Landler]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7-OWke43oQ|title = Red Steel 2 Trailer|publisher = [[YouTube]]|accessdate = 2015-12-02}}</ref> ==Plot== The game begins as an unnamed Hero, the last member of the Kusagari Clan, is being dragged across the desert, tied to the back of a motorcycle. He manages to break free, but Payne, the leader of the Jackals – a vast gang of thugs, murderers and thieves – steals the Hero's katana. While running from the Jackals, the Hero rescues his old swordsmaster Jian who was to soon be executed by the Jackals. After the rescue, Jian allows the Hero to borrow his sword until the Hero can recover his own from Payne. The Hero meets up with Tamiko, a member of his clan's research division, as well as Caldera's sheriff and Tamiko's father, Judd. They provide information for the Hero to help him track down Payne, while sabotaging the Jackals' operations in the Upper City, as well as meeting a fight club-operating businessman named Songan. The Hero eventually locates and defeats Payne in the Jackals' hideout, Rojo House, recovering his katana during the battle. He interrogates Payne and, before killing him by throwing him off a ledge, learns that his entire clan had been annihilated by a man named Shinjiro. The Hero travels to the Lower City, encountering another rival clan called the Katakara. He finds Shinjiro in the city's Kusagari Temple and the two swordsmen fight. After a fierce battle, the Hero breaks Shinjiro's katana and pushes him to the edge of the Temple's roof. However, before the Hero can strike his foe down, a mysterious ninja saves Shinjiro. Jian then tells the Hero that the katanas of the Kusagari, called Sora Katanas, have great unpredictable power and that the method to make these is known only to them, and Shinjiro, who trained with the Kusagari as a child, plans to make more of them. Following a tip from Judd, the Hero discovers Shinjiro trying to escape the city on a train and manages to board it before it leaves. After the Hero fights his way through the train, which is full of ninjas and Katakara, he finds Shinjiro atop the front car; the "escape attempt" is revealed to be a trap. As the Hero approaches the front car, Shinjiro detaches the front car from the rest of the train. Shinjiro then throws a grenade to kill the Hero and destroy the rest of the train. The Hero survives, but is forced to walk through the desert for three days before finding a small ghost town. While exploring the town, the Hero discovers Songan, who explains that the ghost town is a Jackal ammo dump. The Hero drives off the Jackals and survives an attack by a Katakara force, led by the lieutenant Calhoun. After reestablishing communications with Tamiko, Judd, and Jian, the Hero learns that the trio have tracked Shinjiro to the isolated mining community of Rattlesnake Canyon. The Hero then takes Songan's advice and uses an old locomotive in the town's deserted train depot to travel there. While exploring the Canyon, the Hero is attacked by the leader of the Katakara, Okaji, but manages to defeat him, only for him to return from the dead. Following Tamiko's plan, the Hero then uses explosives stolen from the mining quarry to break into the Canyon's Kusagari Temple, taken over by Shinjiro. This temple has a passageway leading to one of Songan's casinos and a bridge to Shinjiro's hideout, Tiger's Nest. Just as the Hero is about to ask Songan about how to get into Tiger's Nest, he then betrays the Hero and his allies, Tamiko, Judd, and Jian, are captured, but nevertheless helps him lower the bridge. At Tiger's Nest, Shinjiro demands the Hero's katana in exchange for his friends. As the Hero is about to give it to him, the two engage in a gun duel, where Tamiko is shot. The Hero pursues and confronts Shinjiro through Tiger's Nest and eventually engages in a rematch with Okaji, which he finally kills by dropping him off a cliff. He then hunts Shinjiro on a remote mountain outside the Nest, who then uses explosives and henchmen in one final effort to stop the Hero from reaching him. When that fails, Shinjiro, now adorned in menacing armor, draws out a newly forged katana for a final showdown with the Hero atop a high cliff. The Hero bests him in the intense, ensuing duel, but Shinjiro warns him that other clans will covet the power of the Sora Katana before the Hero finishes him off by stabbing him in the torso. As Shinjiro perishes, the Hero breaks the sword in two and tosses the hilt end off a cliff in an effort to deter the clans from learning more about this weapon, before looking on to see the sun rise. ==Gameplay== ''Red Steel 2'' is played in a first-person perspective where players can alternate between shooting and sword fighting. Players are able to fight up to six enemies on-screen, though enemy packs can go up to twenty, and can deflect opponents' bullets with their swords.