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RED STEEL 2
review | WII
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Publisher: Ubisoft.
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal. Released: March 2010. Genre: First-person action. Posted 31st August 2025. By Tom Clare © 2025 |
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Red Steel 2 marked a sliding doors moment for gaming, albeit one the industry would ultimately let pass by. Years later, we’re left to wonder what direction the medium might have taken, had the considerable potential showcased by its motion control implementation been followed as an evolution of the action genre. A couple of key stumbling blocks ensured this wouldn’t come to fruition. The game’s reach will have been limited by the necessity of purchasing a mid-generation peripheral upgrade, the Wii MotionPlus. Ubisoft’s decision to tie it to the by-then three-year-old Wii launch title Red Steel, a game with little brand power and only tenuous links to Red Steel 2, likely wouldn’t have helped either.
In terms of story and premise, Red Steel 2 doesn’t pull up trees. You play as an unnamed swordsman, the last of 13 Kusagari, whose aim is to enact revenge on those responsible for the death of his clan. You’ll assemble a small band of allies who’ll help with intel, sword training, firearm upgrades, and a modest smattering of secondary missions, though you’ll have all but forgotten them by the time the credits roll. RS2 wisely sees a reset from the first game, foregoing a modern theme in favour of a wild-west / feudal Japan fusion. Pagodas and temples mix with taverns and tumbleweed. Surprisingly, it’s an effective combination, one that rarely feels mismatched.
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Whether through shooting or swordfighting, Red Steel 2 delivers hugely enjoyable action sequences
A cel-shaded outback appearance, combined with incidental, background-chatter dialogue and backwater-twang musical arrangements, borrows heavily from Borderlands. Locations are cleanly defined, and character models move with fluidity, though in truth, I can take or leave it as an aesthetic choice. Nevertheless, RS2 delivers considerably tighter gameplay design than Gearbox’s aforementioned effort. Granted, there’s no cooperative multiplayer option, but there’s also a lot less time spent poring over randomly generated gear and statistics. The playing space is also leaner and more focused. Each area has a hub of sorts, allowing for a modest amount of exploration. The hero can scale ladders and rooftops, hack down bamboo and wooden fences, descend into bunkers, and take advantage of circuitous routes that allow for multiple routes around the towns. There’s enough scope to deviate from the main mission and enjoy a few side-quests, but it’s never so broad as to feel aimless.
Red Steel 2 will likely remain the most convincing argument for the potential of motion control in action gaming. It’s fantastically immersive and a huge amount of fun. Playing from a first-person perspective, the player swings and thrusts the Wiimote to mimic the action of a sword, whilst pointing the controller at the screen brings up a reticle, allowing players to use a firearm. Credit to Ubisoft Paris, the integration of the melee and shooting is absolutely superb. You’ll chop and change frequently between the two over the course of a battle, and despite a wealth of functions, it nearly always feels seamless.
Red Steel 2 will likely remain the most convincing argument for the potential of motion control in action gaming. It’s fantastically immersive and a huge amount of fun. Playing from a first-person perspective, the player swings and thrusts the Wiimote to mimic the action of a sword, whilst pointing the controller at the screen brings up a reticle, allowing players to use a firearm. Credit to Ubisoft Paris, the integration of the melee and shooting is absolutely superb. You’ll chop and change frequently between the two over the course of a battle, and despite a wealth of functions, it nearly always feels seamless.
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Red Steel 2 makes an incredibly convincing argument for motion controls in action gaming. It’s fantastically immersive and a huge amount of fun. Playing from a first-person perspective, the player swings and thrusts the Wiimote to mimic the action of a sword, whilst pointing the controller at the screen brings up a reticle, allowing players to use a firearm. Credit to Ubisoft Paris, the integration of the melee and shooting is absolutely superb. You’ll chop and change frequently between the two over the course of a battle, and despite a wealth of functions, it nearly always feels seamless.