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ubi.com/UK/Games/Info.aspx?pId=7780 |title=Ubisoft – Red Steel 2 |publisher=[[Ubisoft]] |date=2010-03-26 |accessdate=2011-06-27 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101101223015/http://www.ubi.com/UK/Games/Info.aspx?pId=7780 |archivedate=November 1, 2010 }}</ref> Tougher enemies have specific vulnerabilities that can only be exploited through the use of Wii MotionPlus technology; some enemies can parry off sword attacks with a defensive stance that the player must circumvent either with a slash parallel with the enemy's blade or three consecutive heavy strikes performed with large, fast swings of the Wii Remote, and some enemies wear armor that makes them immune to damage unless they are removed with heavy strikes. Attacking enemies in certain ways will stun them, giving the player a brief chance to [[finishing move|finish them off]] with a particular Wii Remote gesture. The player begins each enemy encounter with full [[health (game terminology)|health]] that automatically replenishes once all enemies are defeated; should the enemies overwhelm the player to the point where all health is lost, the [[game over|game ends]] and play can be resumed from the last [[checkpoint (video gaming)|checkpoint]] passed. As the player progresses through the main missions, new techniques, armor, and weapons become available for purchase from [[safe house]]s established by [[non-player character]]s who ally with the main protagonist, but are not considered part of his clan, while additional side missions, represented as [[wanted poster]]s in the safe houses, are available to play, earning the player a monetary reward upon their completion. Money can also be earned by [[destructible environment|destroying many small objects]] throughout the game world with equipped weapons, opening chests or defeating enemies, with double money earned for performing finishers correctly and triple for doing so with a combo. New techniques involve inputting a series of attacks that can significantly damage, stun or launch enemies into the air, and every time one is purchased, the player must go to a training area in the current safe house to practice it. Another source of money is a separate challenge mode that allows players to revisit previously cleared story chapters. ''Red Steel 2'' is the first game besides ''Wii Sports Resort'' to use the Wii Motion Plus Accessory, as well as only one of three third-party Wii games to require it, with the others being ''[[My Personal Golf Trainer]]'' and ''B-Units: Build It!''. The game features an expansive amount of movement with the Wii MotionPlus allowing it to be quite an interactive game, including certain hands-on [[minigame]]s such as opening [[combination lock]] [[safe]]s. ==Development== [[File:RedSteel2Game.jpg|thumb|left|''Red Steel 2'' features a vastly different art style from its [[Red Steel|predecessor]] ]] Development of ''Red Steel 2'' began in the summer of 2008. ''Red Steel 2'' was announced by [[Ubisoft]] executive director, Alain Corre in July 28.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/07/28/ubisoft-confirms-red-steel-2 |title=Ubisoft Confirms Red Steel 2 |first=Matt |last=Wales |date=2008-07-28 |website=IGN |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref> The game uses Nintendo's new accessory, [[Wii MotionPlus]] and was included in a bundle.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2008/07/28/ubisoft-red-steel-2-will-use-wiimotion-plus/1 |title=Ubisoft: Red Steel 2 will use Wii Motion Plus |first=Joe |last=Martin |date=2008-07-28 |publisher=BitGamer |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/06/02/e3-2009-wii-motionplus-bundled-with-red-steel-2 |title=E3 2009: Wii MotionPlus Bundled with Red Steel 2 |first=Matt |last=Casamassina |date=2009-06-01 |website=IGN |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref> It was developed using the proprietary LyN game engine.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/06/02/e3-2009-red-steel-2-hands-on |title=E3 2009: Red Steel 2 Hands-on |first=Matt |last=Casamassina |date=2 June 2009 |website=[[IGN]]}}</ref> ''Red Steel 2'' features stylized, [[Cel-shaded animation|cel-shaded]] graphics, in contrast to its predecessor's more realistic aesthetic. The visual style is similar to Ubisoft Paris' own ''[[XIII (video game)|XIII]]'', released in 2003. The game is also free of [[graphic violence]], like its predecessor, save for occasional unrealistic blood-like splash effects when enemies are slashed or finished off with a stab, before vanishing in a cloud of dust upon defeat.<ref>{{cite web |title=Red Steel 2 rating summary |url=https://www.esrb.org/ratings/28534/Red+Steel+2/ |website=[[ESRB]] |access-date=12 March 2022}}</ref> Players have at their disposal both a gun and a [[katana]], which they can switch between at any time. Commenting on the mix of East and West in the game creative director Jason Vandenberghe explained: "What doesn't work is to take those Western and Eastern elements, and sort of mix them into one thing. What does work is to say: here's Joe's bar and grill and here is Ming Pow's sushi's place. It's not a Western-looking cowboy katana; it's a katana, and a revolver, and they're clearly in their own place".<ref name="nginterview">{{cite web |url=http://www.ng-gamer.nl/content.php?id=10227 |title=Interview met creative director Red Steel 2 |first=Martijn |last=Müller |date=2010-02-27 |work=[[NG-Gamer]] |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100306025359/http://www.ng-gamer.nl/content.php?id=10227 |archivedate=2010-03-06 }}</ref> One feature that did not carry over from the first game was a multiplayer mode. Vandenberghe explained that they did explore the possibilities of including one, but determined that it would never fit in the development time window, and that the developers preferred to deliver a great single player experience over a mediocre multiplayer game.<ref name="nginterview"/> He also stated that plans to enhance the challenge mode by adding new enemies and unique objectives were also similarly scrapped due to technical and developmental obstacles.<ref>{{cite web |title=Red Steel 2 devs had bigger plans for Challenge Mode |url=https://nintendoeverything.com/red-steel-2-devs-had-bigger-plans-for-challenge-mode/ |website=NintendoEverything |access-date=20 June 2022 |date=12 May 2010}}</ref> ==Reception== {{Video game reviews | MC = 80/100<ref name=MC>{{cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/red-steel-2 |title=Red Steel 2 for Wii Reviews |website=[[Metacritic]] |accessdate=2011-06-27}}</ref> | Destruct = 8.5/10<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.destructoid.com/review-red-steel-2-169141.phtml |title=Review: Red Steel 2 |first=Jim |last=Sterling |date=2010-03-28 |website=[[Destructoid]] |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref> | Edge = 7/10<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Red Steel 2 |author=Edge staff |issue=214 |date=May 2010 |page=94 |magazine=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]}}</ref> | EuroG = 7/10<ref name="EuroG"/> | Fam = 31/40<ref>{{cite web | author=Gifford, Kevin | date=May 19, 2010 | title=Japan Review Check: Super Mario Galaxy 2, Alan Wake | url=http://www.1up.com/news/japan-review-check-super-mario | website=1UP.com | accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref> | GI = 8/10<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.gameinformer.com/games/red_steel_2/b/wii/archive/2010/03/24/steller-swordplay-makes-it-easy-to-overlook-a-few-dull-edges.aspx |title=Red Steel 2: Stellar swordplay makes it easy to overlook a few dull edges |first=Jeff |last=Cork |issue=205 |date=May 2010 |page=90 |magazine=[[Game Informer]] |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref> | GamePro = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/214496/red-steel-2 |title=Red Steel 2 |first=Tae K. |last=Kim |date=2010-03-23 |magazine=[[GamePro]] |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326181235/http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/214496/red-steel-2 |archivedate=2010-03-26 |url-status=dead |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref> | GSpot = 7.5/10<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/red-steel-2-review/1900-6254074/ |title=Red Steel 2 Review |first=Carolyn |last=Petit |date=2010-03-23 |website=[[GameSpot]] |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref> | GT = 8.6/10<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gametrailers.com/game/red-steel-2/11265 |title=Red Steel 2 Review |publisher=[[GameTrailers]] |date=March 23, 2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615032736/http://www.gametrailers.com/game/red-steel-2/11265 |archivedate=2010-06-15 |url-status=dead |accessdate=2016-05-30}}</ref> | GameZone = 8.5/10<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamezone.com/reviews/red-steel-2-review-review |title=Red Steel 2 – [WII] – Review |first=Steven |last=Hopper |date=2010-03-24 |publisher=GameZone |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328141030/http://wii.