Combat is the lifeblood of the game, and the further you progress, the more expansive and impressive it becomes. In conjunction with various button inputs, the hero can deliver dodging strikes, hails of bullets, armour-crunching blows, upward swipes and aerial assaults, ground-pounding punches, and a myriad of finishers to capitalise on stunning foes. Sword slashes create superbly stylish motion ripples and streaks of light, whilst vertical and horizontal blocks add a layer of defence. You’ll fight with surgical precision in a setup that rewards sharp timing; it’s a world away from the flapping and flailing of certain Wii parlour games. The quartet of guns feel amazing thanks to incredibly smooth, intuitive, and reliable reticle movement helping the game deliver the kind of instinctive, high-octane run ‘n’ gun scenarios more normally found in a Hollywood blockbuster.
Combat is the lifeblood of the game, and the further you progress, the more expansive and impressive it becomes. In conjunction with various button inputs, the hero can deliver dodging strikes, hails of bullets, armour-crunching blows, upward swipes and aerial assaults, ground-pounding punches, and a myriad of finishers to capitalise on stunning foes. Sword slashes create superbly stylish motion ripples and streaks of light, whilst vertical and horizontal blocks add a layer of defence. You’ll fight with surgical precision in a setup that rewards sharp timing; it’s a world away from the flapping and flailing of certain Wii parlour games. The quartet of guns feel amazing thanks to incredibly smooth, intuitive, and reliable reticle movement helping the game deliver the kind of instinctive, high-octane run ‘n’ gun scenarios more normally found in a Hollywood blockbuster.
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As a result, Red Steel 2 is really addictive, and the joy wrought by its combat helps elevate the experience at all points. In truth, missions are nothing overly special: each area tends to repeat a trend of tasking the hero with ‘Wanted’ posters to destroy, clan packs to defeat, communication towers to activate, and some variant on collection/dismantling: be it finding ammo stashes or blowing up trucks via shooting their fuel tanks. There isn’t a great deal of variety, but that isn’t to say you won’t enjoy these pursuits, right through the game. There’s a decent amount of destructible scenery, and money collected can be spent on a veritable avalanche of upgrades for your sword, health and armour, and guns. Motion controls are used to activate switches, crack safes, and for jimmying open certain doors, and operate largely without issue.
A collection of small gripes leaves the game just short of classic status. The voice acting is hammy, the cut-scenes are awkward and cheap-looking, and whilst bosses promise much, they don’t really develop as the game advances. There’s a curious QTE-filled cut-scene early on that requires a bit of trial and error, but oddly, the concept is never revisited. A few really cool, isolated sequences, such as a breathless train ride, have you wishing Red Steel 2 diverted from the town hubs a little more often.
A collection of small gripes leaves the game just short of classic status. The voice acting is hammy, the cut-scenes are awkward and cheap-looking, and whilst bosses promise much, they don’t really develop as the game advances. There’s a curious QTE-filled cut-scene early on that requires a bit of trial and error, but oddly, the concept is never revisited. A few really cool, isolated sequences, such as a breathless train ride, have you wishing Red Steel 2 diverted from the town hubs a little more often.
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A reasonably-sized campaign is complemented by a Challenge mode that allows players to revisit chapters to earn medals, whilst tackling the story across three difficulty settings helps stretch its replay value. There are sheriff stars to shoot and golden tokens to collect, but these merely offer additional credits, and there’s little in the way of extras. Still, this should in no way dissuade you from playing this energetic action title. Red Steel 2 would represent the road not travelled then, but for many, it will deliver a level of interactivity and originality that is hard to find amid a crowded genre.
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VERDICT"Excellent, intuitive motion controls and energetic combat combine for an awesome fusion of sword fighting and shooting. For those craving a more interactive action experience, Red Steel 2 is absolutely essential."
OVERALL: 8/10 |
OTHER CEL-SHADED ACTION GAMES REVIEWED
Escape Dead Island (2014, PlayStation 3)
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Borderlands 3 (2019, PlayStation 4)
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