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r38025.htm |archivedate=2010-03-28 |url-status=live |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref> | IGN = (US) 8.6/10<ref name="IGN review">{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/03/23/red-steel-2-review |title=Red Steel Review |first=Craig |last=Harris |date=2010-03-23 |website=IGN |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref><br />(UK) 8.5 of 10<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/03/23/red-steel-2-uk-review |title=Red Steel UK Review |first=Kristan |last=Reed |date=2010-03-23 |website=IGN |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref><br />(AU) 8.4 of 10<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/03/23/red-steel-2-au-review |title=Red Steel AU Review |first=Cam |last=Shea |date=2010-03-23 |website=IGN |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref> | NP = 8/10<ref>{{cite journal | title=Red Steel 2 | journal=[[Nintendo Power]] | volume=254 | date=May 2010 | page=84}}</ref> | rev1 = ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' | rev1Score = 7/10<ref name="Telegraph review">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/7572549/Red-Steel-2-video-game-review.html |title=Red Steel 2 video game review |first=Tom |last=Hoggins |date=2010-04-09 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref> | rev2 = ''[[The Escapist (magazine)|The Escapist]]'' | rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Escapist review">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/editorials/reviews/7362-Review-Red-Steel-2 |title=Review: Red Steel 2 |first=Jordan |last=Deam |date=2010-04-01 |magazine=[[The Escapist (magazine)|The Escapist]] |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref> }} ''Red Steel 2'' received favorable reviews according to video game [[review aggregator]] [[Metacritic]].<ref name=MC/> [[IGN]] praised the "awesome style and energetic gameplay" and called it "one of the top titles on Wii".<ref name="IGN review"/> ''[[Official Nintendo Magazine]]'' praised the MotionPlus controls, visuals and audio, but criticised the mission design, referring to it as being "average".<ref name="Wii Review: Red Steel 2 review">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/16114/reviews/red-steel-2-review-review/ |title=Wii Review: Red Steel 2 review |first=Neil |last=Long |magazine=Official Nintendo Magazine |date=2010-03-23 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011024012/http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/16114/reviews/red-steel-2-review-review/ |archivedate=2014-10-11 |url-status=dead |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref> [[Eurogamer]] praised the "thrilling set pieces" but called the game's character "flawed, certainly, but entirely honorable with it".<ref name="EuroG">{{cite web|title=Red Steel 2 |first=Christian |last=Donlan |date=March 23, 2010 |accessdate=March 23, 2010 |website=[[Eurogamer]]|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/red-steel-2-wii-review}}</ref> [[1UP.com]] were considerably less impressed, stating that while "occasionally exhilarating" the game was "mostly unremarkable".<ref name="1UP review">{{cite web| url = http://www.1up.com/reviews/red-steel-2-review | title = Red Steel 2 Review | first = Ray | last = Barnholt | date = 2010-03-23 | website = [[1UP.com]] | accessdate = 2014-12-20}}</ref> [[GamesRadar]] praised the controls and "the engaging, intuitive combat". GamesRadar also noted that the game was drastically superior to ''[[Red Steel]]'', noting that there was "no comparison between the two".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamesradar.com/red-steel-2-review/ |title=Red Steel 2 review |author=Elston, Brett |date=2010-03-23 |publisher=[[GamesRadar]] |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref> [[Classic Game Room]] received the game well. Bussler claimed that this was the best motion controlled first person shooter that "I ever played". Not all non-video game publications gave the game moderate success. ''[[The Escapist (magazine)|The Escapist]]'' gave it four stars out of five and said: "Over three years after the Wii hit store shelves, ''Red Steel 2'' finally delivers the motion-controlled swordplay we expected from the original ''Red Steel'', and it more than makes up for any niggling flaws in the level design".<ref name="Escapist review"/> ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' gave it seven out of ten and called it "effortlessly likable".<ref name="Telegraph review"/> ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' also gave it seven stars out of ten, saying: "I've never played anything quite like ''Red Steel 2'', which lets you use swords and guns simultaneously, switching back and forth between wild swinging and precise aiming".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2010/03/red-steel-2-review/ |title=Review: Stand, Shoot and Slash in Red Steel 2 Wii |first=Chris |last=Kohler |date=2010-03-23 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref> ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' gave it a C+: "Though the pesky lag is largely gone, all too often, gameplay still devolves into breathless, embarrassing exercises in flailing".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.avclub.com/article/red-steel-2-39598 |title=Red Steel 2 |first=Scott |last=Jones |date=2010-03-29 |newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]] |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007074253/http://www.avclub.com/articles/red-steel-2,39598/ |archivedate=2010-10-07 |url-status=live |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref> Ubisoft originally expected to sell 1 million copies of ''Red Steel 2'', but after poor sales of ''[[James Cameron's Avatar: The Game]]'', they slashed their sales predictions in half. According to Jason VendenBerghe at his keynote speech at the 2010 European game developers conference, ''Red Steel 2'' has sold approximately 270,000 copies worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|author=Keza MacDonald |url=http://www.edge-online.com/news/vandenberghe-motion-control-must-become-standard/ |title=VandenBerghe: Motion Control Must Become Standard |publisher=Edge |date=2010-08-16 |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref> == Future == In April 2010, a French website spread a rumor that a sequel was in development, according to a Nintendo magazine.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Mike Jackson |url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/244696/red-steel-3-revealed-uses-vitality-sensor/ |title=Red Steel 3 revealed, uses Vitality Sensor |magazine=[[Computer and Video Games]] |date=2010-04-28 |accessdate=2014-12-20}}</ref> Jason VandenBerghe expressed interest in making the sequel, but said that the current state of the motion control market does not yet justify making a sequel. There were rumors at the time that such sequel would likely be a Wii exclusive and make use of the Wii Vitality Sensor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ng-gamer.nl/game-nieuws/11859_geruchtenkiller-red-steel-3-nog-even-niet/ |title=Geruchtenkiller: Red Steel 3 nog even niet |first=Martijn |last=Müller |date=2010-08-23 |language=Dutch |work=[[NG-Gamer]] |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825163537/http://www.ng-gamer.nl/game-nieuws/11859_geruchtenkiller-red-steel-3-nog-even-niet/ |archivedate=2010-08-25 }}</ref> There has been no further word on the possibility of a sequel after Nintendo shifted focus towards subsequent successors of the Wii. ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==External links== *[http://redsteelgame.us.ubi.com/red-steel-2/index.php Official site] [[Category:2010 video games]] [[Category:First-person shooters]] [[Category:Hack and slash games]] [[Category:Japan in non-Japanese culture]] [[Category:LyN games]] [[Category:Video games about ninja]] [[Category:Ubisoft games]] [[Category:Video game sequels]] [[Category:Video games about revenge]] [[Category:Video games developed in France]] [[Category:Video games scored by Tom Salta]] [[Category:Video games set in Nevada]] [[Category:Video games with cel-shaded animation]] [[Category:Western (genre) video games]] [[Category:Wii MotionPlus games]] [[Category:Wii games]] [[Category:Wii-only games]]'